The origins of Bewsey Old Hall, in the Royal Forest of Burtonwood,
probably lie in the late twelth or early thirteenth century, when it was
held by the influential Butler family, barons of Warrington. Although
much altered and diminished, Bewsey Old Hall still stands, beginning its
existence as an aisled hall, surrounded by out-buildings. It is not
clear when the site was moated, but a local watercourse was probably
diverted at an early stage. Badly damaged by fire in the fourteenth
century, the hall was substantially rebuilt, wholly or partially in
stone. Parts of this complex of medieval buildings survived into the
sixteenth or seventeenth century. Having been owned by the Butlers until
1586, ownership passed briefly to the Earl of Leicester, but it was soon
sold on to the Ireland family, later passing to their successors, the
Athertons. In the late sixteenth or early seventeenth century, a
fashionable new brick house was built on the site, incorporating or
reusing elements of the medieval hall. It was much enhanced in the
seventeenth century by the creation of a formal terraced garden
furniture, although the terracing had been levelled by 1724. Bewsey's
remaining medieval structures were demolished during the eighteenth
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. During the late 1970s and until the
mid-1980s, the site's development was traced through examination of the
building, extensive excavation, and documentary research. This volume
paints a vivid picture of Bewsey's development, the trials and
tribulations of its inhabitants, and their relationship with the world
around them.
