In Walton Hall Park, it is highly likely that stone construction had existed as far back as the Anglo - Saxon period and maybe even the Roman era. The name Walton is derived from the Old English 'walla' (meaning Briton) and 'tun' (settlement). In terms of recorded history, the land on which Walton Old Hall was first built had numerous owners after the Norman Conquest when lands across England were requisitioned and redistributed to Companions of William the Conqueror and the land is listed in the Domesday Book. The first recipient of this land was Roger the Poitevin when he was rewarded the West Derby Hundred before the land passed to his sheriff, Geoffrey de Valognes. It is envisaged an early medieval moated ancient hall would have been demolished and partially rebuilt on several occasions as the title of the estate later passed to Gilbert (or 'Waldeve') de Walton by King John in 1189 whose family built a moated lodge in the 14th century. Following the death of Roger de Walton in the 15th century, ownership descended through a sequence of wealthy families through marriage, including the families Crosse, Chorley, Fazakerley and finally the Briers or Breres in 1708. This family remained at Walton Hall until the 300 acre estate was sold to John Atherton in 1746, one of the earliest inhabitants of Hanover Street who had made his money from the slave trade. At least 18 slave voyages between 1737 and 1757 are on record. Such transfers of ownership would have been relatively uncommon, since property such as Walton Hall had historically passed from one generation to another. The structure at the time would have been between 100 and 145 years old.
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| Walton Hall before it was demolished |
Walton Hall, was then sold by his son and heir, Colonel John Joseph Atherton, in 1802 to Thomas Leyland, who was also highly involved in the African slave trade. Thomas was in business in Liverpool when he and his partner had the good fortune to win the lottery, he invested his winnings in building up his business interests which sadly included slavery. In a period of three years he made £100,000 from voyages between Liverpool, Lagos and Jamaica to collect and sell African slaves and between 1782 and 1807 he was responsible for transporting more than 25,000 Africans into slavery. His 'success' in business made him very wealthy and influential and he was elected mayor of Liverpool three times. Peter Auldis in his 'Pictures and Thoughts on Walton's Past History' describes the estate at the time of Leyland as having a half a mile long driveway entered through massive wrought iron gates and flanked by rhododendrons. This grand entrance was situated in the Haggerston Road area. It is interesting to note that the name Haggerston may have came from Haggerston Castle in Northumberland which was part of the Leyland Estates. Auldis described it as surrounded by "magnificent timber" and adjoined by a picturesque walled garden and gardeners cottage, which can possibly be discerned from the 1897 map. When he died in 1827, his widow Ellen continued to live in Walton Hall until her death in 1839. Thomas' nephews Richard and Christopher Bullin then inherited the estate. The brothers took the Leyland name and coat of arms as per the instructions of their uncle's will. Richard moved from Fazakerley into the grand hall after his aunt's death but he and his brother Christopher died childless so the hall passed onto their sister Dorothy and her husband John Wrench Naylor.
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| Walton Hall Park at present |
Walton Hall fell into disrepair after the death of Dorothy and was demolished around the turn of the century. The land was eventually bought by Liverpool City Council and, after it was used as a munitions depot in the First World War, Walton Hall Park was opened in 1934 by King George V when he visited Liverpool to open the Queensway Tunnel. Confirmation that the Hall was situated within the park area came from a gentleman who worked for the Corporation Parks and Gardens Dept. He had worked on the laying out of the park and told his stories of this and the railway to a curious young lad named Tom who lived in Walton Hall Avenue from 1967 to 1987. He told Tom he had seen the remains of the foundations of the hall and confirmed them to be towards the middle of the park behind the present tennis court/bowling green area.
see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2022/08/historic-liverpool-dwellings-greenbank.html
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