Some of the buildings date back to the 14th Century. For over 500 years Rainhill Hall was the home of the Lancasters. They were a Catholic family who as recusants (someone who refused to attend services of the Church of England), were forced to pay fines which eventually led to them having to sell their Rainhill estates.
The manor, of which the Great Hall survives in part in this farmhouse, was originally an extensive sequence of buildings built round a courtyard on a moated site, none of which survives intact. Included in the listing are the C17 north front gate piers and wall.
To the south-east of the Hall lies an extensive system of fishponds and connecting channels. It is divided into two areas. The site includes a slightly raised island that was originally surrounded by a waterlogged moat. Standing on the island are the 16th/early 17th century north and west wings of Rainhill Hall, which contain much earlier work including one of the finest late medieval roofs in the county. The moat has been partially infilled but still survives in a waterlogged state up to 10m wide and 2m deep on part of the south and much of the east sides where it is largely sandstone lined.
The building is Grade II listed and detailed on the Historic England website.