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From William Camden
But to testifie the Romanes magnificence, there are remaining indeede at this day very few tokens, besides pavements of foure square checker worke: howbeit in the former ages it presented many, which Ranulph a Monke of this Citie shall tell you out of his Polychronicon in these his owne words: There be waies heere under the ground vaulted marvelously with stone worke, chambers having arched roofes over had, huge stones engraven with the names of ancient men. Heere also are sometimes digged up peeces of money coined by Julius Caesar and other famous persons, and stamped with their inscriptions.

Likewise Roger of Chester in his Policraticon, When I behold (saith he) the groundworke of buildings in the streets laid with monstrous big stones, it seemeth that it hath beene founded by the painfull labour of Romans or giants, rather than by the sweat of Britans.

This Citie, built in forme of a quadrant foure square, is enclosed with a wall that taketh up more than two miles in compasse, and hath eleven parishes. But that of Saint Johns without the Northgate was the fairest, being a stately and solemne building, as appeareth by the remaines, wherein were anciently Prebendaries and, as some write, the Bishops See.

Neere unto the river standeth the Castle upon a rockie hill, built by the Earles, where the Courts Palatine and the Assises, as they call them, are kept twice a yeere.

The houses are very faire built, and along the chiefe streets are galleries or walking places, they call them rowes, having shops on both sides, through which a man may walke dry from one end to the other.

But it hath not continued evermore in one tenor of prosperity. First it was rased by Egfrid King of Northumberland, then by the Danes, yet reedified againe by Aedelfled Lady of the Mercians, and soone after it saw King Eadgar in magnificent maner triumphing over the British Princes. For sitting himselfe in a barge at the fore-decke, Kennadie King of the Scots, Malcoline King of Cumberland, Macon King of Mann and of the Ilands, with all the Princes of Wales brought to do homage, and like watermen working at the Ore, rowed him along the river Dee in a triumphant shew, to his great glory and joy of the beholders.

Certaine yeeres after, and namely about the yeere of our redemption 1094, whenas in a devout and religious emulation, as one saith, Princes strove avie that Cathedrall Churches and Minsters should bee erected in a more decent and seemelie forme, and whenas Christendome rouzed as it were her selfe, and, casting away her old habilimentes, did put on everiewhere the bright and white robe of the Churches, Hugh the first of the Norman bloud that was Earle of Chester repaired the Church, which Earle Leofrick had formerlie founded in honour of the Virgin Saint Werburga, and by the advise of Anselm, whom hee had procured to come out of Normandie, granted the same unto monkes. And now it is notorious for the tombe of Henrie the Fourth, Emperour of Almaine [Germany], who, as they say, gave over his empire and lived heere an Eremites life, and for the Bishops See therein established. Which See immediately after the Normans conquest Peter Bishop of Lichfield translated from Lichfield hither, but when it was brought to Coventrie, and from thence into the ancient seat againe, West-chester lay a long time bereft of this Episcopall dignity, untill in our fathers daies King Henrie the Eighth, having thrust out the monkes, ordeined Prebendaries and restored a Bishop againe, under whom for his Dioecise hee appointed this Country, Lancashire, Richmond &c., and appointed the same to bee within the Province of the Archbishop of Yorke.

But returne wee now to matters of greater antiquity. Whenas now the said Cathedrall church was built, the Earles that were of the Normans line fortified the citie both with walles and castle. For as the Bishop held of the King that which belongeth to his Bishopricke (these are the words of Domesday-booke made by King William the Conquerour), so the Earles with their men held of the King wholy all the rest of the City. It paide geld or tribute for fifty hides, and foure hundred thirty and one houses were thus geldable, and seaven Mint-maisters. When the King himselfe in person came thither every Carrucata yeelded unto him two hundred Hesthas, and one tun full of Ale, and one Rusca of butyr. And in the same place, for the reedification of the City wall and the bridge, the Provost gave warning by an edict that out of every Hide in the County one man should come, and looke whose man came not, his Lord or Maister was fined in fortie shillings to the King and the Earle. If I should particulate the scufflings and skirmishes hereabout betweene the Welsh and English in the beginning of the Normans time, their inrodes and outrodes, the often scarfyres [fires] in the Suburbs of Hanbrid beyond the bridge, whereupon the Welshmen call it Treboeth, that is, The burnt towne, as also the wall made there of Welshmens sculls that went a great length, I should seeme to forget my selfe and thrust my sicle into the Historians harvest.

But ever since the said time hath Chester notablie flourished, and King Henry the Seventh made it a County by it selfe incorporate. Neither wanteth any thing there that may be required in a most flourishing City, but that the Ocean, being offended and angrie (as it were) at certaine Mills in the very chanell of the river Dee, hath by little withdrawne himselfe backe, and affordeth not unto the citie the commoditie of an haven, as heretofore. The Longitude of this place is twentie degrees and three and twentie scruples, the Latitude three and fiftie degrees and eleven scruples. If you desire to know more touching this citie, have here these reports out of Lucian that monke above said, who lived almost five hundred yeeres agoe. First, it is to be considered that Chester is built as a Citie, the site whereof inviteth and allureth the eye, which beeing situate in the West parts of Britaine, was in times past a place of receipt to the Legions comming afarre off to repose themselves, and served sufficientlie to keepe the keies, as I may say, of Ireland, for the Romans to preserve the limite of their Empire. For beeing opposite to the North-east part of Ireland, it openeth waie for passage of ships, and mariners with spred saile passing not often but continuallie to and fro, as also for the commodities of sundrie sorts of merchandise. And whiles it casteth an eye forward into the East, it looketh toward not onely the See of Rome and the Empire thereof, but the whole world also, so that it standeth forth as a kenning place to the view of eyes, that there may bee knowne valiant exploites, and the long traine and consequence of things; as also whatsoever throughout the world hath beene done by all persons, in all places, and at all times, and what ever hath beene yll done may also bee avoided and taken heed of. Which Citie having foure gates from the foure cardinall winds, on the East side hath a prospect toward India, on the West toward Ireland, North-Eastward the greater Norway, and Southward that streit and narrow Angle which divine severity, by reason of civill and home-discords, hath left unto the Britans. Which long since by their bitter variance have caused the name of Britaine to be changed into the name of England. Over and beside, Chester hath by Gods gift a river to enrich and adorne it; the same, faire and fishfull, hard by the Citie walls. And on the Southside a rode and harbour for shippes coming from Gascoine, Spaine, and Germanie, which with the helpe and direction of Christ, by the labour and wisdome of merchantes, repaire and refresh the heart of the City with many good things, that wee, being comforted every waie by our Gods grace, may also drinke wine often, more frankelie and plentuouslie because those Countries enjoy the frute of the Vineyards aboundantlie. Moreover the open sea ceaseth not to visite it every daie with a tide, which according as the broad shelves and barres of sands are opened or hidden by tides and ebbes incessantlie, is wont more or less either to send or exchange one thing or other, and by his reciprocall flow and returnes, either to bring in or to carrie out somewhat.

=General Reference=


 * British History Online

=More or less directly relating to Chester (Online)=

The following guides and other books connected to Chester are available online:


 * A Sketch of the Materials for a New and Compleat History of Cheshire Foote Gower, Thomas Falconer (1773);


 * The History of Cheshire Daniel King (1778);


 * The Chester Guide: Or, an Account of the Antient and Present State of that City Broster(1781);


 * The antiquities of England and Wales (1784) mentions the Water Tower, Chester Castle and Beeston Castle;


 * Chester in the Civel War (1800);


 * Handy guide-book to Chester and its vicinity; with brief notices of its civil and ecclesiastical history; Roman and Saxon antiquites, walls, castle, and cathedral; and a description of Eaton Hall (18--?)


 * Topographical and statistical description of the county of Chester George Cooke (1806);


 * The Chester Guide Broster (1810);


 * History of the City of Chester: From Its Foundation to the Present Time, Collected from Public Records, Private Manuscripts, and Other Authentic Sources : with an Account of Parochial and Other Charities, Never Before Published, and a Chronological Register of Important Events to the Year 1815 John M.B. Pigot (1815)


 * The history of the county palatine and city of Chester Vol I George Omerod (1819);


 * The history of the county palatine and city of Chester Vol II George Omerod (1819);


 * The history of the county palatine and city of Chester Vol III George Omerod (1819);


 * A Walk round the Walls and City of Chester. John Broster (1821);


 * The history of the county palatine of Chester J H. Hanshall (1823);


 * The Stranger's Companion in Chester; being a familiar guide to its public buildings, institutions, and other places remarkable either for their curiosity or antiquity. George Batenham (1827);


 * The Chester Guide; Or, a Walk Round the Walls, and Through the City John Seacome, (1828);


 * England & Wales delineated,( Curiosities of Great Britain) T. Dugdale, assisted by W. Burnett, (1830);


 * History of the City of Chester Joseph Hemingway (1831);


 * Panorama of the City of Chester" Joseph Hemingway (1836);


 * The diary Of Bishop of Chester Thomas Cartwright (published 1843)


 * The Chester Plays: a Collection of Mysteries Volumes 1-2 Thomas Wright (1843);


 * The medieval architecture of Chester by John Henry Parker (1858);


 * The stranger's handbook to Chester and its environs by Thomas Hughes (1858);


 * Chester as it was Howson Rimmer (1872);


 * Annales Cestrienses; or, Chronicle of the Abbey of S. Werburg, at Chester. (1879);


 * The Cheshire Sheaf: Being Local Gleanings, Historical and Antiquarian, Relating to Cheshire (1880);


 * Sermons in Timber and Stone: Historic Legends of the City of Chester George Longrigg (1892);


 * Chester in the Plantagenet and Tudor Reigns Rupert Morris( 1893);


 * Chester Rupert Morris (1895);


 * A List of the Clergy in Eleven Deaneries of the Diocese of Chester. 1541-42 (1896);


 * Chester Cathedral John Lionel Darby (1898);


 * St Mary on the hill (1898);


 * Chester: a Historical and Topographical Account of the City Bertram Coghill Alan Windle (1903);


 * The cathedral church of Chester - a description of the fabric and a brief history of the episcopal see Charles Hiatt (1905);


 * The Financial Administration of the Lordship and County of Chester, 1272-1377 Paul Howson William Booth (1981);


 * War and Society in Medieval Cheshire, 1277-1403 Philip Morgan (1987)


 * The Administration of the County Palatine of Chester, 1442-1485 Dorothy J. Clayton (1990);


 * The Origins of Cheshire N. J. Higham (1993);


 * Progress and Problems in Medieval England: Essays in Honour of Edward Miller (2002)

=Travel Books mentioning Chester=


 * The Journey from Chester to London Thomas Pennant (1782);


 * An excursion from Sidmouth to Chester, in the summer of 1803 Edmund Butcher (1805) - see pages 188ff for a description of Chester in 1805.


 * Parry's Railway Companion (1848]


 * Motor Routes of England;

=Others=

Thacker A. T. Early Mediaeval Chester Journal of the Architectural, Archaeological, and Historic Society for the County and the City of Chester and North Wales (1849-1855) Cheshire antiquities by Joseph Strutt (1838) The History of the Hundred of Wirral by William Williams Mortimer (1847) Father Rudolph: The Monks of Old Chester (1907) : not a very useful source, but included for historical interest; Elizabeth Baldwin: dramatic records of the city of Chester and the county of Cheshire, England up to and including 1642; Elizabeth Baldwin: dramatic records of the city of Chester and the county of Cheshire, 1642-5; Edward Harrison (1916) Watercolours - including several of the cathedral; The Chester Plays (1892); A Guide to Chester Dialect; Early Methodism in and around Chester, 1749-1812 (1903); A "Handy Guide Book" from the 19th cent. "Cheshire, its traditions and history, including a record of the rise and progress of freemasonry in this ancient province" Alfred Ingham (1920). Lucian The Monk (at last!)

The Journals of the "Chester and North Wales Architectural, Archaeological and Historical Society";

search listing

The journals of the Chester Archaeological Society are available as on-line texts:

search listing

The Cheshire Sheaf is available on CD. Although parts can be found here.

"The Illustrated History Of Chester" Phillip Jones ISBN:13 978 1 85983 648 2 (This is a list of FREE books available online so please add a link) [edit] Chronicles

Annales Cestriensis - Chester Cathedral's own version of the Anglo Saxon Chronicle Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: (translated) Jocelin of Brakelond Chronicle of The Abbey of St. Edmund's (1173-1202)

[edit] Other pre-modern texts

The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy by By Ordericus Vitalis, Guizot (François), Léopold Delisle Nennius, Richard of Cirencester and others Anonymous (c.10th century). Annales Cambriae (text) Vita sancti Germani Constantine of Lyon The Chronicle of Henry of Huntingdon Ed. Thomas Forester (1853) - also contains the "Acts of King Stephen" The historical works of Giraldus Cambrensis Translated by Thomas Forester, Richard Colt Hoare (1863) Matthew Paris's English History: From the Year 1235 to 1273 trans John Allen Giles (1853) William of Newburgh's History William Camden's Britannia Gildas

[edit] Religious History

The Holy Lyfe and History of Saynt Werburge by Henry Bradshaw (edition of 1521) Notitia Cestriensis: Or Historical Notices of the Diocese of Chester By Francis Gastrell (1845) Diary of Thomas Cartwright (made Bishop of Chester in 1686) - published in 1843. The Chester Plays: A Collection of Mysteries by Thomas Wright (1843)

[edit] Travel books where the author passed through Chester

An excursion from Sidmouth to Chester, in the summer of 1803 by Edmund Butcher (1805) - see pages 188ff for a description of Chester in 1805. The Life and Opinions of General Sir Charles James Napier, G.C.B. by Sir William Francis Patrick Napier (his brother). Ship and Shore: Or, Pencil Sketches on a Recent Voyage John Spence, young physician (1847) - see chapter 10 for Chester Parry's railway companion from Chester to Holyhead, by E. Parry (1848) A Visit to Europe in 1851 by Benjamin Silliman see page 33ff for Chester A Year Abroad: Or Sketches of Travel in Great Britain by Willard C. George (1852) see chapter I for Chester The English at Home by Alphonse Esquiros - a geologist's visit to Chester (see chapter five) Wild Wales: its people, language and scenery by George Henry Borrow (1862) see chapter III for Chester.

[edit] Indirectly or partly relating to Chester

The following are more general but mention events concerning Chester:

Samuel Lewis's 1848 Topographical Dictionary of England A History of England Under the Norman Kings By Johann Martin Lappenberg (1857) The History of the Anglo-Saxon by Sharon Turner PASE - Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England A History of England: From the First Invasion by the Romans John Lingard (1827) History of England Vol 1 (the Anglo Saxon Period) Francis Palgrave (1831) The Topographer and Genealogist by John Gough Nichols (1846) History of the conquest of England by the Normans By Jacques Nicolas and Augustin Thierry (1847) The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England by Edward Hyde Clarendon Town Geology by Charles Kingsley (as well as writing "The Water Babies", he also was a founder of the Grosvenor Museum) John Haygarth, FRS (1740-1827): A Physician of the Enlightenment by Christopher Charles Booth] -Haygarth was physician to Chester infirmary from 1767 to 1798. Howson and Rimmer The river Dee : its aspect and history (1889); Morris Merionethshire; William Ayrton The adventures of a salmon in the river Dee (1853); Marie Trevelyan Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales; George Bolam Wildlife in Wales; Anna Seward Llangollen vale, with other poems: (1796); W. T. Simpson History of Llangollen and its vicinity: (1835); Samuel Lewis A topographical dictionary of Wales: (1845); Richard Willett "Memoir of Hawarden parish, Flintshire"; George Clarke "Hawarden Castle";

[edit] Other useful lists of history links

More lists of links can be found here:

The Vortigern Studies website a very good selection of sources. Sources and mpgs (audio and video) at WIRRAL AND WEST LANCASHIRE 1100th VIKING ANNIVERSARY HOME PAGE A useful list of sources at Britannia History A good collection of maps, see anglo-saxons.net The "Northvegr" site Internet Mediaeval Sourcebook The Camelot Project University of Rochester's "Arthurian" documents

[edit] Books about Chester (not available online)

To Hold By The Sword - a history of Chester's Norman Earls by Phil Jones Building Chester