Holy Trinity



The Guildhall occupied the redundant church of Holy Trinity which closed in 1960. The original building dated from at least the 14th century. The east end and south side were rebuilt in 1680. This church had a spire which was rebuilt in the 1770s but in 1811 was considered unsafe and taken down. The present church was built between 1865 and 1869 to a design by James Harrison. He died before it was finished, and the church was completed by Kelly and Edwards. Like some other Chester churches, St Bridget's and St Michael's, it is located at the site of one of the gates of Roman Chester and the church buildings may have originally been a re-use of the gate buildings or materials. After the church became redundant it became the collective home of the Chester City Guilds and companies, who had previously met at a variety of locations. By this time the guilds had lost almost all of their political influence and were in effect a social/charitable organisation. At the end of 2011 the City Guilds did not renew their lease on the property from the City Council and the management of the "Guildhall" passed to a local company. In 2019 it became "The Guild", a bar.

Early History and Advowson
The parish registers were published by Laurence Meakin Farrall, in 1914 (M.A. St Caths, Cantab, 1863-1927). He had been Rector of the Church since 1895. He describes the boundaries of the parish as follows:


 * "The parish of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, Chester is wide in extent, being bounded by the parishes of S. Peter, S. Mary, Hawarden, Shotwick, Backford and S.Oswald. It includes within its bounds a great part of the west end of Chester, extending eastward nearly to the Cross in the Centre of the City and westward to the River Dee which forms its boundary for about two miles. The portion within the city walls embraces the ancient houses of Black and Grey Friars and other religious foundations of the past. Outside the Watergate, it encompances the Roodee, from the ancient Rood to the Grosvenor Bridge and divides with Hawarden parish, Flintshire, the reclaimed estuary and marsh known as Sealand, while to the North includes the manor of Blacon situated on an eminence high above sea level."

The church existed by the late 1180s and its dedication suggests an origin in the late 12th century. Soon afterwards its priest was mentioned in terms which suggest that it was associated with St Peter's. Probably it was founded by the Montalt family, barons of Mold (Flintshire), with whom early rectors seem to have been connected. The history of the Montalts is complicated (Wikipedia provides a very simple version). Farrall comments:


 * "About the middle of the thirteenth century the patron of Holy Trinity was Robert de Montalt, hereditary Seneschal and known as the Black Steward of Chester who died in 1275. His successor in 1335 transferred the advowson to Queen Isabella, who exercised her right as patroness in 1349. Twenty years later, William de Montacute, Earl of Salisbury and Lord of Man presented the Rector but his successor was deprived of the patronage which was forfeited to the King who regranted it in 1400 to Sir Hugh de Hulse and again in 1405 to Sir John Stanley, of Lathom and Knowsley whose successors were the Earls of Derby."

Farrell has simplified matters considerably in the above comment. Two Inquisitions Post Mortem were taken for Robert de Montalt (of Mold). Patent Rolls show that "Robert de Monte Alto" (the name is from Eustace de Montaut) as Steward of Chester was alive October 1274 and also show that on September 7th 1275 an order was made to deliver the custody of lands to the king’s kinsman Maurice de Credonio, lands that belonged to Robert de Monte Alto, tenant in chief.. It does not say that Robert was dead by then but nine days later, dower was being assigned to his wife, so it is almost certain he died in 1275. However the principal heir was Roger de Montalt, (1262/3 -1297), so just how it passed on isn't quite as clear as Farrall suggests. The "successor" appears to have been the Robert de Monte Alto who was born in Mold Castle 25 March 1270/74 and died 26 December 1329. He was, as a child, under the guardianship of Maurice de Credonio (de Craon). Later in life Robert owed huge sums of money to many people including Isabella. Upon his death (1329) his wife Emma was allowed to enjoy an interest in his property for the rest of her life, but on 3rd December 1331 Emma surrendered to Queen Isabella her life interest in the lordships of Mold, Hawarden, Cheylesmore, Rising etc. for an annuity of £400.

"Queen Isabella" or Isabella of France (c. 1295 – 22 August 1358), is sometimes described as the "She-Wolf of France" (French: Louve de France). She was Queen of England as the wife of the unfortunate King Edward II, and regent of England from 1327 until 1330. It was probably the presence of the Dunheved brothers in Chester (they conspired to rescue Edward II) that caused Isabella of France to require the taking of eighteen children as "boy hostages" in Chester Castle, in 1327. However, by 1335 she had passed through a difficult period which followed the downfall of her lover Roger Mortimer in 1330.

The "deprivation" co-incides with the downfall of Richard II in August 1399, when he was usurped by Henry Bolingbroke and briefly imprisoned at Chester (see: Royal Treasure). The Earl of Salisbury in 1369 was William Montagu, 2nd Earl of Salisbury who died in 1397 (but had ceased to be Lord of Mann in 1392, when he sold it). The "successor" was therefore John Montagu, 3rd Earl of Salisbury. In late 1399 Montagu joined with John Holland the Earl of Huntingdon (as well as Richard's half-brother) and a group of other barons in the Epiphany Rising, a plot to kill King Henry IV in early January 1400 and restore Richard II. After the plot failed, mob violence ensued, and Montagu was caught by a mob of townspeople at Cirencester, held without trial, and executed by beheading on 7 January 1400.

Sir Hugh de Hulse is sometimes said to have been chief Justice of Chester under Richard II and his date of death is given variously as several dates between 1404 and 1414, although his name does not appear in the recognised list of office-holders. John Stanley (who appears to have been an actual Justice of Chester) died a wealthy man thanks to Henry IV’s generosity where grants of land and offices were concerned, despite Stanley having been close to Richard II. Sir John Stanley was able to leave his descendants the Flintshire estates confiscated in 1400 from Montague, the rebel earl of Salisbury. For more on the Stanley's and places associated with them in Watergate Street see Stanley Palace and Three Hares. The advowson remained with the Earls of Derby until c. 1989, when they transferred it to the bishop of Chester.

The income was always modest. In 1291 the church was valued at £6 13s. 4d., and throughout the 15th century at less than half that sum. In 1535 it was worth £8 15s. 6d. Income was derived mainly from the tithes of Blacon and from lands in Crabwall and the city; from 1401 the Roodee was tithe free. In the Interregnum the income, still only £10, was augmented by £100 a year. At the Restoration that additional sum was lost, and the parishioners agreed to increase the income by c. £18 a year from voluntary contributions. In the early 18th century the city corporation made certain allowances in lieu of grazing on the Roodee, and in the 1720s the living was worth £33 11s. The income from tithes more than doubled between 1696 and 1754. In 1834 the benefice was worth £290, a figure at which it remained until the later 19th century.

The church had vestments, books, and ornaments valued in 1553 at £6 11s., second only in the city to St. Mary's. They were still in use in 1547, but by 1549 the altars and the tabernacle had been removed. As early as 1551 objects connected with the old religion were being sold, and in 1553 the church retained little besides a chalice, altar cloths, surplices, and bells. In Mary's reign many items were replaced or bought back from those to whom they had been sold in 1551, only to be dispersed again from 1560. Although the parishioners temporarily retained mass vestments and a censer, by 1566 they had taken down the rood loft, and in 1574 paid a glazier to have images in the windows defaced, indicating a shift towards a more "Puritan" position.

In the 1590s the rector gave sermons only every quarter and was negligent in other duties. Though Edmund Hopwood (rector 1615–32) was more assiduous and was paid extra by his parishioners for reading morning prayers, in the 1630s his successor, Richard Wilson (1632–69), was also accused of neglecting his liturgical duties. In 1637–8, in accordance with Archbishop Richard Neile's instructions, the church was refurbished and its seats made uniform. The ensuing removal of two chancel pews set aside for the mayor and some of the aldermen provoked a dispute with the Assembly, and in 1640 fresh accommodation was provided for them.

In 1592, and again in 1600, George Bellin (1570-1624) the parish clerk at Holy Trinity (and an ironmonger by trade, although he also appears to have been scribe to the Coopers and at times to the Cappers, Pinners and Wierdrawers) wrote down the texts of the Chester Mystery Plays. The plays had last been performed in 1576 and it is unclear why he wrote down the texts. Bellin's commonplace book is BL Harl 1937 and this may indicate that he also supported himself by teaching as he records a payment from Thomas Harvy for "Children scoole". Bellin also made copies of Mayoral lists, annals and other documents. It is probable that Bellin was making a copy of the full set of plays for an early antiquary. After his death, Bellin was buried under the middle aisle of Holy Trinity.



As noted above, the parish lay in the west of the city, extending from the walls of the legionary fortress to the Dee, and thus reaching beyond the medieval city walls to cover the Roodee. It also included the manor of Blacon, beyond the liberties. Holy Trinity had the largest parish within the walls, and beyond them included most of the Roodee, Blacon marsh, and the manor of Blacon, the last being outside the liberties. Chester's nine medieval parishes were not mapped until 1833, but there is no reason to suppose that the boundaries as then defined were substantially different from those of 1200, at least outside of the City Walls, by which date all the churches were in existence. The parishes of St Michael, St Olave, and St Peter lay within the medieval walls, and St Martin almost entirely so. St Bridget was partly extramural but confined to the liberties. Holy Trinity and St Johns extended beyond the liberties, and St Mary on the Hill and St Oswald far beyond them. The partly extramural detached portion of St. Martin's parish in the Crofts may originally have been the parish of a tenth church, St Chad, which had disappeared before the Reformation. In 1882 and 1960 the intramural portions and the Roodee were assigned to St Peter's, Holy Trinity became wholly extramural leaving Holy Trinity as the parish church for Blacon alone.

Descriptions
Randle Holme recorded a church which is very different to today's structure. It is decribed in some detail in "Sacred Space in Early Modern Europe" (page 127ff). It would appear that the church had aisles to the north and south. The south asile contained St Mary's chapel in which John the Armourer asked to be buried in 1396. John left £60 to endow a chantry in the chapel and also left the "best lead in his garden" as a contribution to the church structure. Holy Trinity was also the parish church of the sailors' quarter. By the 17th century there was a Manx community in the parish, and the north aisle was dedicated as a chapel to St. Patrick, the patron of Man, by 1539.

Hughes describes it as follows:


 * "Passing Trinity Street we arrive at the Parish Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity the first foundation of which is lost in remote obscurity. So early as the year 1188 we find Walter, rector of this Church, witnessing a deed relating to the Church of Rostherne in this county. Very little if any of the original Church now exists;- the west side is perhaps the most ancient portion of the structure as it at present stands. Prior to 1811 the steeple was surmounted by a handsome spire which proving on examination to be in a dilapidated state was pulled down and the present square tower substituted. The reason for this change is not very obvious; perhaps there may have been bickerings and dissensions in the vestry as to the relative cost of the two and the authorities thought it best to give up the point in order to make matters square. The advowson of the Church is vested in the Earl of Derby, having previously belonged to the Norman barony of Montalt one of the titles created by Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester."



Hemingway provides some further information:


 * "Trinity church is situated on the north side of Watergate street; it is chiefly built of the red sand stone of the city; the north wall of the north aisle is cased with brick. In the early part of the 17th century the church was ornamented with a beautiful spire a representation of which is annexed from a drawing of one of the Randal Holmes From its exposed situation however and the perishable quality of the stone it required frequent reparation and in addition to these natural causes of decay the upper part suffered much in 1769 and 1770 from severe storms it is stated to have been three times re built within eight years. Early in the year 1811 some very serious apprehensions were entertained for the safety of the spire which had probably been rendered more sensitive from the fatal accident that had a little before happened to St Nicholas's spire at Liverpool by which a great number of people lost their lives. The late Thomas Harrison Esq was therefore employed to survey it and in consequence of his report it was taken down without the least accident. The stones which formed the summit of the spire, called the Rose,. were placed by Dr Thackeray in the Infirmary garden as a pedestal for a basaltic column from the Giant's Causeway. The east end and south of the church with the pillars and arches being in a ruinous state were rebuilt from the foundation in 1679. In 1771 the church yard was enlarged from land church yard enlarged ceded by the rector to the parish for which it was to pay him and his successors four pounds a year for ever. In 1774 the church was enlarged out of the churchyard fifty feet in length from St Patrick's aisle and twenty eight feet in width from south to north at an expense exceeding £500. In 1734 it was decreed that the four bells being cracked and broken should be re cast and two new ones added to the peal: in 1736 the new bells cast by Eudhall of Gloucester were placed in the steeple. The burying place adjoining to the church having been exceedingly crowded with bodies and inadequate to the use of the parish a fresh piece of ground north of the Linen hall and east of the city gaol was purchased in 1809 and consecrated September 22nd 1810 the total expense including the chapel railing &c was about £1000. The interior of this church is kept in remarkably good order every part of it presenting an appearance of beauty and cleanliness."

The stones from the summit of the spire did not stay at the Infirmary, they are now at the Countess Of Chester hospital and visible in a small courtyard off the main corridor.

The interior fittings of the church were removed when it was made redundant, but Hughes describes them as follows:


 * "The interior is worthy the inspection of the curious. Near the south west entrance is the baptismal font by the side of which lies the defaced effigy of a mail clad knight, Sir John Whitmore by name, representative in the reign of Edward III of the Whitmores of Thurstaston a Cheshire family of knightly lineage and renown. This monument was discovered in 1853 under a pew at the southwest end; the face, hands, and knees having been barbarously cut away to suit the flooring of the pew. In its perfect state the monument must have been one of the purest symmetry and beauty and was evidently the work of an eminent sculptor: the Westmacott or Gibson of his day"

Hughes continues:


 * "A brass plate on the south side of the altar commemorates the burial of Matthew Henry June 22nd 1714. He who had during life been a rigid nonconformist "at the last sad scene of all" conformed to the faith of his forefathers and lies interred in the chancel of that parish in which he had so long ministered as a dissenter."

While in Chester, Matthew Henry founded the Presbyterian Chapel between Trinity Street and Crook Street (just back up Watergate Street from the Guildhall). He moved again in 1712 to Mare Street, Hackney. Two years later (22 June 1714), he died suddenly of apoplexy at the Queen's Aid House (41 High Street - then the house of the nonconformist minister, Joseph Mottershead) in Nantwich while on a journey returning from speaking around Chester to London. There is no evidence as to a "deathbed conversion" as implied by Hughes. In 1860 an obelisk designed by Thomas Harrison with a bronze medallion by Matthew Noble was erected in Chester to commemorate him. The obelisk originally stood in the churchyard of St Bridget's Church, and was moved in the 1960s to stand on the roundabout opposite the entrance to Chester Castle.

Other Burials
The first known burial in the church was in 1374. By the later Middle Ages Holy Trinity was a fashionable church, and many leading citizens were buried there. A churchyard existed by 1554, and an additional burial ground in Bedward Row on land bought from the corporation was consecrated, complete with chapel, in 1810. Both were closed in 1855, and the Bedward Row cemetery was sold to the city corporation in 1886 and afterwards built over.

Hemingway gives a little more information about the monuments in the church:


 * "In this church are many ancient sepulchral remains. Near the small eastern door is the monument of John Whitmore, Mayor of Chester in 1372 it was of white marble with a statue in armour bearing on the shield the family arms. Richard Cliffe Esq of Huxley who died 1592. Thomas Wooton, Mayor 1433. On the north side of the door before mentioned is a memorial of Henry Gee with this inscriptio: Here lieth the body of Henry Gee once Mayor of this City of Chester and in the same year he departed the xiii day of June Anno Domini mdxxxix whose soul hopeth for mercy. Several other members of the body corporate also lie in this church: William Massey Mayor 1590, William Johnson, Alderman Rowland Barnes 1596 etc. In this church are also the remains of Matthew Henry the celebrated Presbyterian divine on whose tablet to his memory is this inscription: Matthew Henry pictatis et ministerii officiis strenue perfunctus perlabores SS literis scrutandiset explicandis impenso confectum carpus huic dormitorio commisit 22 die Junii 1714 Anno aetat 52. Parnell, Archdeacon of Clogher and a celebrated poet was likewise interred here the 24th of October 1718."

Kelly's directory gives the following information:


 * "Several relics of the old church are carefully preserved in the new, and include a stone effigy of John Whitmore, mayor of Chester 1369-1372, d. 1374; a brass to an unknown K.G. dated about 1409, and other brasses to Henry Gee, a noted mayor of the city, 1545; Dame Elizabeth Calverley, 1579 with a quaint inscription in verse; Richard Clive, 1572; Peter Drinkwater, 1631, and to Matthew Henry, the commentator, 1714; sword and mace cases for the mayor of the city when he attended the church in state. Thomas Parnell, the poet, was buried here in July, 1718, but no monument remains."

John Whitmore is mentioned in Ormerod as having been of the manor of "Thurstanton" and there is possibly an inscription to him, or a member of the same family, at Thurstaston.

The "reforming" Henry Gee was a proto-Puritan in outlook and was mayor twice: 1533-4 and 1539-40. By profession Gee was a draper. He was sheriff of Chester in 1527-28 with Thomas Hall, under Thomas Smythe, then Mayor. Gee had been churchwarden at Holy Trinity in 1532 and had even then illustrated his pechant for record-keeping by making lists of church property. His son, Edmund Gee was also mayor and died of the sweating sickness in 1551 during his term of office. Edmund was previously, in 1548, Mayor of Liverpool. It is a curious coincidence that the same fatal scourge visited Liverpool during his mayoralty of that borough and it is said to have carried off nearly a quarter of the total population of that town.

The poem to Dame Elizabeth Calverley (Henry Gee's wife and later widow) reads: Dame Elizabeth here interred is / That Lady was of late / To Calverley, knight, but first espoused / To Henry Gee, her mate, Who ruled here a patron rare / As city well can show. / Thus she in worship run her race / And still in virtue grew, / And so died Jan 28/(15)79. She was born Elizabeth Sneyd and married secondly, in 1550, Sir William Calverley (d.1570/1), whose son, Walter Calverley (d.1596), was the grandfather of Walter Calverley (executed 1605), the alleged protagonist of A Yorkshire Tragedy, published with Shakespeare’s name on the title page, though the modern critical consensus rejects this attribution, favouring Thomas Middleton. Sir William Calverley (and presumably his wife) were among the people who out of curiousity went to visit Ann Mylner the supposedly possessed "Maid of Chester".

The memorial to the unknown K.G. is a curious one, as Farrall was later to describe in a lecture to the Chester Archaeological Society:


 * "While taking down these brasses a few years ago (they were then placed high in the vestry, and needed a ladder and candle to decipher them), I found that the brass of Henry Gee was a palimpsest, his inscription being engraved on the back of a portion of a still older brass. The latter is beautifully engraved, and shews the garter leg of a Knight of the Garter of the 15th century. It is of considerable interest, as so few others are known to exist in England." (the rector may be assuming it is a knight - there were garter ladies as well)

There is a reference in the church register to:


 * "Hamilton, Peploe William MA Camb. Qu. (son of Archdeacon Abel Ward took mother's name Hamilton 1818) - priest in charge at Shotwick and thence to Guilden Sutton died 1854 aged 73".

Westminster Road, in Hoole, was originally called Peploe Street after the Peploe-Wards who married into the Hamilton family. In fact, it appears that Sarah Hamilton (m 12 Oct 1780) was the daughter of William Hamilton (1710-1814) and wife of Peploe Ward (1750-1819), the son of Abel Ward (1718-1785), who was the mother of the Peploe William Ward (1781-1854) mentioned in the register and perpetual curate at Shotwick in 1822, changing his name and resigning in the same year. At around the same time he married Martha Panton (1793-1883) and the Ward-Hamiltons all appear to be buried in a family vault at St Mary's Chapel in the Cathedral. During the 18th century the Panton family engaged in lead and silver mining in the Bagillt area of Flintshire and amassed considerable wealth and property. This weath passed to a Jones Panton (Martha'a father) who was in the habit of changing his will, especially as he approached his death in 1837. Prior to 1882 and the "Married Women's Property Act" the legal situation was such that the inheritance of a wife became the property of her husband. So depending on what Jones Panton had in his will, Peploe William Ward might or might not inherit (see: Hoole House for more on the will). Matters were made even more complicated by an accusation that the husband of one of the beneficiaries had forged the will or at least one codicil. The transcript of the trial is interesting reading, but quite heavy-going.

In 1865 the Marquis, later to be the Duke of Westminster, built the School for Girls & Infants lower down Peploe Street and enlarged it in 1895; in recognition, the Street was re-named Westminster Road. Peploe Ward (who became the Prebendary of Ely and Beeton Cottenham, in Cambridgeshire) is only distantly related to Samuel Peploe (bap. 29 July 1667 – 21 February 1752) who was Bishop of Chester from 1726 to 1752, although the two have been confused by some historical writers.

The church contains a memorial to Giles Vanbrugh the father of playwright, architect and sometime spy John Vanbrugh both of whom had lived nearby in Weaver Street.

There are also memorials within the church to three physicians from the Infirmary, none of whom are buried there:


 * William Makepeace Thackery was the uncle of novelist William Makepeace Thackeray. He worked at the Infirmary from its founding in the St John's Hospital through to long after it was established in its own purpose-built premises. The names of both of these establishments are inscribed upon a monument to him which remains a dominant feature in the centre of Overleigh Cemetery (often mistaken for a monument to the novelist). Thackery is actually buried in the Cathedral.


 * John Haygarth (1740 – 10 June 1827) was an important 18th-century British physician who discovered new ways to prevent the spread of fever among patients and reduce the mortality rate of smallpox. Haygarth died at Lambridge House near Bath on 10 June 1827, and was buried at Swainswick church in Somerset.


 * John Becher Pigot (1785-1871). Who wrote a "History of the City of Chester", published 1815. Curiously, he was also the "holiday friend" of the "mad, bad, and dangerous to know" poet Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) who also knew Pigot's sister Elizabeth (1783–1866). There appears to be little evidence for a romantic connection between Pigot and Byron (but she did keep locks of his hair). John Pigot later left Chester and became Lord Mayor of Nottingham 1840/41.

Chester was an important passage port for travel to Ireland and although the actual port facilities were at out-ports on the estuary of the River Dee, Chester was the place for travellers to stay, especially when shipping was disrupted by adverse weather. One popular inn for travellers was "The Yacht" located directly accross Watergate Street from Holy Trinity. In at least one case a traveller who had passed-away on the journey to Ireland was buried in the church.



Thomas Parnell (11 September 1679 – 24 October 1718) was an Anglo-Irish poet and clergyman who was a friend of both Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift. He was one of the so-called "Graveyard poets": his "A Night-Piece on Death," widely considered the first "Graveyard School" poem, was published posthumously in "Poems on Several Occasions", collected and edited by Alexander Pope. Parnell was a very heavy drinker, especially after his wife Nancy's early death, and drinking undermined his health. He died in Chester in 1718 on his way home to Ireland and was buried in St Patrick's Chapel at Holy Trinity. His wife and two sons having died, his Laois estate passed to his brother John, a judge and MP in the Irish House of Commons, and the ancestor of Charles Stewart Parnell.

Another note in the register reads "1598; Here lieth the body of Ellen Hicks wife of Clement Hicks Gent. Her Majesties Chief Searcher of the Port of Chester and Liverpool being of the age of 35 years". Clement Hicks (who appears to have actually been named Francis) was one of the three sons of Robert Hicks and brother to the oddly named "Sir Baptist Hicks" mercer to James I. The ancient duty of the searcher, the third patent officer of the port (the others being the "customer" (collector of Crown duties) and the comptroller (whose job was to keep a duplicate record so the "customer" didn't pocket the money)), was to search and examine all ships, inwards and outwards, and all goods, exported and imported. As other officers were in time appointed to superintend the import business, the searcher's duties came to be confined to the export trade. When a gentleman (not necessarily with any other association with Chester) secured by royal patronage the office of, say, searcher of Chester, for life, he acquired in addition to a modest salary from the crown, the right to levy the fees proper to his particular office within the whole limits of the port of Chester, that is, from Barmouth to the River Duddon. It was effectively a good income obtained through royal patronage and gaining such a position would typically involve a "loan" or some other financial inducement to the king.

For some years the easternmost part of the site was occupied by the "Guildhall Museum" which was apparently a very small affair which has now closed.

Related Pages

 * Shakespeare and Chester;
 * Chester Mystery Plays: for more on the guilds;
 * Medieval Chester: for Isabella and Chester;
 * Tudor Chester: for the Stanleys;
 * Three Hares: more on the Stanley's;
 * Stanley Palace: more on the Stanley's;
 * Trinity Street: Matthew Henry;
 * Royal Treasure: Richard II and the Epiphany Rising;

Online

 * The Guildhall on Wikipedia;
 * CRO have an unpublished book
 * Farrall, L. M. (1915). Holy Trinity Church, Chester: records of three centuries.: from Journal of the Chester Archaeological Society 21. Vol 21, pp. 150-168.