Bewsey Old Hall

Sir William Fitz Almeric Le Boteler, Lord of Warrington, built Bewsey Old Hall following the destruction by fire of his original house, which was nearer the current town centre on the Mote Hill (near to the site of the current parish church, St Elphin's). The date of the fire is not recorded exactly, but is believed to be between 1256 and 1259. To build the house, Boteler obtained lands in Burton Wood from his feudal Lord, Earl Ferrar, in 1260 and from Prince Edmund in 1270. A monastic grange, owned by the monks of Titley Abbey, in Essex, previously occupied the site. In 1675 Bewsey Old Hall was inherited by Richard Atherton from the Dame Margaret Ireland, the widow of Gilbert Ireland.…

The original 14th-century moat only partly holds water today. The building has distinctive chimneystacks and stone mullion windows, which are most likely the work of Sir Thomas Ireland and date back to around 1600. Bewsey's remaining medieval structures were demolished during the 18th century, when the hall was extended, and landscaping works filled in parts of the moat and enlarged others as water features. In 1863, a 'New Hall' was built, and Bewsey Old Hall was left in the hands of tenants, until, in considerable disrepair, it was acquired by Warrington Development Corporation in 1974.