History, Heritage and Architecture on the Combermere Abbey House Tour
From April to June, Combermere Abbey in South Cheshire opens its doors to the public for guided tours of its beautiful manor house. I recently joined one of those tours for a fascinating insight into the history of this remarkable estate and how the current mansion came to look the way it does. Read on for my thoughts on the Combermere Abbey public house tour.
The tour begins with two short films, the first, a 5-minute history of Combermere Abbey up to present day and the second 2-minute film is dedicated to the north wing restoration which was carried out in 2014.
Following this, our guide Myra, who is incredibly knowledgeable talked us through Combermere’s history in more detail, before setting off to look around the interiors.
I have combined details of Combermere’s history with the parts of the house you see on the tour and sectioned it into their responding times periods, starting with the abbey’s early history and finishing with the most recent restorations.
Early History
Starting life as a Cistercian monastery in 1133, the original Abbots Hall survived the dissolution of the monasteries in 1536, when land was handed back to the crown. Henry VIII passed the land at Combermere to a trusted supporter, Sir George Cotton who started to have the abbey dismantled. There is evidence that some of that stone ended up being used to construct buildings in the nearby village of Wrenbury. Only the Abbots Hall which had served as a refectory remained and formed the basis of the current manor house.
An interesting discovery was made in 2011 when investigating the bulging in the downstairs hallway corridor walls. After boring a few holes through the stone walls, a series of 10 narrow arches were found, which turned out to be from the abbey’s cloister windows. This means that ahead of the dissolution, the Abbots had built their lodge over part of the cloisters, an area that should have disappeared when the rest of the abbey church and claustral buildings were removed. One of these bore holes has been left open so that you can see the cloister window arches for yourself as part of the house tour.
Sir George Cotton died when his son and heir Richard was only a year old. Richard went on to build his Elizabethan house around the original Abbots Hall. The style of the building was a traditional Tudor design, so the abbey would have been the half-timbered black and white Tudor style that Cheshire is particularly well known for. Check out Little Moreton Hall for a well-known example. As part of the Combermere Abbey house tour, you see an impressive painting situated on the stairway, by Peter Tillerman c.1730. This shows the beautiful 16th century Tudor woodwork of the Elizabethan abbey.
Richard Cotton became responsible for the first major remodelling of the Abbots Hall (dated at 1563), which is visible on the house tour. Now called the library, the Abbots Hall is certainly a sight to be seen.
The Abbots Hall
The Abbots Hall / library was the owner’s statement of wealth and the most prestigious room in the house. It is where successive owners would have wined and dined their guests; indeed, it is still used in this manner which we see by the modern drinks tray present in the room.
The 14-foot oak fireplace surround (pictured above) is absolutely stunning and dates back to Richard Cotton’s remodelling. The oak screen (pictured below) which fills the wall through which you enter the room was added a century later.
On the Combermere Abbey house tour, you spend a good 20 minutes in the grand library learning all about its structure, what has changed over the years and the stories behind the paintings and heraldic display around the top of the walls, a 19th century addition to the room. There are 22 coats of arms belonging to the Cotton family. These are displayed starting with the earliest Cotton by the entrance door and descending along the marital line. The smaller shields which run in three lines along the north wall (seen in the top left of the above image) belong to the local neighbouring gentry. To great amusement of our tour group, we learned they were added by Stapleton Cotton (the first Viscount Combermere at the time) as a gesture to sway favour with those neighbours.
The 1800’s Remodelling of Combermere Abbey
Combermere Abbey has been extended and remodelled a number of times over the centuries, receiving its more recognisable appearance in 1820 when remodelled in the popular Gothic style under the ownership of Stapleton Cotton, who was probably the most well-known of the Cottons.
We learn on the tour that the original black and white Tudor architecture is still unbelievably present in the fabric of the building. The stucco cladding that was added in the 1800’s was just applied over the top of the original building. The black and white timbers were discovered during more recent restorations. Unfortunately, those restorations were not able to bring back any of the Tudor architecture. The building had to be restored to exactly what it was beforehand which is the white mock Gothic stucco finish.
Between 1814 – 1820, Stapleton Cotton also extended the abbey to include a servants’ wing, a game larder, a bell tower and the now demolished Wellington Wing, which was built to commemorate Wellington’s visit to Combermere in 1820. You get to see both the octagonal game larder and bell tower on the Combermere Abbey house tour.
A small part of the Wellington Wing remains to the right of the main entrance of Combermere Abbey. The wall sticking out to the right of the house with three window openings is part of the remaining wall of the Wellington ballroom. The Wellington Wing was knocked down in 1972 due to major damp and rot conditions. It was not required to be kept under the listing status of the house due to it being an addition and not part of the original structure.
Recent Restorations of Combermere Abbey
There has been a huge programme of restoration undertaken since the current owner Sarah Callander Beckett took ownership of Combermere Abbey in 1992.
To start with, the stables which were built in 1837 by Stapleton Cotton, were converted into 9 luxury self-catering holiday cottages (I so want to stay in one of these now!) The walled garden was given a new life as a stunning wedding venue with the gardens being extended to almost 30 acres in size. You pass the beautiful brick stables on the mile long drive to the abbey and the walled gardens are situated behind the stables. These projects have enabled funds to be raised to continue with further on-going restoration.
The octagonal game larder and clock tower were restored next and lastly, in 2014, the north wing of the main house which was in a poor state was brought back to life and turned into a bridal suite and B&B. There is no public access to the north wing – you would need to be a paying guest to see this area.
There are minimal rooms of the house itself actually available to be seen on the tour which I wasn’t expecting, however, the information and detail about the architecture and the length of time we were able to spend in the grand library made up for this.
It was fascinating seeing the unusual octagonal game larder which you are also able to go inside. It sits in the courtyard alongside the private area of the house which is still lived in. The clock tower is also a beauty and holds an unusual clock face with Gothic numerals instead of the typical Roman numerals. Since being restored, the clock tower has become the estate office.
Along one edge of the courtyard is a range of dilapidated buildings which is the last part of the abbey that requires restoration. It was great to see this area of the estate on the house tour as you feel like you’re on the journey of restoration with everyone at Combermere Abbey. You see the whole story including what’s still to be done.
Final Thoughts on the Combermere Abbey House Tour
The Combermere Abbey house tour won’t be for everyone. However, if you are fascinated by history and architecture then this is the perfect tour for you! Although stated online as 90 minutes long, the tour was actually over two hours and our guide Myra was extremely knowledgeable and happy to answer questions at any point. There was no being rushed around on this tour!
Unfortunately, the gardens and wider estate are not accessible at Combermere Abbey unless you are staying in one of the cottages or are part of a wedding party (for the walled gardens). However, you do get a good picture of the rolling landscape on the mile long drive in and a stunning view over the mere from the back of the house. You spend a considerable amount of time on the huge back lawn while discussing the appearance of the abbey, so you get plenty of time to drink in those beautiful mere views.
Visitor Information
The Combermere Abbey house tours take place on selected Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays between April and June. Visit the Combermere Abbey website to book onto a tour. Pre-booking is essential.
Officially the tours last for 90 minutes, however ours went on for over 2 hours. There was no rushing around and the guide actively encourages questions and takes time to explain any points further. Access to a toilet is available should you need one.
The cost of the tours is £12.50 / adult. Combermere Abbey is part of the Historic Houses Association (HHA), so tours are free for members.
You can also join one of the (mostly monthly) VIP tours which includes afternoon tea, plus you get to meet Sarah Callander Beckett herself. Tickets for this are £25.
Parking can be found around the circle of driveway in front of the main house entrance. There are directional signs for the house tours at various points along the drive.
Unfortunately there is no photography or filming allowed inside the house, so I was only able to photograph the outside. Many thanks to Sarah Callander Beckett and Combermere Abbey for allowing me to use their grand library images.
Get in Touch!
Have you visited Combermere Abbey before? Have you been lucky enough to attend a wedding there or hired one of the cottages? Drop me a line in the comments box below – I’d love to hear from you.
If you’ve enjoyed reading this, please subscribe to my blog via email over on my profile page to receive notifications of when new posts go live. You can also sign up to receive my newsletter, or follow me through Bloglovin’. Then head on over to Facebook, Instagram or Twitter to keep up with all my travel related news. Hope to see you there.
Further Reading…
Out and About in Cheshire? Check out these other places for inspiration of where to visit.
- Have a look around the village of Tarporley.
- Investigate the beautiful black and white timbered building of Little Moreton Hall.
- Visit the Cheshire Ice Cream Farm – so much more than just ice cream!
- Find inspiration in this round up of the best beauty spots in East Cheshire.
- Check out my favourite Cheshire farm shop: The Hollies.
- Everything you need to know about the Cheshire Steam Fair, a fun filled event usually held in July near Warrington.
- What to see on a walk at Risley Moss Nature Reserve near Warrington.
- Visiting Macclesfield? Then stop in at Amy’s Courtyard and gallery for lunch.
- Head out on a walk at Wigg Island in Runcorn
- Right on the border with Greater Manchester is Dunham Massey – have a look at their gardens in spring.
PIN FOR LATER
Share this:
Leave A Comment