I will also need to look at how Chester town was constructed.
The Urban Morphology of Chester.
Chester is strategically placed on the Welsh border. ‘Guarding’ the lowest point of the River Dee. This was chosen by the roman army as a place for one of their fortresses.
This Roman fortress of Deva was founded in the late 70s AD, to control areas of North Wales and Western Pennines. The Fortress was made of wood at first and at the beginning of the 2nd century parts were rebuilt in stone. The port, just to the west of Deva became one of the busiest in Britain. The walls of this fortress were rectangular and on each of the four sides was a gateway giving access to main streets. Three of these streets met in the middle and formed a kind of crossroads in front of the military headquarters or what was then called Principia. Inside these four walls, were all the needed amenities such as bath-houses, hospitals and granaries.
Overleaf is an example of the original fortress and its north, south, east and west streets with the wall boundaries.
During the next few centuries, with money earned from the well established port, Chester went through some additions.
A castle was established in 1070 by William I (see below). This became the seat of a powerful Earldom. These Norman Earls completed and extended the walls on the fortress. A cathedral church was also begun at St John’s in 1075.
Continuous development along the fronts of the streets was how the well known areas of Chester evolved. These Rows are the elevated covered galleries that exist today. These buildings were developed during a period when Chester was at the height of its economic prosperity. The port was flourishing along with the military base. This wealth was used by the community to do some extensive rebuilding of the core of the city. These shops with two levels, unique to Chester quickly caused people to recognize its commercial advantages, therefore rapid development of these types of buildings are still apparent today.
The Roman fortress has no doubt left its mark on the city today. The major roman streets and some minor ones have survived to the present day.
It is important to mention the Civil War (1642-6) and the devastation that it caused Chester. All the suburbs were burned, the city walls were in ruins, and not a street within the city escaped undamaged. Rebuilding took many years. Timber was used to reconstruct even the most important buildings. Brick was hardly used in Chester until the 1670’s as a brickworks was then established just south of the river. At this time some old timber houses were replaced with brick mansions, and others were encased or re-fronted.
During the 18th century, Chester was typical of many other towns. Expanding, confident and fashionable. Re-building continued throughout the 18th Century until the original streets were seen as decrepit. Terraces of smart new town houses were therefore built.
Chester escaped extensive growth during the industrial revolution as the River Dee silted up for many years.
The city walls, having long lost their military role were converted into a paved ‘promenade’ and the four medieval gateways, were replaced by ornamental bridges. Thomas Harrison started to rebuild the crumbling medieval castle. Chester also had its share of Victorian courtyard dwellings, the worst of which were packed behind the lavish new Town Hall.
In the 19th century there was a population explosion (21,000 to 35,000) and there was a substantial suburban expansion with considerable new development. The city was made some adjustments by rebuilding in the second half of the 1800’s. New buildings included the Town Hall and the King’s School. Many new hotels were built in City Road, the Grosvenor Hotel opened in Eastgate Street in 1866. James Harrison also rebuilt or restored many of the town’s medieval churches.
Chester changed during the 20th century due to the rise of the motorcar. Traffic became a problem as early as 1930. The narrow ‘Wolfgate’ in the eastern city walls was too small for vehicles and ‘Newgate’ was built in 1938 to manage the increased volume of cars entering the city.
Chester escaped the bombings of the Second World War. It was during the 1960’s when Chester went through its period of greatest change. The city center saw a large-scale redevelopment mostly around the Town Hall area. A modern shopping precinct was added (the Grosvenor Shopping Centre) behind Eastgate Street and Bridge Street.
Chester continues to develop as a town and buildings are preserved.
Architectural History and Vernacular Tradition of Chester.
To complete this section it is important to look into buildings, look at methods and techniques used on the buildings. And see if they have changed during the 19th century. And also the architectural styles throughout the years and what exists to this day.
This Tudor building is arguably one of the most beautiful in the town center and still exists today. Built in 1661 and still operates as a public house.
This Victorian building is one of many ‘Mock Tudor’ buildings and can be mistaken for the ‘real thing’. With the uniform dark timber and white paint it is a good imitation. The Rows can also be seen in this picture.
These are examples of existing Georgian buildings. In the picture on the right you can see the basement access from the street level. This is where the servants would enter the house. The ground floor was the living space of the owners. Solid limestone is used above and below the windows and small bricks are used.
Georgian front doors have a portico entrance usually decorated by a crescent shape window above. Doors have six panels. First floor windows are similar in design and size to the ground floor because they are the bedrooms of the owners. High chimneys are for when the fires are lit.
This is the Medieval Cross, this marked the center of the fortified walled medieval settlement of Chester. It is around this central point that the market would have grown. Both the medieval cross and church are both built from sandstone from the ridge on which Chester stands.
These are Medieval Almshouses built to house the old. Apparently it would have been the privilege to live here as they are of high quality.
Here you can see in more detail the medieval Rows of the market area of Chester. These are unique to Chester. It is believed that traders built shops on top of the ruined Roman walls to gain access to shoppers.
Most architectural styles dating from the Medieval times exist in Chester today. Lots of examples have been restored or additional sections have been added. I believe this town is a mixture of all architectural styles. Below is an example of this. In Stanley Place there is a Georgian building (originally a house) now a hotel on a Roman Street.
In this picture below, the street plan is Roman, and the building is Victorian.
In this example the street plan is roman and the building is Georgian.
I will now look into buildings that have been built or have changed during the 19th century.
God’s Providence house.
The building below virtually replaces a 1652 original that was not structurally sound. This was done in 1857 to preserve and keeps its ancient character. The height of the building was greatly increased making quite an impact on its Georgian neighbours. Even though the original timbers were used, this is still a Victorian building.
St Pauls Church.
Built in 1876, this is a church of great vitality from architect John Douglas. It is unexpectantly broad and short and built using local red brick. (This is an example of vernacular tradition; a local brick merchant provided much of Chester’s building material) Pointed arches are entirely of timber. An unusual wrought iron screen is on the inside. Douglas extended this building, in 1902.
The Queens School.
The design of this school is deceptively like Douglas style. But in fact it was designed by a pupil of his during 1870’s. The building is of a L-Shape. Construction is in a local brown brick with red terracotta and stone dressings. The West wing elevation is richly detailed in the vernacular revival style including mullioned windows, shaped chimneys, and an ornate steepled belfry.
I think it is fair to say that a lot of change took place during the industrial revolution but I believe Chester changed at more or less the same rate that it always has, the revolution did not have the impact that it had made on other towns and city’s on Chester. Other towns and cities like nearby Liverpool made huge changes by building modern commercial buildings to attract tourists. Indeed money came into Chester. It seems that Chester chose to spend money on restoring the town’s history instead of making new modern buildings. Factories and mills were built along with the Town Hall. Many new hotels were also built in City Road, the Grosvenor Hotel opened in Eastgate Street in 1866. But restoration seemed to be the biggest thing. Many of the town’s medieval churches were restored. But most of the streets (especially the main ones) have stayed the same. This can be clearly seen in the modern map below when compared with one on page 3.
I believe the industrial revolution did not cause a drastic change to Chester and the town’s buildings still have the character that the town is famous for. I have discovered that a lot is done to maintain the original streets and buildings of this town. And hopefully this is maintained and drastic changes are not made to the townscape in the future, I feel this would be a disaster as Chester is a fine historical learning ground that attracts tourists and therefore brings money to the area.
Word Count 2,029
Sources.
Source 1 – Page 6
2000 Years of Building- Chester’s Architectural Legacy
Published by The Chester Civic Trust
Source 2 – Page 40
2000 Years of Building- Chester’s Architectural Legacy
Published by The Chester Civic Trust
Sources 3 - 13 –
Source 14 – Page 158
2000 Years of Building- Chester’s Architectural Legacy
Published by The Chester Civic Trust
Source 15 – Page 166
2000 Years of Building- Chester’s Architectural Legacy
Published by The Chester Civic Trust
Source 16 – Page 165
2000 Years of Building- Chester’s Architectural Legacy
Published by The Chester Civic Trust
Source 17 – Page 168
2000 Years of Building- Chester’s Architectural Legacy
Published by The Chester Civic Trust
Source 18 -
