Scheduled MonumentsEnglandVale Royal Abbey

Vale Royal Abbey

England
List entry 1016862
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1016862
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
3.4 hectares
Grid reference
SJ 63859 69883
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

Vale Royal Abbey is a Cistercian monastery founded in 1270 by Edward I in Cheshire, situated near the River Weaver. The abbey was established as a house of considerable wealth and importance within the Cistercian order, benefiting from royal patronage and extensive landholdings across the north-west of England. The surviving remains include parts of the abbatial complex and fragments of the claustral buildings, though much of the medieval structure was lost following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the sixteenth century. The site has been subject to archaeological investigation and restoration work, and portions of the abbey's stone buildings remain visible, representing one of the significant monastic foundations of the late medieval period.

Vale Royal Abbey is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1016862. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Vale Royal Abbey?

Vale Royal Abbey is a Cistercian monastery founded in 1270 by Edward I in Cheshire, situated near the River Weaver. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1016862.

Who is responsible for protecting Vale Royal Abbey?

Vale Royal Abbey is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1016862.

What other scheduled monuments are near Vale Royal Abbey?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Bowl barrow 160m north-east of Moultonbank Farm (1.6 km), Marton moated monastic grange, three fishponds, connecting channels and base of stone cross (2.8 km), Cross base at Salterswall on the road junction 150m WNW of Westholme Farm (3.1 km).

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Everything a full report reveals about Vale Royal Abbey

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Vale Royal Abbey's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.
Monuments
The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.
Battlefields
The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.
Roman Britain
The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.
Domesday
The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.
Civil War
The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.
LiDAR
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.
Local Names
What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.
Historical Maps
Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.
Literature
The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Legal
The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Target Zones
For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.
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The ground beneath

The bedrock under Vale Royal Abbey

Vale Royal Abbey stands on Triassic Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Triassic. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.