Groves

A Walk Along The Grves
Hanshall (1823) writes of The Groves as stretching from the Recorder's Steps to Barrell Well. He says:


 * “The land beneath the walls is called the GROVES, from a regular line of fine trees which formerly ornamented the river side from the bridge to Barrell Well, but most of them are now cut down, and the road itself is stopped up. The steps which lead from tile wails to the Groves are called the Recorder’s steps, and were erected at the expense of the corporation about 1700, for the convenience of Recorder Comberbach, who resided in Duke Street.” - History of Cheshire, 1817, p. 285

Nowadays it is only possible to walk along the northern bank of the River Dee from the foot of Dee Lane.

Parkside
The minutes of the Chester Assembly for Friday, 22nd September 1626 record:




 * "William Earl of Derby petitioned to have in fee farm a piece of land by Deeside underneath St. John's on which he had built a chamber and enclosed the land. It was ordered that he should be granted his request on payment of 20s. a year rent at Michaelmas"

The riverside below St. John's church was corporation property and used as a public walk by 1717. In 1726 it was leased by the city council to Charles Croughton, an apothecary (under yearly rent of one pepper corn), who secured the river bank and planted an avenue of trees for the public benefit. In the Inland Revenue records, when he was apprenticed to Ralph Sudlow in 1712, he was stated to be the son of Charles Croughton, gentleman, but when he gained the freedom of Chester on 3rd March, 1722, he was recorded as "Charles Croughton of Chester, apothecary, son of Charles Croughton of Chester, silkweaver".

By 1726 Croughton had lately purchased the "Earl of Derby's house and garden near Dee" and wanted a grant of the ground between his garden wall and the river Dee in return. The petition is ZAF/51/109 in the archives:


 * "Petition from Charles Croughton, apothecary, stating that he had lately purchased the late Earl of Derby's house and garden near Deeside within the liberties of the city and praying a grant of the ground between his garden wall and the river Dee leaving a convenient footway through the same or, otherwise, liberty to bring his said garden wall in a direct line from the Bowling Green wall to the corner of the wall of the house of Easemont at the east end of his garden wall."

The wording of the lease was:


 * "Herbage and pasture of piece of ground near St. John's Church, beside the River Dee, from the corner of the Bowling Green house to the garden wall, now in possession of Andrew Kendrick, 187 yards long, with licence for Croughton to carry his garden wall on the north side of the said ground in a direct line from his summer house wall to the house of easement at the east end of the said ground. Croughton to make a fit public walk from north to south 7 yards by 2 yards and plant it with trees and not to enclose it at each end except with a turnpike"

The "bowling green house" was next to the bowling green which Stanley had set out.

The City Wall
In 1745 the Dee Side walks extended from Souters Lane to a point east of St. John's. By 1783 the promenade was called the Groves. The Recorders Steps

In 1881 the river bank from Souters Lane to the Dee Bridge was faced with rubble from the fallen tower of St. John's church, and the avenue was extended to the west, an improvement carried out at the expense of Charles Brown to commemorate his mayoralty.

Related Pages

 * River Dee
 * Regatta
 * Earls Eye
 * Dee Lane
 * St Johns
 * Suspension Bridge
 * Grosvenor Park
 * Hermitage
 * Souters Lane
 * City Walls
 * Old Dee Bridge
 * Chester Castle
 * Grosvenor Bridge
 * Portpool