 In 1275, the abbey's debts were so great that its management was assigned to the Lord Chancellor and Bishop of Bath and Wells, Robert Burnell, and the following year it was placed under royal protection for two years.Edward I's war against Wales of 1282–83 drew heavily on Cheshire and placed additional strain on the monastery; it ran so low on food stores in 1283 that it was exempted from providing supplies for the army and once again removed from the abbot's management.Burnell contributed £213 towards the abbey's needs – a sum considerably in excess of its annual income, estimated in 1318 at £130 14"s" 11"d" – receiving lands in Monks Coppenhall (now Crewe) in return.