Jacob Fletcher was part of the Fletcher family who were highly successful privateers, sailing their fleet of ships from Cumberland to Liverpool in search of new opportunities and were involved in two large slave voyages in 1802 and 1806. The family saw Liverpool as the ideal location to drop anchor in 1760 due its lucrative trading prowess at the time. In 1815 Jacob's sons, Jacob and Caleb Fletcher, purchased a 150-acre site fronting Allerton Road, and built a new house in the middle of the site. No sooner had it been completed, during the time of Waterloo, it was destroyed by fire. Undaunted the family home was rebuilt by the well-respected architect Thomas Harrison of Chester, whose work includes the tower of St. Nicholas' Church and the Lyceum. Built on the site of the previous house, the mansion of Italianate design was named simply 'Allerton' and completed in 1815 and was occupied by the Fletcher family for 104 years before being purchased in 1923 by Liverpool Corporation. Jacob and his brother, Caleb, operated together from Allerton, a pack of harriers known as the Liverpool Hunt. Working from their kennels in the grounds the hounds ranged the countryside between Liverpool, Knowsley and Prescot.
When Liverpool Corporation bought the estate for £40,000, they converted the mansion into a clubhouse for a newly built golf course and in August 1923, a nine-hole golf course was opened here, together with putting greens. Shortly afterwards, a further 70 acres were laid out to provide an 18-hole course. Tennis courts were laid in the gardens of the mansion, which was adapted to serve as refreshment and locker rooms. The recreation centre attracted ever-increasing numbers until the outbreak of World War Two, when the house was occupied by the Parks and Gardens Department, part of the city treasury and offices of the city Assessment Committee. Military detachments moved in, and the cellars housed the city archives for a time. The house was as much used then as it had ever been since the Georgian and Victorian days of the Fletchers. The mansion survived the blitz, but on the night of November 21, 1944, fire returned to ravage the house leaving the building in ruins, still consisting of two storeys though it remained roofless and on the 14th of March 1975 the ruins became a Grade 11 listed structure. Tragically, the once luxurious home went unloved for the next few decades and, but for its listed status, it was quite possible that it would’ve been demolished to make way for housing due to the affluent location in which is lies. Thankfully in 2015 the site was rescued by Green Circle Estates and given a much deserved lease of life that would reflect the beauty of the local area. The extensive restoration took almost 2 years and its new owners spared no expense in making it a top quality golf course. In fact, Allerton Manor Golf Course was designed by a PGA affiliated Golf Architect IDG (International Design Group), who have a global resume. To the south-east of the house is a sandstone obelisk, also Grade 11 listed, which belonged to the original 18th century house. It is of square plan, and is mounted on plinth.
The ruins of the house still stand today and the park takes its name from the large tower which gave a view of the surrounding countryside. However there are fresh plans to bring the dilapidated building on site at the Golf Course back to life as a boutique hotel. They have been revised, one year on from planning consent first being approved, with Green Circle Leisure spearheading new proposals to restore the remaining facades of the original Grade-II manor house given the green light by Liverpool City Council in September 2020.
see also:- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2022/06/historic-liverpool-dwellings-allerton.html
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