Picnic At Salmon Leap

Last week the weather was beautiful, and very warm, and I caught people picnicking down on the Handbridge side of the river, overlooking the weir and salmon leap. This is where the locals go, and tourists rarely venture.

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Linenhall Place

Linenhall Place was once the site of Chester's linen industries, and was constructed in 1778. It is reported to have once been called Bearward Lane, and was the route by which bulls or bears were led into the city centre, so that bear- or bull-baiting could take place at the Cross for public amusement. There is still a barristers chambers called Linenhall Chambers, but it is situated at 1 Stanley Place.

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Double Decker Parking

On Nicholas Street there is an apartment block called Hush House, and, such is the premium price of parking spaces in Chester city centre, they have double decker parking, with car lifts. I have never seen one actually in action, so I don't know what happens if you want to get your car out in a hurry...

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Chester Chronicle

When we first moved to Chester, at the beginning of the 80's, there were two local weekly papers, the Chronicle and the Observer, with two offices facing each other in Bridge Street. You could go to either office around midnight on a Thursday and pick up a copy of the paper literally 'hot off the press'. Then the Chronicle bought the Observer, closed one office and built a new building on Commonhall Street. They moved non-printing staff there, and those involved in printing moved to the outskirts of Chester. Now all the staff have moved out to a business park, there is no newspaper office in the city centre, and the building is up for sale.

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Chester River Police

Down on the river, I noticed that the police have a smart new launch, replacing the incredibly old and dilapidated 'Aqua Panda' that had been listing on its' mooring for the last few years. I wonder how often they use it?

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Delamere Street

The building below was built on part of Gorse Stacks car park, as student accommodation, and was roundly condemned by locals as being very poorly designed. If you look carefully at the photo you can see why. The 'ladders' on the outside (which are purely decorative) originally extended almost to the ground, making it easy for burglars and/or drunken students to climb up. The bottom sections have now been removed, to make it safer.

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Wall Re-Building

Following the partial collapse of a stretch of the Walls in 2008, an ambitious project is being undertaken to restore a 25 metre section. The wall is dismantled, stone by stone, and each stone is numbered and stored to be re-used when rebuilding starts. There have been some interesting discoveries within the wall. These include a Roman interval tower; a fragment of cornice from the defences; and a fragment of Roman tile with maker's signature.

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Liverpool Arms/L.A.

The Liverpool Arms, or L.A. as it has been renamed by its new management, is the pub closest to the Northgate. It has a largely gay clientele, and serves a decent pint by all accounts. The pub was formerly known by a variety of other names: in 1822 it was The Liverpool Tavern, and at other times over the years The Dog and Partridge, The Bull and Dog and, in 1789, The Loggerheads Tavern- the sign at this time depicted two stupid-looking clowns, with underneath the motto "We three loggerheads be"- the spectator, of course, counting as one of the three.

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Centurion House

There was once a Northgate Brewery, which was founded in 1760, and carried on brewing in one form or another until as late as 1969. Demolition followed, Centurion House was built on the site, and there is a mosaic on the pavement outside to commemorate this. Opposite are a row of houses known as Firemans Cottages, and they must be a nice area to live, in a quiet little backwater just off the noise and hurly-burly of Northgate Street.

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Fire Stations Old and New

The old fire station was aesthetically pleasing ...

...but the new one is probably a bit more functional (and much easier to get fire engines in and out of).

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Northgate Arena

Northgate Arena is the main public Sports Centre in Chester. A deeply unlovely piece of architecture, it houses two swimming pools, squash courts, a large sports hall and a smaller projectile room, plus many other facilities. It was built in the late 1970s, to replace the ageing City Baths, and at this time of year those trees are just not doing a good enough job of hiding it. Previously this site was home to Chester Northgate railway station.

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Morgan's Mount

Morgan's Mount was built in 1645, during the Civil War siege of Chester, to act as an observational platform and gun placement. It is named after Captain Edward Morgan, a royalist officer. The City Council have been repairing it recently, and, as you can see, it is sporting new railings and windows. Repairs were supposed to be completely by December, but it is still blocked off to public access.

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Whisky Tastings

Chester Whisky Shop have a number of tasting evenings coming up. The one in March is already sold out, but you can buy tickets for the Blending Class on April 27th, Gordon & Macphail on the 25th May, or Tomintoul distillery on June 27th here:
http://chesterwhisky.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=34&zenid=a465934400242b3b6fc0ab073c23b656
They also tell me that this years whisky festival will be on the last weekend in October.

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Blossom

All over Chester the trees are in blossom. Let's hope there are enough insects about to pollinate them, and that we get reasonable crops this year after last years bumper harvest.

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White Friars II

White Friars is named after the Carmelite Friars, whose Chester monastery was founded in 1277. Carmelites wore robes that were undyed and a white cloak, hence the 'White Friars'. The monastery was dissolved on the 15th August 1538, on the orders of Henry VIII, and the buildings, gardens and orchards of these and the other Chester monasteries (Black and Grey Friars) were sold to John Cokkes for £356 6s 10d.

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Chester Folk Festival

Chester Folk Festival runs from the 1st to the 4th June this year, and you can find out more details here: http://chesterfolk.org.uk/festival.html
Best of all, there is a Ceilidh each of the four evenings, so you can dance to your hearts content!

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Golden Eagle

The Golden Eagle Pub, on Castle Street, closed down through lack of trade, but I noticed the other day that it had re-opened. One of Chester's traditional pubs, it used to have a jukebox (and may still do, I didn't go inside), and a goodly range of beers. Tucked away down a side street I suppose it finds it hard to attract passing trade. You can see it has a firemark on the front wall.

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King Charles I

The carved statue, on what was once the front of an Art Gallery in Bridge Street Row, is of King Charles I. Placed there after his beheading by the Parliamentarians, it was discovered to be too tall for the niche. The solution was to take a chunk out of his legs, so he appears even shorter than in real life (he was only around 5ft 4in or 1m 63cm).

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Chester Clock Charm

In Waltons the Jewellers, at the corner of Eastgate St and Bridge St, I spotted this silver charm, intended for a bracelet. They told me that it was a copy of an antique charm, and that they have them made specially.

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Old Dee Bridge II

The bridge that stands today is said to have been built during the middle years of the 14th century. References to predecessors have been found in records that include the Domesday Book. Stone guard towers originally stood at either end of the bridge, but were demolished in 1780, and the bridge was widened in 1826 as part of a modernisation program. The guard towers were a defence against the Welsh raider that attacked from the south of the river. Handbridge was known as 'Treboeth' or 'Burnt Town because it was so often destroyed in attacks on the city.

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Chester Cathedral X

First, there was the Roman fortress, then came Saxon churches built on the rubble. St Peter's and St Paul's is supposed to have been built here in 660AD, but at the beginning of the 10th century the remains of St Werburgh were brought here, probably to protect them from invading Vikings. At that point the church was re-dedicated to St Werburgh, and St Peter's was moved to its' present position by the Cross.  Under the first Norman earl in 1092 it became St Werburgh's Abbey, housing Benedictine monks, and it took just over a century to build. Then the monks rebuilt it in Gothic style, taking 435 years to do so, although traces of original Norman work remain inside.

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Rococo

Inside the Chester Grosvenor Hotel a new branch of Rococo has opened, selling exquisite chocolates. I went in for a quick taste of their hot chocolate, which was satisfyingly thick and dark and quite bitter.  They even have a little train which carries chocolate round the shop.

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Steam Mill

Along the banks of the Shropshire Union Canal are the remains of some of Chester's industrial past, including the Steam Mill. Currently home to Artichoke, a place where you can sit outside and eat and drink whilst you watch the narrowboats go by, it used to be an animal feed mill. Upstairs it houses offices and a renal dialysis centre. I have also been to showings of art films here, hosted by the local film club.

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Cow Lane (or Frodsham St)

Once upon a time Frodsham Street was called Cow Lane, and indeed the bridge at the end of the street is still called Cow Lane Bridge. The name commemorates the days when what is now Gorse Stacks car park was a cattle market, and the cattle were driven up Cow Lane on their way to and from the market.

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Pavement Cafes

A sure sign of spring being in the air is that the pavement cafes are not only set out, but that people sit outside and eat and drink. Today was a beautiful day for doing just that.

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The Miller of The Dee

There was a jolly miller once lived on the river Dee;
He danced and sang from morn till night, no lark so blithe as he;
And this the burden of his song forever used to be: -
"I care for nobody, no not I, if nobody cares for me."

In the background of the photo, the yucky salmon pink block, is where a mill would once have stood, and, who knows, maybe the Miller of the Dee. Find out more here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miller_of_Dee

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The Falcon II

The Falcon became an alehouse, then a temperance cocoa house, then a cafe, then industrial premises before falling into a state of disrepair. A restoration scheme was launched in the 1980s and it became a pub again. Inside the enclosed shop front still remains.  A wattle-and-daub filling is on display behind see-through panels, and shows interwoven hazel or briar branches that were covered with a mix of lime, clay and horse dung.

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Old King's Head II

The Old (or Olde) King's Head on Lower Bridge Street was once the house of Randle Holme, mayor of Chester 1633-4. It was described as a 'new building' in 1633. Four generations of the Holme family worked as Chester heralds and historians during the 17th century, and their heraldic memorial tablets are a feature of many Cheshire churches.

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Courts

Behind many Chester streets there used to lie many small courts and yards, which were demolished in Victorian times due to overcrowding and insanitary conditions. A few were saved, but rebuilt as either offices (such as Heritage Court) or residential (Gloverstone Court).

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Castle Street

This house in Castle Street caught my attention as I was passing. The shutters, when examined closely, look very old, and the whole house has a slightly 'defensive' look. You can also see where older foundations of the red Chester sandstone have been used. There are tales of a poltergeist in this street, but I don't know which property this relates to:
'Poltergeist. Electrician working in Georgian house spooked by objects being moved, and by owner's apparently calm acceptance of supernatural events'

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Old Dee Bridge I

The site of the Old Dee Bridge is thought to mark the point of the first timber structure erected by the Romans to cross the River Dee. Evidence suggests that it may have lain slightly to the east of the position of the current bridge (i.e. nearer towards us in the photo). Once troops and travellers had crossed over to Handbridge they could then march southwards along Watling Street, a main Roman road, or westward through the Saltney marshes through to the North Wales coast.

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