Combermere Abbey, a complex of medieval and 16th century buildings with extensive Gothic enveloping (of the early 19th century), began as a Cistercian monastery founded in 1133 by Hugh de Malbanc, Lord of Nantwich. It sits overlooking a 143 acre lake and set in gentle rolling parkland filled with ancient oaks.
Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII in 1536, only the Abbot's Lodge (built in 1503) remained, which together with twenty-two thousand acres of land were presented to the Cotton family, who created a manor house and owned the estate until 1919. The house has undergone several remodellings, but the magnificent oak hammerbeam roof and screen still form part of today's house, although now enclosed by a highly decorated 17th century ceiling featuring four centuries of the Cotton family's coats of arms.
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