Saighton Grange

Saighton Grange Gateway
Saighton Grange in 1817 before the medieval flanking buildings were demolished
Location	Saighton, Cheshire, England
Coordinates	53°09′01″N 2°50′03″W / 53.1503°N 2.8342°W / 53.1503; -2.8342Coordinates: 53°09′01″N 2°50′03″W / 53.1503°N 2.8342°W / 53.1503; -2.8342
Built	1490
Built for	Simon Ripley, Abbot of St Werburgh's
Architectural style(s)	English Gothic
Listed Building – Grade I
Designated	1 June 1967
Reference no.	1138394
Location in Cheshire

Saighton Grange originated as a monastic grange. It was later converted into a country house and, as of 2013, the building is used as a school (Abbey Gate College). It is located in Saighton, Cheshire, England. The only surviving part of the monastic grange is the gatehouse, which is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and is one of only two surviving monastic manorial buildings in Cheshire, the other being Ince Manor. The rest of the building is listed at Grade II, as is its chapel.

The manor of Saighton was held by the secular canons of St Werburgh in Chester before the Norman conquest. In the Domesday Book it is listed as Saltone. In 1093 it was granted to the Benedictine monks of St Werburgh's Abbey by Hugh Lupus. The site was given a licence to crenellate in 1399, and this was confirmed in 1410, but the privilege was apparently not acted upon: "Saighton was primarily an agricultural centre until it was converted to residential use in the fifteenth century". The manor house was built about 1489 for Simon Ripley, Abbot of St Werburgh's. Following the dissolution of the monasteries the manor passed through several hands and in time the house was separated from the manor. In the 1840s the house was bought by the 2nd Marquess of Westminster.

The monastic buildings, other than the gatehouse, were demolished in 1861 and were replaced by a house designed by Edward Hodkinson for the 2nd Marquess of Westminster. Alterations were made to the house in about 1870–72 and again in 1894–96 by the Chester architect John Douglas for the 1st Duke of Westminster. In the 1880s the building was occupied by Earl Grosvenor. The garden were redesigned in 1901–02 by Harry Inigo Triggs. The buildings were converted into a school in 1977 and it now forms Abbey Gate College, which is an independent coeducational school for pupils aged 4–18.