Atherton Hall, Leigh

Christopher Saxton's map shows there was a medieval deer park here in the time of Elizabeth I.

It was unfinished at the time of Richard Atherton's death in 1726 and completed by his son-in-law Robert Gwillym in 1743.

[4] The hall's façade was 102 feet wide supported by Ionic fluted pillars and pilasters.

Their eldest daughter, Henrietta Maria Atherton, married Thomas Powys, 2nd Baron Lilford.

However, some outbuildings were left standing and are private property still known as Atherton Hall, the estate is now known as Lilford Park.

In the Victorian era its crescent-shaped lake, about three-quarters of a mile (1.2 km) in length spanned by a three-arch stone bridge constructed in 1724,[10] was popular with visitors.