More information : [SJ 6227 6753] Marton Grange [G.T.] (Site of) [Moat shown
on 6"] Bridge on site [T.I.] Drawbridge [G.T.] (1)
Marton Grange at Winsford, an early 17th c. mansion of wood and
plaster, was demolished in 1848 (2)
The moat is stil in existence enclosing an area of about an acre. (3)
The moat is mainly water-filled and is well preserved. There is
no trace of Marton Grange. Published survey (25" 1910) revised. (4)
Survey of 13.2.62. checked and found correct. (5)
Excavations in 1971 uncovered the original course of the moat, inside
the later circuit, robber trenches and demolition debris from the 1848 destruction of the manor house and a series of ?pre-moat gulleys. It was suggested that, in the absence of any evidence for
permanent medieval occupation, monks may have visited the grange only
briefly from Vale Royal. The first moat is linked to the enlarging of the site in the later 16th century. (6)
SJ 6226 6754. Marton moated monastic grange, three fishponds,
connecting channels and base of stone cross. Scheduled RSM No 13519.
The remains are located within three separate constraint areas.
The island measures 68m x 37m and is surounded by a largely stone-
lined waterlogged moat 6m - 18m wide and 1.5m deep. Access to the
island is via a brick and sandstone bridge across the E arm of the
moat. Two brick pillars stand on the island flanking the entrance
and a brick wall runs along the island's NE edge. A partially
waterlogged outlet channel 2m wide and 1.3m deep issues from the
moat's NE corner and runs in a NE direction for some 110m before
turning NW to run for a further 105m. This channel is cut in two by
a railway embankment. A partially waterlogged channel 1.5m - 3m wide
and 1.3m deep issues from the moat's N arm a little W of centre and
runs in a N direction for some 90m, where it connects with a boggy
fishpond measuring 26m x 9m x 1m deep. A second drain runs parallel
and connects the SE corner of the pond with a dry fishpond 12m square
located close to the moat's NW arm. A short distance to the E of the
boggy ground is a dry fishpond measuring 15m x 13m that partly
underlies the railway embankment. The sandstone base of a cross
carved from a 60cm cube of stone is set into the ground adjacent to
the entrance drive to Marton Hall.
Marton was a monastic grange of Vale Royal Abbey. Records for it
begin about 1220, the probable date of Ranulph de Merton's
entitlement to the land. A quitclaim of 1284 mentions a fishery at
the site. At the end of the 13th century the manor of Merton passed
to Vale Royal Abbey. In 1539 the Abbey lands were confiscated by the
king and granted to Thomas Holdcroft, who sold them to the
Mainwaring family. A Tudor manor house was built on the island and
at the end of the 16th century the moat was enlarged. The estate
passed through several owners and the manor house was eventually
demolished in 1848 when a new hall was built a short distance SE
of the island.
Limited excavations on the island and within the moat revealed
drainage ditches and internal divisions of the island, pottery of
14th to 16th century type associated with the grange, good
preservation of organic materials and substantial remains of the
Tudor manor house. The sandstone bridge is excluded from the
Scheduling. (7)
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