KING’S LANDING

The Battle of the Boyne was one of wthe most pivotal moments in British history as military forces of opposing religions faced each other in Ireland to decide whether a Catholic or Protestant monarch should rule.

This Grade II* listed eight-bedroom manor house deep in the Wirral played its part in the drama.

Gayton Hall is where William III – William of Orange – rested for several days on his way to fight the battle after he and his wife Mary, who were staunch Dutch protestants, had been invited to be British monarchs. This followed the departure of Catholic King James II, who was deposed in 1688.

Britain was at the time savagely divided along religious lines. Helped by the Irish, James II tried to regain his crown, meeting William’s forces on the banks of the River Boyne near Drogheda in the east of Ireland.

Rather than pay rent for his stay at Gayton Hall, the King gave its then owner William Glegg a knighthood and two oaks were planted in the grounds named William and Mary.

The Glegg family owned Gayton Hall for 600 years until 1919 when it was sold, subsequently changing hands many times before the current owners bought and then spent a fortune doing it up.

It is now for sale at £3.95m and includes a main house, outbuildings and nearly six acres of land. See savills.com or call 01244 323232.