For many people, the history of Woolton Hall starts in 1704. Richard Molyneux purchases the plot of land and constructs the earliest part of Woolton Hall. However, we now know this not to be the case.
We are therefore not just dealing with a Grade 1 listed building that we thought was constructed in 1704, but it has now come to light that some of the Hall’s structure pre-date the 1704 date with the following evidence. At this point, we must make a note of the importance of the work that Janet Gnosspelius did for Woolton Hall before we continue.
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Janet trained at the Liverpool School of Architecture in the 1940’s and built a reputation in church architecture and restoration, working for a time for the church architect Francis Xavier Velarde. From the late 1960’s she developed a new life in local history and conservation.
In 1972, the threatened demolition of Woolton Hall (Janet’s report led to it being listed Grade 1) stimulated the founding of the still flourishing Woolton Society. Working with her close friend Sylvia Lewis, Janet was a formidable force in Liverpool planning inquiries, authoritatively challenging attitudes on conservation and even road planning. She would regularly deliver to the city planning office chunks of masonry, neatly labelled with provenance and date, asking that they be replaced.
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Janet wrote ‘Woolton Hall, Architect’s Inspection of the Fabric’ in 1972 and this was a report on the architect’s inspection of the fabric, in July, August and September 1972, carried out for the Liverpool City Planning Department. I have been offered a copy of this book from the Woolton Society and thus all copyright of this book is with the Woolton Society. In part of her write up, Janet provides a full write up of the floorplans for each section and has added shading in to the various ‘changes’ to Woolton Hall over the years. At first glance, there is a variety of work undertaken, but perhaps the biggest eye opener is that Janet has confirmed that various walls from Woolton Hall pre-date 1704 and therefore must be from the ‘cottage’ that has been previously described.
On the right are the ground floor architects plans from Janet Gnosspelius and are therefore copyright of the Woolton Society. They have been enlarged from the 1972 Architects report. It is incredible to see, and Janet raises some very valid points in that there were many walls that pre-date Woolton Hall. It is my conclusion that Woolton Hall was partly built on the footprint of the older ‘cottage’ that stood there.
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Some of the owners have been very kind to the Hall and greatly enhanced it. Others have not been so kind to the Hall and have possibly covered up various elements of the Hall as I will come to later on another floor plan.​ However, Janet has stated that the walls below are pre-dating 1704! It is a fantastic discovery and therefore adds weight to the fact that we are not attempting to just save Woolton Hall, but that we are also attempting to save parts of the original ‘cottage’ that stood here before Woolton Hall!
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If we look at the architect’s report on the right-hand side (click to enlarge), we can take a great deal of information on the general layout and the enlargement of the hall over the years. However, Janet’s floorplan clearly shows that the outer kitchen wall, the wall between the kitchen and servants’ staircase, and the wall between the great salon and principal staircase is pre-1704!
​As we can see, Janet has hit the nail on the head. She has confirmed that part of Woolton Hall’s structure is dated before 1704. And this would mean that this was no small cottage, but a far grander house or hall with a substantial footprint in which Richard Molyneux has added to.
It therefore poses the question whether the cellar system was also there pre Woolton Hall. There is no footprint of the cellar system that is under the Great Salon or Tapestry Room so it would suggest that the principal staircase wall would possibly be the ‘outer wall’ of the cottage. We are therefore not attempting just to save a building dated 1704 but also parts of a building predating 1704 and back to the 1600’s!
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Therefore, when we look at the building listed as 1704, we now have parts of the structure going back possible another 200 years if we consider the evidence on ‘Woolton Cottage’, the building that stood on the footprint of what is now Woolton Hall. Are we dealing with a structure that is the same age as Speke Hall and therefore are we re-writing history with this find?
THE HISTORY OF WOOLTON HALL
