Monument record 1952/1/1 - Saighton Grange

<1> Knowles, D & Hadcock, RN, 1953, Medieval Religious Houses: England and Wales, /62 & 75 (Book). SCH2177.

Saighton was an important grange and abbots residence dependent on the Benedictine Abbey of Chester.

<2> Ormerod, G., 1882, The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester, Ormerod G 1882 2/770 (Book). SCH1389.

It was one of the three castellated residences of the Abbot of St Werburgh. The only part which remains is the gatehouse, which was built by Simon Ripley c.1489.

<3> Turner R C, 1859, Domestic Architecture of England - Richard II to Henry VIII, 2/219 (Book). SCH1068.

Licences to crenellate were granted in 22 Richard II (1398) and 11 Henry IV (1410).

<4> IPC Media, 1897-Present, Country Life, 23/738-48 1908 (Newspaper-Magazine). SCH993.

The grange was rebuilt in 1861 for the second Marquess of Westminster, from designs by E Hodkinson.

<5> English Heritage, 2005, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, 1138394: Gatehouse (Digital Archive). SCH4666.

Abbey Gate College Gatehouse: Grade I Listed

Description: Gatehouse, 1490, for Abbot Ripley of St Werburgh's Benedictine Abbey, Chester. Saighton Grange Gatehouse and buildings of Ince Manor, Ellesmere Port (q.v.) are the only surviving monastic manorial buildings in Cheshire. Red sandstone. Three storeys including archway. The corners left and right of the archway are recessed, and corbelled above to the main wall face. The four-centred arch (with hoodmould) contains 2 recessed segmental arches. There is a blocked arch in the right side. The second storey has a narrow single-light window over the crown of the entrance, one lancet to the front and one to the side of the left corner and a crenel to the right. A shared moulded cill links the lancets to an ornate oriel of 3 arched lights in the left wall. In the right wall is an inserted small, bevelled rectangular window (one light). String courses at second floor and third storey cill level. The third storey has mullioned windows of 4 arched lights, paired to the front and one in each side. All glazing is leaded. The crenellated parapet, with moulded string, projects. The raised, niched merlon, left, contains a stone statue. A taller, square stair turret stands at the rear left corner. Within the gatehouse archway is a blank embrasure to each side. The rear corners of the archway are bevelled, as if they were reveals to a former back arch to the gateway. The Victorian Grange (q.v.) abuts.

<6> Chester Archaeological Society, Journal of the Chester Archaeological Society, Ayrton W 1849 1/115-123 (Journal/Periodical). SCH1595.

<7> Cambrian Archaeological Association, 1846–present, Archaeologia Cambrensis, 10/207-8 1910 (Journal/Periodical). SCH305.

<8> Douglas J, 1872-5, The Abbey Square Sketch Book, 1871 (Book). SCH3014.

A view of the Grange before the present Victorian alterations is given in the Abbey Square Sketch Book.

<9> Tipping, English Homes Vol. 1:1485-1558, 1/XII-XXI+244 (Book). SCH1119.

<10> Ordnance Survey, 1870-1982, Ordnance Survey Archaeological Record Card, SJ46SW4 1986 (Index). SCH2487.

<11> Earthworks Archaeological Services, 2016, Initial Archaeological Monitoring, Rapid Evaluation and Recording at Abbey Gate College, Saighton Grange, Cheshire, R3837 (Client Report). SCH7966.

An archaeological watching brief was undertaken in 2016 at Abbey Gate College during ground works associated with the construction of a new sports pavilion and associated car park. Seven test pits were machine excavated within the location of the proposed pavilion structure and car park. Where possible these were excavated down to the level of the underlying natural geology. The test pits identified the fills to both a former pond and a field boundary ditch. Post medieval agricultural soils were also encountered. No features, deposits or finds of archaeological significance were encountered.

<12> Peter de Figueiredo (Independent Consultant), 2017, Abbey Gate College VI Form Centre and Science Block, Saighton, Cheshire: Heritage Assessment, R4569 (Client Report). SCH9168.

Heritage assessment produced in 2017 for Abbey Gate College in support of proposed alterations and extension to the VI Form Centre, and an extension to the Science Block.

Before the Conquest, the Manor of Saighton was the property of the secular canons of St Werburgh, Chester. In 1092, when the church became a Benedictine Abbey, Saighton became part of the Abbey’s property. The building was the principal residence of the abbots of Chester and licences to crenellate were granted in 1272 and 1399. Following the Dissolution, the manor passed through several hands until it was acquired by the Grosvenor family of Eaton Hall in the 1840s. The second Marquess of Westminster commissioned the local architect Edward Hodkinson to build a house on the site, keeping only the medieval gateway. The Tithe map of 1840 shows the site prior to rebuilding, and an illustration from Ormerod’s History of Cheshire, 1819, gives an idea of what remained of the medieval house prior to rebuilding. Work began on the new house in 1861 with the construction of the west wing, followed by the service wing in 1867 and the east wing in 1876. In 1977 the house, incorporating the medieval gateway, ancilliary buildings and grounds was acquired by Abbey Gate College for use as a school (see CHER 15529).