The Manor of Christleton originally formed part of the Norman Barony of Malpas and came into the hands of the Bermingham family in the time of Henry II. William de Bermingham is said to have sided with Simon de Montfort and was killed at the Battle of Evesham in 1265. By the dictum of Kenilworth in 1266, ransoms were made payable by the rebels, and they and their heirs were allowed to redeem their lands. As late as 1285 the ransom for Bermingham’s land had not been fully paid, and Isabel his wife only held between a third and fourth part of the lands. An order was issued that the lands in Buckinghamshire should be taken into the King’s hands, and a similar order applied to the property in Christleton.

In 1280 the Abbot of St. Werburgh needed to defend himself against Isabel grand-daughter of Robert and her husband Philip Burnell. Isabel was of the opinion that the monks had “by practices somewhat removed from heavenly” got possession of property in Christleton and Littleton. She and her husband were determined to get it back again. They took preliminary steps for suing the monks, but they made a payment “out of court” of £200, and had their possession confirmed. Shortly afterwards in 1282 the Burnells granted the monks of St. Werburgh “The fountain of Christleton” which became known as the Abbots Well. A cistern 20ft square was dug in a field on the property of Christleton Bank, on Whitchurch Road (now The Mercure Hotel), and another in the cloisters of the Abbey, called “the sprice”. These two were connected by underground clay pipes about 2” in diameter, and the water travelled by gravity through Great Boughton to the Abbey. A patent granted by Edward I enabled the monks to lay these pipes across all intervening lands, and even gave permission for part of the city walls to be taken down to enable this to happen. The cistern at Christleton was in what became known as the “Well Field” and was once the property of Mrs Ambrose Dixon. In 1840 it was converted into a fish pond and was noted for its pure water. Traces of leaden and wooden pipes were said to have been found, although a report written in the Chester Chronicle in 1885 clearly states they were made of clay.

For taking part in the battle Sir Hugh lost all his lands and his goods which were awarded to John Mainwaring of Peover, who was the steward of Prince Henry. John Mainwaring was also made Sheriff of Cheshire, and when he died in 1410 was succeeded by his brother Randle. The Mainwarings were said to be direct descendants of Ranulphus, a famous crusader, the builder of Beeston Castle. John Mainwaring had initially earned fame together with Thomas le Grosvenor, by raising a troop of soldiers to invade Ireland in 1399. He was then made an attendant to the Prince of Wales, later Henry V. John had no children and he bestowed the Manor of Christleton on Thomas de Grosvenor, but by 1422 it appears to be in the ownership of John de Macclesfield, and passed on by him to Humphrey, later Duke of Buckingham. He in turn sold the Manor to Sir William Sneyd of of Keele, who in turn sold it to Sir John Harper of Calke Abbey in Derbyshire.