This picture shows Hotoon Manor in 1488, which dates back to Norman times when the lands were given to Adam de Aldithley, a follower of William the Conqueror, which was then passed on through various families until 1310, when William de Stanley inherited it together with the master forestership of the Wirral. For 500 years it was the seat of the Earls of Stanley and the senior line of famous Earls of Derby.

Hooton Hall Park Estate Maps

This picture shows Hooton Hall in the 1800s. It’s name changed because it was pulled down in the eighteenth century and was replaced by a mansion called Hooton Hall, which was built from local Storeton stone and was designed in the Italian Palladian style for Sir William Stanley, by the architect William Wyatt.

The Stanley family finally sold the estate during the mid nineteenth century as it proving too costly to maintain. Hooton Park was later taken over by the governement during the First World War and used as a military hospital. Meanwhile an airfield was built on the estate in 1917 and pilots from Canada and the United States were trained there.

The main tower crashes to the ground during the demolition of the Hall

In the Second World War, Hooton again served in the war effort, remaining in use as a military airfield up to the disbanding of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force in 1957. In 1962 most of the land was sold off to provide a site for the new Vauxhall Car Factory.

Josh Douglas (Year 9 Dec 2003)