The Rector of Standish, Roger Standish in 1477 was the last surviving trustee of the estates of Alexander Pilkington of the Pilkington family of Lancashire who had died in 1474 and held the families land in Rivington and Mellor in trust, the original beneficiary being his son Ralph who also died the same year.

The trust had been created in 1460 with trustees named as Thurstan Pilkington Chaplain and his brother Thomas, with Ralph his son appointed as his attorney to deliver seisen.

Roberts ownership of lands in Mellor was challenged legally and physically by his uncle, William De Aynesworth and his son who carried out raids on properties on the estate and harassed the tenants and took numerous costly legal actions and even abducted Robert and took him prisoner, at which time they tried to poison him.

[4][5] recorded in a deed of 1477 between him and Adam Holden to create a cross chamber and two great windows at the hall.

[12] The Tithe Tax in 1850 gives detail of the extent of Rivington Hall in the mid Victorian era, being 32 acres.

[15][16] The 15th-century wood and wattle and daub structure was demolished and the hall rebuilt in stone and extended from the end of the 17th century.

[1] The oldest part of the hall is dated 1694 WB (William Breres) over a rear door on the west side.

[17] The halls west front is a symmetrical red brick, two-storey structure built in the classical Georgian style with five bays and a pedimented centre and stone parapet hiding the roof which has a chimney in each gable.

The south wing was built in brick in the 19th century and was mostly demolished and rebuilt by Robert Andrews in 1774, incorporating some of the older stone building, with a red-brick Georgian frontage.