Chester

Chester
Population
OS grid reference	SJ405665
District	Chester
Shire county	Cheshire
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CHESTER
Postcode district	CH
Dialling code	01244
Police	Cheshire
Fire	Cheshire
Ambulance	North West
UK Parliament	City of Chester

For the larger local government district, see Chester (district).

For other uses, see Chester (disambiguation).

Chester is the county town of Cheshire, England. Situated on the River Dee, on the border with Wales, Chester is one of the best-preserved walled cities in the United Kingdom. It is the main settlement of the wider Chester District, and has a total population of 80,121. Its name in Welsh is Caer.

Chester is perhaps most notable for its successive historic uses and occupations, and the subsequent variety of architectural monuments found within the settlement.

The patron saint of Chester is Saint Werburgh. The city's motto is 'Antiqui Colant Antiquum Dierum', which translates as 'Let the Ancients worship the Ancient of Days'. The adjective associated with the city is Cestrian.

Geography and administration

The resident population for Chester District in the 2001 Census was 118,210, which represents 17.5% of the Cheshire County total, 1.8% of the North West population.

77,040 lived in the Greater Chester urban area (65% of the total of Chester District). Population is forecast to grow by 5% in the period of time from 2005 to 2021).

Suburbs of Chester include:

• Bache
• Newton
• Blacon
• Boughton
• Curzon Park
• Handbridge
• Hoole
• Huntington
• Lache
• Saltney
• Upton
• Westminster Park

History

Main article: History of Chester

Main article: Deva Victrix

The history of Chester extends back nearly two millennia ago, 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, by the Romans in AD 79, and named after the goddess of the River Dee. 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.

Following the Norman Conquest in 1066, Chester came under the Earl of Chester. It became a centre of the defense against Welsh raiders and a launch point for raids on Ireland.

The city grew as a trading port until the power of the Port of Liverpool and "silting up" of the river overtook it. However the city did not decline and during the Georgian and Victorian periods was seen as a place of escape from the more industrial cities of Manchester and Liverpool.

Chester City Walls

Main article: Chester city walls

Chester is reknown in the United Kingdom for being the "Walled City". It has the most complete city walls within the UK and they are a Grade I listed building. The first walls date from the Roman times, but they have been replaced, enlarged and repared at various times since then.

Present day

The Falcon Inn after restoration

File:The Cross.JPG

The Cross as seen from The Rows

A considerable amount of land in Chester is owned by Duke of Westminster who owns an estate - Eaton Hall - near the village of Eccleston. Grosvenor is the Duke's family name, which explains such features in the City such as the Grosvenor Bridge, the Grosvenor Hotel, and Grosvenor Park. Much of Chester's architecture dates from the Victorian era, with many of the buildings modelled on the Jacobean half timbered style of the medieval times being designed by John Douglas, who was 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. In 1911, Douglas' protege and city architect James Strong 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: first, affordable housing and second, traffic congestion. As a result vast areas of slums were cleared and in 1964 an inner by-pass ring road was built to direct traffic 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 producing, for instance, the suburb of Blacon.

The weir on the River Dee, Chester, England (2002)

Curzon Park as seen from the famous Grosvenor Bridge spanning the River Dee.

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

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 (so as not to give the Welsh the "time of day"), 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 Renaissance

In 2007 Chester Council announced a 10 year plan to see Chester become a "must see European destination". At a cost of £1.3 billion it has been nicknamed Chester Renaissance.

There are currently four major developments occurring in Chester.

In 2007, the Northgate Development project began. At a cost of £400 million, Chester City Council and developers ING, hope to create a new quarter for Chester. The development will see the demolition of the current market hall, bus station, theatre and NCP car park. In its place will be a new multi-storey car park, bus exchange, performing arts centre, homes, retail space and a flagship department store.

Culture

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

Shops in Chester

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 (a reference to the City's Roman past). The Forum, which houses stores and the Chester Market, will be demolished in the Northgate Development scheme to make way for new shopping streets, a new indoor market, an enlarged library, a car park and bus station, and a performing arts centre.

Arts & Sport

Chester's entertainment sector is going through somewhat of transformation. The Gateway Theatre has now closed as part of the Northgate Development and so too has the Odeon cinema leaving the city without any kind of performing arena. The site has now been earmarked for redevelopment which includes a nightclub. 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, some of which date from medieval times, populate the city. Chester also has some nightclubs, which are soon going to be added to by the development of two new clubs in the next eighteen months. Also to the east side of the city are the UK's largest zoological gardens, Chester Zoo. Chester has its own film society.

Chester City FC in action

The city features the Grosvenor Museum, which contains exhibitions about the city's Roman past as well as a reconstructed Georgian house. The Dewa Roman Experience, completely dedicated to the city's Roman heritage, is also based in the centre of the city, as is the Chester Heritage Centre and the Cheshire Military Museum.

The city has a football team, Chester City F.C., who play at the Saunders Honda Stadium; a national basketball team, the newly named, BiG Storage Cheshire Jets, who play in the city's Northgate Arena leisure centre; and a wheelchair basketball team, the Chester Wheelchair Jets. Chester also has a successful Hockey Club Chester HC who play at the County Officers' Club on Plas Newton Lane, and also an American Football team, the Chester Romans, who are part of the British American Football League.

The River Dee is also home to several rowing clubs, notably Grosvenor Rowing Club and Royal Chester Rowing Club, as well as two school clubs, 'King's Chester Rowing Club' and 'Queen's Park High Rowing Club'. The weir is regularly used by a number of local canoe and kayak clubs. Each July a charity raft race is held on the River Dee. Chester Golf Club can also be found near the banks of the Dee.

Music

Britpop band Mansun are probably the most famous band to come from Chester. Forming in 1995 and disbanding in 2003, their most recognised hit was 'Wide Open Space', which peaked at number 15 in the UK charts in 1996.

Russ Morgan, a member of notable house music band K-Klass, also hails from Chester.

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. It is a thriving 3rd section brass band with an active training band and it still wears a blue-jacketed uniform with an image of the famous Eastgate clock on the breast pocket.

Media

Chester's newspapers are the daily Chester Evening Leader, and the weekly Chester Chronicle. It also has various free publications: the free newspapers Chester Mail and Chester Standard, and the free monthly magazine called Chester's Choice. Dee 106.3 is the city's own radio station, with Wrexham's Marcher Sound 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 Bank of America, formerly MBNA Europe. There is also a large Shell oil refinery (in Ellesmere Port), several large financial firms including HBOS plc and M&S Money. Just over the Welsh border to the west near the village of Broughton there is an aerospace factory (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. The Iceland frozen food company is based in nearby Deeside.

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

Transport

OpenStreetMap of central Chester

Chester has a railway station to the North East of the city centre. Designed by Francis Thompson with an impressive Italianate frontage in 1848, the interior is currently 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 First Group and Arriva, the council owned and operated ChesterBus (formerly Chester City Transport) having been sold to First Group in mid-2007. There are plans to build a new bus exchange 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.and tha A483 to Wrexham

During the late 19th and early 20th 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.

Recent Discoveries

Between 14 May 2007 and 6th July 2007 excavations were carried out in Grosvernor Park. The main aim being to find Cholmondeley's lost Mansion, that was demolished in 1867.

A number of interesting finds have come to light including : - Plaster work from the mansion ceiling. - Civil War musket balls - Clay Tobacco Pipes (17th - 18th Century) - Clay Tobacco Pipe waster clay from manufacture - A base of a small Roman Statue of Venus - A Roman votive offering in the form of a lead axe head.

Famous Cestrians

• Russ Abbot Actor, Musician
• Emily Booth Actress
• Thomas Brassey Civil Engineer, railway contractor
• Sir Adrian Boult Orchestral Conductor
• Randolph Caldecott Artist and Illustrator
• Daniel Craig Actor
• Andy Dorman MLS Footballer
• William De Morgan Potter
• Doug Ellis Former chairman of Aston Villa Football Club
• Jeff Green Comedian
• Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor Duke of Westminster
• Thomas Heaton Footballer
• A. S. Hornby Lexicographer
• Hugh Lloyd Actor
• Mansun Successful Britpop band who scored a number one album in 1997
• Eveleigh Moore-Dutton Conservative Politician
• Danny Murphy Footballer
• Michael Owen Footballer
• Ronald Pickup Actor
• Basil Radford Actor
• David Roberts, Inventor of the caterpillar track
• L. T. C. Rolt Biographer, Engineer, Canal enthusiast, Writer
• Alex Sanderson Rugby Union player
• Beatrice Tinsley Cosmologist
• Anthony Thwaite Poet
• Beth Tweddle World Champion Gymnast
• Helen Willetts Weather Forecast Presenter, former international Badminton Player

Gallery of images

• 
  Upper Bridge Street, Chester (2002).
• Dutch House, Bridge Street, Chester (2007).
  Dutch House, Bridge Street, Chester (2007).
• St Michael's Heritage Centre, Bridge Street, Chester (2007).
  St Michael's Heritage Centre, Bridge Street, Chester (2007).
• Grosvenor Shopping Mall, Bridge Street, Chester (2007).
  Grosvenor Shopping Mall, Bridge Street, Chester (2007).
• 
  Curzon Park in Summer (2007).
• 
  View of the Roodee and Curzon Park (2007).

References

• Emery, G. (1999). Curious Chester ISBN 1-872265-94-4.
• Emery, G. (1998). 'Chester Inside Out ISBN 1-872265-92-8.
• Emery, G. (2003). The Chester Guide ISBN 1-872265-89-8.
• Emery, G. (Ed.). The Old Chester Canal ISBN 1-872265-88-X.
• Emery, G. (2002). Chester Electric Lighting Station ISBN 1-872265-48-0.
• Lewis, P.R. (2007). Disaster on the Dee: Robert Stephenson's Nemesis of 1847, Tempus Publishing. ISBN 978 0 7524 4266 2.
• Marshall, A. E. (1966).Myths and Legends of Chester ISBN 0-951178-30-x.
• Morton, H. V. (1929). In Search of England.
• Place, G.W. (1994). The Rise and Fall of Parkgate, Passenger Port for Ireland .
• Wall, B. Tales of Chester ISBN 1-870708-72-5.
• Wilding, R. (1997).Miller of Dee ISBN 1-872265-95-2.
• Wilding, R. (2003). Death in Chester ISBN 1-872265-44-8.

External links

• Chester Renaissance
• A Virtual Tour (of the Roman Walls)
• Chester City Council's History Facts
• The Chester Wiki
• The Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire
• Reprint of paper on Dee bridge disaster