Chester

is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants,^[1] and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the 2001 Census.^[2] Chester was granted city status in 1541.

Chester was founded as a "castrum" or Roman fort with the name Deva Victrix in the year 79 by the Roman Legio II Adiutrix during the reign of the Vespian.^[3] Chester's four main roads, Eastgate, Northgate, Watergate and Bridge, follow routes laid out at this time – almost 2,000 years ago. One of the three main Roman army bases, Deva later became a major settlement in the Roman province of Britannia. After the Romans left in the 5th century, the Saxons fortified the town against the Danes and gave Chester its name. The patron saint of Chester, Werburgh, is buried in Chester Cathedral.

Chester was one of the last towns in England to fall to the Normans in the Norman conquest of England. William the Conqueror ordered the construction of a castle, to dominate the town and the nearby Welsh border. In 1071^{[citation needed]} he created Hugh d'Avranches, the 1st Earl of Chester.

Chester has the reputation of being the "English medieval city par excellence", but many of its buildings are from the Victorian era.^[4] Along with Derry, Chester makes a claim for being one of the best preserved complete walled cities in the British Isles^[5][6][7] It has the most complete city walls in Great Britain,^[8] and most sections of the walls are listed Grade I. 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.

 History

 Roman

Model of how Deva Victrix would probably have looked.

The Romans founded Chester as Deva Victrix in the 70s AD in the land of the Celtic Cornovii, according to ancient cartographer Ptolemy,^[9] as a fortress during the Roman expansion northward.^[10] It was named Deva either after the goddess of the Dee,^[11] or directly from the British name for the river.^[12] The 'victrix' part of the name was taken from the title of the Legio XX Valeria Victrix which was based at Deva.^[13] A civilian settlement grew around the military base, probably originating from trade with the fortress.^[14] The fortress was 20% larger than other fortresses in Britannia built around the same time at York (Eboracum) and Caerleon (Isca Augusta)^[15]; 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.^[16] The civilian amphitheatre, which was built in the 1st century, could seat between 8,000 and 10,000 people.^[17] It is the largest known military amphitheatre in Britain,^[18] and is also a Scheduled Monument.^[19] The Minerva Shrine in the Roman quarry is the only rock cut Roman shrine still in situ in Britain.^[20] The fortress was garrisoned by the legion until at least the late 4th century.^[21] Although the army had abandoned the fortress by 410 when the Romans retreated from Britannia,^[22] the 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.^[21]

 Medieval

Deverdoeu was still one of two Welsh language names for Chester in the late 12th century; its other and more enduring Welsh name was 'Caerlleon', literally "the fortress-city of the legions", a name identical with that of the Roman fortress at the other end of the Welsh Marches at Caerleon in Monmouthshire, namely Isca Augusta. The colloquial modern Welsh name is the shortened form, Caer. The early Old English speaking Anglo Saxon settlers used a name which had the same meaning, 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 simplex name Chester emerged. From the 14th century to the 18th the city's prominent position in North West England meant that it was commonly also known as Westchester. This name was used by Celia Fiennes when she visited the city in 1698.^[23]

Industrial history

Chester played a significant part in the Industrial Revolution which began in the North West of England in the latter part of the 18th century. The city village of Newtown, located north east of the city and bounded by the Shropshire Union Canal was at the very heart of this industry^{[citation needed]} 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.

Archaeology

Between 14 May 2007 and 6 July 2007, excavations were carried out in Grosvenor Park. The main aim was to find Cholmondeley's lost mansion, which was demolished in 1867.

A number of 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.^[24][25][26]

Modern era

The Falcon Inn after restoration

A considerable amount of land in Chester is owned by the Duke of Westminster who owns an estate, Eaton Hall, near the village of Eccleston. He also has London properties in Mayfair.

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, 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. 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.

Towards the end of WWII, a lack of affordable housing meant many problems for Chester. Large areas of farmland on the outskirts of the city 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 town centre to combat traffic congestion.

These new developments caused local concern as the physicality and therefore the feel of the city was being dramatically altered. In 1968, a report by Donald Insall^[27] in collaboration with authorities and government recommended that historic buildings be preserved in Chester. Consequently, the buildings were used in new and different ways instead of being flattened.^[28]

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 13 January 2002, Chester was granted Fairtrade City status. This status was renewed by the Fairtrade Foundation on 20 August 2003.

[edit] Renaissance

The weir on the River Dee, Chester (2002)

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.^[29] A website was launched by the Renaissance team, so that interested parties could monitor progress on all the projects.^[30]

There are overall, seven developments ongoing in Chester.

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 £460 million, Chester City Council and developers ING hope to create a new quarter for Chester. The development will see the demolition of the 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, library, homes, retail space and a department store which will be anchored by House of Fraser.^[31]

On October 31, 2008, it was revealed that Chester's much heralded Northgate development was to be put on hold until 2012 due to the ongoing credit crunch.^[32] However a number of Chester's other Renaissance projects continue at pace. The current active projects are; The Delamere Street development^[33] and The £60million HQ development.^[34]

Governance

Chester is an unparished area within the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester as of 1 April 2009 replacing the old Chester City Council and the local ward is the City ward electing 3 councillors. A small area around Chester Castle remains a civil parish of Chester Castle.^[35] The Council was elected in May 2008 and the current councillors for the City Ward are Max E A Drury, Richard Lowe, and Tom Parry, all three representing the Conservative Party.^[36] The Member of Parliament for the City of Chester is Christine Russell^[37]

Twin towns

Chester is twinned with

• Sens, France
• Loerrach, Germany
• Lakewood, Colorado, USA
• Senigallia, Italy

Geography

Chester lies at the southern end of a 2-mile (3.2 km) Triassic sandstone ridge that rises to a height of 42 m within a natural S-bend in the River Dee (before the course was altered in the 18th century). The bedrock, which is 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 part of Chester consisted of heathland and forest. The western side towards the Dee Estuary was marsh and wetland habitats.

Climate

As with most of the United Kingdom, Chester has an oceanic climate.

Divisions and suburbs

Bache, Blacon, Boughton, Curzon Park, Great Boughton, Handbridge, Hoole, Huntington, Lache, Mollington, Newton, Newtown, Saltney, Saughall, Upton, Vicars Cross, Westminster Park

Demography

There are 77,040 living within the Greater Chester urban area (65% of the total of Chester District). This population is forecast to grow by 5% in the period 2005 to 2021.^[1] The resident population for Chester District in the 2001 Census was 118,210. This represents 17.5% of the Cheshire County total (1.8% of the North West population).^[2]

Economy

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.^[39] The city has many chain stores, both in the centre and in retail parks to the west, and also features an indoor market, a department store (Browns of Chester, now absorbed by the Debenhams chain), and 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.^[40]

Chester's main industries are now the service industries, comprising retail, tourism and financial services. Chester's main employer is Bank of America, formerly MBNA Europe. There are also several large financial firms including HBOS plc and M&S Money. At Ellesmere Port is a large Shell oil refinery. Just over the Welsh border to the west, near the village of Broughton, there is an Airbus UK factory (formerly British Aerospace), where the wings of Airbus aircraft, including the Airbus A380 are manufactured,^[41] 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 Diana, Princess of Wales and Countess of Chester.