Monument record 815/2 - Darnhall Abbey

<1> Ordnance Survey, 1870-1982, Ordnance Survey Archaeological Record Card, SJ 66 SW 2 (Index). SCH2487.

Darnhall Hall on the site of Darnhall Abbey (Cistercian, founded AD 1274). Darnhall Hall has been demolished and the site is now overgrown. No trace of the Abbey was found. [TP Waggot, FI. 15/02/1962].

<2> Lumby, JH, 1902, Chester, Birkenhead and Liverpool in the Patent and Close Rolls of the three Edwards, p.65 (Article in Journal). SCH9161.

Established following a vow by the future Edward I on his return from the Holy Land, when his vessel was in danger of shipwreck. In 1266 Edward settled a hundred monks of the Cistercian order from Dore Abbey on his manor of Dernhall, with the intention of finding a more suitable location for their monastery.

<3> Colvin H.M. (ed), 1963-1982, The History of the King's Works, Vol.II (Book). SCH3161.

<4> Bostock, T and Hogg, S., 1998?, Vale Royal Abbey and the Cistercians 1277-1538 (Booklet-Leaflet). SCH8843.

The Early Foundation at Darnhall. Charter issued in 1270 to the abbot and monks of the Abbey situated in the manor of Darnhall. Darnhall was a manor held directly by the earls of Chester annexed to the Crown on the death of John Le Scot, 7th Earl of Chester in 1237.

<5> McNeil R & Turner RC, 1988, An Architectural and Topographical Study of Vale Royal Abbey, p.53 (Article in Journal). SCH250.

Vale Royal abbey was founded to honour a vow made by Edward I, then earl of Chester, after he had been saved from shipwreck in the Mediterranean in 1263-4. It was not until 1270 that he was able to carry out his promise. The first community, from Abbey Dore, in Herefordshire, arrived at Darnhall, just south of Winsford, in 1273, and took over a manor house and estate of the earls of Chester which had passed to the Crown in 1237. After four years a new location was found (Vale Royal), therefore the accommodation at Darnhall may have been only temporary or may have proved inadequate for a large monastery.

<6> Studd, JR, 1978, The Lord Edward’s Lordship of Chester, 1254-72, p.17 (Article in Journal). SCH9162.

Edward's last visit to Cheshire before his accession was in January 1270. Edward had sworn a vow after a particularly stormy crossing of the Channel in the winter of 1263/4 that he would found a religious house as a token of his gratitude for reaching safety. It seems likely that not only was Darnhall, in Delamere Forest, selected as the site of the new abbey during this visit but that initial arrangements were made for its endowment. The foundation charter for Edward's new Cistercian house at Darnhall was issued at Winchester on 2 August following.

<7> Elrington CR & Harris BE, 1980, Victoria County History - A History of the County of Chester: Volume III, p.156-165 (Book). SCH9163.

According to its own historian, Vale Royal owed its foundation to a vow in the winter of 1263-4 during a stormy voyage from France by the future Edward I when he was returning from the Holy Land. He promised to found a Cistercian monastery of one hundred monks. In 1266 the general chapter of the Cistercian order authorized the abbots of Buildwas, Neath, and Flaxley to inspect the site proposed for the new house which was to be a daughter house of Abbey Dore. The site chosen was at Darnhall and on 2 August 1270 a foundation charter was issued for the monastery of St. Mary. It is likely that the original plan had already been modified as the endowment was hardly sufficient to support one hundred monks and, according to a later tradition, the house was founded for a community numbering only thirty. The monks from Dore did not arrive until February 1274 and the house had initial financial difficulties, with the abbot granted £30 from the exchequer of Chester to clear part of its debts and maintain the monks. In 1275 an annual grant of 50 marks was made to the abbot until land of that value could be assigned to him. Meanwhile the site had proved unsuitable for the new abbey and Edward permitted the monks to choose a more suitable one. The monkst had moved from Darnhall to temporary buildings at Vale Royal by 1281.

<8> Brownbill, J (ed), 1914, The Ledger Book of Vale Royal Abbey, p.1-19 (Book). SCH9164.