Hall was an academic in the adult education department at
Hull University until 1984, when he moved to London to work for
English Heritage. particularly the historic hearts of
Hull and
Beverley, as well as nationally important buildings such as
Buxton Crescent in
Derbyshire, in part through bodies such as
The Georgian Group,
Save Britain's Heritage and
The Victorian Society. He was an early adopter of
listing to protect historic buildings and fought many public enquiries. In the early 1980s he and his wife were among the campaigners who sought − in a case that went to the
House of Lords − to prevent development next to
Beverley Minster in Yorkshire.
Georgian Hull (1979),
John Carr of York, Architect: A Pictorial Survey and
John Carr of York: Collected Essays (2023). Hall's personal archive on John Carr was deposited with the
Heritage Trust for the North West in
Nelson, Lancashire, in 2019. ==Personal life and death==