Poulton Chapel

The earliest ecclesiastical structure on the site is thought to have been a single-cell structure built in the Saxon period, as evidenced by some 170 pieces of Anglo Saxon pottery, specifically 10th century Chester Ware, that have been found in conjunction with the earliest phase of construction.

Abbot William of Combermere founded Poulton Abbey with an endowment of land from Robert Pincerna Le Botiller (1100–1158).

On his release the Earl confirmed the foundation and granted the monks a fishery in the River Dee and an exemption for them to grind their corn at his mill in Chester.

The chapel was still extant in 1544 when it was granted to Sir George Cotton by the King, although the rest of the buildings had long since fallen into decay.

"The king granted to Sir George Cotton...the...chapel of Pulton by Patent dated Dec. 20 1544... 'The remains of the monastery have been long totally destroyed'.

[6] The last recorded use of the chapel was during the English Civil War (1642–1651), when it became a stables and lookout point for Parliamentarian troops.

)"[8] S. Harper cites the above and says: "The suggestion that all of this happened as the people celebrated a vigil, in the main place of worship within the township of Poulton, is important; the setting is evidently not the formal liturgy, but it does taken place in a chapel, likely on the eve of a liturgical feast (perhaps a day when it was customary for professional bards to be paid).

"[9] The site has been under investigation since 1995, first by a joint venture between Chester Archaeological Services and Liverpool John Moores University, then later by the Poulton Research Project, who have been digging both the immediate chapel environs and a number of other features in the vicinity.