Wirral Viking Artefacts

As well as dressing and behaving like vikings, the Wirhalh Skip Felag make and display jewellery and other artefacts from the period.

  

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Civic Flowers

All around Chester this summer there have been beautiful flower displays over railings and in window boxes. Congratulations to whoever organised them - I think you did a really good job this year, whoever you are!

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Wirral Vikings

The Wirral peninsula was once a Viking stronghold, with a considerable settlement at Meols. There is now a group of Viking re-enactors who come to show off their skills locally. They are known as Wirhalh Skip Felag, and you can find out more about them here: https://sites.google.com/site/wirralvikings/home or here: http://www.facebook.com/groups/177221184772/

 

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Town Hall Refurbishment - Waiting Hall

The Waiting Hall looks very little different, just a bit cleaner and brighter than it used to. Either side of the entrance doors are bust of King George V and Sir Horatio Lloyd, Recorder of Chester 1866-1921. There is also the ship's bell from HMS Broadsword, which was associated with Chester until it was sold off to the Brazilian navy.

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Town Hall Refurbishment - Court Room

Chester's Town Hall has been refurbished, and is now open to the public. The Court Room in particular is looking much better. In use until 1993, it is one of the few remaining original Victorian courts in the country, and has provided a backdrop for television productions such as 'Sherlock Holmes' and 'Far From The Madding Crowd'. The police station was underneath, and steps lead up directly from the cells to the court.

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City Baths Honour Roll

I was in the City Baths last week when I spotted, hanging on the wall, an Honour Roll from the First World War. It listed all those members of the swimming club who had fought, and in some cases died, for their country. There were recognisably local surnames, Randles, Dutton, Ennion, and Chesters, and I found it unexpectedly moving.

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Russell Mabbutt

I went to visit the newly-refurbished Town Hall the other day, and busking outside was Russell Mabbutt the demon accordion player, aka Rusty Mahone. He plays with what used to be the Family Mahone, who have now morphed into Mark Radcliffe and Foes, and he tells me they have a gig at Telfords Warehouse on Thursday 29th November. See you there, then!

(n.b. he also has a blog at http://forsalein.org/russell/author/russell/)

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Chester Under Siege

In 1645, Chester, a Royalist city, was under siege by Parliamentarian forces. The royalist garrison and citizens retreated inside the city walls for protection, and the Parliamentarians placed their cannons in St John's churchyard and trained them on the south eastern section of the walls. If you stand at the base of the large square Watch Tower and look up, you can still see the pockmarks left by the cannonballs.

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Back of Tesco II

The refurbishment of the back of Tesco has been competed, and the scaffolding has gone. It looks very clean, and un-Tescolike. I have no idea of what originally lay behind this facade, nor why the planners saw necessary to preserve just this bit, but I like the fact that they did.

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Sculptures

At the back of St John's church, there is a small garden, where the Council have recently placed a commissioned sculpture entitled 'Journeys' by Nick Corrigan. Much more sympathetic and in tune with its' environment than the pigeon-dropping encrusted sculpture in Town Hall Square (shown underneath).

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From River To St John's

Originally there were four routes from the Groves, down by the river, up to St John's, and this indicates the importance of the riverside area. Two of the routes are now footpaths, one is Souter's Lane, and the fourth has more or less disappeared, although you can see traces of it in the photo below - the building with black and white timbers has a footpath leading to St John's on the right, but on the left you can see a gap, with railings and trees behind it. This is all that is left of the fourth route.

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Ed Alleyne-Johnson

Ed Alleyne-Johnson lives in Chester, and can regularly be seen busking on the streets here. He plays an electric violin that he carved with a kitchen knife, a custom pedal-board, and an amplifier which he modified to run off rechargeable batteries. I have tried several times to get a decent photo of him, but he hides behind his hair. He busks in many places, so, who knows, he could be on a street near you soon. You can see videos of him performing on youtube and here http://www.muntfish.com/alleyne-johnson/ - well worth a listen.

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Collapse of St John's Tower

On the 14th April 1881 the tower of St John's church, which had been in an increasing state of disrepair, finally collapsed. In the words of the then vicar:

' I was aroused by a rumbling noise, which was succeeded by a terrible and indescribably long drawn-out crash, or rather rattle, as though a troop of horse artillery was galloping over an iron road; this was mingled with a clash of bells, and when it had increased to a horrible and almost unbearable degree, it suddenly ceased, and was succeeded by perfect stillness.'

Happily no-one was killed or injured but the Early English porch was demolished and has never been replaced. You can see the remains to the left of the photo.

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Jet Runner 2

I spotted this colourful boat down on the Dee, and wondered what it was. It belongs to Commercial Boat Services, who have an office on Souters Lane (used to be Bithell's Boats for anyone local who remembers them), and who specialise in helping in the inland marine environment. So if your narrowboat gets stuck on the weir, you know who to turn to. You can find out more about them at http://www.commercialboatservices.co.uk/

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Cathedral Picnics

On a warm summers' day (and we do occasionally get them), a picnic in the grounds of the Cathedral can be a very relaxing thing. Better than the Grosvenor Park, where squirrels attempt to steal sandwiches, and closer to the city centre than the Groves, it is a great place to while away an all-too-short lunch hour and play at people-spotting.

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Missing Mansions II - Cholmondeley's

Cholmondeley's Mansion was demolished when the Grosvenor Park was laid out in 1867. It was probably built around the middle of the 18th century, and had three storeys and a central bow-fronted bay, which we know because there is a view drawn from a tethered balloon in 1852 in the Grosvenor Museum. It replaced an earlier house on the site, and the area they stood on has been excavated by students from Chester University over the last three summer seasons.

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Funky Aardvark

A new shop has opened up in Bridge Street Row dedicated to all things arty and crafty. Called the Funky Aardvark they offer courses in life drawing, felt-making, lino cuts and print-making,  hat-making and many, many, more. Oh, and they also sell a wide range of beautiful objects. You can find out more about them here: http://www.funkyaardvark.co.uk

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Turmeaus

Turmeaus is a tobacconist on Watergate Street with very friendly and helpful staff. It is the only place in Chester, I am told, where you can legally smoke indoors (although only whilst sampling tobacco). The shop has a purpose-built humidor at the back, and is probably the narrowest shop in Chester (although I can think of two others that can lay claim to that crown - must go back with a tape measure...). You can read more about it here:
http://www.cgarsltd.co.uk/document.php?id=turmeauschester.htm

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Roman Gardens III - Cockpit

This area of the Roman Gardens was the scene of a cockpit, and cock-fighting took place in or around here for over 250 years. The first cockpit was laid out in 1619, and was later replaced by more permanent structures in brick and thatch, the last being built in 1825. Cock-fighting became a fashionable sport after the Restoration in 1660, and contests were a popular feature of Race Week. In the 1800s admission to the City Cock Pit was 5 shillings a day. Cock-fighting continued until 1849, when it was banned under the Cruelty to Animals Act.

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Roman Gardens II - Pipes

In 1855 Chester was the centre for a flourishing clay tobacco-pipe industry, and the earliest British clay tobacco-pipe kiln ever found was discovered here. The kiln in the Roman Gardens was one of the last to produce pipes in Chester, but closed during the First World War, when cigarette smoking became fashionable. Pipe makers often stamped their names or initials on pipes, and makers on this site included Joseph Fitzgerald (c.1814-1840), John Jones (c.1848-1869), and William Boynton (c.1871-1917).

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Living History Fair

Last Saturday there was a living history fair at St John's Church, where re-enactors from various historical periods got together to talk to the public about what they did. They were all interesting and highly knowledgeable about their particular period. Shown below are the Napoleonic and Second World War contingent.

 

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Roman Gardens I

The Roman Gardens were laid out in 1951, for the Festival of Britain. This section of the city wall is an extension to the original Roman walls, and was probably built around 907, when Chester was fortified by Aethelflaed, daughter of Alfred the Great and Queen of Mercia. It was almost certainly built from stone quarried from the remains of the amphitheatre. By the early medieval period the northern part of the gardens were probably built on, with structures fronting onto a road that led through the Wolf Gate.

The mosaic shown below was installed earlier this year.

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Red, White, and Blue

Someone has done some very spectacular planting in Grosvenor Park, because it is currently a feast for the eyes, dressed in a patriotic red, white and blue.

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Olympic Water Polo

Not exactly around Chester, but local lass Fiona McCann was competing in the Women's Water Polo at the Olympics. She now trains in Manchester, but originally began her career in Chester City Baths. Chester has a strong record for training young water polo players and Beth Bolton is now part of the under-16 England squad as well.

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Cathedral Replacement Doors

The temporary replacement doors have been hung at the Cathedral, with promised peepholes so that you can see into the Cathedral interior. However, I tried to look through them and saw - nothing! They have been blocked off on the other side. A lack of attention to detail from someone, methinks.

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Abbey Square

I was walking through Abbey Square the other day, and noticed that the end house was up for rent. It belongs to the Cathedral, and I had always supposed that it was occupied by clergy as a perk of the job. What a great place to live - right in the heart of the city, on a cobbled street, next to the city walls - very atmospheric. On further checking I realised it was only the ground floor flat, but still an enticing prospect. If you are interested you can see more about it here: http://www.chesterplace.co.uk/product/34/15-abbey-street-chester/

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