page_title: Walton Hall, Cheshire
section_title: The Greenall family
hierarchical_section_title: Walton Hall, Cheshire / The Greenall family
caption_attribution_description: English: Ordnance Map of Walton near Warrington 1882
context_page_description: Walton Hall is a country house in Walton, Warrington, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. The hall and its surrounding garden and grounds are owned and administered by Warrington Borough Council.
context_section_description: Sir Gilbert Greenall (1806-1894) built Walton Hall in 1836. He was the son of Edward Greenall (1758-1835) who had purchased the Walton Estate in 1812. At this time there was an old hall on the property north east of the present building (shown on the 1882 map) which has since been demolished. When his father died in 1835 Gilbert inherited the Walton Estate. In the following year he married Mary Claughton. In this year also he commenced building Walton Hall, a project which took two years. 
  He was a partner in his long established family brewing firm of Greenall Whitley & Company with his brothers and made a large fortune. He invested his money in property and became part of the landed gentry. He became a Member of Parliament from 1847 until 1892 representing Warrington. He was also High Sheriff of Cheshire in 1873 and was a Justice of the Peace. He was an art connoisseur and collected many beautiful paintings. He commissioned the famous artist Wood Warrington to create the sculpture “Rachel” in 1868. He also paid him to sculpt a marble overmantel in Walton Hall of Diana hunting. This sculpture remains today. He was a personal friend of Lewis Carroll whose father was the vicar in the nearby Church at Daresbury. He visited Carroll when he was at Oxford University and Carroll visited him at Walton Hall. A photo was taken by Carroll of the Hall in 1859 when he was there. 
  His wife Mary died in 1861 and until this time they had no children. In 1864 at the age of 58 he married Susannah Rapp who was the daughter of John Louis Rapp. The couple had three children. Two daughters Susannah and Bertha and a son.
  In 1876 he was created a Baronet on the recommendation of Benjamin Disraeli. In 1885 he built St John the Evangelist Church which is located near Walton Hall. He commissioned the architects Paley and Austin to undertake this work for an enormous sum. He died in 1894 and his only son Gilbert inherited Walton Hall.
  In 1898 his daughter Bertha was married at St John the Evangelist Church to Edward Waldegrave Griffith. The reception was held at Walton Hall. A photo is shown. The wedding was widely reported in the newspapers and some of the description is as follows.
  "At a quarter past two the bridal carriage drove up to the entrance of the church and the bride was escorted into the church by her brother Sir Gilbert Greenall. She was attired in a handsome white satin dress embroidered with silver and trimmed with Brussells lace. She wore a wreath of orange blossom and tulle veil and carried a shower bouquet of white exotics, the gift of the bridegroom. Her ornament was a diamond crescent also the gift of the bridegroom.
  "She was attended by two bridesmaids Miss Frances Griffith (the sister of the Bridegroom) and Miss Amy Whitley (cousin of the bride). They were dressed in pink and white striped silk skirts with chiffon bodices trimmed with bebe ribbon and cream coloured lace. Their hats were of cream coloured Tuscan straw trimmed with wreaths of forget-me-nots and pink roses. They carried shower bouquets of roses and wore gold banquets with diamond and sapphire hearts, gifts of the bridegrooms."
  Sir Gilbert Greenall (1867-1938) who inherited Walton Hall in 1894 upon the death of his father was born in 1867. He was educated at Eton College and for some time joined the Cheshire Yeomanry Cavalry. After he inherited his father’s estates he became interested in the breeding of livestock and developed one of the most famous horse studs in England.  His horses were mentioned in numerous newspaper articles and even in Australia his stud was described in detail. 
  In 1900 he married Frances Eliza Griffith who was his brother in law’s sister and is shown as one of the bridesmaids in the picture above. The couple had two sons. Both Gilbert and Frances were very good horsemen and from 1896 until 1912 Gilbert was Master of the Belvoir Hunt. A photo of them during this time is shown. He was also President of the Royal Agricultural Society. He died in 1938 and his son Edward inherited Walton Hall. Edward sold the Hall in 1941 to Warrington Corpor
caption: Map of Walton Hall 1882
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