[4] During the 16th century Adam de Leycester made alterations to the house, and built a half-timbered gatehouse to the bridge crossing the moat.

[5] His descendant Peter Leicester (1588–1647) married in 1611 and, to celebrate it, installed in the great hall a large and highly decorated carved chimney-piece, which was dated 1619.

The carvings consists of heraldry, and of figures including terms, a merman, a mermaid, a naked child holding an hourglass, an owl, and a dove.

The house had a central entrance porch, with an archway flanked by Ionic columns decorated with lions sejant.

Alterations to the interior included re-panelling the great hall, adding an impressive staircase, and creating a study for Sir Peter's collection of over 1,300 books.

However, he was prevented so doing by the terms of Sir Francis' will, which obliged his heirs to maintain the hall in good order; otherwise they would forfeit the inheritance.

In the 19th century, when under the care of George Warren, 2nd Baron de Tabley (1811–87), its structural condition was maintained, and it continued to be furnished with old furniture.

From the 1870s, Lord de Tabley kept his collection of historical objects and curiosities in the great hall, creating it into a museum.

He allowed the general public to walk through the grounds if they attended services at the chapel, and also gave permission for groups and organisations to use the hall for meetings and events.

When Lord de Tabley's sister, Eleanor, Lady Leighton Warren (1841–1914), inherited the estate, she did not continue this custom.

[10] After Lady Leighton Warren's death, her son Cuthbert (1877–1954) closed the old hall at the outbreak of the First World War.

By this time the area around the hall had started to suffer from subsidence because of the extraction of brine from the Cheshire salt deposits.

The family then decided to sell the contents of the hall, including items from Sir Peter's book collection.

[2] In respect of the remains existing in the 21st century, the authors of the Cheshire volume of the Buildings of England series say "a few fragments of wall stand almost full height on the island, precariously propped up".