Medieval and Roman Chester
As mentioned in the previous story, we used the Columbus Day 3-day weekend to visit Liverpool and then Chester.
Chester is a beautiful town -- containing one of the greatest concentrations in the UK of Elizabethan buildings, dating from as early as about 1500. It also has a virtually intact city wall.
The city was a Roman camp, established by those wide-ranging Italians in the first century. As they were wont to do, over time they built a wall and a significant fortress in this location, on the frontier of Roman Britain, at the border of Wales. The Romans, of course, ultimately left when Roman Britain collapsed in the 4th century, but the town continued. In the medieval era the Roman walls, much the worse for wear, were added to and upgraded and these combination Roman-medieval walls still exist. The city played a part in the English Civil War as well, when it was a stronghold for the Royalist forces though the surrounding county of Cheshire was predominantly Parliamentarian in sympathy. It is one of the few cities where, except for a very few yards, one can walk the entire circuit of the walls.
Of course the town long ago grew to include a lot of area outside the walls. But the combination of the virtually intact city walls, the large number of 16th century Elizabethan buildings and the location on the River Dee make Chester both unique and beautiful. And, like any self-respecting English city of any size does, Chester has a cathedral -- and, as always, it's worth spending some time in any of these fantastic buildings that exist in such numbers throughout the UK. To see some of the sights we liked so much check out: http://chuck.smugmug.com/gallery/876492
One of the most difficult tasks, which Chester seems to have handled well, is the combination of narrow, historic streets with the automobile. The town has also done a great job of combining its fascinating history with modern life; there are modern buildings, shopping centers, hotels, and so on, but they are well-integrated into the town without causing enormous clashes.
If you ever find yourself touring the English countryside outside of the London area, you would, we think, find a couple of days in Chester most rewarding.
Chester is a beautiful town -- containing one of the greatest concentrations in the UK of Elizabethan buildings, dating from as early as about 1500. It also has a virtually intact city wall.
The city was a Roman camp, established by those wide-ranging Italians in the first century. As they were wont to do, over time they built a wall and a significant fortress in this location, on the frontier of Roman Britain, at the border of Wales. The Romans, of course, ultimately left when Roman Britain collapsed in the 4th century, but the town continued. In the medieval era the Roman walls, much the worse for wear, were added to and upgraded and these combination Roman-medieval walls still exist. The city played a part in the English Civil War as well, when it was a stronghold for the Royalist forces though the surrounding county of Cheshire was predominantly Parliamentarian in sympathy. It is one of the few cities where, except for a very few yards, one can walk the entire circuit of the walls.
Of course the town long ago grew to include a lot of area outside the walls. But the combination of the virtually intact city walls, the large number of 16th century Elizabethan buildings and the location on the River Dee make Chester both unique and beautiful. And, like any self-respecting English city of any size does, Chester has a cathedral -- and, as always, it's worth spending some time in any of these fantastic buildings that exist in such numbers throughout the UK. To see some of the sights we liked so much check out: http://chuck.smugmug.com/gallery/876492
One of the most difficult tasks, which Chester seems to have handled well, is the combination of narrow, historic streets with the automobile. The town has also done a great job of combining its fascinating history with modern life; there are modern buildings, shopping centers, hotels, and so on, but they are well-integrated into the town without causing enormous clashes.
If you ever find yourself touring the English countryside outside of the London area, you would, we think, find a couple of days in Chester most rewarding.
posted by Chuck and Kathi Calvano @ 6:19 PM
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