Betton, by the early sixteenth century, was a possession of Shrewsbury Abbey and, following the Dissolution, it was purchased – with many other of the Abbey’s lands – by Sir Rowland Hill in 1540. Hill passed on the property in 1560 to his great-nephew, Rowland Barker of Wollerton and, in 1586, Barker sold Betton along with Tunstall (q.v.) and other properties to his brother-in-law, John Preston. Preston, who was married to Isabel Barker, died in 1602, and their son sold on both Betton and Tunstall, in 1608 and 1611 respectively, to the Nantwich mercer William Church.

Church was a member of an old Cheshire family, whose Nantwich connections are still borne out by the distinguished half-timbered house in that town, known as Church’s Mansion, that was built by Richard Church. The form of their house at Betton at this time is not recorded, although it is known that Richard’s son, William Church (d. 1632) settled there. He was succeeded by his son, Richard (1582–1654), who had married Isabel, daughter of Arthur Sandford. In his time, the house might have provided shelter to King Charles I, since the diarist Richard Symonds describes how, on Tuesday May 20th 1645, having stayed at Chetwynd (q.v.) ‘The King lay at Church his howse in Drayton parish’.

By the eighteenth century, Betton had descended, along with Tunstall, to William Church (1679–1743) who had married Mary Aston, in 1703, and was the builder of the present house at Tunstall (q.v.). On his death, both properties passed to his son, Edward Church. Edward became mentally unstable and, after his death without heirs-male, his properties were divided between the older Edward’s daughters and their husbands.

Betton was inherited by his daughter, Mary and her husband, Lawrence Norcop. Their eldest son, William Church Norcop (1744–1822) eventually inherited and was Sheriff of Shropshire in 1813. Bagshawe’s Gazetteer in 1851 described Betton Hall as having been ‘considerably enlarged and beautified about forty years ago’ when it was quite possibly reworked with a view to Norcop’s impending term as Sheriff.