Ince Grange

Has been described as a Possible Fortified Manor House

There are major building remains

NameInce Grange
Alternative NamesInce Manor; Ins; Jus
Historic CountryCheshire
Modern AuthorityCheshire
1974 AuthorityCheshire
Civil ParishInce

Ince Manor was a grange of the Benedictine Monastery of St Werburgh, Chester and was one of the chief properties soon after the Conquest. In 1399 license to crenellate the manor house was granted. The hall and a domestic range, now known as the Manor and Monastery Cottages, are still substantially complete. The hall is of early C15 date with windows of late C15/early C16. The domestic range probably belongs to the late C13/C14. The two buildings occupy two sides of a rectangular space still defined by walls and hedges. Lengths of foundation walls, now incorporated in garden boundaries, are clear evidence of a further building occupying a third (the south) side. Remnants of a filled-in moat or ditch are visible behind Monastery Cottages, and north of Ince Manor at the bend in the lane, a rock-cut ditch can be seen in the front gardens of a pair of recently built houses. There are also the remains, probably of small fishponds, in the field immediately north of the Manor. Park Cottages, south of the group, incorporate Medieval stonework and may be a former barn. (PastScape–ref. Davey and Williams, 1975)

Gatehouse Comments

The licence to crenellate granted in 1399 was confirmed, at the cost of a mark (13s. 4d.), in 1410. The abbey was supposedly in financial difficulty, although the abbot was profligate in his spending. The confirmation may suggest little or no work was done in the years after 1399 and that a new building programme was intended in 1410, alternatively an additional programme of work was intended after the completion of the domestic ranges.

- Philip Davis

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law

This is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law

Historic England Scheduled Monument Number
Historic England Listed Building number(s)
Images Of England
Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceSJ449765
Latitude53.2822189331055
Longitude-2.82642006874084
Eastings344950
Northings376550
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Books

  • Emery, Anthony, 2000, Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales Vol. 2 East Anglia, Central England and Wales (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) p. 477
  • Lewis, J., 1994, Ince Manor, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire
  • de Figueiredo, P. and Treuherz, J., 1988, Cheshire Country Houses (Chichester: Phillimore) p. 245-6
  • Thompson, Patience, 1983, Ince Manor: medieval monastic buildings on the Mersey Marshes (Cheshire monographs 5)
  • Platt, C., 1969, The Monastic Grange in Medieval England p. 210
  • Burne, R.V.H., 1962, The Monks of Chester. The History of St Werburgh's Abbey
  • Slater, F.G., 1919, A Cheshire Parish: being a short history of Ince
  • Turner, T.H. and Parker, J.H., 1859, Some account of Domestic Architecture in England (Oxford) Vol. 3 Part 2 p. 219, 420 online copy
  • Ormerod, G., 1819, History of the County Palatine and city of Chester (London) Vol. 2 p. 12-13 (tenurial history) online copy

Journals

  • 1984, Moated Sites Research Group report Vol. 11 p. 32
  • Davey, P.J. and Williams, S.R., 1975, Cheshire Archaeological Bulletin p. 25-28

Primary Sources

  • Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1909, Calendar of Patent Rolls Richard II (1396-99) Vol. 6 p. 522 online copy
  • Maxwell Lyte, H.C. (ed), 1909, Calendar of Patent Rolls Henry IV (1408-13) Vol. 4 p. 160 online copy

Other

  • English Heritage, 2011, Heritage at Risk Register 2011 North West (London: English Heritage) p. 24 online copy