Loyola Hall

Loyola Hall stands beside St Bartholomew’s Church on Warrington Road in Rainhill, Merseyside. The house was built in the 19th century by Bartholomew Bretherton, a Liverpool coach operator, and enlarged by his daughter Mary Stapleton-Bretherton. After her death the estate passed to a cousin’s son, Frederick Bretherton, whose granddaughter Evelyn became Princess Evelyn Blücher. In 1923 the Jesuits bought the house and renamed it Loyola Hall after the founder of their order. It served as a retreat centre until 2014 before becoming a hotel and wedding venue in 2017. The house is known for its long history of spiritual retreats and unusual guests. In the 1920s over two thousand people came each year to follow the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola. After the Second World War the RAF used the hall for leadership courses under chaplain Fr Peter Blake SJ. In 1966 the North Korean football team stayed here before their quarter-final defeat to Portugal. A new wing added in the 1960s contained fifty bedrooms, a chapel with work by Jonah Jones, and a conference room. Visitors now find a Grade II listed country house set in five acres of gardens. The chapel retains stained glass and sculptures, and a tree planted by Fr Pedro Arrupe SJ still grows in the front gardens. The grounds include a strip of land that separates the house from the A570 road. A restaurant, spa and gymnasium have been added, and treehouses provide extra accommodation for weddings. The house’s coach house, clock tower and east lodge were removed in the 1970s to open up more walking space.