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Cistercian Abbeys: COMBERMERE Name: COMBERMERE Location: nr Whitchurch
County: Cheshire The abbey at Combermere, dedicated to St. Mary and St. Michael, was founded in 1133 by Hugh Malbank. The foundation charter was witnessed by Ranulf II, earl of Chester, who Malbank wished to be regarded as the principle founder and protector of the abbey.(1) It was settled by monks from Savigny, and became a Cistercian monastery when the Savignac Order was merged with the Cistercians in 1147. Over the next century the house attracted enough recruits to be able to provide colonies for three daughter houses: Poulton (1153), Stanlaw (1172) and Hulton (founded 1218-1220).(2) The assessment
of 1535 shows that the abbey had a gross income of £258,
and the house was surrendered three years later.(3) After
the Dissolution the
house was acquired by Sir George Cotton, who adapted parts of the
building as a private house. The house was extensively modified
in the nineteenth century, to such an extent that it would now
be difficult to identify the original structures. In 1837 a Jacobean
style stable block was erected on the estate. Both the stable and
the house now make up ‘Combermere Abbey Cottages’,
a holiday resort set in 1000 acres of parkland. There are no
obvious visible
remains of the monastery though it is thought that it is the present
day country house occupies the site of the east cloister range.(4)
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