Darnhall housed a hunting lodge for the Earls of Chester.
The last of the earls met his death there in 1237, John of Scotland, 7th Earl of Chester, the title given to him by his mother Matilda, the rightful holder.
He moved there and was married to Elen, the daughter of Llewelyn the Great, and it is rumoured that Elen poisoned her husband.
As a result, King Henry lll annexed the title and spent time there himself. In 1270, two years before he died, he was petitioned by his son, The Prince of Wales and future King Edward I, to hand the estate to the Cistercian monks who, in 1274, built Darnhall Abbey.
There is a story the reason for this is The Prince of Wales, Edward, the future King of England, was on his way back from an expedition to the Holy Land.
His ship got into difficulty, and at the point of possible shipwreck, he vowed that if he were saved, he would found an abbey dedicated to The Virgin Mary.
Legend has it the vow seemed to be accepted as immediately the ship righted itself and all were saved, and as soon as they were all safely on land, the boat sank at its moorings.
The new king issued the foundation order for a new Monastery of St Mary to be built at Darnhall in the royal forest of Delamere (no trace of this monastery can now be found).
The site, however, proved unsuitable. The monks elected for the location to be moved to the current Whitegate on the banks of the River Weaver.
On August 13, 1277, King Edward laid the foundation stone for the High Altar and dedicated the new Abbey to The Virgin and St Nicholas.
The monks from Dore Abbey moved in and remained there until Henry VIII attained the throne, and the monasteries were dissolved. Vale Royal Abbey was closed in 1538 and was handed to Thomas Holcroft.
Darnhall Hall was built on the site of Darnhall Abbey in the 17th century, rebuilt during the 18th century, and remodelled in 1847.
Sir Reginald Corbett held the estate, which included the old Raven Inn; there is a raven on the family crest.
The hall and lands remained so until 1860, when the estate was broken up and sold to many landowners. The house and gardens were sold to James Haigh.
Mr Haigh was rendered bankrupt when his Over Mill burnt down just after the insurance ran out.
Thomas Knowles took ownership of the hall and a large part of the land.
He was a businessman interested in coal mining, cotton spinning, and bleaching and was Conservative MP for Wigan from 1874 to 1883. He died aged 59 at Darnhall Hall.
The Knowles family held the hall until 1889, when William Henry Verdin purchased the property and land.
With his brother Joseph, they donated the Verdin Brine Baths in Winsford Market Place to the community, one of many charitable donations made by the Verdin family to the local area.
William Henry was a Justice of the Peace, Deputy Lord Lieutenant, and later High Sheriff of Cheshire in 1897.
When he moved from Highfield House in Wharton to Darnhall Hall, he donated Highfield House to the town, which became the Albert Infirmary.
Next week we will 'spend a day' at Darnhall Hall on July 23, 1890, when the Verdin family held a fete for its Salt Union employees.
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