Round Tower Lodge....

I've past this building on the middle of the busy Chester Road (it's on the central reservation) where it meets Norley Road in Sandiway, Cheshire many times. I'd often wondered why it was there. Today, when I passed, I saw that it's been beautifully restored so I stopped to take this picture. A couple of years ago it was badly damaged in a road accident.

I've found out that it is the lodge, a building that controls the entrance to a big estate. It's the lodge to a grand mansion called Vale Royal Abbey. In medieval times it was an actual abbey, a religious institution. During Tudor times it fell foul of Henry VIII, who dissolved the monasteries and collected all their wealth. A Tudor house replaced it and over the centuries it grew as new wings were added.

I think the lodge was built in Victorian times on the edge of Chester Road when there was less traffic. Chester Road is now a busy 'A' road connecting Chester to Manchester. The road was widened and the poor lodge found itself marooned on the central reservation.