History of Chester
The history of Chester extends back nearly two millennia, covering all periods of
Following the Norman Conquest in 1066, Chester came under the Earl of Chester. It became a centre of the defence 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 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.
Roman
The Romans founded Chester as Deva Victrix in AD 70s in the land of the Celtic Cornovii, according to ancient cartographer Ptolemy,[1] as a fortress during the Roman expansion north.[2]
It was named Deva either after the goddess of the Dee,[3] or directly from the British name for the river.[4] The 'victrix' part of the name was taken from the title of the Legio XX Valeria Victrix who were based at Deva.[5] A civilian settlement grew around the settlement, probably starting as a group of traders and their families who were profiting from trade with the fortress.[6] The fortress was 20% larger than other fortresses in Britannia built around the same time at York (Eboracum) and Caerleon (Isca Augusta);[7] this has led to the suggestion that the fortress may have been intended to become the capital of the province rather than London (Londinium).[8]
The civilian
Sub-Roman and Saxon period
The
The
The
The
After the kings swore fealty and allegiance they rowed him back to the palace. As he entered he is reported to have said that with so many kings' allegiance his successors could boast themselves to be kings of the English.
Middle Ages
After the 1066
Chester's earls were a law unto themselves. They kept huge hunting forests - Hugo was said to have 'preferred falconers and huntsmen to the cultivators of the soil', and Ranulf I converted the Wirral farmlands into another hunting forest. Before Ranulph, Hugo's son had inherited at the age of seven but died in the White Ship, along with the king's heir, William, on his way to England from France, where he was educated under the guardianship of Henry I. Earl Ranulf II, Ranulph's son, even helped to capture King Stephen in 1140, and ended up controlling a third of England after supporting Henry II's claim to the throne.
Other earls were
The first earl had endowed a great
There is a popular belief that it was the silting of the River Dee that created the land which is now
Despite stories to the contrary, the weir above the
Chester's port flourished under Norman rule. In 1195 a monk, Lucian, wrote 'ships from Aquitaine, Spain, Ireland and Germany unload their cargoes of wine and other merchandise'. In fact wine was imported through only four other English ports. During the 13th century Chester was famous for its fur trade and even by the mid-16th century the port was importing large amounts of fur and skins. In 1543 one ship alone brought in '1600 shhep fells, 68 dere, 69 fawne skins and 6300 broke (badger skins)' .
However the estuary was silting up so that trading ships to the port of Chester had to harbour downstream at Neston, Parkgate, and "Hoyle Lake" or Hoylake.
Chester's first known mayor was William the Clerk. The second known mayor was Walter of Coventry, who served between 1241 and 1245. The town's third mayor was Walter de Livet (Levett) who was named as mayor in a royal decree from May 1246.[21] (Walter of Coventry and Walter de Livet may be the same person.)[22] During early Chester history, the mayor often held his position for 10 years or more; apparently the early mayor's terms were open-ended.[23]
Tudor and Stuart times
Originally the port was located to the north of the Watergate just below the city wall. To the south of the Watergate the Roodee existed in smaller form than today. The map sequence shows the river moving its course from against the wall north of the Watergate out to its current location between 1580 and approximately the 1830s. By the first edition
In September 1642 tension between King Charles I and Parliament was growing and civil war looked like it might be a possibility. Charles visited Chester and ensured the election of pro-royalist mayor
Parliamentary forces began to lay siege to the city of Chester. In the early morning of 20 September 1645, parliamentary forces overran the eastern earthworks at the Boughton turnpike and captured the east suburbs of the city up to the walls. They began to construct cannon batteries within range of the city.
A cannon battery placed in St John's churchyard breached the city walls on 22 September near the Roman amphitheatre. A hole some 25 feet wide was made with thirty-two cannon shots. Following the breach an attempt was made to storm the city, but the defenders repelled the charge. According to an account at the time by Lord Byron, the breach was stopped up with woolpacks and featherbeds from all parts of the town. One can see to this day the repairs made to the wall, the section of which is next to the Roman Gardens (see photo below).
On the evening of 23 September 1645, King Charles I entered the City of Chester with 600 men via the Old Dee Bridge. He stayed the night at Sir Francis Gamull's house on Bridge Street. Also during the evening Sydenham Poyntz, a Parliamentarian in pursuit of the King's forces, entered Whitchurch (15 miles to the south) with 3000 horse. A battle looked likely.
Later that evening the King became aware of Poyntz's movements, as a messenger was intercepted at Holt. A decision was made to send out Lord Gerrard's horse troops and five hundred foot soldiers in the morning.
On the morning of 24 September 1645 the
The engagement lasted all day starting at 9am and continued throughout the day in three stages as Royalists were pushed back towards the City and its walls. The battle was mainly conducted on horseback with musketeers supporting the cavalry's flanks. As the battle went on into the afternoon, more troops were ordered to march out of the Northgate in support of the Royalists on Rowton Moor, but this decision was too late—the battle was already lost.
As the fighting reached the suburbs it was watched by King Charles I and Sir Francis Gamull from Chester's Phoenix Tower (now also called King Charles' Tower) on the city walls. The King quickly withdrew to the Cathedral tower, but even this was not safe, as the captain standing next to him was shot in the head by musket fire from the victorious Parliamentarians who took residence in the St John's Church tower.
The battle cost the lives of 600 Royalists and an unknown number of Parliamentarians. Among the Royalist dead was Lord Bernard Stuart (1622–1645) Earl of Lichfield, the king's cousin. His portrait is displayed in the National Gallery.[1]
Also slain at the same time was William Lawes (1602–1645) a noted English composer and musician. He was buried in Chester Cathedral without a memorial. He was remembered by the king as the 'Father of Musick' and his portrait as a cavalier hangs in the Faculty of Music at Oxford.
Today there is a small memorial to the battle in the village of Rowton. It consists of a brief history and a battle plan of field at the time.[24]
The next day the king slipped out of Chester and crossed the Old Dee Bridge en route to Denbigh. He left instructions for the city to hold out for 10 days more.
By 1646, after having refused to surrender nine times and with Lord Byron at the head of the city's defences, having only spring water and boiled wheat for lunch — the citizens (17,000) had already eaten their dogs — a treaty was signed. The mills and the waterworks lay in ruins. When the exultant Puritan forces were let loose on the city, despite the treaty, they destroyed religious icons including the high cross, which was not erected again for over three centuries. In 1646 King Charles I was proclaimed a traitor beside its base.[citation needed]
Worse was to come. The starved citizens then bore the full brunt of
In 1643 Sir Richard Grosvenor petitioned the Assembly to enclose the Row which ran through the front of his town house on Lower Bridge Street, and his request was granted. At the time he was employed in the Royalist army as a Commander. Some speculate that perhaps the room was being used to organise the Royalist Resistance in Chester. In the years after the war, people further down the street also asked for the Row to be enclosed. Eventually Lower Bridge Street lost its rows. The only trace can now be found at number 11.
Most of Chester was rebuilt after the Civil War. There are many fine half-timbered houses dating from this time still standing today.
Chester port declined with most of the ships going from the colonies now going to Liverpool, although it was still the major port of passenger embarkation for Ireland until the early 19th century. A new port was established on the Wirral called Parkgate, but this also fell out of use. The road to the port of Chester was called the 'Great Irish Road' and ran from Bristol to Chester.
Georgian and Victorian eras
The port declined seriously from 1762 onwards. By 1840 it could no longer effectively compete with Liverpool as a port, although significant shipbuilding and ropemaking continued at Chester. It was once thought that Chester's maritime trade was brought to an end by the silting of the
In the Georgian era, Chester became again a centre of affluence, a town with elegant terraces where the landed aristocracy lived. This trend continued into the Industrial Revolution, when the city was populated with the upper classes in fleeing to a safe distance from the industrial sprawls of Manchester and Liverpool.
The
A leadworks was established by the canal in 1799; its shot tower, which was used for making lead shot for the Napoleonic Wars,[27] is the oldest remaining shot tower in the UK.
The
The
See also
References
- ^ Ptolemy (1992), Book II Chapter 2
- ^ Mason (2001), p. 42.
- ^ Salway, P. (1993) The Oxford Illustrated History of Roman Britain. ISBN CN 1634
- ^ C.P. Lewis, A.T. Thacker (2003). "A History of the County of Chester: Volume 5 part 1". www.British-history.ac.uk. British-history. Retrieved 10 March 2008.
- ^ Mason (2001), p. 128.
- ^ Mason (2001), p. 101.
- ^ Carrington (2002), p. 33-35.
- ^ Carrington (2002), p. 46.
- ^ Spicer, Graham (9 January 2007). "Revealed: New discoveries at Chester's Roman amphitheatre". Retrieved 20 November 2009.
- ^ Carrington (2002), p. 54-56.
- ^ Historic England. "Chester Amphitheatre (69224)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 10 March 2008.
- ^ Historic England. "Roman shrine to Minerva (1375783)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 March 2008.
- ^ a b Lewis, C.P.; Thacker, A.T. (2003). "Roman Chester". A History of the County of Chester: Volume 5 Part 1: The City of Chester: General History and Topography. British-History.ac.uk: 9–15. Retrieved 15 March 2008.
- ^ Mason (2001), p. 209-210.
- ^ Nennius (attrib.). Theodor Mommsen (ed.). Historia Brittonum, VI. Composed after AD 830. (in Latin) Hosted at Latin Wikisource.
- ^ Ford, David Nash. "The 28 Cities of Britain Archived 15 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine" at Britannia. 2000.
- ^ Newman, John Henry & al. Lives of the English Saints: St. German, Bishop of Auxerre, Ch. X: "Britain in 429, A. D.", p. 92. Archived 21 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine James Toovey (London), 1844.
- ^ In the account of the monk Henry Bradshaw.
- ISBN 978-1317866275.
- ^ "The City of Chester". British History Online. Retrieved 15 February 2008.
- ^ Appointment of Walter Lyvet, Chester, by King Henry III, Windsor, 1251, Patent Rolls of the Reign of Henry III Preserved in the Public Record Office, London, 1908
- ^ Mayors and Sheriffs of Cheshire, British History Online
- ^ Late medieval Chester, 1230-1550, A HIstory of the County of Cheshire: Volume 5, Part 1, C. P. Lewis, A. T. Thacker, Victoria County HIstory, British History Online, british-history.ac.uk
- ^ 1940s Map of the Battle Site
- ^ "When an Eye is armed with a Telescope: The Dioptrics of William and Samuel Molyneux. By Peter Abrahams". Retrieved 15 February 2008.
- ISBN 978-0-7524-4266-2.
- ^ Historic England. "Chester Leadworks and Shot Tower (1375860)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 February 2008.
- ^ Historic England. "Town Hall (1376371)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 February 2008.
- ^ Historic England. "Cathedral Church of Christ & the Blessed Virgin Mary (1376398)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 February 2008.
- ^ "Chester". The Drill Halls Project. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
- ^ "Town Hall - Chesterwiki".
- ^ Historic England. "The Eastgate and Clock (1376249)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 February 2008.
Bibliography
- Carrington, P, ed. (2002). Deva Victrix: Roman Chester Re-assessed. Chester: Chester Archaeological Society. ISBN 0-9507074-9-X.
- Mason, David J.P. (2001). Roman Chester: City of the Eagles. Stroud: Tempus Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7524-1922-6.
- ISBN 0-486-26896-9.
Further reading
- Published in the 19th century
- Edward Parry (1849), "Ancient City of Chester", The railway companion from Chester to Holyhead, Chester: T. Catherall, OL 19366501M
- "Chester", Black's Picturesque Tourist and Road-book of England and Wales (3rd ed.), Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black, 1853
- "Chester", Great Britain (4th ed.), Leipsic: Karl Baedeker, 1897, OL 23302162M
- Published in the 20th century
- Newstead, Robert. The Roman Occupation of Chester (Deva). Chester: G.R. Griffith, 1948. OCLC 34910582
- Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 107–109. .