The Endcliffe estate can be traced back to 1333 when John de Redcliffe was awarded a financial grant; at that time, the estate extended considerably and took inland between the Porter and Sheaf valleys. It is believed that the first Endcliffe Hall was built in the reign of George II (1727 - 1760), although Sheffield historian J. Edward Vickers says there may have been an earlier building on the site. The hall was owned from 1818 by the merchant William Hodgson and included 50 acres (200,000 m2) of land and cost £6,700. The gallery later passed to Henry Wilkinson, a Sheffield silversmith, before being bought by John Brown in August 1860.

Brown had previously lived at the large seven bedroomed houses of Shirle Hill in Cherry Tree Road, Nether Edge and entertained the Prime Minister Lord Palmerston there in 1862. However, Brown was looking for a more impressive structure to entertain his visitors and wanted a building that was specially adapted for dispensing hospitalities on a scale worthy of such distinguished visitors”. Brown’s first action on acquiring the building was to pull the old hall down and replace it with the current building, which cost £100,000 to build with a further £60,000 spent on the furnishings. Brown was determined to use Sheffield artisans during the work on the hall. In addition to the architects Flockton & Abbot, he employed local firms such as John Jebson Smith (staircases), Longden & Co. (kitchen stoves), Messrs Craven (ornamental plasterwork), William Gibson (carpentry), Mr Pitt (plumbing and glazing) and John and Joseph Rogers (decorating).

Such was the rarity of such a fine building being erected in Sheffield at that time, that when the hall was finished, it was opened to the public for three days attracting huge crowds and much praise with the Sheffield Telegraph calling it “the public advantage of personal munificence” in its edition of 24 May 1865. After the death of his wife in 1881, Brown gradually withdrew from public life, his health deteriorated, and he spent increasing amounts of time in southern England. John Brown left Endcliffe Hall for the last time in 1892 and sold Endcliffe Hall for £26,000 in 1895 (a year before his death) to Barber Brothers and Wortley for building development. The development never took place, and various plans were proposed for the hall’s future. In 1913 the hall was in danger of demolition. Colonel George Ernest Branson of the 4th Hallamshire Battalion suggested that the hall could replace the Hyde Park Barracks as the headquarters of the Battalion. The War Office endorsed the plan in January 1914. The house was sold to the Reserve Forces and Cadets Association for use by the Territorial Army and became the Hallamshire headquarters. Before the Battalion moved in, several alterations were needed. These included converting the stables and coach house into a drill hall.

Endcliffe Hall remained the HQ of the Hallamshire until 1968, when the battalion was disbanded. Today the hall and grounds are still owned by the RFCA and is the Regimental Headquarters of Army Reserve unit 212 (Yorkshire) Field Hospital. Access to the settings is limited for the general public as the military is on a constant terrorist security alert.