George Marsh

Out along Boughton, there is an obelisk, which is a memorial to the Protestant martyr George Marsh, who was burned at the stake on Gallows Hill. His ashes were collected by his friends and buried in St Giles cemetery. The obelisk has the following inscription:

"George Marsh born Dean Co. Lancaster. To the memory of George Marsh martyr who was burned to death near this spot for the truth sake April 24th 1555. Also John Plessington 19th July 1679. Canonised saint 25th October 1970.

There are two memorials to George Marsh in Chester, the other is in St John the Baptist's Church.

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Watergate House - Inside

Watergate House has a circular, domed vestibule with curved front doors, which leads into an octagonal double-height hall, top-lit by a roof lantern. Behind the hall is the staircase, also top-lit. The impression is of a beautiful, spacious whole, where rooms can be glimpsed from several angles.

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Watergate House - Outside

Watergate House was built in 1820 on the site of the Dominican Friary. It is Grade II listed, and was originally a residence for businessman and Clerk of Peace to the County, Henry Potts, his family, and staff. Above the porch is the monogram ER for Edward VII. From 1907 to 1935 the house became the HQ of Western Command. Its' original grounds are now occupied by Norroy House.

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Whisky Festival 2012

After the success of the Whisky Festival last year, there is another being held this October, albeit with a change of venue. More information and tickets are available here:    http://chesterwhisky.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=58&products_id=947

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Raft Race III

The theme this year was 'Sporting and Olympic Disasters', and Eddie the Eagle Edwards featured quite heavily. Best dressed crew were the 'Granolympics' from the Druid Inn, a team composed mostly of women with one solitary brave male. Crews used to load up with items to throw at each other and spectators, and though this seems to have been banned, some of them still cheat by using jet propulsion, although that usually gets used for other purposes...

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Raft Race II

The rafts are launched from the Meadows, and make their way downriver, under the Queens' Park Suspension Bridge (still in the throes of refurbishment), where generally they have bags of flour and water bombs hurled at them by members of the public, and down to the weir, which they have to drag their rafts over and down to the small island just before the Old Dee Bridge. They must go round the island, then head back upstream, carrying their rafts over the weir, once again braving the bridge, and back to the Meadows. In theory the fastest back is the winner, but often the raft which inflicts the most damage on the others considers itself the real winner. Mostly, crews are just out to have fun, and to prove to themselves that they can do it.

Around the island...

...and over the weiir

Bewildered onlooker

Man overboard!

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Raft Race I

The Raft Race normally takes place in July, but this year had to be delayed because the River Dee was too swollen from all the rain, making it unsafe for rafts and crew. It was re-scheduled for yesterday morning, and for once the rain held off. A smaller entry that in previous years, and therefore less of a sense of anarchy and organised chaos, but a good time was still had by all.

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Old Bishop's Palace

Near St John's Church, and standing in a magnificent position overlooking the River Dee, is the Old Bishop's Palace. In the recent past it was used as a YMCA Hostel, but now, alas, is commercial premises which are closed to the public. You can find out more about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Bishop's_Palace,_Chester

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Chester Literature Festival 2012

Chester Literature Festival 2012 is taking place from the 14th to the 28th October this year, and the lineup looks like the best ever. Unfortunately the company organising it have gone bust, but it has been taken over by Chester Performs, and everything will proceed as normal. I bought my tickets yesterday, but, alas, some of the shows I wanted to attend had already sold out. Don't let the same happen to you. You can buy tickets here: http://www.chesterliteraturefestival.co.uk/how-to-book/

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Christ Church, Newtown, II

What has surprised me in taking photos for this blog around Chester, is just how many beautiful Arts and Crafts features there are. Christ Church, it has to be said, does not make the best of those features, and definitely could do with more appropriate and better lighting, and getting rid of some of the clutter in the interior of the church. However, it is well worth a look.

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Christ Church, Newtown

During the recent Heritage Open Days event Christ Church in Newtown was open to the public. English Heritage have designated it a Grade II listed building, and inside there are some beautiful features. Well worth a look.

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Cathedral Door Preservation

The preservation of the Cathedral doors has taken place, and they have now been restored to their rightful place. They look very little different, but if you look carefully you can see some replacement metal studs. Let's hope they last for another 500 years.

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Hoole Bridge Building Supplies

Hoole Bridge Building Supplies are magic. I can phone them, order all sorts of building stuff, including secondhand bricks to match existing walls, and they will appear with it on the back of a truck, or inside a van. Best of all, they know the local area well, and even send the right-sized vehicle to fit down narrow back alleys. Really good service.

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Island in the Dee

Down by the Old Dee Bridge there is an island in the river. Obviously man-made, no-one seems to know why or when it was put there. Nowadays its' only use is as a turnaround point for the Raft Race, or as an occasional duck or heron resting place.

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Snugburys

Snugburys is on the road out to Nantwich, and is another of the local farms that have had to diversify in order to remain solvent. In their case it is into ice cream, which comes in a myriad of flavours, and is made from the milk and cream from their own herd of cows. Oh, and they also have some extremely cute piglets trotting about, just waiting to eat those leftover cones.

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St Giles Cemetery, Boughton

Here stood the leper hospital and chapel of St Giles. Founded early in the 12th century and endowed by successive Norman earls of Chester they remained in constant use until 1643. When defensive measures during the siege of Chester necessitated the demolition of buildings outside the city walls the cemetery remained to mark the site, and in time the little village of Spital Boughton clustered around it. In 1644 the royalist defenders suffered great loss of life in a gallant sortie in Boughton and many of the fallen were buried here. It was also used for victims of the plagues which ravaged the city in the 16th and 17th centuries. Being extra-parochial the site was granted to the corporation by Charles II in 1685 as a burial ground and, though for a period in the charge of St Johns parish, it remains in their hands.  The last burial took place in 1854.

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Church/Population Movement

There has been a tendency, slightly reversed in recent times, for the population to move out of city centres and into suburbs, and the churches have moved along with them. Hence, originally, there was St Mary's in Castro (in the Castle), which moved outside the defensive walls of the Castle, but still within the protective city walls, to St Mary's-on-the-Hill. This, too became redundant in its' turn, when the church moved to Handbridge and became St Mary's-without-the-Walls, on-the-hill being reduced in status to a chapel-of-ease,or secondary church.

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September

September, far from being autumnal, has begun in a burst of warm weather. Plants and trees seem uncertain as to what is going on, and I saw a magnolia tree with a fair number of blooms on it the other day.

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Walk Mill II

The original Walk Mill was demolished, and has been rebuilt by the current owners on the same footprint. They used many of the original items, including the floor tiles, sack hoist, and damsel (the spindle which strikes the shoe to distribute grain into eye of stones, and can been seen in the photo below right). Other artefacts have been found close to the mill site dating back to 973 A.D.

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Walk Mill I

Walk Mill is out at Waverton, where they grow their own wheat. You can look out of the Mill window and see the field where the wheat is growing, watch it being ground by the water-powered mill, and buy the bread and flour. Zero food miles, and a very good product. They also sell cakes, presumably made using the eggs from the hens and ducks that wander around. You can find out more here: http://www.walkmillflour.co.uk/

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River Gowy

The River Gowy runs through Cheshire. It looks quiet and sleepy, but once used to power up to 20 water mills. Today, there are still a handful of mills left, including Walk Mill (of which more later), and I am told that at least one private residence is using the river to provide all their electricity. Popular with fishermen, it is home to several rare invertebrates, and has a thriving eel population.

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Ironsides

Ironsides (or Parliamentarians) were on parade at the recent Living History day at St John's, and for those of you who have always wondered what went on under those helmets, I can exclusively reveal that they wore a linen bonnet (see below).

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Town Hall Weddings

Now that the Town Hall has been refurbished, they are promoting its' hire for weddings more fiercely. And, to be fair, what a great location for a wedding - a beautiful Council Chamber to do the deed in, those steps to be photographed on, and that handy parking right outside...

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