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.

The Lady Chapel was built from 1250-1275. In the vaulted ceiling are three celebrated bosses. The centre boss shows Maria with Jesus on her knees. On each side an angel swings a censer.

The Cloister Garden is original Norman, but rebuilt in the sixteenth century.