Water Tower, Chester

Last updated

Water Tower
Chester Water Tower 2.jpg
Spur wall leading to the Water Tower
Location Chester, Cheshire, England
Coordinates 53°11′33″N2°53′58″W / 53.1926°N 2.8995°W / 53.1926; -2.8995 Coordinates: 53°11′33″N2°53′58″W / 53.1926°N 2.8995°W / 53.1926; -2.8995
OS grid reference SJ 399 665
Built1325
ArchitectJohn Helpston
Listed Building – Grade I
Official nameSpur wall and Water Tower
Designated28 July 1955
Reference no.1376129
Cheshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location in Cheshire

The Water Tower (originally known as the New Tower) is a 14th-century tower in Chester, Cheshire, England, which is attached by a spur wall to Bonewaldesthorne's Tower on the city walls. The tower, together with its spur wall, is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. [1] The original name of the tower was New Tower but in the 17th century it became known as the Water Tower, although the City Assembly tried to insist on the usage of its correct name. [2]

Contents

History

The tower was built between 1322 and 1325, at which time it stood in the River Dee. It is attached to Bonewaldesthorne's Tower by a spur wall. The architect was John (de) Helpston who had also designed castles for King Edward II in North Wales. Its prime purpose was to defend the port of Chester, and it was also used to monitor the movements of shipping and to ensure that the custom dues were paid. [3] The cost of the tower and the spur wall was £100 (equivalent to £70,000 as of 2019). [4] [5] By the end of the 16th century the river had silted up and the tower was landlocked. [3] In 1639 the tower was renovated at the city's expense and during the following decade embrasures in the spur wall were made into gun ports. [2] During the Civil War the tower was attacked and damaged. [6] From 1671 it was leased as a storehouse but in 1728 it was described as "useless and neglected". [2]

The Chester Mechanics' Institution was founded in 1835. The Institution wished to open a museum to show its artifacts and the city council leased the Water Tower and Bonewaldesthorne's Tower at a nominal rent for this purpose. The museum opened in 1838. The Institution closed in 1876 and the exhibits came into the possession of the city council. Although it was recognised that the tower was not suitable as a museum, there was at the time nowhere else to show all the exhibits. The tower closed as a museum in 1901–02 while the city walls were rebuilt, and re-opened in 1903, attracting 12,000 visitors that season. The towers were closed to the public in 1916 and in the 1920s they were let for non-museum use. In 1954 they were bought by the Grosvenor Museum which reopened them to the public in 1962. [7] The tower is now some 200 yards (183 m) inland from the river, [3] and is probably the least-altered of Chester's medieval towers. [8] The Water Tower and the adjacent Bonewaldesthorne's Tower have housed a museum of the history of medicine, 'Sick to Death', since August 2016. [9]

Architecture

The tower and spur wall are built in sandstone rubble. [1] The tower is about 75 feet (23 m) high, and the wall is 97 feet (30 m) long, just over 11 feet (3 m) wide and about 24 feet (7 m) high. [5] An archway in the city walls leads to 44 stone steps on the way down to the tower. The wall is crenellated; this may be the only surviving example of medieval crenellation on the city walls. [1] The tower is circular at its base with a square turret above, in two stages containing octagonal chambers, one above the other. A pointed archway leads from the wall into the lower chamber. In the angle between the tower and the wall was a small latrine. Five stone steps lead down from the archway through the wall (about 12 feet (4 m) thick) to the lower chamber. Formerly in its walls were embrasures, but these have been blocked and are only visible from the exterior. A circular staircase of 23 steps leads to the upper chamber, which has four embrasures in its walls. Above this is a raised fighting platform overlooking the entrance to the tower. The top of the tower is crenellated. [1] [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

Chester Castle

Chester Castle is in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. It is sited at the southwest extremity of the area bounded by the city walls. The castle stands on an eminence overlooking the River Dee. In the castle complex are the remaining parts of the medieval castle together with the neoclassical buildings designed by Thomas Harrison which were built between 1788 and 1813. Parts of the neoclassical buildings are used today as Crown Courts and as a military museum. The museum and the medieval remains are a tourist attraction.

Beeston Castle Former Royal castle in Beeston, Cheshire, England

Beeston Castle is a former Royal castle in Beeston, Cheshire, England, perched on a rocky sandstone crag 350 feet (107 m) above the Cheshire Plain. It was built in the 1220s by Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester, (1170–1232), on his return from the Crusades. In 1237, Henry III took over the ownership of Beeston, and it was kept in good repair until the 16th century, when it was considered to be of no further military use, although it was pressed into service again in 1643, during the English Civil War. The castle was slighted in 1646, in accordance with Cromwell's destruction order, to prevent its further use as a bastion. During the 18th century, parts of the site were used as a quarry.

St Oswalds Church, Malpas Church in Cheshire, England

St Oswald's Church stands on the highest point in the market town of Malpas, Cheshire, England, on or near the site of a Norman motte and bailey castle. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building and is recognised as being one of the best examples in Cheshire of a late 15th to early 16th-century church. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Malpas. Its benefice is combined with those of St John, Threapwood, and Holy Trinity, Bickerton. Alec Clifton-Taylor includes it in his list of 'best' English parish churches.

Chester city walls

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 AD. It originated with a rampart of earth and turf surmounted by a wooden palisade. From about 100 AD 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.

St Mary and All Saints Church, Great Budworth Church in Cheshire, England

St Mary and All Saints Church is in the centre of the village of Great Budworth, Cheshire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Great Budworth. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. Clifton-Taylor includes it in his list of 'best' English parish churches. Richards describes it as "one of the finest examples of ecclesiastical architecture remaining in Cheshire". The authors of the Buildings of England series express the opinion that it is "one of the most satisfactory Perpendicular churches of Cheshire and its setting brings its qualities out to perfection".

St Oswalds Church, Lower Peover Church in Cheshire, England

St Oswald's Church is in the village of Lower Peover, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield and the deanery of Knutsford. Its benefice is combined with that of St Lawrence, Over Peover.

St Peters Church, Chester Church in Cheshire, England

St Peter's Church is in Eastgate Street in the centre of the city of Chester, Cheshire, England, immediately to the north of Chester Cross. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. It is an active Church of England parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Chester. The ancient walls mark the boundaries of the parish.

St Michaels Church, Chester Church in Chester, England

St Michael's Church is a redundant church standing on the corner of Bridge Street and Pepper Street in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. The former church was previously used as a heritage centre, until March 2019, when it opened as Chester: A Life Story, a historical attraction tracing the life of Chester and its inhabitants over the last two thousand years.

Guildhall, Chester Church in Cheshire, England

The Guildhall, formerly Holy Trinity Church, is a redundant church in Watergate in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. The church closed in 1960, became known as the Guildhall, and was converted to be used for secular purposes.

St Marys Church, Handbridge Church in Cheshire, England

St Mary's Church is in Overleigh Road in Handbridge, an area south of the River Dee, in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. It is also known as the Church of St Mary-without-the-Walls. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Chester.

Chester Town Hall

Chester Town Hall is in Northgate Street in the centre of the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.

Bridgegate, Chester

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.

Rocksavage

Rocksavage or Rock Savage was an Elizabethan mansion, now in ruins, at SJ526799 in Clifton, Cheshire, England. Built for Sir John Savage, MP in 1565–1568, Rocksavage was one of the great Elizabethan houses of the county, a leading example of the Elizabethan prodigy house; in 1674, it was the second largest house in Cheshire. James I visited in 1617. The house was abandoned when it passed into the Cholmondeley family early in the 18th century, and by 1782 only ruins remained.

Gamul House

Gamul House is at 52–58 Lower Bridge Street, Chester, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and contains the only medieval stone-built open hall to survive in Chester.

Stanley Palace

Stanley Palace is at 83 Watergate Street, Chester, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. Built as a town house for Sir Peter Warburton in 1591, it has since been apartments, a boys' school, and a museum.

Bonewaldesthornes Tower

Bonewaldesthorne's Tower is a medieval structure on the northwest corner of the city walls of Chester, Cheshire, England; it is attached by a spur wall to the Water Tower. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. Built as part of Chester's defensive system, it was used in the 19th and early 20th centuries as a museum.

Pembertons Parlour

Pemberton's Parlour is a structure on the northern part of the Chester city walls, and it was formerly known as the Goblin Tower. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.

Phoenix Tower, Chester

Phoenix Tower stands at the northeast corner of the city walls in Chester, England. The tower is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. It has also been known as Newton Tower and King Charles' Tower.

Addleshaw Tower Grade II listed bell tower in Chester, United Kingdom

Addleshaw Tower is the free-standing bell tower of Chester Cathedral, in Chester, Cheshire, England. It was designed by George Pace, and built to house the cathedral bells. These had been hung in the cathedral's central tower, and needed overhaul, but it was considered to be unsafe to re-hang them in the tower without disturbing its architectural features. Despite the design resulting in some local controversy, the tower is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. It is the first free-standing bell tower to be built by an English cathedral since the 15th century.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Historic England, "Spur Wall and Water Tower, Chester (1376129)", National Heritage List for England , retrieved 15 July 2012
  2. 1 2 3 Thacker, A. T.; Lewis, C. P. (eds.) (2005), Major buildings: City walls and gates, A History of the County of Chester: The City of Chester: Culture, Buildings, Institutions, 5, Part 2, pp. 213–225, retrieved 11 August 2009CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  3. 1 2 3 Ward, Simon (2009), Chester: A History, Chichester: Phillimore, p. 38, ISBN   978-1-86077-499-7
  4. ↑ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017), "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)", MeasuringWorth, retrieved 2 February 2020
  5. 1 2 3 Hartwell, Clare; Hyde, Matthew; Hubbard, Edward; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2011) [1971], Cheshire, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, pp. 253–254, ISBN   978-0-300-17043-6
  6. ↑ Water Tower, Chester City Council, retrieved 9 August 2009
  7. ↑ Thacker, A. T.; Lewis, C. P. (eds.) (2005), Leisure and culture: Museums, A History of the County of Chester: The City of Chester: Culture, Buildings, Institutions, 5, Part 2, pp. 294–297, retrieved 11 August 2009CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  8. ↑ Morriss, Richard (1993), The Buildings of Chester, Dover: Alan Sutton, p. 48, ISBN   0-7509-0255-8
  9. ↑ Can you stomach it?! Gruesome new visitor attraction 'Sick to Death' opens its doors to the public, Cheshire West and Chester Council, 3 August 2016, retrieved 6 August 2016
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.