The Keele estate was purchased by William Sneyd in 1540 and remained in the family until 1948 when it was acquired by the Stoke-on-Trent Corporation. The Sneyds were successful drapers and merchants in Chester and increased their wealth through marriage. After the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII, Sir William Sneyd bought the Keele estate and other lands. The first Keele Hall was built in 1580 though nothing remains from this time apart from the quarry. It was Ralph Sneyd (1793-1870) who rebuilt the Hall. Eldest son of Walter Sneyd, M.P. for Castle Rising and Louisa Bagot, daughter of William Bagot, 1st Baron Bagot, he was educated at Eton and Oxford.

He inherited the estate and house from his father in 1829, which he proceeded to rebuild, developing the garden from 1830. He acquired more land and expanded the village. He went into the business of mining coal without much success. In 1848 he hired Andrew Thompson to run his estate, who introduced improved farming methods. Sneyd hired the architect Anthony Salvin (1799-1881) to remodel Keele Hall from 1854 to 1860. Sneyd was also a keen collector of manuscripts. Upon his death, his estate passed to his brother Walter and then his nephew Ralph (1863-1949) who rented it to the Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia from 1901 to 1910. It now forms the campus of Keele University.