Newgate Street

Category : Street Category : Article

Roman
In Roman Chester the upper end of what was later to become "Fleshmongers Lane" is believed to have been the site of the "Tribunorum" houses assigned to the main officers (tribunes and praefectus castorum) of the legion beneath the actual commander. As what is now Eastgate Street was used for ceremonial purposes, the frontage onto it from the south would probably have been quite ornate. Legions were commanded by a legionary legate (legatus). Six tribunes were posted to a legion, their duties and responsibilities were more a political position than a military rank. Young men of Equestrian rank often served as military tribune as a stepping stone to the Senate. The second-in-command to the legate was the tribunus laticlavius or 'broad-stripe' tribune (named after the width of the stripe used to demarcate him on his tunic and toga), usually a young man of Senatorial rank. He was given this position to learn and watch the actions of the legate. They often found themselves leading their unit in the absence of a legate. In contrast to the broad-stripe tribune, the other five 'thin stripe' tribunes were lower in rank, and were called the tribuni angusticlavii. These 'officer cadets' were men of equestrian rank who had military experience, and yet had no authority: they were allowed to sit on a court martial but they held no power in battle. Most thin-stripe tribunes served the legionary legate, yet a lucky few (such as Agricola) were selected to serve on the staff of the provincial governor. Archaeological investigation of the homes of these people would have been fascinating.

Unfortunately, reckless development during the 1960's destroyed any surviving structure. Dennis Petch, Curator of the Grosvenor Museum during the 1960s, is reported to have recalled bitterly that:


 * "..the developer refused to give permission for any formal excavation once his work on the site had begun... with customary efficiency Laing's immediately commenced the earthworks for underground storage and delivery bays for shops to be built in the precinct above... it was soon clear that the great colonnaded hall under the arcade formed part of the same complex and was in all probability one of the earliest of the covered palaestrae of the north-western provinces of the Roman Empire. Even after the great size and high degree of preservation of the building had been clearly demonstrated, and protests against its impending destruction were made at local and national level, commercial considerations prevailed, effectively limiting our gathering of site data to piecemeal observation and recording at the pleasure of the contractor, supplemented by very little formal excavation. This was not a very satisfactory way of proceeding in the case of such an important building which had apparently begun its life in the early years of the fortress and was still in use in the third century. This debacle attracted a great deal of public attention and criticism, and the upshot was a general conviction that such vandalism should not be allowed to recur."

Steve Howe of the Virtual Stroll website has collected many stories from men who worked on the construction site of the purposeful and wanton destruction of any remains found, so as to prevent any delay to construction by archaeological investigations. In one case, a perfectly preserved mosaiic floor was found and the workers were told to wreck it with the back-hoe of a digger.

One of the several relics of Roman Chester which was recovered in this area was a Roman altar found in 1693 on the corner of Newgate Street and Eastgate Street. The inscription on this reads:


 * "Pro sal(ute) Domin[oru]m N(ostrorum) Invict[i]ssimorum Aug(ustorum) Genio loci Fl[a]vius Long[us] trib(unus) mil(itum) leg(ionis) XX [V(aleriae) V(ictricis)] [et] Longinus fil(ius) eius domo Samosata v(otum) s(olverunt)" (For the welfare of our lords, the most invincible Emperors, to the Genius of the place Flavius Longus, military tribune of the Twentieth Legion Valeria Victrix, and Longinus, his son, from Samosata, fulfilled their vow.)

As this was the location of the houses of the tribunes it is possible that this was a domestic altar and Flavius Longus actually lived here. Samosata was an ancient city on the right (west) bank of the Euphrates whose ruins existed near the modern city of Samsat, Adıyaman Province, Turkey until the site was flooded by the construction of the Atatürk Dam.

Further down what is now Newgate Street would have been an area composed of barracks associated with the south-east corner of the Roman city. And a few scant remains have been found to indicate this. In 1748, while digging "very deep in Mr Kenrick's garden", a centurial stone was found. This is now in the Grosvenor Museum as item CHEGM: 1999.6.16. The stone is that of "Ocratius Maximus" and the inscription reads:


 * "From the first cohort the century of Ocratius Maximus (built this); Lucius Mu(…) P(…) (made the inscription)."

This is a type of stone which would have been set in the city wall to indicate who was responsible for building it. A very few other such stones have been found in Chester. Other finds in the area include an altar to Mars found in 1875 near the junction of Newgate Street and Pepper Street.

Mediaeval
Formerly named "Fleshmongers Lane" - the name "Newgate Street" was transferred from what became Park Street. Another "Fleshers'" or "Fleshmongers'" Row ran westwards to Goss (Goose) Street; beyond that the undercrofts and galleries at Booth Mansion (nos. 28–34) in Watergate Street and at nos. 38–42 show that it continued at least to Crook Street, if not to Trinity Street. Retailing was a major activity within the city from the earlier 13th century, taking place not only at the stalls set up at markets and fairs, but in permanent premises already called 'shops' (shopae). The shops were generally small, sometimes little more than a lock-up 3 metres by 2 metres, and at most the size of the ground floor of a modest plot, say 8.5 metres by 2.5 metres. By the earlier 14th century such structures were found not just in the four main streets, but in many of the lesser ones, including Castle Street, Pepper Street, Parsons Lane (later Princess Street), Fleshmongers Lane (later Newgate Street), and St. John's Lane.

17-18th Cent
During the 17th Century Fleshmongers Lane became progressively more prosperous and the city records show much activity. A carriage house was leased to a Robert Hill and, after his death assigned to the Tailor's Company (it was demolished in 1631 prior to the construction of a new Newgate (the present Wolfgate). During the Civil War there was much damage to buildings in Newgate Street, with the destruction of houses belonging to William Gamul and John Werden, both prominent citizens.



The Lavaux Map shows "Mr Kenrick's House", and the trials and tribulations of the builder who constructed it and his eventual bankruptcy and confinement to debtor's prison are recorded in some detail on the Virtual Stroll website.

19th Cent
Newgate Street was the home to Surveyors, at times the Chester Courant (a newspaper) and other "service industries". Batenham, writing in 1827 (when Newgate Street terminated next to the present Grosvenor Hotel - then the Royal Hotel) states:


 * "Newgate street on the right is a quiet genteel street having a large and commodious building at the corner called the Royal Hotel with an excellent spacious assembly room attached sixty eight feet long and thirty four feet wide. In this noble room large dining parties are frequently accommodated and it is also often engaged for public concerts. A very Superior subscription news room besides forms part of this extensive establishment"

20th Cent
Eventually, with the construction of the Grosvenor Shopping Center, much of Newgate Street dissappeared under a multi-storey car park and modern shops. Now only a short remnant remains and the surviving architure of any interest is in part dominated by "brutalist" 1960's "design".