Vale Royal Abbey dates back to the 13th century when it was founded by Prince Edward, the future King Edward I. The building is steeped in history, and the key historical events are captured here:

1263 – Prince Edward, the future King Edward I, was undertaking a sea voyage from France when his ship was caught in a terrible storm. He made a vow that if he came safe to land he would found an Abbey of unprecedented size and grandeur as a thanksgiving to God for saving him.

1266 – negotiations were in hand for the establishment of a monastery of Cistercian monks in the secluded location of Darnhall in Cheshire.

1274 – preparation of the site of Edward’s new Abbey would begin with the arrival of the first monks, lead by Abbot John Chaumpeneys, from Dore Abbey.

1276 – the site of the new Abbey provoked anger, resentment and strong resistance from the people of the area, and the Darnhall site itself was found to be unsuitable for the huge buildings planned. Edward, by now King, agreed to move the Abbey to a more suitable site and a location was chosen in nearby Over, which was henceforth known as Vale Royal.

1277 – the King and Queen and numerous great nobles arrived at Over to lay the foundation stones of the new Abbey.

1290s – work stopped for at least a decade, and was only resumed on a much reduced scale to the original plans.

1330s – the monks had managed to complete the east end of the church (the rest remained a shell) and sufficient of the cloister buildings to make the place habitable, though far from complete.

1350s – Edward the Black Prince took an interest in completing the Abbey and donated substantial funds to the job. Work began on completing the shell of the nave and making the east end even grander.

1360 – a hurricane swept across Cheshire in October and brought the arcades of the unfinished nave crashing down in ruins. It was subsequently agreed under the patronage of Richard II to finish the Abbey on a much reduced scale from what was originally planned.

1439 – the Abbey was taken under Royal supervision.

1538 – the process of dissolution at Vale Royal began by Thomas Holcroft, one of the King’s commissioners.

1539 – Thomas Holcroft demolished the church, telling King Henry in a letter that it was “plucked down”.

1544 – King Henry confirmed Holcroft as the new owner by granting him the Abbey and a great deal of its estates for the sum of £450.

1615 – the Abbey came into the hands of the Cholmondeley family (pronounced "Chumley"). The widowed Lady Mary Cholmondeley (1562-1625), a powerful woman with extensive properties in the area, bought the Abbey as a home for herself when her eldest son inherited the primary family estates at Cholmondeley.

1617 – Lady Cholmondeley entertained James I to a stag hunting party at Vale Royal. The King enjoyed himself so much that he gave knighthoods to two members of the family.

1625 – at Lady Mary Cholmondeley’s death she passed the Abbey and estate on to her fourth son, Thomas, who founded the Vale Royal branch of the family.

1907 – Vale Royal was rented out to Robert Dempster, a wealthy stockbroker from Manchester.

1934 – another Cholmondeley, Thomas, 4th Lord Delamere, moved in to the Abbey, only to be forced out in 1939 when the government took over Vale Royal to serve as a sanatorium for soldiers of World War II.

1947 – the Cholmondeleys sold the Abbey to ICI. The chemical company initially used the Abbey as staff accommodation and then, from 1954 to 1961, as the headquarters for its Alkali Division.

1961 – ICI moved out and for some years the future of Vale Royal was in doubt. There were abortive schemes to use the Abbey as a health centre, a country club, a school and even a prison (this latter proposal was resisted by local inhabitants as strongly, though less violently, as the original foundation of the Abbey had been, and did not happen!)

1977 – the Abbey was made into a residential care home for people with learning difficulties.

1998 – Vale Royal Abbey officially reopened as the venue we know today.

Present Day– Nothing remains of the great church, though archaeological work has revealed many details of its structure. A stone circular monument, known as the 'Nun's Grave', traditionally commemorates a fourteenth century Cheshire nun, Ida, who tended a sick Vale Royal abbot, and on her death was buried at the site of the high altar.

The monument was erected by the Cholmondeley family, possibly to lend credence to the legend of the nun. The material in its construction comes from three sources: the head made from a medieval cross with four panels depicting the Crucifixion, the Virgin and Child, St. Catherine, and St. Nicholas; the shaft, made in the seventeenth century and made of sandstone; and a plinth made from reclaimed Abbey masonry. The present country house on the site incorporates substantial parts of the south and west ranges of the Abbey plus Holcroft's Tudor house.

Today, the buildings bear the Georgian splendour introduced by the Cholmondeley family in the 19th Century and just as you’d expect, the surrounding gardens and grounds are exquisite – offering the perfect backdrop to a magnificent venue. Flower clad walkways, formal gardens, panoramic views of the Cheshire countryside and a serene lake all help to create a truly picturesque setting.

Download a more comprehensive History of Vale Royal Abbey

The historical events and descriptions included in the above have been produced via information provided from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vale_Royal_Abbey and has been reproduced in best knowledge that any persons and facts detailed are correct at the time of compilation and display. Should any details be found to be incorrect please forward any relevant information to manager@vra.co.uk

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