Chester - Industry

Boughton Watertower

As canals were built in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, they attracted industrialists wishing to take advantage of the cheap and relatively fast transport the canals provided. In Chester, several industries grew up along the banks of the Canal.

Chester - The Wall

G. Braun´s map of Chester 1571

The construction of the walls was started by the Romans between 70 and 80 AD. From about 100 AD the wooden palisades were replaced by red sandstone. The defences were improved after 907, and 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.

Chester - Roman Bath and Amphitheatre

The baths were a part of the Chester fortress. They occupied a block about 85 metres square.

Chester - The Cathedral

There has been a church on the site of the cathedral since the 7th century. Since about AD 900 it has housed the shrine of St. Werburgh, a 7th century Mercian princess who became a nun and rose to be in charge of all the nunneries in Mercia.
In 1092 Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester founded the Benedictine Abbey of St. Werburgh on this site.
In 1540 Henry VIII seized control during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and the Abbey Church became Chester Cathedral a year later.

Chester - Black and White

It is said that the most interesting medieval feature of the city is The Rows. These are double-level walkways with a continouos line of balconies and with shops at street and first-floor levels. The Rows were certainly in existence in the 14th century. I was fascinated by the black and white structure of the buildings :)

Chester

A lot of people had told me not to miss Chester, so I decided to check out this old city for two days.
Chester was occupied by the Romans, the 20th legion had a fortress here. It was charged with suppressing the uprising of the army led by the warrior queen, Boadicea. In AD 70 the town was known as Deva, it soon became a major trading port. It had a massive harbour and a good border position, so it was one of the best strategic outposts of the Roman Empire.
Circa AD 400 the Romans withdrew, they left a wall around the city, a Amphitheatre and a bathhouse. Soon after their withdrawal the prosperous city fell to marauding Danes and Saxons and was derelict by 900.
Circa 1070 the Normans reached Chester and a revival began, Chester Castle was built, the first Earl of Chester, a nephew of William the Conqueror lived there. In the Middle Ages Chester become a centre of shipping trade, a port serving Scotland, Ireland, France and Spain.
Henry VIII granted a charter in 1541 and made Chester a bishopric.
The River Dee silt up and changed course in the 15th and 17th century and the seaborne trade died.