History Of Hale Hall Part 1

The original home of the lord of the manor was at Hutte, a mansion in Halewood, but between the following dates of 1617 and 1626 the foundations of Hale Hall were first laid. The building was situated in Hale park which entery is gained via a lodge built in 1876 by John Ireland Blackburn.

The Hall was home of the Ireland family, at this time John Middleton, The Childe Of Hale was alive and in 1617 Sir Gilbert Ireland took John Middleton to London to Successfully fight the King`s Champion at court, John Middle successfully won the reward of a purse/money by breaking the champions thumb.

In 1674 Sir Gilbert Ireland completed alterations to the Hall and moved into the newly refurbished Hale Hall.

One year later Sir Gilbert died in 1675 and there were no direct heirs to his estate. Eventually the estate became the ownership of the Ireland Blackburn family following a marrage of a female member of the Ireland family to a male member of the Blackburn family.

It was Gilbert Ireland, Knt, who began the construction of Hale Hall when he first moved from his former home at Hutte which was starting to deccay. The new house was Early Jacobean and was altered in 1674 by Gilberts grandson, also Gilbert. Mr Peter Fleetwood Hesketh, states in his "Lancashire Architectural Guide", that the North front was originally gables below which bay windows projected, but when Gilbert Ireland altered it he arched over the recesses bewtween the bays and hid the gables behind a brick parapet which he ornamented with stone medallions and other dressings. The house was then complete and Sir Gilbert placed upon the tower a stone tablet with the following inscription on it;  "Built by Sir Gilbert Ireland, Knt, and Dame Margt, Ao dI 1674"

This tablet has since been moved to the home of the American Irelands in Cleveland, Ohio

In 1806 John Blackburn added a new south front to the Hall in a similar style to the old north front. It was designed by John Nash and a stone tablet, resembling that on the north front was place in the center of the symmetrical facade upon the following was inscribed;

"These three rooms and tower were added by John Blackburn esq., in the character of the building of the north front. A.D 1806"

The oldest room in the hall was the oak panelled room, co-existant with Gilbert Irelands original north front.

 The panelling was finely carved and above the fireplace the arms of Stanley, Aspinwall, Ireland, Molineux and

Halsall were also carved into the wood. On either side of the fire place were two perforated panels could be

seen with the initials 'M.I 1671' and 'G.I 1671'  (Margret Irelnad and Gilbert Ireland) engraved upon them.

Around the cornice were about 49 arms amongst which were those of Ireland of Hutte, Ireland of Hale, Ireland

 of Daresbury and Ireland Hesketh. These arms were place between the wainscot and the cornice when the

ceiling in the room was raised. There was also some stained galss in the room dispalying the arms of Booth,

Legh, Stanley and Venables.

There was a museum in Hale Hall, and this was kept in the library in the centre of the south front. Various items

 were kept in the museum, such as a valubale coins collection and various stuffed birds which had been collected

 by Anne Blackburn of Orford Hall near Warrington. Like her father, John Ireland, she was an excellent botanist

and it was after them that John Reinhold Foster, who circumnavigated the world with Captain Cook, named the

 'Blackburnia Pinita'. The American Warbler, 'Sylvia Blackburnia' also took their name.

In the Hall gardens and conservatories, many rare and exotic plants were gronw including the Cork Tree, the tea tree and the banana tree, but most outstanding was the palm tree named after John and his daughter, Sabal Blackburnia. according to "The Familly of Ireland and Blackburn of Hale Hall", it remained at Orford till 1817, when it was removed to Hale and the flowering of what was popularly called the "Great Palm" at Hale, in 1818, excited very greta interest, and it`s continued to flower with the exception of one year 1859 when it died.  

While the Ireland Blackburn family lived at Hale Hall, many grand events took place out side, these would have took place in Hale Park, which were the private parklands fronting Hale Hall. Even after they had left the Hall, a charity fete was held in the park in 1932 at which Sir Winston Churchill attended.

The central driveway you see today up the centre of the park used to be very well maintained, and was laid in the best red shale stones.

The current grounds of Hale Cricket club were the private cricket ground used by the Ireland Blackburn family, who used to play matches against other estates in the Merseyside area. Up to 1923, Hale Village Cricket Club played on a rough pitch in Hale park, but in 1923 they were allowed to take over the Ireland Blackburn family pitch in exchange for a small "peppercorn" rent of 10 shillings per yer.