Ince Grange

Also known as, or recorded in historical documents as; Ince Manor; Ins; Jus

In the civil parish of Ince. In the historic county of Cheshire (Modern Authority of Cheshire, 1974 county of Cheshire).

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)
The licence to crenellate granted in 1399 was confirmed, at the cost of a Mark, 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.

This site is a scheduled monument protected by law. This is a Grade 1 listed building protected by law*. (Images of England number 56301)

The Ordnance Survey Map Grid Reference is SJ44957655

Air Photo from Air Photo and general mapping	1st edition OS Map from Mid to late 19th century maps
Modern Map from Landscape form and features	Modern Map from General location and route planning
Geograph British Isles occasionally has photos of the site and will usually give an idea of the surrounding landscape.

Sources of information, references and further reading

This site's English Heritage (PastScape) Defra or Monument number is 69558
This site's County Historic Environment Record (formerly Sites and Monuments Record) number is 19/4/0 'grey' literature, such as watching brief reports, held by H.E.R.s is often poorly referenced and is unlikely to be recorded in this website.

• Books
  • Emery, Anthony, 2000, Greater Medieval Houses Vol2 (Cambridge) p477
    Lewis, J., 1994, Ince Manor, Ellesmere Port, Cheshire
    de Figueiredo, P. and Treuherz, J., 1988, Cheshire Country Houses (Chichester: Phillimore) p245-6
    Thompson, Patience, 1983, Ince Manor: medieval monastic buildings on the Mersey Marshes (Cheshire monographs 5)
    Platt, C., 1969, The Monastic Grange in Medieval England p210
    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) Vol3 pt2 p219, 420
• Journal Articles
  • 1984, Moated Sites Research Group report Vol11 p32
    Davey, P.J. and Williams, S.R., 1975, Cheshire Archaeological Bulletin pp25-28
• Primary (Medieval documents or transcriptions of such documents - This section is far from complete and the secondary sources should be consulted for full references.)
  • Calendar of Patent Rolls (1396-99) p552
    Calendar of Patent Rolls (1408-13) p160