Nine years later the surviving structures, together with the manor of Norton, were purchased by Sir Richard Brooke, who built a Tudor house on the site, incorporating part of the abbey.

Important finds included: a Norman doorway; a finely carved arcade; a floor of mosaic tiles, the largest floor area of this type to be found in any modern excavation; the remains of the kiln where the tiles were fired; a bell casting pit used for casting the bell; and a large medieval statue of Saint Christopher.

Sandstone for building the priory was available at an outcrop nearby, sand for mortar could be obtained from the shores of the River Mersey, and boulder clay on the site provided material for floor and roof tiles.

By 1195 the priory owned eight churches, five houses, the tithe of at least eight mills, the rights of common in four townships, and one-tenth of the profits from the Runcorn ferry.

The only members of the family known to be buried there are Richard, brother of Roger de Lacy, the seventh baron, and a female named Alice.

It has been estimated that the original community would have consisted of 12 canons and the prior; this increased to around 26 members in the later part of the 12th century, making it one of the largest houses in the Augustinian order.

[23] It is possible that the chapel at the east end was built to accommodate the holy cross of Norton, a relic which was reputed to have miraculous healing powers.

He was active in the governance of the wider Augustinian order and in political affairs, and in 1391 was involved in raising the priory's status to that of a mitred abbey.

The abbot was accused of "wasting the house's resources, nepotism, relations with women" and other matters, while the prior admitted to "fornication and lapses in the observation of the Rule".

[36] Playing into Duttons' hands was the gross undervaluation of the abbey's assets as reported to the royal commissioners of the Valor Ecclesiasticus of 1535; as a result of which the net annual income of the abbey was recorded, falsely, as falling below the £200 (equivalent to £150,000 in 2023)[37] threshold that would subsequently be chosen for the first round of dissolutions in 1536, although whether this subterfuge was due to the machinations of Dutton or the abbot (or both) remains unclear.

There was considerable opposition, the commissioners being menaced by around 300 local people; for whom the abbot, rushing back, threw an impromptu feast complete with roasted ox.

Events elsewhere in the country further delayed the execution and, following an intercession to Thomas Cromwell (whose own informal contacts had cast doubt on the reliability of Dutton's reports), the abbot and canons were discharged and awarded pensions.

[7][39][40][41] The abbey was made uninhabitable, the lead from the roof, the bell metal, and other valuable materials were confiscated for the king, and the building lay empty for nine years.

[37] Brooke built a house in Tudor style, which became known as Norton Hall, using as its core the former abbot's lodgings and the west range of the monastic buildings.

Henry Brooke successfully defended the house, with only one man wounded, while the Royalists lost 16 men including their cannonier (gunner).

In 1804 the Runcorn to Latchford Canal was opened, replacing the Mersey and Irwell Navigation; this cut off the northern part of the estate, making it only accessible by a bridge.

It is considered that the largest of these, because it had more substantial foundations than the others, was probably the timber-framed church; another was most likely the gatehouse, and the other buildings provided accommodation for the canons and the senior secular craftsmen.

[69] The ground plan of the original church was cruciform, and consisted of a nave without aisles, a choir at the crossing with a tower above it, a square-ended chancel, and north and south transepts, each with an eastern chapel.

[79] The lower storey of the west range, the other standing remains of the priory, also dates from this period; it comprises the cellarer's undercroft and a passage to its north, known as the outer parlour.

The major repairs required gave an opportunity for the extension of the church by the addition of new chapels to both of the transepts, and its refurbishment in a manner even grander than previously.

One lid depicts an oak tree issuing from a human head in the style of a green man, another has a cross, a dragon and a female effigy, while others have shield and sword motifs.

[116] Three skeletons showed possible evidence of rickets, two had changes of osteoporosis, and three crania had features of hyperostosis frontalis interna, a metabolic condition affecting post-menopausal women.

[121] The kitchens to the south of the Tudor house and their drainage systems appear to have been used by the Brookes, and according to Brown and Howard-Davis, were possibly rebuilt by the family.

[55] The much-altered medieval undercroft still stands, with its Norman doorway and Victorian replica, barrel vaulting, wine bins, and blind arcading in the former outer parlour.

[127] The site has "the largest, and most varied, excavated collection of medieval tiles in the North West" and "the greatest variety of individual mosaic shapes found anywhere in Britain".

[136] The earliest are in Romanesque style and include two voussoirs decorated with beakheads (grotesque animal heads with long pointed bird-like beaks).

Most of it was produced locally, although 13 sherds of Stamford Ware, fragments of two jugs from North France, and two small pieces of Saintonge pottery have been identified.

These include carved coffin lids, medieval mosaic tiles, pottery, scribe's writing equipment and domestic items from the various buildings on the site such as buttons, combs and wig curlers.

It includes an orchard, fruit and vegetable gardens, ornamental borders and a rose walk, as well as the national collection of tree quince (Cydonia oblonga), with 20 different varieties.

[53][177] Close to the walled garden is a Grade II listed ice house, probably dating from the 18th century, which is constructed in brick covered with a mound of earth.