That is a Good Question

The prominent cathedral is a grade1 listed building. The history of which states that it was St. Werburgh's abbey church of a Benedictine monastery. The architecture of this building is of importance, as it reflects many historical changes in this city. From a Roman stronghold, to the Saxons keeping out the Danes, to the Norman Conquest and so it keeps going....

The 13th century layout of The Rows had shops at street level These had a long gallery above, reached by steps from the street level. Living quarters are on the gallery level. In the Middle Ages this would have been a hall, open to the roof and heated by a central hearth. The private rooms, or solar, were above the gallery. In the Tudor and Jacobean period the upper floors were built out over the gallery, supported on long poles down to the street level. Shops at ground level used the space between the posts to display their goods to passers-by. The Rows are probably the most photographed feature of this city. They are also a major contributor to the economy here.







Eastgate Clock was erected to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897. This clock is probably the 2nd most photographed clock in Britain after Big Ben. From here you can see an over-view of all the shoppers at The Rows.

This city is along the River Dee. The river runs 70 miles and rises into Snowdonia and discharges at an estuary near Wirral. It is also a natural border between England and Wales. The Queen's Park Suspension Bridge is the only footpath over this river and adds an interesting feature to the city. There are tourists boats to further explore the river at differing lengths.

This city has a prawd Woman herwatidge.....um hmmm....Proud Roman heritage. In Roman times this city was called Deva.

From a previous trip the below pictures show some of the wall around the town. This city was strategically important and the walls defended that. The original fort, Deva Victrix was dated AD 79. The walls are the most complete walls remaining in Britain. They form a 2 mile long circuit, only breaking at a car park. Back in the day, I am sure it was more important to keep the Welsh out than to provide a car park, however. The sentiment can still be seen in the rules as quoted from another website:

"A famous archaic by-law of _______ states that any Welshman loitering within the city walls after sunset may be killed by decapitation or shot with a longbow. The law was originally imposed by King Henry V following the Welsh Revolt. This order was never repealed, and still officially stands on the statute to this day, although it no longer provides protection against prosecution for murder.^"

Here are a few scenes from around the city....of course; food and including, Tudor architecture and also performers at The Rows are all pretty common here.

Ok, this is a good spot to "ruin" the surprise. St. John's Baptist church have ruins to the east on their grounds. This church is found outside the walls and up the bank from the river and very near the discovered Roman amphitheatre. The building is said to be one of the oldest in the city, founded by a Saxon minister in the 7th century. It is likely that some of the stone used to build it was taken from the mentioned amphitheatre. Rebuilt by the Normans, the church went through many abuses during the civil war. It was used as a barracks and gun battery, from here is where Roundhead guns breached the walls! I have to owe you a picture of an interesting coffin from the 15th century that had the words "Dust to Dust" labeled on it (somehow it was overlooked in the downloading of this batch of pictures). It is set high up on the ruin's walls and was set there in 19th century and is thought to come from the Nantwich area. According to another website:

"Local folklore, however, gives it much more colourful origins. One tale is that it is the coffin of a monk who had committed murder. Another is that is it the coffin of someone who wanted to be prepared for the day of judgement and so had asked to be buried standing up – ready for the last trumpet to sound. Yet another is that it is the coffin of a sinner who the Devil placed here to forever look down on the living world as punishment."




Less old part of the church:

Old English form of Latin for castra 'legionary camp.' Chester was a common name for someone to have in the 20th century and was a transfered surname from this city.

http://www.chesterwalls.info/