Heritage

Croxteth Hall and Country Park is a unique historical estate surrounding a magnificent stately home and Victorian Walled Garden bursting with history and heritage. Within the acres of parkland forming the generous estate grounds is the traditional Home Farm, Myerscough College and Pony Club Riding Centre – all set within 500 acres of green space with paths and trails to explore.

The Hall was once the stately home of the Molyneux family, the Earls of Sefton, with various generations living there from the 16th century until 1972, when the last Earl sadly died. Following his death, there was an extensive search for an heir to the title, but no successor was found. The estate was then divided, with the Hall and some of the estate grounds now under the management Liverpool City Council.

Heritage and History

The oldest part of the Hall was built in 1575 and as additional wings were added, it transformed over the centuries from an Elizabethan hunting lodge to the elegant building you see today. The vast north range, designed by John MacVicar Anderson, was added in 1902-04 by the 5th Earl. The addition of this build closed the original courtyard and Croxteth Hall became a fully equipped Edwardian mansion.

Tragedy struck the Hall in 1952 when a fire started in the west wing and gutted many of the important interiors in Croxteth Hall. This area is now the fabulously restored Queen Anne Suite, brought back into public use in a £400,000 programme, funded through the Croxteth Estate Endowment Trust Fund.

The Grade II* listed Hall and collection of Grade II listed outbuildings sit amid 500 acres of woodland, pastures, ponds and streams which make up Liverpool’s very own country park, providing a stunning setting for one of the city’s most significant buildings.

The Victorian Walled Garden, once tended by the gardeners who grew produce for ‘the big house’ adds to the impressive surroundings; a hidden treasure almost untouched by time. Today, the garden houses part of Liverpool’s very special botanical collection – a nationally important historic plant collection.

The traditional Victorian farmyard area remains and, now run by Neighbourhood Services Company Ltd., Home Farm houses a collection of rare breed animals and allows visitors to learn about modern farming.

The former Old Riding School, situated in one of our Grade II listed outbuildings, has been transformed into a café and is open to the public* to enjoy an indoor and outdoor eatery year-round.

The Country Park is Liverpool’s largest, at over 500 acres, but is only a small remnant of the original land owned by the Earl of Sefton, which covered most of South Lancashire, a moorland estate at Abbeystead (in the Trough of Bowland), mansions in London and properties all around Liverpool. The Park is English Heritage Grade II listed and is largely a ‘man-made’ design. It is an attractive mix of pasture (much of it still grazed by cows and horses) and woodland, planted around 200 years ago to provide suitable land for game shooting. The River Alt flows through the Park and there are more than thirty ponds, some also created for duck shooting and others as marl pits, dug out to improve the soil in the fields.

Want to know more?

If you would like to know more about Croxteth Hall and the surrounding area’s history and heritage, follow our social media channels.

You can also take a trip down Memory Lane and explore our social history through photos that people have shared with us. Do you want to share your own Croxteth memories with us? If so, get in touch or use #CroxtethMemories on social media for your chance to be featured.