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 Castle I |
A Virtual Stroll Around the Walls of Chester Chester Castle part II |
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n
the
right,
we
see
Chester
Castle-
in
a
small
detail
from
this
view
of
Chester-
which
appeared
in
the
London
Magazine
in
1753.
A
quarter
of
a
century
later
this
mighty
structure
would
be
almost entirely gone,
swept
away
to
make
room
for
the
buildings
that
occupy
the
site
to
this
day.
The
rebuilding
of
Chester
Castle
took
37
years,
delays
being
caused
by
financial
problems,
the
need
for
two
separate
Acts
of
Parliament,
and
the
fact
that
much
of
the
building
work
was
undertaken
by
a
badly-housed
and
often
undernourished
population
of
convicts.
Architect Thomas Harrison
himself
was
also
occasionally
found
to
be
at
fault-
he
was
threatened
with
dismissal
for
failing
to
produce
plans
and
drawings
on
time,
and
did
not
actually
move
from
his
home
in
Lancaster
to
supervise
the
project
until
1794,
three
years
after
work
had
started.
He
spent
the
rest
of
his
life
in
Chester,
living first in Folliot House in Northgate Street and then building
himself
a
fine house,
in
close
proximity
to
his
new
castle. This was St. Martin's Lodge, a simple and elegant, understated piece of Regency architecture, which remains with us today and, until recently, was utilised for administrative purposes by Cheshire Police. With their relocation in 2003 to a new HQ in Winsford and the demolition of their Chester HQ, the building became redundant and, at the time of writing, is for sale.
Harrison
became
County
Surveyor,
his
only
public
appointment,
in
1815
at
the
age
of
71,
and
he
eventually
died
in
1829
at
the
ripe
old
age
of
85,
with
a
national
reputation
for
a
range
of
fine
public
buildings,
bridges
and
country
houses.
Architectural critic Nikolas
Pevsner wrote
of
Harrison's
remodelled castle: "what
he
has
achieved
here
is
one
of
the
most
powerful
monuments
of
the
Greek
Revival
in
the
whole
of
England".
When
Grosvenor
Street
had
been
created
in
1825
to
link
the
city
with
Harrison's
new
Grosvenor
Bridge,
it
had
been
necessary
to
demolish
an
ancient
church
dedicated
to
St. Bridget
and
he
designed
a
new
church
bearing
the
same
dedication,
which
was
erected
close
to
the
recently-rebuilt
castle.
Harrison
was
laid
to
rest
in
the
churchyard
here,
but
when
this
church
(you
can
see
a
picture
of
it
on
the
previous
page)
was
in
turn
demolished
during
the
1960s
to
make
way
for
a
traffic
island
on
the
new
Inner
Ring
Road,
his
remains
were
transferred
to
Blacon
Cemetery
on
the
edge
of
the
city.
The
exact
location
of
Harrison's
former
vault
is
not
certain
but
is
thought
to
lie
somewhere
under
the
pavement
in
Grosvenor
Street-
and
marked
by
a
manhole
cover- not
much
of
a
memorial
to
a
great
man!
Some
traces
of
the
old
St. Bridget's
churchyard
remain
with
us
today,
however.
Should
you
ever
pass
this
way,
you
will
observe
that
a
number
of
gravestones
remain,
not
only
on
a
small
patch
of
land
next
to
the
new
magistrate's
court
building-
but
also
standing
on
the
traffic
island
itself!
In early May 2002, while investigating a reported leak at the junction of Grosvenor and Bridge Streets, gas engineers started unearthing large quantities of human bones! An engineer at the scene conjectured, "The gas main must have been laid through the old crypt of St. Bridget's and it was completely surrounded by bones. We must have dug out at least a hundred skulls".
As the discovery became noticed by passers-by, an amazed crowd "three deep" started to assemble, at which point the gas company called in the council archaeology service to investigate. City archaeologist Keith Matthews, said that the bones were between 200 and 600 years old and he was starting a full investigation to find out how they could have been left behind when the church was demolished in 1832.
(Actually, we've since learned that the reported quantity of bones found had been, unsurprisingly, grossly exaggerated by the local press. The remains had actually been buried under the chancel of the old church and have been described as being "in remarkably good condition".)
Today,
the
Castle
houses
Chester
Crown
Court,
some
of
the
departments
of
Cheshire
County
Council
and
the
fascinating
Cheshire
Regiment
Military
Museum.
With
the
exception
of
occasional
patches
of
medieval
walling,
the
only
survivor
of
the
great
castle
in
which
Henry
Bolingbroke
imprisoned
Richard
II
in
1399
is
the
three-storey
red
sandstone
tower
of
c.1200
curiously
named
Agricola's
Tower-
it
certainly
has
no
Roman
connection-
and
even
this
was
refaced
by
Harrison.
This
was
one
of
the
towers
of
the
Inner
Bailey.
The
site
of
the
Outer
Bailey
is
represented
by
Harrison's
courtyard,
the
Shire
Hall
occupies
the
site
of
the
medieval
Great
Hall,
and
the
barracks
wing
that
of
the
outer
gatehouse.
(Curiously,
there
is
a
record
that,
in
1581,
the
city
magistrates
bought
the
old
Shire
Hall
in
the
Castle "for
six
Cheshire
cheeses",
and
moved
it
to
the Market
Square
where
it
was
first
served
as
a
granary,
and
was
then
appropriated
by
the
city's
butchers,
and
became
the
flesh
shambles)
The
Inner
Bailey
was
to
the
south,
beyond
Harrison's
armoury
wing,
and
the
so-called
Agricola's
Tower
was
sited
between
the
inner
gatehouse
and
the
Inner
and
Outer
Bailey
walls.
Its
top
floor
houses
the
fine
Norman
/
Early
English
Chapel
of
St. Mary
de
Castro,
where
have
recently
been
discovered
some
very
fine
ceiling
paintings,
hidden
under-
and
preserved
by-
chemical
deposits
from
the
gunpowder
which
was
once
stored
here.
In
the
middle
of
April
2001,
we
learned
that
two
of
the
buildings
within
the
castle
complex,
Colvin
and
Napier
Houses,
had
been
lying
unused
for
the
past
three
years
and
had
been
put
into
the
hands
of
an
estate
agent
with
a
view
to "redeveloping
them
for
commercial
use".
Critics
at
the
time
pointed
out
the
absurd
situation
of
the
Lord
Chancellor-
in
the
face
of
great
public
criticism-
choosing
to
establish
his
new
County
Courthouse
in
the
grossly-inappropriate
setting
of
the
McLean
office
block
newly
erected
on
top
of
a
portion
of
Chester's
Roman
amphitheatre
when
all
the
time
these
dignified
buildings,
located
right
next
door
to
the
Crown
Court
and
just
over
the
road
from
the
Magistrate's
Court,
were
sitting
empty (and remain empty seven years later, in June 2008!)
Promoters of Chester's 'heritage industry' have long been aware that our Castle, despite its remarkable historic connections, attracts relatively few visitors. Few would deny that its buildings lack the magnificence of ancient castles such as that at Conwy, fifty miles or so along the North Wales coast. Perhaps the unattractive large car parking area puts them off, or the presence of the courts and council offices leads visitors to believe that they would not be welcome here.
But then, in November 2002, the local press reported that plans were afoot to "raise the profile" of Chester Castle. Planners and councillors will apparently "seek to balance the need to conserve the historic site with the need for a 'here and now' solution that would attract visitors into the area". Further reading revealed that the essense of the plan involved the inviting of commercial developers to submit proposals for restaurants, bars, offices- even a hotel was envisioned.
Just the types of businesses appearing in over-large numbers throughout the rest of the city, and consequently hardly an original or particularly exciting idea. Depending upon the quality of the businesses invited to participate in the scheme- and the levels of rents demanded for the new commercial premises- the end result could be a vibrant and welcoming addition to our city's historic attractions- or it may be vulgar beyond belief. Only time will tell.
The Prison
From
earliest
times,
prisoners
of
every
rank
from
King
to
peasant
were
confined
at
Chester
Castle. People
were
imprisoned-
and
frequently
executed-
for
trifling
offences,
and
inprisonment
in
those
ancient
dungeons
must
always
have
been
a
terrible
experience;
crowded
together
in
filthy
conditions
and
suffering
an
existence
of
almost-total
inactivity,
often
in
shackles
fastened
to
the
wall.
The Chester Plea Roll in 1435 recorded the following terrible punishment meted out to one who refused to defend himself: "Thomas Broune of Irby complained to the Justice of Chester that John Strete of Nantwich stole a horse of his, worth 12s. Strete was arrested, but refused to plead; he could speak but of his malice he would not. The jury convicted him and the sentence was pronounced: let him be sent back to prison in the King's Castle of Chester and there be kept under strict custody, lying naked upon the floor; let iron above what he can carry be placed upon his body; as long as he lives let him have a morsel of bread one day and the next a drink of water from the nearest prison gate, until he shall die there in the said prison."
By
the
middle
of
the
'civilised'
18th
century-
and
the
massive
increase
in
prisoners
of
war "brought
in
by
the
cartload" following
the Jacobite
Rebellion
of
1745,
overcrowding,
bad
food
and
filthy
conditions
led
to
outbreaks
of
disease-
notably
typhus-
resulting
in
large
numbers
of
deaths
among
the
inmates.
In
addition,
the
advent
of
the
American
War
of
Independence
made
it
more
difficult
to
transport
prisoners
to
the
plantations,
leading
to
a
further
increase
in
the
population.
In
the
following
year,
a
letter
recorded "There
is
a
very
contagious
and
mortall
Distemper
in
the
Castle
of
which
the
Gaoler
and
his
wife
are
dead
and
Rebells
and
Debtors
in
abundance.
Since
the
Gaoler's
death
the
Rebells
have
attempted
to
knock
the
Turnkey's
brains
out
and
have
cutt
and
mangled
him
desperately".
In
1783,
the
prison
reformer
John
Howard
visited
Chester.
(His
name
lives
on
in
today's
Howard
League
for
Penal
Reform)
On
a
visit
overseas,
he
had
been
captured
by
privateers
and
imprisoned
in
terrible
conditions
in
France.
After
his
release,
this
bitter
experience
led
him
to
devote
his
considerable
energies
and
fortune
to
campaigning
for
an
improvement
in
prison
conditions-
he
persuaded
the
government
to
order
gaolers
to
be
paid
properly-
formerly
they
were
forced
to
live
on
what
they
could
extort
for
the
inmates-
and
prisons
to
be
kept
clean
and
their
occupants
decently
fed.
He
described
the
medieval
Northgate
Gaol as "insufficient,
inconvenient
and
in
want
of
repair" and
compared
it
to
the Black
Hole
of
Calcutta.
Stung
by
Howard's
criticisms,
the
city
authorities
realised
something
had
to
be
done,
so,
as
part
of
the
rebuilding
of
the
Castle,
a
new
prison
was
commissioned
and
opened
in
1792.
Harrison
paid
attention
to
the
recommendations
of
the
reformers,
and
consuted
the
leading
prison
architect
of
the
day,
William
Blackburn.
His
design
aimed
to
provide
the
inmates
with
dry
and
airy
cells,
and
the
sexes
were
separated
for
the
first
time.
Different
classes
of
prisoner
were
also
segregated-
debtors
were
housed
in
'airy
yards'
on
the
upper
level,
said
to "command
a
delightful
view
of
the
fine
ruins
of
Beeston
Castle".
Upon
completion,
Harrison's
gaol
was
praised
as "in
every
respect
one
of
the
best-constructed
goals
in
the
Kingdom".
However,
in
1817
the
architect James
Elmes commented "No-one
viewing
this
edifice
can
possibly
mistake
it
for
anything
but
a
gaol,
the
openings
as
small
as
convenient
and
the
whole
external
appearance
made
as
gloomy
and
melancholy
as
possible".
Conditions for the prisoners may have improved in the new gaol but brutal punishments continued to be carried out there. On 22nd April 1868, the London Times reported the following, "At the time when a joyous crowd of people were collecting about the railway station for the purpose of witnessing the arrival of and showing their loyalty to the Prince and Princess of Wales, two of their fellow subjects confined in the Castle were writhing under the infliction of the cat-o'-nine-tails for robbing a man named John Haslem Massey at Appleton on the 18th of February. The prisoners who were tried and covicted at Chester assizes were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment and one to 15 and the other to 20 lashes. The prisoners, Hart and Cooke, were taken from their cells to one of the prison yards ahout half-past 6. Hart, who is only 13, was the first to undergo the punishment awarded to him, viz 15 lashes. So terrified did he become at the preparations that while he was being fastened to the triangle, he cried. At the first blow he shrieked loudly and continued to shout and clutch the post to which he was fastened until the full number of strokes had been dealt. Cooke, who is 32, and who was sentenced to 20 lashes, was compelled to look on. At the flrst blow he, too, let up a piercing cry. Both looked pale and exhausted after the sentence".
The
Castle
and
Gaol
in
their
magnificent
setting
may
be
seen
in
the
fascinating
aerial
photograph
above.
In
the
foreground
is
the Old
Dee
Bridge and
beyond
are
the Grosvenor
Bridge and
the Roodee.
You
can
also
see
another
photograph
of
the
gaol
as
viewed
from
the
river here.
Improvements
In
the
area
between
the
Castle
walls
and
River Dee
formerly
ran
a
thoroughfare
known
as
Skinner's
Lane
where
many
of
the
less
glamorous
trades
of
the
town
were
practiced-
animal
skinners,
renderers
and
tanners,
among
others-
as
well
as
an
acid
factory.
By
modern
standards,
it
must
have
been
an
awful
place
and
a
major
source
of
pollution,
especially
at
a
time
when
the
Dee
supported
a
thriving
fishery
and
most
people's
domestic
water
supplies
came
straight
from
the
river!
In
the
early
1830s,
the
city
authorities,
anxious
to
improve
the
situation,
acquired
this
area
and
extended
the
city
wall
to
enclose
it.
The
Chester
Courant
in
July
1831
described
the
changes: "Most
of
the
buildings
have
been
taken
down,
as
well
as
a
great
portion
of
the
walls,
for
the
purpose
of
extension.
The
walls
will
be
diverted
from
their
original
course,
to
the
river
edge,
about
30
feet
from
the Bridgegate and,
having
continued
in
a
straight
line
along
the
river
for
285
feet,
will
make
an
angle
at
that
extent
and
join
the
old
walls
70
feet
from
the
present
west
boundary
wall
of
the
County
Gaol.
The
bulk
of
the
new
part
will
be
600
feet,
the
boundary
of
the
Gaol
will
follow
the
course
of
the
city
walls,
which
are
now
building
along
the
river,
at
low
watermark,
so
that
they
will
overhang
the
Dee
at
high
water..."
Thus,
the
wall
now
makes
a
right-angled
turn
to
the
south
east
and
drops
to
the
level
of
present-day
Castle
Drive.
By
the
end
of
the
nineteenth
century,
the
prison
came
to
be
seen
as "inadequate
and
undesirable".
This
judgement
was
no
doubt
in
part
due
to
the
fact
that
it
occupied
a
prime
site
next
to
the
river,
considered
better
utilised
for
other
purposes.
Consequently,
in
the
early
years
of
this
century,
the
gaol
was
demolished,
along
with
the
fire-damaged Old
Dee
Mills
nearby,
and
for
a
few
years
after,
the
site
was
utilised
as
a
drill
ground
for
the
local
artillery.
Today,
only
the
gaoler's
house
and
one
row
of
cells
survives.
The
photograph
above
shows
the
scene
just
before
the
prison,
the
old
mills
and
the
adjoining
industrial
premises
were
about
to
disappear
forever.
As
previously
mentioned,
the
central
block
of
the
Castle
had
been
used
as
the
administrative
HQ
of
Cheshire
County
Council
since
its
formation
in
1888.
Over
time,
the
increasing
complexity
of
the
council's
functions
made
the
need
for
more
office
space
necessary,
and
as
a
result
the
large
Neo-Georgian
County
Hall,
illustrated
right,
was
built
between
1938
and
1957,
(work
was
delayed
by
the
war)
designed
by
the
then
County
Architect,
E.
Mainwaring
Parkes,
occupying
the
site
of
the
old
prison
and
Skinner's
Lane.
The
eminent
architectural
historian
and
critic Nikolas
Pevsner dryly
commented
of
County
Hall
that
it
was: "not
an
ornament
to
the
riverside
view". This attractive railway poster from 1938 shows how the area looked immediately before it was built.
The
Shipgate
As
we
pass
along
this
stretch
it
apppears
that
we
seem
to
have
somehow
mislaid
the
city
wall...
In
fact,
as
we
saw
earlier,
the
short
section
from
just
after
the
Bridgegate and
passing
in
front
of
County
Hall
was
removed
at
the
time
of
the
construction
of
the
prison,
together
with
the
ancient
Shipgate
which
formerly
stood
in
this
place.
This narrow entrance, or postern,
was
known
as
the
Hole
in
the
Wall
and
its
former
position
may
be
spotted
in
the
stonework
just
past
the
Bridgegate,
though
most
of
its
site
has
now
disappeared
below
the
level
of
the
roadway.
This
raising
of
ground
levels
is
a
normal
situation
in
ancient
towns-
generation
after
generation
of
buildings
rising,
being
demolished
and
new
ones
taking
their
place,
each
contributing
a
little
to
the
elevating
ground
level.
Thus,
the
remains
of
the
streets
and
buildings
inhabited
by
the
citizens
of
Roman
Deva
today
often
lie
many
feet
below
the
present
surface.
The
Shipgate
was
at
one
time
a busy
entrance
to
Chester
from
the
River
Dee
and,
before
the
silting
of
the
river
destroyed
the
port,
was
the
main
place
were
ships
would
discharge
their
cargo
and
send
it
into
the
city via packhorses up steep St. Mary's Hill.
An entry in the city assembly books from the 13th century tells us that, "ther was a waye for horse and man that went to a gate in the waules of the said cittie, the which way was cauled Shipgate; and Anendz this gate before the Bruge was mayde ther was a fferye bott that that brought bothe hors and man o'er Dee"
This
landing
place
for
the
ferry
from
Handbridge
stood
on
the
line
of
an
ancient
(pre?)
-Roman
ford
which
crossed
the
river
at
this
point.
Another, long-forgotten, postern was once situated on the other side of the Bridgegate, known as the Horsegate or Capelgate, through which horses were led to be watered. The keeper of the Bridgegate was responsible for keeping these posterns securely locked at night and for collecting tolls from those who used them. Further to the west, the castle, too, had its own postern, "made for the benefit of them who lived in the castle to go down to the river".
The Horsegate was permanently blocked up in 1745, when there were fears of the city being attacked during the Jacobite Rebellion and the Shipgate was similarly closed up and reopened several times during periods of emergency over the centuries until it was
finally removed
in
1828
and,
after
spending
some
years
as
a
folly
in
a
private
garden
in
Abbey
Square,
was
re-erected
in
1897
in
Grosvenor
Park where it remains today,
as
you
may
see
in
this
photograph.
And
now
we
will
go
in
search
of
Thomas
Harrison's
greatest
work-
one
he
did
not
live
to
see
completed-
the
Grosvenor
Bridge...
Curiousities
from
Chester's
History
no. 20
