Chester

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Chester_Story,_The :: Chesterton,_G._K. :: Chester_City :: Chester-le-Street_Town :: Chester_Cycle :: Chesterfords,_The :: Chestermere :: Chester :: Chesterhill :: Chesterland

Chester is the county town of Cheshire in North West England. It is situated on the River Dee close to the border with Wales, and is one of the best-preserved walled cities in the country. It is the main settlement in the City of Chester local government district. The adjective associated with the city is Cestrian. The patron saint of Chester is Saint Werburgh.

According to the 2001 census the population of the Chester urban area, including Broughton (which is over the border in Wales) and Saltney (which is partially over the border in Wales) was 90,925.

History

Roman Origins

Chester is an old city dating back nearly two millennia to Roman times (when parts of the City wall date from) when it was known as Deva. High on a sandstone bluff above the marshes, free from the floods of winter and the ever-changing shorelines of the estuary the Second Legion built their fortress in the territory of the Cornovii. It soon became the main base for Legio XX Valeria Victrix, the 20th Legion,who used it as a port administration base and military fort. It was then one of the principal towns of Roman Britain, with many relics remaining today, including parts of the original Roman walls. A recent Timewatch investigation by the BBC speculated that, from the size and scale of the fort, had the Roman Empire not begun to collapse, Deva would have become the Roman capital of Britain and a launch post for invasions on Ireland. In fact, recent discoveries of a fort in Ireland suggest that at least one foray was made.

Despite stories to the contrary, the weir below the Old Dee Bridge was not built by the Romans but by Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester between 1077 and 1101 to hold water for his river mills. The purpose of the weir on the river was to keep water levels high for these mills, one of which gave rise to the traditional song "Miller of Dee". The 'cross', where the four main streets intersect, as well as remains of a strong room and hypocaust system underneath shops and, controversially, half of its original amphitheatre, with the other half built over.

Christian martyrdoms

According to the Venerable Bede, Roman Leicester may have been the site of several early Christian Martyrdoms in Britain, at the same time as that of St. Alban the first English martyr, who was killed in the Roman city of Verulamium (beside modern-day St Albans. He writes:

Passi sunt ea tempestate Aaron et Iulius Legionum urbis ciues, aliique utriusque sexus diuersis in locis perplures, qui diuersis cruciatibus torti, et inaudita membrorum discerptione lacerati, animas ad supernae ciuitatis gaudia perfecto agone miserunt.

"At the same time suffered Aaron and Julius, inhabitants of the city of the legions, and many others of both sexes, in other places; who, having been tormented on the rack till their members were dislocated, and having endured various other unheard-of cruelties, yielded their souls, after the conflict was over, to the joys of the city above." - Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum. Book One, Chapter Seven St Bede the Venerable.

Sub-Roman & Saxon period

The Roman Empire fell three hundred years later, and the Romano-British established a number of petty kingdoms in its place. This 'city of the legions may be identified with Chester, Caerleon, or Leicester. Arthur is said to have fought his ninth battle at the city of the legions and later St Augustine came to the city to try and unite the church and hold his synod with the Welsh Bishops. Chester was probably part of Powys. In 616, Æthelfrith of Northumbria defeated a Welsh army at the Battle of Chester and probably established the Anglo-Saxon position in the area from then on.

In the late 7th century, Saint Werburgh founded a religious institution on the present site of St John's Church which later became the first cathedral. Her body was removed from Hanbury in Staffordshire in the 9th century and, in order to save its desecration by Danish marauders, she was reburied in the Abbey of St. Peter & St. Paul in Chester (the present cathedral). Her name is still remembered in St Werburgh's Street which passes alongside the cathedral, and near to the city walls.

The Saxons extended and strengthened the walls of Chester to protect the city against the Danes, who occupied it for a short time until Alfred seized all the cattle and laid waste the surrounding land to drive them out.In fact it was Alfred's daughter Ethelfleda Lady of the Mercians that built the new Saxon 'burh' .The Anglo-Saxons called Chester Ceaster or Legeceaster.

At the end of the 10th century the new king, Edgar, after having been crowned at Bath, came to Chester where he was rowed up the River Dee by eight minor kings, who the swore fealty and allegiance to him at St John's Church.

Middle ages

After the 1066 Norman Conquest Chester Castle was built as another defence from the Celts. Along with this, the Normans built what is now Chester Cathedral which, before Henry VIII, was a great Benedictine monastery dedicated to St. Peter & St. Paul and later Saint Werburgh, and still stands in the city centre today. Chester was at this time the largest port in North-west England, with the trade that this created bringing affluence to the city. It became a county corporate, essentially giving it administrative independence.

There is a popular belief that it was the silting of the River Dee that created the land which is now Chester's racecourse (known as the Roodee), on which a stone cross still stands which is said to have been erected in memory of Lady Trawst who died as a result of an image of the Virgin Mary called Holy Rood falling upon her in Hawarden church a few miles down the river). But the Roodee was in existence as early as the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, so it cannot have been created by later silting. The silting which led to the creation of the Roodee, in its current form, is well established on a sequence of post-medieval maps dating from the later 16th century. It has also been established by archaeological evaluations and excavations in the area of the Old Port, known as the Roodee tail. Physical evidence for the silting of this area of the city is shown by the 13th century Water Tower which projects from the north-west corner of the city walls. This tower was originally built out into the river. 16th century maps, its archaeological form and related documentary evidence all demonstrate this.

Tudor & Stuart times

Originally the 16th century port was located to the north of the Watergate just below the city wall. To the south of the Watergate the Roodee existed in smaller form than today. The map sequence shows the river moving its course from against the wall north of the watergate out to its current location between 1580 and approximately the 1830s. By the first edition OS map the river has reach its current position, however it is apparent that some rivulets and inlets have been lost since, however, some have been identified in archaeological work on the site of the former House of Industry and gasworks.

In the 1640s English Civil War the Battle of Rowton Heath occurred in nearby meadows, where the Parliamentary Forces crushed the Royalist loyal Cavaliers. As the fighting reached the suburbs it was watched by King Charles I from Chester's Phoenix Tower (now also called King Charles' Tower) on the City Walls. The King quickly withdrew to the Cathedral tower, but even this was not safe, as the captain standing next to him was shot in the head by musket fire from the victorious Parliamentarians who took residence in the St John's Church tower.

The road to the port of Chester (the major port of passenger embarcation for Ireland until the early 1800s) was called the 'Great Irish Road' and ran from Bristol to Chester.

Georgian & Victorian eras

The port declined seriously from 1762 onwards. By 1840 it could no longer effectively compete with Liverpool as a port, although significant shipbuilding and ropemaking continued at Chester. It was once thought that Chester's maritime trade was brought to an end by the silting of the River Dee, although recent research has shown this was not the case. It was the use of larger ocean-going ships that led to the diversion of the trade to the relatively young town of Liverpool and other locations on the River Mersey, which had long been rivals to Chester, such as Runcorn.

In the Georgian era, Chester became again a centre of affluence, a town with elegant terraces where the landed aristocracy lived. This trend continued into the Industrial Revolution, when the city was populated with the upper classes in fleeing to a safe distance from the industrial sprawls of Manchester and Liverpool.

The Industrial Revolution brought the Chester Canal (now part of the Shropshire Union Canal) to the city (which was dubbed 'England's first unsuccessful canal', after its failure to bring heavy industry to Chester) as well as railways and two large central stations, only one of which remains.

The Victorians built Chester's Gothic Town Hall, which, along with the Cathedral, dominates the city skyline. This was built after the original Guild Hall burnt down, and features a clock tower with only three faces, with the Welsh facing side remaining blank. The reason for this was declared by the architects to be simply because "Chester won't give the Welsh the time of day". However, this did not stop the town hosting Wales's National Eisteddfod in 1866.

The Eastgate clock was also built at this time, and is a central feature as it crosses Eastgate street, and is part of the city walls.The clock is very popular with tourists, and this has given it the grand title of the second most photographed clock in the UK (perhaps even the World) after Big Ben.

Present day

A considerable amount of land in Chester is owned by Duke of Westminster who owns an estate at Eaton near the village of Eccleston. Grosvenor is the Duke's family name, which explains such features in the City such as the Grosvenor Hotel and Grosvenor Park. Much of Chester's architecture dates from the Victorian era, with many of the buildings that aren't modelled on the Jacobean half timbered style of the medieval times being designed by John Douglas, employed by the Duke as his principal architect. He had a trademark of twisted chimneystacks, many of which can be seen on the buildings in the City centre. Douglas designed amongst other buildings the Grosvenor Hotel and the City Baths. His protege James Strong a city architect in 1911 designed the former fire station on the west side of Northgate Street. Another feature of all buildings belonging to the estate of Westminster is the 'Grey Diamonds'; a weaving pattern of grey bricks in the red brickwork, laid out in a diamond formation. By 1945 two problems needed attention, namely affordable housing and traffic congestion. As a result vast areas of slums were cleared and in 1964 an inner by-pass was driven through and around the City centre. Large areas of open fields on the outskirts of the City were turned into residential areas in the 1950s and early 1960s.

In the late 1960s the City authorities realised that new developments were radically altering the look of the City centre. In 1968 Donald Inshall published a report in collaboration with the City authorities and central government. His report recommended preserving historic buildings and finding new uses for them, rather than tearing them down.

In 1969 the City Conservation Area was designated. Over the next 20 years the emphasis was placed on saving historic buildings, such as The Falcon Inn, Dutch Houses and Kings Buildings.

On January 13, 2002, Chester was granted Fairtrade City status. This status was renewed by the Fairtrade Foundation on August 20, 2003.

In August 2005 the council announced plans to demolish the police station, an unsightly edifice built in the 1960s. However, the replacement building, a cylindrical glass hotel/cafe, has sparked controversy, partly due to the large number of other glass structures planned within the city, especially the new council offices.

The Northgate development will demolish the old Council Offices, which will move into a new building on an old car-park. This structure was unpopular with many of the older citizens of Chester, leading to a poem by local writer, Gordon Emery, in the Chester Standard dubbing it the 'Glass Slug'. The name has stuck.

Cestrians are often perceived (partly-jokingly) of being 'anti-Welsh' although many have Welsh ancestors. This is exemplified by the fact that the Town Hall clock does not face west, towards Wales, and an archaic law which states any Cestrian may shoot a Welshman with a longbow if he loiters within the walls after sunset when the curfew bell chimes (although this law no-longer offers legal protection against prosecution for murder). However, many Cestrians work and shop in Wales, and Chester shares a radio station with Wrexham, Wales.

Chester is twinned with the French town of Sens, Loerrach in Germany, Lakewood, Colorado in the United States and Senigallia, Italy.

Culture

Shopping

The city is a popular shopping centre, with its unique 'Rows' or galleries (basically two levels of shops) which date from medieval times. The city is heavily populated by chain stores both in the centre and on retail parks to the west, and also features two indoor shopping centres, an indoor market and a department store, Browns of Chester, once known as 'the Harrods of the North', now absorbed by the Debenhams chain. There are two main indoor shopping centres, The Grosvenor Mall and the Forum. The latter refers to the city's Roman past, and is to be demolished in the Northgate Development to make way for new shopping streets, a new indoor market, a new library and a performing arts centre.

Arts & Sport

The city has two cinemas and a theatre, the Gateway Theatre, and in the summer the city hosts the annual Chester Music Festival, the Chester Midsummer Watch Parade and the Chester Mystery Plays, the latter of which dates from medieval times. Numerous pubs and wine bars populate the city, some of which are medieval, and Chester also has some night-clubs. The city also has a football team, Chester City F.C., who play in the Saunders Honda Stadium and a national basketball team, the Chester Jets, who play in the city's Northgate Arena leisure centre. Also to the east side of the city are the UK's largest zoological gardens, Chester Zoo. The Gateway Theatre is due to be demolished at the end of 2006 as part of the city's Northgate Development. The Northgate Development will include a replacement arts centre, due to open in 2009. The River Dee is also home to several rowing clubs, notably Grosvenor Rowing Club and Royal Chester Rowing Club. The weir is regularly used by a number of local canoe and kayak clubs.

Media

Chester's newspapers are the daily Chester Evening Leader, the weekly Chester Chronicle, and the free newspapers Chester Mail and Chester Standard. Dee 106.3 is the city's own radio station, with Wrexham's MFM 103.4 and BBC Radio Merseyside also broadcasting locally. Chester is the city where Channel 4's soap-opera Hollyoaks is set (although most filming takes place around Liverpool).

Industry

The city's main industries are retail, tourism and financial services. Chester's main employer is MBNA Europe. There is also a large Shell oil refinery, several large financial firms including HBOS plc, M&S Money and also a chemical factory, operated by ICI to the north of Chester near Ellesmere Port. Just over the Welsh border to the west near the village of Hawarden there is an aviation factory, operated by BAE Systems (formerly British Aerospace) where the wings of Airbus aircraft, including the Airbus A380 super-jumbo are manufactured, and there are food processing plants to the north and west.

Chester has its own university, the University of Chester, and a major hospital, the Countess of Chester Hospital, named after Diana, Countess of Chester.

Transport

Chester has a railway station to the North East of the city centre, designed by Francis Thompson with an impressive Italianate frontage dating from 1848, though the interior is somewhat dilapidated, having lost a roof in the Chester General rail crash. Trains go from here along the North Wales Coast Line, as well as to London Euston, Liverpool, Crewe, Manchester Piccadilly, Wrexham General and Shrewsbury. Chester Northgate station closed in 1969, was demolished and is now the site of the Northgate Arena leisure centre.

Bus transport in the city is provided by the council owned and operated Chester Bus (formerly Chester City Transport) as well as First Group and Arriva. There is to be a new bus exchange built in the city as well as a new coach station.

The city is also a hub for major roads, including the M53 from Liverpool, the M56 towards Manchester, and the A55 which runs along the North Wales coast to Holyhead.

During the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, Chester had an extensive tram network from Saltney in the west at the Welsh border to Chester General station, Tarvin Road and Great Boughton in the North West. This network featured the narrowest gauge trams (3'6) in mainland Britain, due to an act of Parliament which deemed that they must be "The least obstructive possible". The tramway was established in 1871 by Chester Tramways Corporation. At first, the tramway was horse-drawn, although this was replaced by overhead-wired electric in 1903. The tramway was closed like most others in the UK in February, 1930. The only remains are small areas of uncovered track inside the bus depot, a few tram wire supports attached to buildings on Eastgate/Foregate Street and a wire support.

Districts, Towns and Villages

External links

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