Bewsey Old Hall, Warrington, Cheshire - Jennifer Lewis

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.