The oldest part of the existing building, the Great Hall, was constructed between 1480 and 1505; the east wing was added in 1581.

From the middle of the 20th century, work has been undertaken to restore some of the parkland and its buildings, and to create new formal gardens near the hall.

The hall is open to the public for visits and guided tours, and parts of the building can be hired for weddings and social functions.

[1][3] During the Civil War the hall was held by Colonel Thomas Legh for the Royalists but was taken twice, in 1642 and in 1644, by the Parliamentary forces.

[2] The estate was inherited in 1739 by Charles Legh, who embarked on a major programme of reconstruction, transforming the hall "from a medium-sized Tudor house into a large Georgian manor".

[1] To avoid leaving a gap exposing the courtyard, Worthington filled it with a screen wall containing a corridor linking the west and south wings.

[1] During the Second World War, parts of the Hall were used as a Services maternity ward run by St. Mary's Hospital.

[6] The plan of the hall consists of four ranges or wings arranged as a quadrangle around a courtyard, and comprises a mixture of architectural styles.

[2] At the end that would have originally been occupied by the high table is "the finest canopy in the county", according to the authors of the Buildings of England series.

[4] This is "a rare wooden version of the cloths of estate hung over the high table in the Middle Ages to give splendour to the appearance of the Lord of the Manor".

[2] It consists of five tiers of panels, divided by oak ribs into 60 compartments, each of which is painted with the arms of Cheshire families.

[2][4] At one time the scheme may have been greater, as an account dated 1611 records a display of over 180 coats of arms.

The other end of the hall is supported by a spere[A] truss formed by two giant oak trunks, carved into an octagonal shape and covered in panels.

The fireplace in the drawing room is also in white marble but is more elaborate, carved with scrolls, garlands, and a profile of Minerva.

Above its doors are wood-carvings in the style of William Kent, depicting the heads of Bacchus, Ceres, Flora, and Neptune.

[8] It was probably built in about 1670,[2][8] and has been attributed to Bernard "Father" Smith,[2][3][9] but "no conclusive evidence has come to light either to substantiate or to dismiss this theory".

[9] Over the top is a large curved hood containing gilded statues of putti playing trumpets, and a coat of arms celebrating the marriage of John Legh to Isabella Robartes in 1693.

[2] The hall's website states it is "without doubt England's most important surviving instrument from the late 17th century".

[11] In addition to the buildings in the grounds, Charles Legh played a large part in designing the layout of the gardens in the 18th century.

It has a south front of nine bays, the middle three of which project forwards and have a pediment carried on four large Doric pilasters.

[5] Standing in this garden is a lead statue of a reclining, naked male figure, said to be Father Tiber, the river god.

[13] To the south of the formal garden is a stone statue of Napoleon carved by George Turner and dated 1837.

It was built to act as a barrier between the west side of the garden and the deer park beyond it, and is listed Grade II.

The capstone carries a copper plate inscribed with Roman numerals and the initials "TL", and has a simple triangular gnomon.

The octagonal copper plate is inscribed with Roman numerals, the longitude of Adlington, and John Legh's initials.

To the south and west of the Shell House is a wooded area known as the Wilderness, through which runs the River Dean (or Dene).

Many of the winding paths created by Charles Legh in the Wilderness are now overgrown, and some of the buildings are in a poor condition, or have collapsed into ruin.

[22] At the other end of the grounds, at the site of the former south approach, is a pair of sandstone gate piers dating from the middle of the 18th century.

They originally carried the carved unicorn heads that are now in the formal garden, and were left isolated when the route of the turnpike road was moved.

[32] The Hall was used as the location for Stoke Moran, home of Dr Grimesby Roylott, in the episode "The Speckled Band" (1984) of the Granada TV series Sherlock Holmes.