Chester was founded in 79 AD as a "castrum" or Roman fort with the name Deva Victrix during the reign of Emperor Vespasian. One of the main army camps in Roman Britain, Deva later became a major civilian settlement. In 689, King Æthelred of Mercia founded the Minster Church of West Mercia, which later became Chester's first cathedral, and the Angles extended and strengthened the walls to protect the city against the Danes. Chester was one of the last cities in England to fall to the Normans, and William the Conqueror ordered the construction of a castle to dominate the town and the nearby Welsh border. Chester was granted city status in 1541.
The city walls of Chester are some of the best-preserved in the country and have Grade I listed status. Apart from a 100-metre (330ft) section, the walls are almost complete.[6] It has several medieval buildings. However, many of the black-and-white buildings within the city centre are Victorian restorations, originating from the Black-and-white Revival movement.[7] The Industrial Revolution brought railways, canals, and new roads to the city, which saw substantial expansion and development; Chester Town Hall and the Grosvenor Museum are examples of Victorian architecture from this period. Tourism, the retail industry, public administration, and financial services are important to the modern economy. Chester signs itself as Chester International Heritage City on road signs on the main roads entering the city.[8]
The RomanLegio II Adiutrix during the reign of the Emperor Vespasian founded Chester in AD 79 as a "castrum" or Roman fort with the name Deva Victrix. It was established in the land of the Celtic Cornovii, according to ancient cartographerPtolemy,[10] as a fortress during the Roman expansion northward,[11] and was named Deva either after the goddess of the Dee,[12] or directly from the British name for the river.[13] The 'victrix' part of the name was taken from the title of the Legio XX Valeria Victrix which was based at Deva.[14] Central Chester's four main roads, Eastgate, Northgate, Watergate and Bridgegate, follow routes laid out at this time.
A civilian settlement grew around the military base, which probably originated from trade with the fortress.[15] The fortress was 20% larger than other fortresses in the Roman province of Britannia built around the same time at York (Eboracum) and Caerleon (Isca Augusta);[16] this has led to the suggestion that the fortress, rather than London (Londinium), was intended to become the capital of the Roman province of Britannia Superior.[17] The civilian amphitheatre, which was built in the 1st century, could seat between 8,000 and 10,000 people.[18] It is the largest known military amphitheatre in Britain,[19] and is also a Scheduled Monument.[20] The Minerva Shrine in the Roman quarry is the only rock-cut Roman shrine still in situ in Britain.[21]
The fortress was garrisoned by the legion until at least the late 4th century.[22] Although the army had abandoned the fortress by 410 when the Romans retreated from Britannia,[23] the Romano-British civilian settlement continued (probably with some Roman veterans staying behind with their wives and children) and its occupants probably continued to use the fortress and its defences as protection from raiders from the Irish Sea.[22]
After the Roman troops withdrew, the Romano-British established several petty kingdoms. Chester is thought to have become part of Powys. Deverdoeu was a Welshname for Chester as late as the 12th century (cf Dyfrdwy, Welsh for the river Dee). Another, attested in the 9th-century History of the Britons traditionally attributed to Nennius, is Cair Legion[24][25][26] ("Fort" or "City of the Legion"); this later developed into Caerlleon and then the modern WelshCaer. (The town's importance is noted by its taking the simpler form in each case, while Isca Augusta in Monmouthshire, another important legionary base, was known first as Caerleon on the Usk, and now as Caerleon). King Arthur is said to have fought his ninth battle at the "city of the legions" (Caerlleon) and later St Augustine came to the city to try to unite the church, and held his synod with the Welsh Bishops.
In 616, Æthelfrith of Northumbria defeated a Welsh army at the brutal and decisive Battle of Chester and probably established the Anglo-Saxon position in the area from then on. [citation needed] The NorthumbrianAnglo-Saxons used an Old English equivalent of the British name, Legacæstir, which was current until the 11th century, when, in a further parallel with Welsh usage, the first element fell out of use and the simple name Chester emerged. In 689, King Æthelred of Mercia founded the Minster Church of West Mercia on what is considered to be an early Christian site: it is known as the Minster of St John the Baptist, Chester (now St John's Church) which later became the first cathedral. Much later, the body of Æthelred's niece, St Werburgh, was removed from Hanbury in Staffordshire in the 9th century and, to save it from desecration by Danish marauders was reburied in the Church of SS Peter & Paul – later to become the Abbey Church (the present cathedral). Her name is still remembered in St Werburgh's Street, which passes alongside the cathedral, and near the city walls [citation needed], and in St Werburgh's Roman Catholic church in Grosvenor Park Road.
The Anglo-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 on the surrounding land to drive them out. It was Alfred's daughter Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians, that built the new Anglo-Saxon burh.[citation needed] A new Church dedicated to St Peter alone was founded in AD 907 by the Lady Æthelfleda at what was to become the Cross. In 973, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that, two years after his coronation at Bath, King Edgar of England came to Chester where he held his court in a palace in a place now known as Edgar's Field near the old Dee bridge in Handbridge. Taking the helm of a barge, he was rowed the short distance up the River Dee from Edgar's Field to the great Minster Church of St John the Baptist by six (the monk Henry Bradshaw records he was rowed by eight kings) tributary kings called reguli.[citation needed]
In the English Civil War, Chester sided with the royalist cause of King Charles I but was subdued by the Parliamentarians in 1643. The Mayor of Chester, Charles Walley, was removed from office and replaced by Alderman William Edwards. Another alderman, Francis Gamull, a royalist MP and former Mayor, was ordered to surrender Dee Mills: they were to be demolished, and new mills built on city land.[30]
Chester played a significant part in the Industrial Revolution, which began in the North West of England in the late 18th century. The city village of Newtown, located northeast of the city and bounded by the Shropshire Union Canal, was at the very heart of this industry.[31] The large Chester Cattle Market and the two Chester railway stations, Chester General and Chester Northgate Station, meant that Newtown with its cattle market and canal, and Hoole with its railways were responsible for providing the vast majority of workers and in turn, the vast amount of Chester's wealth production throughout the Industrial Revolution.
Grosvenor is the Duke's family name, which explains such features in the city as the Grosvenor Bridge, the Grosvenor Hotel, and Grosvenor Park. Much of Chester's architecture dates from the Victorian era, many of the buildings being modelled on the Jacobean half-timbered style and designed by John Douglas, who was employed by the Duke as his principal architect. [citation needed] He had a trademark of twisted chimney stacks, 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. In 1911, Douglas' protégé and city architect James Strong designed the then-active 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.[citation needed]
Towards the end of World War II, a lack of affordable housing meant many problems for Chester. Large areas of farmland on the city's outskirts were developed as residential areas in the 1950s and early 1960s, producing, for instance, the suburb of Blacon. In 1964, a bypass was built through and around the city centre to combat traffic congestion.[citation needed]
These new developments caused local concern as the physicality[clarification needed] and, therefore, the feel of the city was being dramatically altered. In 1968, a report by Donald Insall, in collaboration with authorities and government, recommended that historic buildings be preserved in Chester.[33] Consequently, the buildings were used in new and different ways instead of being demolished.[34]
The City Conservation Area was designated in 1969. Over the next twenty years, the emphasis was placed on saving historic buildings, such as The Falcon Inn, Dutch Houses, and Kings Buildings.
On 13 January 2002, Chester was granted the first UK Fairtrade City status by the Fairtrade Foundation. In 2011 this was extended to the entire borough.[35]
Chester was an ancient borough, with its earliest known charters dating from the twelfth century. It was given the right to appoint its own sheriffs in 1506, making it a county corporate, administratively separate from the rest of Cheshire.[40] The borough gained city status in 1541 on the creation of the Diocese of Chester. The borough was reformed to become a municipal borough in 1836 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, which standardised the way many boroughs operated across the country.[41]
When elected county councils were created in 1889, Chester was considered large enough to provide its own county-level services. So it was made a county borough, independent from Cheshire County Council.[42] The county borough was abolished in 1974, merging with the former Chester Rural District and Tarvin Rural District which covered the surrounding rural areas to create a new Chester district, which was a district-level authority with Cheshire County Council providing county-level services.[43] Chester's city status was extended to cover the whole of the district created in 1974.[44] In 1992, Chester City Council was given the right to appoint a Lord Mayor.[45]
Chester City Council was abolished in 2009 when local government across Cheshire was reorganised; Cheshire County Council was also abolished, and the three districts of Chester, Ellesmere Port and Neston and Vale Royal merged to form a unitary authority called Cheshire West and Chester. Charter trustees were established to maintain Chester's city status and appoint the Lord Mayor.[46][47] Chester's city status is now formally held by the area of the charter trustees, comprising the 15 wards of Cheshire West and Chester which correspond to the area of the pre-2009 Chester City Council.[3] The official city therefore includes rural areas beyond Chester's built-up area, and had a total population of 138,875 at the 2021 census, compared to 92,760 for the built-up area.[2]
Geography
An aerial photograph of central Chester and the River Dee
Chester lies at the southern end of a 2-mile (3.2km)Triassicsandstone ridge that rises to a height of 42m within a natural S-bend in the River Dee (before the course was altered in the 18th century). The bedrock, also known as the Chester Pebble Beds, is noticeable because of the many small stones trapped within its strata. Retreating glacial sheet ice also deposited quantities of sand and marl across the area where boulder clay was absent.
The eastern and northern parts of Chester consisted of heathland and forest. The western side towards the Dee Estuary was marsh and wetland habitats.
Climate
Chester has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb), typical of the British Isles but more susceptible to cold than the extreme south.[48] Despite its proximity to the Irish Sea, the temperature regime is similar to areas further inland, owing to the shelter provided by the Pennines to the northeast and the Welsh Mountains to the southwest. The nearest official weather station is at Hawarden Airport, about 4 miles (6.4km) west of the city centre.
The absolute maximum temperature recorded was 37.1°C (98.8°F) on 18 July 2022, the highest temperature reported in Wales. In an average year, the warmest day should reach 29.3°C (84.7°F),[49] and 12.0 days[50] in total should attain a temperature of 25.1°C (77.2°F) or higher. Given the correctly aligned breezy conditions, a föhn effect will operate, meaning local temperatures are somewhat higher than the surrounding area.
The absolute minimum temperature recorded was −18.2°C (−0.8°F)[51] during January 1982. Annually, an average of 42.2 air frosts should be recorded.
Annual rainfall is barely over 700mm[52] due to a rain shadow effect caused by the Welsh Mountains. Over 1mm of rain is reported on 135.5 days.[52]
The more unusual landmarks in the city are the city walls, the Rows and the black-and-white architecture. The walls encircle the bounds of the medieval city and constitute the most complete city walls in Britain,[6] the full circuit measuring nearly 2 miles (3km).[61] The only break in the circuit is in the southwest section in front of County Hall.[62] A footpath runs along the top of the walls, crossing roads by bridges over Eastgate, Northgate, St Martin's Gate, Watergate, Bridgegate, Newgate,[63] and the Wolf Gate, and passing a series of structures, namely Phoenix Tower (or King Charles' Tower), Morgan's Mount, the Goblin Tower (or Pemberton's Parlour), and Bonewaldesthorne's Tower with a spur leading to the Water Tower, and Thimbleby's Tower.[64] On Eastgate is Eastgate Clock, which is said to be the most photographed clock face in England after those that share the tower with Big Ben.[65]
The Rows are unique in Britain.[66][67] They consist of buildings with shops or dwellings on the lowest two storeys. The shops or dwellings on the ground floor are often lower than the street and are entered by steps, which sometimes lead to a crypt-like vault. Those on the first floor are entered behind a continuous walkway, often with a sloping shelf between the walkway and the railings overlooking the street.[68] Much of the architecture of central Chester looks medieval and some of it is, but by far the greater part of it, including most of the black-and-white buildings, is Victorian, a result of what Pevsner termed the "black-and-white revival" pioneered by architects John Douglas and T.M. Lockwood.[69]
The most prominent buildings in the city centre are the town hall and the cathedral. The town hall was opened in 1869. It is in Gothic Revival style and has a tower and a short spire.[70] The cathedral was formerly the church of St Werburgh's Abbey. Its architecture dates back to the Norman era, with additions made most centuries since. A series of major restorations took place in the 19thcentury, and in 1975, a separate bell tower was opened. The elaborately carved canopies of the choir stalls are considered to be among the finest in the country. Also in the cathedral is the shrine of St Werburgh. The former monastic buildings are north of the cathedral.[71] The oldest church in the city is St John's, which is outside the city walls and was at one time the cathedral church. The church was shortened after the dissolution of the monasteries, and ruins of the former east end remain outside the church. Much of the interior is in Norman style and this is considered to be the best example of 11th–12th-century church architecture in Cheshire.[72] At the intersection of the former Roman roads is Chester Cross, to the north of which is the small church of St Peter's, which is in use as an ecumenical centre.[73] Other churches are now redundant and have other uses: St Michael's in Bridge Street is a heritage centre,[74]St Mary-on-the-Hill is an educational centre,[75] and Holy Trinity now acts as the Guildhall.[76] Other notable buildings include the preserved shot tower, the highest structure in Chester,[77] and St Thomas of Canterbury Church.[78]
The north side of Eastgate Street painted by Louise Rayner. On the far right is the 17th-century Boot Inn.
Roman remains can still be found in the city, particularly in the basements of some of the buildings and in the lower parts of the northern section of the city walls.[79] The most important Roman feature is the amphitheatre just outside the walls, which underwent archaeological investigation in the early 21st century.[80] Roman artefacts are on display in the Roman Gardens which run parallel to the city walls from Newgate to the River Dee, where there's also a reconstructed hypocaust system.[81] An original hypocaust system discovered in the 1720s[82] can be seen in the basement of 39 Bridge Street, which is open to the public.[83]
Of the original medieval city, the most important surviving structure is Chester Castle, particularly the Agricola Tower. Much of the rest of the castle has been replaced by the neoclassical county court and its entrance, the Propyleum.[84] To the south of the city runs the River Dee, with its 11th-century weir. The river is crossed by the Old Dee Bridge, dating from the 13th century, the Grosvenor Bridge of 1832, and Queen's Park suspension bridge (for pedestrians).[85] To the southwest of the city, the River Dee curves towards the north. The area between the river and the city walls here is known as the Roodee and contains Chester Racecourse, which holds a series of horse races and other events.[86] The first recorded race meet in England at Roodee Fields was on 9 February 1540.[citation needed] The Shropshire Union Canal runs to the north of the city and a branch leads from it to the River Dee.[87]
The major museum in Chester is the Grosvenor Museum, which includes a collection of Roman tombstones and an art gallery. Associated with the museum is 20 Castle Street, which has rooms furnished in different historical styles.[88] The Deva Roman Experience has hands-on exhibits and a reconstructed Roman street. One of the blocks in the forecourt of the Castle houses the Cheshire Military Museum.[89]
The major public park in Chester is Grosvenor Park.[90] On the south side of the River Dee, in Handbridge, is Edgar's Field, another public park,[91] which contains Minerva's Shrine, a Roman shrine to the goddess Minerva.[92] A war memorial to those who died in the world wars is in the town hall and it contains the names of all Chester servicemen who died in the First World War.[93]
There are cruises on the River Dee and the Shropshire Union Canal, as well as guided open-air bus tours. The river cruises and bus tours start from a riverside area known as the Groves, which contains seating and a bandstand.[94] A series of festivals is organised in the city, including mystery plays, a summer music festival and a literature festival.[95] There is a Tourist Information Centre at the town hall.[96]
The Cheshire Police Constabulary was historically based in the city from its foundation in 1857. Originally on Seller Street, its headquarters moved to Egerton Street (both since redeveloped), and then from 1870 to 113 Foregate Street, where Parker's Buildings now stand. In 1883, the police headquarters moved to 142 Foregate Street, Chester, now preserved as a Grade II listed building. The county police headquarters has since moved again, in 1967, to Nuns Road before leaving the city in 2003 for Clemonds Hey, Winsford.[97]
Demography
According to the 2011 census, Chester had a large White British proportion of around 110,000 or 90.9% of the population. 1.0% described themselves as Irish. 3.6% as Other White. 2.2% described themselves as Asian. 1.3% described themselves as Mixed Race. 0.6% described themselves as Black or Black British and 0.3% are classed as other.[98] Cheshire West and Chester also has a large number of Christians at 76.4%. 14% have no religion, and 8.2% are not stated. 0.7% are Muslim. 0.1% are Sikhs. 0.1% are Jewish. 0.2% are Buddhists.[99]
The population was forecast to grow by 5% from 2005 to 2021.[100] The resident population for Chester District in the 2001 Census was 118,200. This represents 17.5% of the Cheshire County total (1.8% of the North West population).[101]
Education
The city is home to the University of Chester. Formerly a teacher training college, it gained full university status in 2005 and is the county's main provider of tertiary education. The University of Law also has a campus in nearby Christleton.
The major museum in Chester is the Grosvenor Museum, which includes a collection of Roman tombstones and an art gallery. Associated with the museum is a building on 20 Castle Street that has rooms furnished in different historical styles.[88] The Dewa Roman Experience has hands-on exhibits and a reconstructed Roman street. One of the blocks in the forecourt of Chester Castle houses the Cheshire Military Museum.[89]
The £37m Storyhouse arts centre opened in the city centre in 2017. It includes a theatre, cinema, restaurant and the city's main library. It is housed in the city's remodelled 1936 Odeon Cinema and replaces the Gateway Theatre and the former library on Northgate Street.
Chester Little Theatre is based in Newtown and run by Chester Theatre Club. It generally stages 5 or 6 plays each year.[103] Chester Music Theatre is based in a converted church in Boughton. There was a multiplex cinema and a ten-pin bowling alley at Greyhound Retail Park on the city's edge, but these have closed. The cinema has moved to Broughton, just over the border in North Wales.[104] A new Picturehouse multi-screen cinema is being built in the city centre as part of the Northgate Project, due for completion in 2022. Chester has its own film society, several amateur dramatic societies and theatre schools.
The Grove area of Chester is home to a Grade II-listed bandstand built in 1913. A programme of afternoon performances runs every weekend and Bank Holiday from May to August each year, usually including brass bands, choirs, jazz, blues, and acoustic performers. The current Bandstand Coordinator is Luke Moore, who was appointed in 2018 and has expanded the programme to include a mixture of visual art, theatre, poetry, and community events alongside a variety of musical performances.
Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre, founded in 2010, is the only site-specific professional open-air theatre company outside London. It has an eight-week annual summer repertory season.[105]
To the east side of the city is Chester Zoo, the UK's largest zoo with over 11,000 animals in 110 acres of award-winning gardens.
Numerous pubs, nightclubs, and bars, some of which are located in medieval buildings, populate the city. One such example is Quaintways.
Music
Chester has had a professional classical music festival – the Chester Summer Music Festival, beginning in 1967 and regularly since 1978. The festival went into liquidation[106] in 2012. A major new music festival was launched in March 2013 (previously known as Chester Performs[107]), running annually every summer. The Chester Music Festival features the professional music group Ensemble Deva led by Giovanni Guzzo and Music Director Clark Rundell. Ensemble Deva regularly features soloists and section leaders from the country's leading symphony orchestras, including Liverpool Philharmonic, the Hallé and Manchester Camerata.[108]
Chester has a brass band that was formed in 1853. It was known as the Blue Coat Band and today as The City of Chester Band.[110] It is a third section brass band with a training band. Its members wear a blue-jacketed uniform with an image of the Eastgate clock on the breast pocket of the blazer.
Chester Music Society was founded in 1948 as a small choral society. It now encompasses four sections: The Choir has 170 members drawn from Chester and the surrounding district; The Youth Choirs support three choirs: Youth Choir, Preludes, and the Alumni Choir; Celebrity Concerts promote a season of six high-quality concerts each year; The club is a long established section which aims to encourage young musicians and in many cases offers the first opportunity to perform in public.
The Chester Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) was founded in 1884 and is one of the premier non-professional orchestras in North West England. Formerly the Chester Orchestral Society, it performs music from a vast repertoire. The Orchestra is a registered charity and usually performs four or five concerts each year (including an annual carol concert) in the magnificent setting of Chester's ancient Cathedral under the direction of well-known professional conductors.
Telford's Warehouse, Alexander's Jazz Bar and The Live Rooms are the city's leading live music venues.
An annual popular music festival started in 2011 called Chester Rocks. It is held on the grounds of the Chester Racecourse.
The founder members of the band River City People (guitarist Tim Speed and his drummer brother Paul Speed) are from Chester. They had a number of hits in the early 1990s. Later into the same decade, Mansun formed in the city after singer Paul Draper met guitarist Dominic Chad whilst working in the local former Fat Cat Bar. More recently, Shy and the Fight, featuring Chester-based musicians, has achieved national attention via airplay on Radio 1 and Radio 2, also appearing at Wychwood and Swn festivals. Other bands that have gone on to achieve a degree of success outside of the city include The Suns, The Wayriders, Motion Empire, Casino and Face Of Christ and The Lovelies.
Lydia Sigourney gives her impressions of the city in her poem Chester published in Pleasant Memories of Pleasant Lands, 1842. These relate to her visit to this country from America in 1840.[112]
Economy
Bridge Street and the Rows at Chester, designed by T.M. Lockwood
Chester's primary industries are now the service industries, which are tourism, retail, public administration, and financial services. Many domestic and international tourists visit to view the city's landmarks and heritage, with a complementary benefit to hotels and restaurants.
The city's central shopping area includes its unique Rows or galleries (two levels of shops), which date from medieval times and are believed to include the oldest shop front in England.[113] The city has many chain stores. Also, it features an indoor market, a department store (Browns of Chester, now absorbed by the Debenhams chain), and two main indoor shopping centres: The Grosvenor Shopping Centre and the Forum (a reference to the city's Roman past). There are retail parks to the west and south. Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet and Broughton Retail Park are near the city.
Just over the Welsh border to the west, Broughton is home to a large Airbus UK factory (formerly British Aerospace), employing around 6,000 staff, where the wings of the Airbus aeroplanes are manufactured.[114] There are food processing plants to the north and west. The Iceland frozen food company is based in nearby Deeside.
In 2007, Chester City Council announced a 10-year plan to see Chester become a "must-see European destination". At a cost of £1.3billion it was branded Chester Renaissance.[115]
The Northgate Development project began in 2007 with the demolition of St. Martin's House on the city's ring road. At a cost of £460million, Chester City Council and developers ING hoped to create a new quarter for Chester. The development was intended see the demolition of the market hall, bus station, theatre and NCP car park. They were to be replaced with a multi-storey car park, bus exchange, performing arts centre, library, homes, retail space and a department store which will be anchored by House of Fraser.[116] There project was put on hold in 2008 due to the economic downturn.[117] However a number of Chester's other Renaissance projects continued, including a new health centre, offices and apartments in the Delamere Street development,[118] and a hotel and new headquarters for Cheshire West and Chester Council in the £60million HQ development.[119] Work on a new bus station started in October 2015 and it opened in June 2017.[120][121][122] The Northgate Project is now being led by the council and is due to include a new market hall, cinema, multi-storey car park and restaurant units on the site of the former bus exchange. Building work has begun and is due to be completed in 2022.[123]
Chester General opened in 1848 and was designed with an Italianate frontage. It now has seven designated platforms but once had fourteen. The station lost its original roof in the 1972 Chester General rail crash. In September 2007, extensive renovations took place to improve pedestrian access and parking.[128] The present station has staffed ticket offices and barriers, waiting rooms, toilets, shops and a pedestrian bridge with lifts. Chester General also had a sizeable marshalling yard and a motive power depot, most of which has now been replaced with housing.
In late 1847, the Dee bridge disaster occurred when a bridge span collapsed as a train passed over the River Dee by the Roodee. Five people were killed in the accident. The bridge had been designed and built by famed railway engineer Robert Stephenson for the Chester and Holyhead Railway. A Royal Commission inquiry found that the trusses were made of cast iron beams that had inadequate strength for their purpose. A national scandal ensued, and many new bridges of similar design were either taken down or heavily altered.
Cycling
There are a series of colour-coded signposted cycling routes around the city.
Potential schemes included a new pedestrian and cycling bridge across the River Dee, linking the Meadows with Huntington and Great Boughton, an access route between Curzon Park and the Roodee, an extension to the existing greenway route from Hoole to Guilden Sutton and Mickle Trafford, and an access route between the Millennium cycle route and Deva Link. However, following a reorganisation of the local authorities effective 1 April 2009, the Conservative-led administration of the newly established Cheshire West and Chester council was not very supportive, so comparatively little was actually achieved.
Many of the ideas generated at the time were captured in a Cycle Chester Masterplan document.[133]
The Chester Canal was constructed with locks leading down to the River Dee. Canal boats could enter the river at high tide to load goods directly onto seagoing vessels. The port facilities at Crane Wharf, by Chester racecourse, made an important contribution to the commercial development of the north-west region. [citation needed]
The original Chester Canal was constructed to run from the River Dee near Sealand Road to Nantwich in south Cheshire and opened in 1774. In 1805, the Wirral section of the Ellesmere Canal was opened, which ran from Netherpool (now known as Ellesmere Port) to meet the Chester Canal at Chester canal basin. Later, those two canal branches became part of the Shropshire Union Canal network. This canal, which runs beneath the northern section of the city walls of Chester, is navigable and remains in use today.
From about 1794 to the late 1950s, when the canal-side flour mills were closed, narrowboats carried cargo such as coal, slate, gypsum or lead ore as well as finished lead (for roofing, water pipes and sewerage) from the leadworks in Egerton Street (Newtown). The grain from Cheshire was stored in granaries on the banks of the canal at Newtown and Boughton, and salt for preserving food arrived from Northwich.
Proposed canal
The original plan to complete the Ellesmere Canal was to connect Chester directly to the Wrexham coalfields by building a broad-gauge waterway with a branch to the River Dee at Holt. If the waterway had been built, canal traffic would have crossed the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct heading north to Chester and the River Dee.
As the route was never completed, the short length of the canal north of Trevor, near Wrexham, was infilled. The Llangollen Canal, although designed to be primarily a water source from the River Dee, became a cruising waterway despite its inherent narrow nature.
However, although Wrexham itself was bypassed, the plan to join the rivers Severn, Mersey, and Dee was completed, first by cutting the Wirral Arm from Chester to Ellesmere Port (Whitby wharf) and then by extending the Llangollen Arm via Ellesmere, Whitchurch and Bettisfield Moss through to the Chester Canal at Hurleston. The network became the Shropshire Union Canal.
Trams
Chester had a tram service during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which ran from Saltney, on the Welsh border in the west, to Chester General station and then to Tarvin Road and Great Boughton. It featured the narrowest gauge trams (3'6") in mainland Britain due to an act of Parliament that deemed they must have the least obstructive route possible. [citation needed]
The tramway was established in 1871 by Chester Tramways Company. It was horse-drawn until it was taken over by the council in 1903. Renamed as Chester Corporation Tramways, it was reconstructed to the 3'6" gauge and electrified with overhead cables. The tramway was closed in February 1930, a fate experienced by most other systems in the UK. All that remains are small areas of uncovered track inside the former bus depot, and a few tram-wire supports attached to buildings on Eastgate/Foregate Street. However, substantial sections of the track remain buried beneath the current road surface.
Chester was home to Chester City F.C., who were founded in 1885 and elected to the Football League in 1931 and played at their Sealand Road stadium until 1990, spending two years playing in Macclesfield before returning to the city to the new Deva Stadium – which straddles the border of England and Wales – in 1992. The club first lost its Football League status in 2000, only to reclaim it four years later as Conference champions. However, they were relegated again in 2009 and went out of business in March 2010 after 125 years in existence.[135]
The city also has a professional basketball team in the country's top competition, the British Basketball League. Cheshire Phoenix – formerly known as Cheshire Jets – play at the Cheshire Oaks Arena at nearby Ellesmere Port; and a wheelchair basketball team, Celtic Warriors, formerly known as the Chester Wheelchair Jets.[137]
Rugby Union
Chester Rugby Club (union) plays in the English National League 2 North, having been promoted in 2012. It won the EDF Energy Intermediate Cup in the 2007–08 season and the Cheshire Cup several times.
Watersports on the River Dee
The River Dee is home to Grosvenor Rowing Club, Royal Chester Rowing Club and the University of Chester Rowing Club, and two school clubs, The King's School Chester Rowing Club and Queen's Park High Rowing Club. According to the rowing historian Tim Koch, the city's annual rowing regatta dates back to at least 1814,[138] making it older than The Boat Race (1829) and Henley Royal Regatta (1839), although the regatta claims to date back even further to 1733.[139] Other annual rowing events include the Chester Long Distance Sculls and the Dee Autumn Head in autumn, and the North of England Head in March. The weir is used by a number of local canoe and kayak clubs. Each July, the Chester Raft Race is held on the River Dee in aid of charity.
Horseracing
Chester Racecourse hosts several flat race meetings from the spring to the autumn. The races take place within view of the City walls and attract tens of thousands of visitors. The May meeting includes several nationally significant races, such as the Chester Vase, which is recognised as a trial for The Derby.
Other sports
A successful hockey club, Chester H.C., plays at the County Officers' Club on Plas Newton Lane, and a handball team, Deva Handball Club, boasts of being the largest handball team in the country. Deva's handball club plays in National League 1 of handball. There is also an American football team, the Chester Romans, part of the British American Football League.
Chester Golf Club is near the banks of the Dee, and there are numerous private golf courses near the city, as well as a 9-hole municipal course at Westminster Park.
The Northgate Arena is the city's main leisure centre; smaller sports centres are in Christleton and Upton. The Victorian City Baths are in the city centre.
December 2011 saw the first Chester Santa Dash. A 4km (2.5mi) running event whose route winds around the streets of Chester in aid of local charities; the Santa Dash is a festive event open to everyone of all ages and abilities.
Aldford is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Aldford and Saighton, in the Cheshire West and Chester district, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England.. The village is approximately 6.5 miles (10.5 km) to the south of Chester, on the east bank of the River Dee. The Aldford Brook joins the Dee just north of the village.
The River Dee is a river flowing through North Wales, and through Cheshire, England, in Great Britain. The length of the main section from Bala to Chester is 113 km and it is largely located in Wales. The stretch between Aldford and Chester is within England, and two other sections form the border between the two countries.
Saltney is a town straddling the counties of Flintshire and Cheshire on the England–Wales border. The local government community of Saltney lies entirely in Wales, while the English areas are unparished. The town forms part of Chester's built-up area and is around 5 miles from Deeside.
Parkgate is a village on the Wirral Peninsula in Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Dee, adjoining 100 square kilometres (39 sq mi) of salt marsh. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 3,591.
The history of Cheshire can be traced back to the Hoxnian Interglacial, between 400,000 and 380,000 years BP. Primitive tools that date to that period have been found. Stone Age remains have been found showing more permanent habitation during the Neolithic period, and by the Iron Age the area is known to have been occupied by the Celtic Cornovii tribe and possibly the Deceangli.
Thomas Harrison was an English architect and bridge engineer who trained in Rome, where he studied classical architecture. Returning to England, he won the competition in 1782 for the design of Skerton Bridge in Lancaster. After moving to Lancaster he worked on local buildings, received commissions for further bridges, and designed country houses in Scotland. In 1786 Harrison was asked to design new buildings within the grounds of Lancaster and Chester castles, projects that occupied him, together with other works, until 1815. On both sites he created accommodation for prisoners, law courts, and a shire hall, while working on various other public buildings, gentlemen's clubs, churches, houses, and monuments elsewhere. His final major commission was for the design of Grosvenor Bridge in Chester.
The City of Chester was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2 December 2022 by Samantha Dixon of the Labour Party. She was elected in the by-election held following the resignation of Chris Matheson MP on 21 October 2022.
Handbridge is a district of Chester, England on the south bank of the River Dee. A settlement has existed on the site since the Iron Age, but the site saw major expansion during the collapse of the Roman occupation of Britain, as the city grew too large for its walls. The site was originally mainly a quarry for the abundant red sandstone that much Chester is built from, but in later years became a centre for salmon fishing in the Dee.
Deva Victrix, or simply Deva, was a legionary fortress and town in the Roman province of Britannia on the site of the modern city of Chester. The fortress was built by the Legio II Adiutrix in the 70s AD as the Roman army advanced north against the Brigantes, and rebuilt completely over the next few decades by the Legio XX Valeria Victrix. In the early 3rd century the fortress was again rebuilt. The legion probably remained at the fortress until the late 4th or early 5th century, upon which it fell into disuse.
The history of Chester extends back nearly two millennia, covering all periods of British history in between then and the present day. The city of Chester was founded as a fort, known as Deva Vitrix, by the Romans in AD 70s, as early as AD 74 based on discovered lead pipes. The city was the scene of battles between warring Welsh and Saxon kingdoms throughout the post-Roman years until the Saxons strengthened the fort against raiding Danes.
Chester city walls consist of a defensive structure built to protect the city of Chester in Cheshire, England. Their construction was started by the Romans when they established the fortress of Deva Victrix between 70 and 80 [CE]. It originated with a rampart of earth and turf surmounted by a wooden palisade. From about 100 CE they were reconstructed using sandstone, but were not completed until over 100 years later. Following the Roman occupation nothing is known about the condition of the walls until Æthelflæd refounded Chester as a burgh in 907. The defences were improved, although the precise nature of the improvement is not known. After the Norman conquest, the walls were extended to the west and the south to form a complete circuit of the medieval city. The circuit was probably complete by the middle of the 12th century.
Cheshire West and Chester is a unitary authority area with borough status in Cheshire, England. It was established on 1 April 2009 as part of the 2009 local government changes, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. It superseded the boroughs of Ellesmere Port and Neston, Vale Royal and the City of Chester. The remainder of the ceremonial county of Cheshire is composed of Cheshire East, Halton and Warrington. Cheshire West and Chester has three key urban areas: Chester, Ellesmere Port and Northwich/Winsford.
Minerva's Shrine is a shrine to the Roman goddess Minerva in Edgar's Field, Handbridge, Chester, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. The shrine dates from the early 2nd century and is carved into the face of a sandstone quarry. It is the only monument of its kind in Western Europe that remains in its original location. It is protected by a 19th-century stone surround with a hood, which was refurbished in the late 20th century. The carving has weathered over the centuries and has also been damaged by human activity. Next to the shrine is an opening into the rock face which is possibly a natural fissure that has been enlarged and which is known as Edgar's Cave.
Bridgegate in Chester, Cheshire, England, forms part of the city walls. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.
Grosvenor Park is a public park in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. It consists of 20 acres (8.1 ha) of land overlooking the River Dee. It is regarded as one of the finest and most complete examples of Victorian parks in the North West of England, if not nationally. On 22 August 2013 the designation of the park was raised from Grade II in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens to Grade II*.
Poulton is a settlement and former civil parish, now in the parish of Poulton and Pulford, in the Cheshire West and Chester, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. In 2001 census the parish had a recorded population of 92.
The timeline of Cheshire history shows significant events in the history of the English county of Cheshire.
The Shipgate is a sandstone arch standing in Grosvenor Park, Chester, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. It contains over 650 structures that are designated as listed buildings by English Heritage and included in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, over 500 are listed at Grade II, the lowest of the three gradings given to listed buildings and applied to "buildings of national importance and special interest". This list contains the Grade II listed buildings in the unparished area of the city to the east of the Chester city walls and to the south of the Shropshire Union Canal.
1 2 Lewis, C.P.; Thacker, A.T. (2003). "Roman Chester". A History of the County of Chester: Volume 5 Part 1: The City of Chester: General History and Topography. British-History.ac.uk: 9–15. Archived from the original on 5 August 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2008.
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Emery, G (1998). Chester inside out. Chester, United Kingdom: Gordon Emery. ISBN1-872265-92-8.
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Lewis, P.R. (2007). Disaster on the Dee: Robert Stephenson's Nemesis of 1847. Stroud, United Kingdom: Tempus Publishing. ISBN978-0-7524-4266-2.
Marshall, A. E. (1966). Myths and Legends of Chester. Chester, United Kingdom: Chester blind welfare society. ISBN0-9511783-0-X.
Mason, David J.P. (2001). Roman Chester: City of the Eagles. Stroud: Tempus Publishing Ltd. ISBN0-7524-1922-6.
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Place, G.W. (1994). The Rise and Fall of Parkgate, Passenger Port for Ireland, 1686–1815 (Chetham Society). Lancaster, United Kingdom: Carnegie Publishing Limited. ISBN1-85936-023-8.
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Ward, Simon (2009). Chester: A History. Chichester: Phillimore. ISBN978-1-86077-499-7.
Wilding, R. (1997). Miller of Dee:The story of Chester mills and millers, their trades, and wares, the weir, the water engine, and the salmon. Chester, United Kingdom: Gordon Emery. ISBN1-872265-95-2.
Wilding, R. (2003). Death in Chester: Roman Gravestones, Cathedral Burials, Martyrs, Witches, the Plague, Horrible Hangings, Gruesome Deaths and Ghostly Goings-on. Chester, United Kingdom: Gordon Emery. ISBN1-872265-44-8.
Historic England. "Monument No.1503685". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 8 October 2015. – a detailed historical record about the Fortress Baths, Chester
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