Early History
The estate was purchased after the dissolution of the abbey by James Leveson in 1543. His family lived in the house until the Civil War. The Royalists held the estate until 1645 when it then fell to the Parliament troops. The estate returned to the family, who grew their power through a series of marriages and allegiances.
Sir William Leveson-Gower, the fourth baronet, married Lady Jane Granville, daughter of the Earl of Bath, which raised the family from baronetcy to marquisate. They built a new country residence in the village but their son George Granville Leveson-Gower after his marriage in 1765 considered it too small and so decided to build something better. His wife instructed the architect Sir Jeffry Wyattville and local builders, and the present Hall was completed in 1829, three years before the newly elevated Duke of Sutherland's death. The Hall was scheduled in 1984 as a Grade II* listed building
The approach to the Estate from the main Wolverhampton to Chester Road is through the "Golden Gates", an exact replica of those adorning Buckingham Palace. The gardens include many bridges, the original canal, an Ornamental garden, a Grecian Temple, ponds and the Apple Walk (about half its original pergola length). The 70-foot (21 m) high Obelisk was built in 1833 in memory of the 1st Duke of Sutherland and designed by G.E. Hamilton.
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