It was built between 1720 and 1750 for Robert Blundell, the lord of the manor, and was designed by Henry Sephton, a local mason-architect.

Robert's son, Henry, was a collector of paintings and antiquities, and he built impressive structures in the grounds of the hall in which to house them.

Thomas Weld Blundell modernised and expanded the house, and built an adjoining chapel.

In the 1960s the house and estate were sold again, and have since been run as a nursing home by the Canonesses of St. Augustine of the Mercy of Jesus.

In the garden and grounds of the hall are nine structures listed at Grade II; these include the stables, a monument, a sundial, gateways and a lodge, and the base of a medieval wayside cross.

[2] Following the Reformation the Blundells retained their Catholic faith and suffered from the consequent disadvantages and dangers.

[1][3] Nevertheless, by legal transactions and advantageous marriages the Blundell family acquired more possessions; by the end of the 18th century they held 15 manors together with other property, some of it as far away as Liverpool and Preston.

[6] In 1761 Robert Blundell moved from the house to Liverpool, and the estate passed to his eldest son, Henry (1724–1810).

[7] Henry then started to extend the house by adding what he described as "a large body of offices" at right-angles to the main block, and he did this "without the help of a Wyat (sic) or any architect".

[6] In the grounds he designed and built a stable block and greenhouses, created a kitchen garden, and landscaped the park, which included a lake and a ha-ha.

[8] Henry Blundell was a collector, first of paintings and later of statues and antiquities,[9][a] the collection amounting to over 500 items.

[7] In order to house them at Ince Blundell, he constructed a series of buildings in the grounds of the hall.

Initially he kept his collection in a series of greenhouses, but in about 1790–92 he built the Garden Temple, a building in Classical style.

Weld Blundell added a new vestibule to connect the Gallery, the Dining Room, and the Pantheon.

[15] The hall was bought by the Canonesses of St. Augustine of the Mercy of Jesus, who adapted it for use as a nursing home.

It was officially opened as such on 27 May 1961 by the Rt Revd John Heenan, who was at that time the Archbishop of Liverpool.

The central bay of the pavilion is round-headed and recessed, and its windows are a mixture of Diocletian, tripartite, and oculi.

[24] Following the alterations carried out by Weld Blundell in the 19th century, the portico of the Pantheon became the new main entrance.

[21] The ceiling contains Rococo plasterwork dating from about 1750 depicting symbols relating to music and hunting, together with representations of learning and cultivation.

Inside is an Ionic pilastrade, a frieze decorated with triglyphs and roundels, and niches for statues, four of which are in the shape of Venetian windows.

The interior of the dome is coffered, and it has a central glazed oculus, which is the only source of lighting for the building.

The frieze contains a Latin inscription, which translates as "In this place it is summer and winter all year round",[b] referring to the fact that the building was heated by air from external fireplaces.

The exterior is relatively plain, but the interior is elaborately decorated, some of which may have been executed by Crace; there are also paintings by Gebhard Flatz.

The stables are in two storeys and have a nine-bay front, the central three bays projecting forward under a pedimented gable.

[34][37] In the garden to the south of the main block is a monument in the form of a marble Tuscan column on a stone plinth.

The central entrance is in Doric style with columns, and an entablature with a triglyph frieze including bucrania and rosettes.

On the top is a broken pediment containing a cartouche and an urn decorated with ram's heads and festoons.

Dating from the middle of the 19th century it is in French Renaissance style, built in brick with stone dressings and a slate roof.

The central bay is flanked by pilasters, and has a round-headed entrance with archivolts, a keystone, and decorated spandrels.