History of Darnhall

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF DARNHALL

by Michael Edwards, a local resident

Today Darnhall is a peaceful and quiet village just on the outskirts of Winsford, but in the past years it has seen its fair share of villainy and violence.

It was originally known as Dernehole (a hidden place) in Saxon times.

On the 7th June in 1237 John Scott the 7th Earl of Chester died at Darnhall Manor. Some say that his wife Helene poisoned him. (Helene was the daughter of Llewellin, Prince of North Wales and the marriage which took place in 1222 was concluded as a final peace between Llewellin and Randle Blunderville, Earl of Chester and Builder of Beeston Castle).

John died without issue so Darnhall became the possession of Prince Edward.

The prince made a promise when he was returning from the crusades and his ship was floundering in a storm, that if he were saved he would build an abbey for the Cistercian monks in the county of Chester. The ship of course was saved and later whilst imprisoned at Hereford, the monks of Dore ministered to him. He arranged that one hundred of the monks should move to Darnhall, this took place in 1273. Four years later on the 6th August 1277, when Edward was king and remembering his promise to build an abbey, he came to Cheshire with his Queen Eleanor, to lay the foundation stone for Vale Royal Abbey.

A lot of the monks from Darnhall moved into huts or temporary shelters at Vale Royal to help with the building of the abbey, which was not completed until 1330. Upwards of £32,000 was drawn from the treasury to pay for the work. This was transported from Stafford to Chester in carts. Two of the carts were so heavy, that eight horses apiece were necessary to pull them. They rested at Darnhall en route.

The abbots ruled the natives of Darnhall with a rod of iron. One example of this was when any native died, the abbot became entitled to his pigs and capons, his horse at grass, his domestic horse, his bees, his pork, his linen and woollen cloth, his money in gold & silver and his brazen vessels. But by a concession of Abbot John, the wife might have the metal, with the Abbot having the option of purchasing the vessels.

The above is just a small reference to what the natives had to endure, in fact things got so bad that in 1336, some of the tenants complained about their treatment, but the ringleaders were put in prison. On appeal, which did not help. They were removed to prison in Nottingham.

Not far from Darnhall, several local families attacked a party of monks. The monks fled, being more fortunate than fellow monk John Beddeworth, who was captured by the Oldyntons, they cut off his head and played football with it.

Henry the Eighth put an end to this monastic power with the dissolution of the monasteries, Darnhall thus coming into the possession of Sir Roland Hill, who later became Lord Mayor of London. It then passed on to Sir Reginald Corbett, whom in the reign of James the First sold the manor to Robert Bamfield who in turn sold it to Thomas Lee, the son of Henry Lee of Lee Hall.

Throughout the seventeenth century, the Lees remained the Squires of Darnhall. Charles Lee, son of Colonel John Lee, became a general serving under Washington during the American War of Independence.

This Colonel John Lee became the last of the Lees to own the Darnhall estate, selling it back to the Corbetts at around the beginning of the eighteenth century.

In December 1828, a number of Darnhall men were caught poaching in Darnhall woods. Shots were fired at Squire Edwin Corbett's Keeper and his coachman, but fortunately nobody was injured. The Keeper, the coachman and a few others, sought refuge in the hall. The poachers, numbering in excess of 20 carried on killing what pheasants they could get their hands on.

It was not until February, the following year, that one of the poachers known as Burrows, was caught in Nantwich, by two police officers, Harry Mee and John Prince. Soon many more were rounded up and put into the lock up on Snow Hill.

This action led to a near riot at Nantwich, a crowd of some four thousand townsfolk turned out to rescue the poachers. Eventually Major Tomkinson of Dorfold, had to read the crowd the riot act and summoned the troops.

The poachers were eventually put on trial, with seven of the accused, being sentenced to 14 years transportation to Botany Bay and the rest to be imprisoned. However a keen lawyer from Hough, discovered a flaw in the indictment - it was never mentioned whether the offence took place after 12 noon or 12 at night. The men were released from irons just as the ship was about to sail from Woolwich.

Squire Corbett sold the estate in 1889 to William Henry Verdin, in whose family it still remains.

In 1897 to mark the celebration of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, one of the stone columns, which fell down 70 years previous, was re-erected at the Knobs. The bricks that were used, were taken from a cottage which was built two or three hundred years ago This column was erected parallel to a similar one of very ancient date. In the base of the pillar, were placed newspapers giving an account of the opening of the Verdin Technical School, Northwich, by her grace the Duchess of Westminster.

Today Darnhall is now recognised as the centre of Cheshire. An oak tree being planted to mark the spot, next to the village hall.

NOTES:

1897 Map

 

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