It was founded circa 1130 as a satellite cell of Kenilworth Priory and was dedicated to St Margaret.

After the death of the prior in 1530 only one canon remained in residence and in 1532 the house was suppressed and handed over to Rocester Abbey for disposal.

[2] This house hosted visits by Erasmus Darwin, Handel, Anna Seward and the philosopher, Rousseau.

[3] The estate was then acquired by the Duncombe family in the 1840s, who rebuilt the house in 1849–50 on higher ground in a Jacobean style by architect William Burn.

In May 2015 Calwich Abbey Estate was offered for sale and in June 2015 it was announced that it had been bought by Garrick Sayers for £2 million.