Prospect of Chester

Prospects and Maps

Hollar who mapped Chester. In Hollar's Map from the 1660's Randle Holmes' house at the end of Castle Street appears to be shown in special detail - a feature normally reserved for churches, castles and other buildings of particular importance, or perhaps, special significance to the artist.

Chorography (from χῶρος khōros, "place" and γράφειν, graphein, "to write") is the art of describing or mapping a region or district, and by extension such a description or map. This term derives from the writings of the ancient geographer Pomponius Mela and the better-known Ptolemy, where it meant the geographical description of regions. However, its resonances of meaning have varied at different times.

Modern maps are largely cartographic representations of the land seen from above, using a variety of symbols to indicate features. Earlier maps were often presented in the form of a "birds-eye view" or a "prospect". For the birds-eye views the artist, especially before balloon flight, would often have to imagine what could be seen, unless there was access to a cathedral tower or suchlike. Prospects, generally depicted their subject as if from a lower altitude, but often also are depicted from an imaginary viewpoint. In both birds-eye views and prospects only major buildings might be depicted with any degree of accuracy. Sometimes non-existent features might be added, a common one for Chester being Edgar the Pacific being rowed along the Dee.

Although scale maps of towns and large engineering projects had been used in Italy since the end of the fifteenth century, the technique initially remained virtually unknown in England. The earliest surviving examples occur in a group of four plans or "plats" probably made in early 1541 by Richard Lee and the mason-engineer John Rogers at Guines, one of the English strongholds in the Pale of Calais. In general urban surveyors gave closer attention to prominent buildings than to the mass of ordinary dwellings (see the "Smith Map" as an example). Churches and castles would be drawn individually, while houses might just be indicated by rows of identical roofed boxes.

The first measured estate plans from the 1570s and 1580s, for example, are the direct descendants of the drawings produced by Henry VIII’s military engineers. In the wake of John Leland’s countrywide explorations of ‘things very memorable’ in his Itinerary of the 1530s and 1540s, educated Tudor gentlemen took to topography in some numbers. The best known work, William Camden’s Britannia (first published in 1586) covered the whole kingdom, but more often surveys did not reach beyond a single county. Illustrations were little used in the printed texts until the beginning of the 17th century. Even before that time, however, the advance of topographical scrutiny in county surveys, heraldic visitations and local histories threw up a variety of pictorial material reflecting the interests of those who were undertaking the work: Roman antiquities, pedigrees, coats of arms, churches and their monuments, maps and charts. Randle Holme of Chester produced copious notes and sketches but never wrote an "antiquarian" book as such.

Detail from Smith's sketch showing the Walls from the Northgate down to the Watertower. Almost all houses are shown as little more than roofed boxes, but major buildings are depicted in more detail and named.

Possibly the earliest depiction of Chester is William Smith’s (1588) drawing of Chester from the preparatory work for his “The Particuler Description of England. With the portratures of certaine of the cheiffest citties & townes” (Source: British Library, Harley MS 1046, fol. 173). This formed the basis of the Smith Map of Chester. William Smith was a colourful figure who was in his time merchant, traveller, herald and cartographer – even for a while keeper of the Goose Inn in Nuremberg.

The engraver Daniel King was associated with the illustrations to a number of topographical works including the Vale Royall of England published in 1656. This featured a survey of Cheshire by William Smith and William Webb, and included also ‘An Excellent Discourse on the Isle of Man’. Daniel King’s drawings for the "Discourse" are to be found in a sketchbook in the British Library collections. They are stiff, uncomplicated and uncoloured, as befitted work whose main function was a guide to the engraver. The addition of key-lettering confirms them as studies for the preparation of book illustrations.

In the opinion of one of his patrons, the distinguished antiquary and herald Sir William Dugdale (the foe of Randle Holme), Daniel King was "a silly fellow…an arrant knave". Certainly King is not noted for the accuracy of his records. Like other British artists of the mid-17th century, King was greatly influenced by the Bohemian Wenceslaus Hollar, a map draughtsman of outstanding quality (see: Hollar's Map), but more importantly a leading exponent of the latest continental import in topography – ground level "prospects" and "landskips". Robert Harbison captured the dynamic of the bird’s-eye view when he commented, of Wenceslaus Hollar’s 1648 “Long View” of London:

"This is not exactly London as anyone experiences it, but London laid out neatly in the mind’s eye, where one can enumerate its features and remind oneself of many separate things at once".

"Chester and the Roodee" by Pieter Tillemans (1684-1734) is the earliest known oil painting of Chester and falls into the class of the many "equestrian" paintings of Chester. One apparently popular view was that from Boughton looking downriver. Another favorite for illustrators was the view of Chester from the far side of the River Dee near the brick-fields at Overleigh/Hough Green.

A revolution in technique occurred in 1785 when Thomas Baldwin of Hoole made a balloon ascent from Chester Castle and sketched the city and its environs from above. Eventually, the pictorial/schematic depictions and written descriptions of places would come together into the illustrated guidebook. However, there were still publications which were almost all words and others which were almost all pictures.

This article is mostly concerned with the graphical depictions of Chester and how they developed over time. These show an increasing level of detail and accuracy over time, and are useful to the historian to study the development of the city. They also give some insight into what the artist considered important and the purpose of the depiction might be: whether to provide topographical information or as a landscape painting. Care is often needed in using them (examples are given below) to establish historical facts. Many of the maps (and others) are described on their own pages:

A gallery of Old Maps of Chester

Prospects of Chester

1581: Braun and Hogenberg

Georg Braun (also Brunus, Bruin; 1541 – 10 March 1622) was a topo-geographer and a cleric of Cologne. From 1572 to 1617 he edited the Civitates orbis terrarum, which contains 546 prospects, bird's-eye views and maps of cities from all around the world. He was the principal editor of the work, acquired the tables, and hired the artists. This great city atlas was largely engraved by Franz Hogenberg (1535-1590) the son of a Munich engraves who settled in Malines. Braun was greatly assisted in his project by the close, and continued interest of Abraham Ortelius, whose Theatrum Orbis Terrarum of 1570 was, as a systematic and comprehensive collection of maps of uniform style, the first true atlas. Braun died as an octogenarian in 1622, as the only survivor of the original team to witness the publication of volume VI in 1617. The first volume of the Civitates Orbis Terrarum was published in Cologne in 1572. The sixth and the final volume appeared in 1617.

"Clickable" version of the 1581 Braun and Hogenberg map of Chester.

On this "bird's eye" view the city walls and major buildings are shown in recognisable detail while the remaining built environment the backlands are depicted with symbolic near-identical houses and the suggestions of formal gardens and/or orchards. Labels are added which refer to a table identifying the major buildings, but providing no further information or explanation. Many, but not all, streets are named and this map could actually be used to find one's way around the city.

An interesting feature of the map is that appears to show Morgan's Mount as present well before the Civil War. This could however be the remains of the Roman corner-tower which stood nearby.

1588: William Smith

Smith produced both the Smith Map and a prospect. Both are reasonably accurate as regards the major buildings and to some extent the city walls but, with a few exceptions, are schematic for individual houses. As with the earlier map, churches with spires or towers are correctly shown as regards their locations, but their vertical scale appears to increased.

A prospect of Chester from William Smith.

The labels on the prospect are "St Thomas now called green hall", "Little St Johns", "Northgate", "St Werburgh's", "The shire hall", "St Trinity", "St Peter", "Eastgate", "the Friars", "St Martin", "St Bride", " St Michael", "St Johns" and "St Olave".

c.1620: Daniel Meisner

An early prospect view of Chester by Daniel Meisner: this view of the city was published in the 'Libellus Novus Politicus Emblematicus Civitatum' ("New Book of Political Emblems of Civilization"). As with the earlier works, most buildings are not shown with any detail.

A prospect of Chester from the "Libellus Novus Politicus Emblematicus Civitatum".

This work is a collection of city views beside the well known works of Merian, Braun & Hogenberg and Münster. First published in 1623 in Frankfurt am Main by Eberhard Kieser. The figure in the foreground is supposed to be a symbolic personification of envy; snakes instead of hair and the figure holds a bleeding ahuman heart. The German text, a translation of the Latin, relates to this figure:

"Thou enviest every man his happiness and yet thou canst not prevent it. The envious man torments himself the most, by perpetually gnawing his own heart".

How "envy" came to be associated with Chester can only be the subject of speculation: it may be derived from "The Royal King and Loyal Subject", a play by Thomas Heywood performed c. 1615-18) and later re-written as "The Loyal Subject" by John Fletcher, possibly with some influence from "Edol of Chester", a character from "The Birth of Merlin".

It is interesting to note that topographical and other details in these engravings are often more precise than many engravings of the era made on plates several times this size. The three churches shown with prominent spires are Holy Trinity, St Peter and the friary church at Whitefriars. The antiquarian Webb lamented the loss of the church (of which the steeple was used as a navigation aid until it was taken down in 1580) in the following terms:

It was a great pitie that the steeple was put away, being a great ornament to the citie. This curious spire steeple might still have stood for grace to the citie, had not private benefit, the devourer of antiquitie, pulled it down with the church, and erected a house for more commoditie, which since hath been of little use, so that the citie lost so goodly an ornament, that tymes hereafter may more talk of it, being the only sea-mark for direction over the bar of Chester.

Both Meisner (1620) and Braun (1581) therefore show the steeple at Whitefriars after it had been removed, but in Braun's case only a year after. Meisner's prospect is almost certainly a projection based on Braun's map.

Interestingly, a building is shown in Edgar's Field where other sources note the "Ruins of the palace of the Earl". The house in the foreground is Brewers Hall.

c.1699: Francis Place

Francis Place was a member of the York Virtuosi, a collection of largely independently-wealthy gentlemen, active in York and the north of England during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, with a shared enthusiasm for travel, antiquarianism, natural philosophy, and the visual arts. Place was the first English-born artist to tint his drawings with watercolours in the subdued manner of Hollar. However, Place does not first block out the drawing in washes of ink, then apply local colour in the manner of later painters: the paints are applied primarily to clarify and decorate the line drawing, just as colours are used to identify geology or rock formation, a subject which seemed to fascinate him. Place's works were, at the time, little known outside his circle of York acquaintances, but they reflect the general awareness among the English elite of the European topographical pen and ink style, and the important role that watercolour drawing would play in the characteristic 18th century activities of inquiry and exploration.

Place is known to have visited Wales twice. In 1678, he and William Lodge, a fellow artist and member of the Virtuosi, journeyed around South Wales, reportedly covering an impressive 700 miles on foot over a period of seven weeks. Pen-and-ink sketches of this tour, which was combined with leisurely episodes of fishing, are preserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the National Museum of Wales. Yet it was not all art and angling: Place and Lodge were, quite literally, ‘strangers’ as they travelled from Yorkshire as far west as Pembroke Castle, and were reportedly arrested at Chester on suspicion of being Jesuit spies, with friends having to vouch for their innocence before they were released. Despite this experience, Place found himself back in Chester, reluctantly or otherwise, in 1699. He was returning to his home in York from a further sketching tour, this time having travelled in Ireland between Drogheda and Waterford. From Holyhead to Chester, he continued to draw vistas and landmarks, including a view of Chester from Boughton.

A view of Chester in 1699 by the artist Francis Place (1647 – 21 September 1728) in pen with an ink wash.

The larger building to the center left is St Johns. The building to the center right is the Cathedral. Two churches with spires can be seen, these are likely to be St Peter and Holy Trinity. Between St Peter and the Cathedral, The Exchange might just be visible. Chester Castle ia also visible, with the Watertower on the Bridgegate standing in the sightline to the castle. The Earls Eye is visible in the foreground.

c.1700: Edward Wright

For the first time Wright attempts to provide detail for many of the domestic buildings and other topographic features.

"A south-east prospect of the city of Chester" by Edward Wright. This shows St Mary with its original tower intact. However the date of 1690 must be wrong as the engraving shows the Exchange building which was constructed from 1695 to 1698. Jacobs Well can be seen to the right.

Very little could be discovered about Edward Wright who produced a view of Chester across the River Dee from what is now Handbridge. The same view has been found engraved on a drinking glass. The date is given as "circa 1600" but it must be a little earlier as the engraving shows the Exchange building which was constructed from 1695 to 1698. Also visible are Chester Castle, the Shire Hall (demolished and reused as the Shambles), St Mary on the Hill, the Old Dee Bridge, the Bridgegate, Holy Trinity, St Bridget, St Peter (still with spire), the Bishop's Palace next to the Cathedral, the old Eastgate, St Johns (still with tower) and the Groves between the Old Dee Bridge and the Hermitage. A stream appears to flow down to the river alongside Souters Lane and Jacobs Well also empties into the Dee. Edgar the Pacific is depicted on the river although he actually made his boat trip in the year 973 and will have a problem when he reaches the weir if he intends to go to Edgar's Field. Some of the boats shown seem to have masts too tall to get past the bridge and it is unlikely that such large sailboats were employed on this stretch of the river.

An engraving on a drinking glass which seems to be based on the engraving by Edward Wright.

1710-34: Peter Tillemans

Peter Tillemans (c. 1684 – 5 December 1734) was a Flemish painter, best known for his works on sporting and topographical subjects. Alongside John Wootton and James Seymour, Tillemans was one of the founders of the English school of sporting painting.

"Chester and the Roodee". This is in the Grosvenor Museum to which it was given by Duke of Westminster in 1894. Halfway through the 17th century the "cityscape" became an independent genre in the Netherlands. In his famous View of Delft in 1660–1661 Jan Vermeer painted a quite accurate portrait of the city Delft. Cities like Amsterdam, Haarlem and The Hague also became popular subjects for paintings. Painters from other European countries (i.e., Great Britain, France, Germany) followed the Dutch example.

This is often said to be the the earliest known "painting" of Chester, dating from between 1710 and 1734. Viewed from the south-west, it shows horse racing on the Roodee, the course being marked by posts and crowds of spectators lining the city walls. Another painting attributed to Tillemans offers a similar view of Chester, but omits detail of the racecourse and allows the river to sweep along the entire composition (Christie's London, 15 April 1988).

"View of Chester, with Two Figures by the River in the Foreground" Peter Tillemans. This shows Holy Trinity and St Peter with spires. The both works by Tillemans show the Exchange building which was constructed from 1695 to 1698.

Tillemans was born in Antwerp, where he trained as a copyist of seventeenth century Flemish peasant scenes and battle pictures. He came to England in 1708 and was patronised by some of the greatest landowners of his day. He developed a successful practice painting views of country houses, hunts and races, and was one of the creators of the sporting conversation piece. Tillemans seldom dated his paintings and his derivative manner is no guide to chronology. Tillemans was certainly in the Chester area while employed by the Earl of Derby for whom he painted, amongst others, two views of Knowsley, one of Knowsley racecourse and two views of Newmarket during the 1720s. The subject of a town rather than a country residence is unusual for Tillemans but the treatment of the subject as a backdrop to a horserace would certainly help to explain this. Tillemans died in England in 1734.

1728: Buck Brothers

An engraving entitled "The South West Prospect of the City of Chester 1728" by Samuel and Nathaniel Buck shows a view of the city of Chester in that year. They were English engravers and printmakers, best known for their Buck's Antiquities, depictions of ancient castles and monasteries. Samuel produced much work on his own but when the brothers worked together, they were usually known as the Buck Brothers. Samuel Buck was born in Yorkshire in 1696. After publishing some prints in that county he moved to London. With Nathaniel he embarked on making a number of series of prints of "antiquities", which consisted of ancient castles and former religious buildings in England and Wales. Starting in 1724, they travelled around these countries, and completed sets of prints for the regions of England by 1738 and for Wales between 1739 and 1742. These are commonly known as Buck's Antiquities. During this time they also worked on a series of townscapes in England and Wales entitled Cities, Sea-ports and Capital Towns, often providing prospects from multiple directions.

The South West Prospect of the City of Chester 1728 - for some reason this shows the wall from the Water Tower to the Old Dee Bridge zig-zagging about.

The somewhat inaccurate text on the engraving reads (in part):

Chester, or WestChester, Said to be so calld from the Roman Legions: When Julius Caesar intended the redection of Ireland & Claudius Caesar design'd to surprize the / Orcades, they took up winter Quarters for them here. Likewise Galba the Emperor settled here the 20.th Legion call'd Victrix, under the command of Titus Vinius to be a barrier & check / unto the Ordovices, which growing too headstrong for him, Titus Vespasian made Julius Agricola their Lieuten.t Tis probable that this Settlement of the Roman Legion gave birth to this City. / And it is evident, from the Inscriptions of several Altars, & Coins found in, & about this City, with the names & titles of Julius Caesar, and several other Emperors, that the Legion called / Victrix was assuredly Quartere'd here. King Edgar triumphed here over the British Princes by causing Hennadius K. of Scotland, Malcolm K. of Northumberland, & Macon K. of Man / & the Isles, with all the Princes of Wales; being in N.o 8 to row him like Bargemen up the River Dee. This City is surrounded with a Wall two miles in compass, which affordeth a / delightfull walk all round: Said to be built by Edelfleda, that noble Mercian Lady; A.D. 902. The Streets are remarkable for their double rows of Shops, or Piazzas; which screen / you from the rain through most of the City.

The Buck Brothers compress Roman history somewhat. In 55 BC, Julius Caesar crossed into Britain, claiming that the Britons had aided one of his enemies the previous year possibly the Veneti of Brittany. His intelligence information was poor, and although he gained a beachhead on the coast, he could not advance further, and returned to Gaul for the winter. He returned the following year, better prepared and with a larger force, and achieved more. He advanced inland, and established a few alliances. However, poor harvests led to widespread revolt in Gaul, which forced Caesar to leave Britain for the last time. The Romans probably did not reach as far north as Chester until around a hundred years later.

The detail in this depiction is very good showing careful illustration of features such as the Goblin Tower / Pemberton's Parlour.

Nathaniel was the first to die, sometime between 1759 and 1774. Samuel died on 17 August 1779 in London and was buried in the churchyard of St. Clement Danes. Samuel's later years were spent in poverty.

1760: Joseph Winder

The castle was garrisoned in the 18th century by companies of invalid soldiers, giving the second-in-command in 1760, Lieut. Joseph Winder, the leisure to amuse himself by drawing several detailed panoramic views of the city.

A prospect of Chester from across the Dee by Winder - one of several prospects he drew. This is accurate as regards major structures, but not as regards individual houses.

Winder's drawing shows the Recorder's Steps. The very prominent spire of St Peter, which is also visible in the drawing, was taken down in 1780 so the steps could not date from 1820 as stated the listed building record, which states that the Recorders Steps were actually built 1820-22, for Chester Corporation. However, Pigot (1815) writes of them:

"From this part of the wall a convenient flight of steps leads to the river; they were erected by the Corporation for the convenience of the family of Mr Cumberhach then residing in a house near the river, in gratitude for his great exertions for the welfare of the city the time he filled the honorable office of Recorder. These steps are now a great public convenience leading to the river and to a delightful walk by its side called the Groves."

A further feature visible in his drawing is the water-tower at the Bridgegate which was taken down in 1781. Finally, the City Coroner recorded in 1721, that on the 21st May, a tanner named Kenneth Edwards fell down the "New Stairs" and died. On the wall by the steps is a plaque, probably inserted in 1881. This contains erroneous information, being inscribed "RECORDER'S STEPS Erected by the Corporation of this City A.D.1700 for the Convenience of ROGER COMBERBACH, Recorder". In fact the Assembly records show that in 1720, the year after the Recorder's death, the Assembly ordered the city's mason to make a new set of steps "between the bridge and Dee Lane end".

1776: Godfrey and others

Richard Bernard Godfrey (c.1741-c.1790) was a topographical watercolourist and printmaker. He produced illustrations for Francis Grose's 'Antiquities of England and Wales' (1772-1787), and for the 'Antiquarian Repertory' (5 vols., 1775-1786), of which he was publisher and editor. Grose had been exhibiting tinted drawings of architectural remains at the Royal Academy since 1769. His Antiquities is an important record, as several of the buildings shown in it no longer exist. Specific guidebooks on Chester began to appear in his times and many of these are listed on the "Books" page. The antiquarian topographer enjoyed his real heyday in the 18th century. From 1717 the newly re-established Society of Antiquaries sponsored the publication of fine engravings and its members individually acted as enthusiastic patrons and collectors.

George Cuitt (The Younger: 1779-1854) followed his father's profession as an artist from his youth, and added to it the art of etching, which he developed with great success, being induced to do so by a careful study of Piranesi's 'Roman Antiquities.' At the suggestion of Thomas Harrison (who had studied with his father in Rome) Cuitt came to Chester, where he became a teacher of drawing, and published, in 1810 and 1811, 'Six Etchings of Saxon and other Buildings remaining at Chester,' 'Six Etchings of Old Buildings in Chester,' and 'Six Etchings of Picturesque Buildings in Chester,' and, in 1815, five etchings for a 'History of Chester' (written by Pigot).

Guidebooks to Chester which concentrated on topographical illustrations included the "Panoramic delineations of the four principal streets of the city if Chester" produced by Batenham about 1816.

c.1780: Moses Griffiths

Moses Griffiths worked for Thomas Pennant between 1769-1790. After Thomas Pennants' death, Griffith was employed by his son David and produced nearly 200 watercolors in Wales for him between 1805-1813. Several of his works show Chester in detailed landscapes with closely observed features of buildings. His works are an excellent source for the architecture of Georgian Chester.

The Old Dee Bridge as depicted by Moses Griffiths.

The first of the Griffiths prospects shows a view across the Dee by the Old Dee Bridge of the Bridgegate with its water-tower. The original water-tower was constructed in 1600, but was much damaged in the Civil War. The tower shown in the watercolour replaced the earlier tower in the 1650's and was demolished in 1781 when the new Bridgegate was constructed by Joeseph Turner. The church depicted is St Mary on the Hill from which the upper part of the tower had been removed during the Jacobite uprising of 1745 most likely to prevent it being used as a possible sniper position should Chester Castle be attacked. James Harrison remodeled much of the church in 1861-62, restoring the tower. The building with the coupola to the left of centre is the Old Shire Hall at Chester Castle which would be taken down when the castle was redeveloped by Thomas Harrison in 1785.

A prospect of Chester from Boughton by Moses Griffiths.

This spot at Boughton was a popular viewpoint for artists. In this second of Griffiths' works can be seen: the watertower at Bridgegate (taken down in 1781), St Johns, Forest House in Love Street and the Cathedral. The two church spires are those of Holy Trinity and St Peter which dates the watercolour to just before the spire of St Peter was taken down (in 1780). Missing from the image is Dee Hills house built in 1814 by Thomas Harrison for Robert Baxter (see: Dee Lane for further information). As Forest House is shown this helps to date that construction to before 1780.

A third view across the Dee by Moses Griffiths.

The third of Griffiths' works is a prospect across the Dee looking at St Johns and the Bishop's Palace built by the Peploes. The Groves are also to be seen and the Archdeacon's house. Finally Dee House completes this set of Georgian buildings.

Further views by Griffiths?

These images are from a set of 8 extra-illustrated volumes of "A tour in Wales" by Thomas Pennant (1726-1798) that chronicle the three journeys he made through Wales between 1773 and 1776. These volumes are unique because they were compiled for Pennant's own library at Downing. This edition was produced in 1781. The volumes include a number of original drawings by Moses Griffiths, John Ingleby and other well known artists of the period.

1784: Hogg and Walpole

The New British Traveller was one of a number of publications by Alexander Hogg aiming to tap the bouyant market for works on British topography and antiquities. It included text on each county, a set of county maps by T. Conder and others, and numerous copperplate prints by a variety of engravers. The work was initially issued in 60 parts from c 1783, and then as a complete work from 1784. This print of Chester from across the river Dee bears no engraver's or artist's signatures.

A prospect of Chester from across the Dee.

Alexander Hogg (active 1778-1805) was a publisher and printer at the "Kings Arms 16 Paternoster Row" in London. He published many works under different names. 'The New British Traveller' was published in 1784 under the name of "George Augustus Walpoole". A bill head in the Heal Collection (Heal,17.73) states "Bought of Alexr. Hogg...lowest price for ready money." Dated in pen and ink "March 17, 1784." A trade card in Heal Collection (Heal,17.74) states "To the King, the Queen, and the Prince of Wales, and to the ladies & gentlemen of Great Britain & Ireland, the following new selection of British novels is inscribed by their obedient & most humble servant Alexr. Hogg: " Publisher of "The Wonderful Magazine and Marvellous Chronicle".

The image includes the water-tower at the Bridgegate which was taken down in 1781 just prior to the construction of the new Bridgegate by Joseph Turner.

1827: Robson

George Fennel Robson's prospect is taken from Picturesque Views of the English Cities by John Britton; Quarto. 1828, and was engraved by J.C. Varrall.

A prospect of Chester from Boughton taken from a painting by George Fennell Robson (1788–1833).

Visible in the prospect are the tower of St Johns, the Exchange, Forest House in Love Street, the Cathedral and "Government House" which was then Dee Hills, built in 1814 overlooking the banks of the Dee (see: Dee Lane). The solitary "factory" chimney may be that of the gasworks which was established in 1817 in Cuppin Street.

1829: Westall

William Westall ARA (12 October 1781 – 22 January 1850) was a British landscape artist best known as one of the first artists to work in Australia. At the age of sixteen he won a silver palette in a competition run by the Society of Artists of Great Britain, and at eighteen was enrolled at the prestigious Royal Academy. In 1800, whilst still a probationary student in his first year, Westall was approached by Sir Joseph Banks to serve as landscape and figure painter to a voyage of exploration under Matthew Flinders, aboard HMS Investigator. Investigator set sail from Spithead for Australia on 18 July 1801, calling at the Cape of Good Hope before crossing the Indian Ocean and sighting Cape Leeuwin off South West Australia on 6 December 1801. By the time Flinders had finished surveying the Gulf of Carpentaria, Investigator was rotting badly, and Flinders reluctantly decided to return to Port Jackson via the west and south coasts. Arriving back at Port Jackson in June 1803, Investigator was condemned, and Flinders decided to return to England to request a new ship. Westall joined Flinders as a passenger on HMS Porpoise. They set sail on 10 August, but a week later the ship was wrecked on the Wreck Reefs, and the crew and passengers were marooned on a narrow sandbank for nearly three weeks while Flinders returned to Port Jackson in Porpoise's cutter to obtain help. Two rescue ships were sent: Cumberland, which was instructed to return to Port Jackson; and Rolla, which was en route to Canton. Westall decided to board the latter. Westall arrived in Canton at the end of 1803. Rather than returning immediately to England, he spend some time exploring Canton, then sailed on to India. As he was on the British government payroll at the time, he had no right to do so without permission, and must have known it, since, just before departing for India, he wrote a long letter to Banks justifying his travel plans. In doing so he complained about the monotony of the Australian landscape, declared that he would not have agreed to the position if he had known that the voyage was confined to Australia alone, and hinted that he had the right to go to India as compensation for the failure of the Investigator to stop anywhere interesting. The admiralty took a dim view of the letter, terminating his employment immediately, and telling him to make his own way home.

A prospect of Chester from Boughton taken from a watercolour by William Westall.

The engraving was produced for "Great Britain Illustrated" (London: 1829). It shows what appears to be the Grosvenor Bridge which had not at this time been completed, rather than the Old Dee Bridge. It would not be visible from this viewpoint. Goverment House on the rightmost edge of the work is shown with a roof which differs somewhat from reality. Much of Westall's work from his Australian expedition has also been criticised as innaccurate.

1853: McGahey

McGahey illustrated Chester in his famous "Balloon View" published in 1853/5 and reproduced on the mainpage of this site and below. Some have suggested that McGahey actually made the preparatory sketches for his view from a tethered balloon, but there is no record that he ever actually made a flight. In 1855 J McGahey & Son are listed as being at Bold Place as lithographers and photographers while in 1860 a John McGahey is listed as being a photographer based on the City Walls at the Northgate.

A view of Chester from a balloon showing The Groves on the right hand bank of the River Dee as depicted.

By the time of McGahey's illustration the Grosvenor Bridge (completed 1832) has appeared as has the first (1852) Suspension Bridge linking the Groves and Queen's Park. Also visible is 1846 railway bridge over the Dee. The image used in Roberts "New Illustrated Plan" is obviously related.

c.1850: Alfred Sumners

Drawn by Alfred Sumners and published by T Catherall, another engraving showing the view of Chester across the Roodee. In this illustration, unlike some of the earlier ones, the vertical scale is correct.

The South West Prospect of the City of Chester from Sumner.

Sumners differs from Gresty below in a few details, in particular the former TSB bank (originally the Chester Savings Bank) on Grosvenor Street is not shown although the "new" St Bridget is. The bank was constructed in 1851-3. St Mary on the Hill also appears to have the shorter tower before its remodeling by James Harrison in 1861-62. Harrison also designed the TSB bank building. There are some other differences such as a lack of chimneys which may be artistic licence. However, the shot-tower at the Leadworks has appeared. Given that the railway viaduct is shown this can probably be dated to 1846-1853.

1858: Hugh Roberts

Hugh Roberts was active 1851-1858 and known to be a publisher in Eastgate Row. His "new illustrated plan of the ancient city of Chester" is obviously related to McGahey.

The Prospect of the City of Chester from Roberts. Clicking on the image will bring up a higher-res version or use the link to get even higher res.

The preface reads:

"The visit of the Royal Agricultural Society of England to Chester in July, 1858, seems a fitting occasion on which to present to the public an entirely NEW EDITION of the CHESTER GUIDE, which has been carefully revised throughout, with the requisite care and intelligence for securing to strangers a useful memorial of the “old city.” The work is also embellished with a numerous series of engravings, and an illustrated plan, which will facilitate the visitor’s inspection of the interesting remains and modern attractions with which Chester abounds; and also supply a pictorial reminiscence of scenes and places that may perchance excite pleasant memories. In this hope our Manual is committed to public favour, which, the editor trusts, will be so heartily manifested, as to require, at no very distant day, a renewal of his services as a literary “Guide.”"

City Road does not yet exist but the former path to the Station is shown.

Undated

This interesting "prospect" from the Grosvenor Museum is undated and the artist is unknown. However the buildings shown can help to date it. St Johns still has its tower (collapsed 1881) and the Exchange still exists (burnt down 1862). The 1827 Methodist chapel in Pepper Street can also be seen. St Michael has had its c1850 make-over by James Harrison. These features date the prospect to the 1850's.

A prospect by an unknown artist from the 1850's.

The fact that Holy Trinity has no spire would seem to confirm these dates. This could be a version of McGahey or in imitation of his style.

1865: Gresty

John Gresty, born 1825, owned a shop at 29 Eastgate Row and a printing works for letterpress and lithography at 43 Watergate Row. He was in business in 1865 as "Evans & Gresty". In later life he was caretaker of King Charles Tower on the City walls. The Cheshire Observer 30th January 1897 records:

He suffered a stroke in the tower on the previous Wednesday. He was taken in a cab to his residence 66A Cambrian Crescent, Chester. He gradually got worse and died aged 72 yrs. He was buried on the 22nd January 1897.

The image shown below is a panoramic view of the city from Gresty's Illustrated Chester (1865). Gresty himself apparently produced the image, and also appears to have done several versions of it which differ in details.

The South West Prospect of the City of Chester from Gresty.

From left to right are: the railway viaduct (with passing train) leading to the Dee Railway Bridge, the chimneys of the gasworks (see: Portpool), three taller chimneys of "The Davies Confectionery" (the former Workhouse), making jam and preserved fruit, the Watertower and steps leading up to Bonewaldesthorne's Tower. Above these is St John's Hospital with its coupola. Continuing to the right are new houses at Paradise Row, with the Infirmary visible above them. The low building next to the Infirmary is the City Gaol from 1807-8. The chimney next to it is possibly Northgate Brewery. The Watergate can be seen and next to it the "Pentice on the Roodee", then a grandstand. The Cathedral occupies the center of the illustration, followed by the tower of St Peter, it having lost its spire in 1780. The "chimney" next to it is a shot-tower which stood off Whitefriars. The tallest "chimney" is the shot-tower at the Leadworks (the very tall chimney previously at the works was built in 1958). This is the tallest stucture in Chester at 168 feet (the Cathedral is a little shorter at 127 feet (39m)). Next to the shot-tower is St Michael, then the "new" St Bridget, and former TSB bank on Grosvenor Street. From this angle the remodeled tower of St Mary on the Hill can be seen in the distance, and to its right the Propylaeum of Chester Castle and then the portico of the courts building followed by the castle itself. Finally, we have the Grosvenor Bridge. There is no sign of St Johns, but it's tower did not collapse until 1881.

Holy Trinity, with its single surviving Chester city spire at the time, was presumably being rebuilt when the image was produced.

George Parsons Norman

George Parsons Norman (who signned himself "Parsons Norman) was born at Newington, Surrey in 1840, the eldest child of George Parsons Norman Snr. George married at Hackney in 1865 to Eleanor Clark, soon after the marriage they moved to Lowestoft, Suffolk. Parsons Norman was a successful watercolourist and member of Ipswich Fine Art Club from 1874 to 1914. He exhibited from his studio at Old Bank House, and regularly exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer shows. In later life Parsons Norman moved to Norwich and afterwards to Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. He exhibited at Birmingham Royal Society of Artists, the Royal Academy and in 1877 at the Royal Society of British Artists. At some point he visited Chester and made watercolours of several street scenes. George Parsons Norman was of 81 City Road, Norwich when he died at 88 Garden Terrace, Springfield Road, Gorleston, Norfolk on 27 September 1914, aged 74 and his wife died the following year aged 69.

The postcard view from Parsons Norman. This shows St Mary Without The Walls in Handbridge (1885-87) and St Peter with its short spire of the same period. Eastgate appears to have its 1899 clock.

The illustration is inaccurate in places: such as in the change in angle of the city wall at the Phoenix Tower, but the Town Hall finally makes an appearance.

Railway Posters

Lithographic printing eventually became cheap enough to produce large railway posters, some of which featured "prospects".

Early railway posters were produced by letterpress and consisted of text with no images. Once lithography printing became cheaper in the twentieth century small vignettes appeared and, eventually, larger scenes. The poster was the first image made to be seen from a distance and whist moving by virtue of its color effects and large-scale, made possible by color lithographic printing. The posters advertised for various rail companies and the destinations they served. At the forefront of the earlier artists was the illustrator John Hassall. Posters in the early twentieth century during Hassall's era are more cartoon-like because many of the artists came from a background of illustrating weekly magazines. They have a characteristic flat colour scheme.

Prospects Today

Unless you live in Curzon Park overlooking the Roodee many of these views are difficult to see today. The most accessible "replica" viewpoints are the bridges over the railway near the golf-course and a platform near the top of Barrel Well Hill in Boughton. The Cathedral and the spire of Holy Trinity are still visible from afar, as is the shot-tower of the Leadworks, and from some angles, other of the original parish churches. The Town Hall often "dominates". More distant prospects of Chester can be had from North Wales, the Peckforton hills and the hills at Frodsham. Good views (with lift access) can also be had from the tops of some city-center car-parks, or the Agricola Tower at Chester Castle (which is not always open). By far the best, other than from a balloon or a hazardous ascent of the shot-tower, is the view from the top of the Cathedral for which there are guided tours.

Sources and Links

Related Pages

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Printers of Chester to about 1800;