Saighton Grange was the principal country house of the Abbots of Chester. Before the Conquest the manor of Saighton was held by the secular canons of St Werburgh, Chester. In 1092 Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, transformed their church into the Benedictine Abbey of St Werburgh and Saighton became part of the abbey holdings. Licences to crenellate were granted in 1272 and 1399, but the only part of the medieval building which remains today was built later. This is the gatehouse erected by Abbot Simon Ripley about 1490. Ripley was an energetic builder who brought new impetus to the works at the abbey church, completing the reconstruction of the south transept and the central tower. At Saighton his emblem, a wolf’s head, is carved at the base of the oriel window; this symbol is reflected now in the Abbey Gate College badge.

Upon the Dissolution the abbey became Chester Cathedral and the abbey lands were divided. The manor of Saighton passed through many hands before it was purchased in the 1840s by the Grosvenors, owners of the huge neighbouring Eaton estate.

The 2nd Marquess of Westminster was at this time modernising Eaton Hall, employing William Burn to overcome some of its considerable practical problems. To improve Saighton, which was to be used by the Earl Grosvenor heir to Eaton. The Marquess’ chose Edward Hodkinson, a local architect who had designed some cottages on the estate. Apart from the medieval gatehouse, all was rebuilt. Two 17th-century Ranking wings recorded in an engraving in Ormerod, one with the remains of a garderobe, were demolished, and the gatehouse became the porch to an entirely Victorian house. The west wing was begun in 1861, the service wing in 1867 and the east wing in 1876. In the meantime the 3rd Marquess had commissioned Alfred Waterhouse, one of the most progressive architects of his day, to remodel his seat; the mechanical and unscholarly Tudor of Saighton must have looked completely outmoded in comparison.