The origins of the Trentham Estate and buildings can be traced back to the 7th century when it was part of the kingdom of Mercia. Werburgh, daughter of Wulfhere, King of Mercia, 657-674, founded a nunnery at Trentham about 670 and became its first Abbess. The nunnery thrived and eventually became a priory, retaining this status until the 16th century when it was dissolved by Henry VIII.

In 1539, Henry, who had taken possession of  the priory and adjoining land, made a gift of them by deed of grant to Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, who quickly profited from his good fortune by selling only two days later to Sir Thomas Pope. Within a year, Pope sold out to James Leveson, from whom the Sutherland family can trace their possession of the Trentham Estate.

A new and much larger house was erected on this site in the early 18th century, designed by Francis Smith and modelled on the Queen's Palace in St. James's. This was eventually enlarged from nine to 15 bays by Capability Brown and Holland in 1768-78, about the same time that the impressive lake and gardens were landscaped. In 1833, the second Duke of Sutherland commissioned Sir Charles Barry, the architect of the Houses of Parliament, to remodel and make extensive alterations to the existing house. By 1841, the Duke had managed to spend £123,000 on improvements to Trentham Hall and estates."