St Werburgh's Church

St Werburgh's was built in the 1870's, and stands on Grosvenor Park Rd. It is one of two Catholic churches in the city centre, and has an enormous house standing next to it, presumably for the use of priests. The pulpit was donated by Pat Collins, of Pat Collins funfair, which comes to Chester every May during the Cup races.

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Edgar's Field Playground

Edgar's Field has some new playground equipment, plus an interesting-looking something - stone? sculpture? Impossible to tell without peeling bits off, but it tells the story of Edgar being rowed up the river by eight princes, who then swore allegiance on this field, and also shows the Minerva Shrine.

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Overleigh Geology - Lichenometry

A lot of headstones in Overleigh cemetery are, like this one, home to lichens. Lichens grow very very slowly, many at only 1-2mm per year, and some may reach 150mm. There is a branch of science called Lichenometry, and you can read more about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lichenometry

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Overleigh Geology - Acid Rain

This headstone is made of marble, which is a metamorphic rock that used to be a limestone, transforming into marble when it became heated at a high temperature. Marble dissolves easily in acid, including rain, which is acidic. When this headstone was new the lead lettering sat level with the surface; as the marble has dissolved the lead letters have become raised above the surface.

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Overleigh Geology I

Last week I went on an interesting walk round Overleigh Cemetery, looking at gravestones through the lens of geology. It was interesting to note that the later the date of the grave the further away the headstone comes from. Earliest examples of Chester headstones (i.e. Roman) are made from the local red sandstone, which does not weather well (those in the Grosvenor Museum are in such good condition because they were buried within the walls). Below are two much later (1950s) both made from lighter coloured sandstone, one of which has weathered very badly, because the sediment was less well cemented.

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Powells Jewellers

Powells Jewellers is right by the Cross. The shop wraps around, with one entrance in Eastgate Street and another in Bridge Street. The whole building is listed, including, interestingly, the drawers that you can see in the bottom of the photo and the spiral staircase (not very clear, but to the left).
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Christmas Lights Switch-On

Yesterday evening was the switch on of the Christmas lights, the beginning of late night shopping, and the lantern parade. Entertainment was provided by the Handbag of Harmonies, the streets were crowded, and the rain held off. A good time was had by all.

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Le Grand Bal de Chester

Saturday 8th December sees the second Grand Bal de Chester, for those who like to dance the night away, or just to learn new dances. The form below tells you all about it, and you can find out more about the monthly dances at their website, www.rondezvous.co.uk

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Chester Races 2013

The dates for the races next year have been decided, and the signs are up. You can get tickets here:
http://www.chester-races.co.uk/racing/tickets-badges

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Canal Dredging

Roughly every twenty years of so the staircase locks by the canal basin/Telfords Warehouse need dredging. Last time it happened they let us walk down inside the locks to get a good look at them, but disappointingly this time it hasn't happened. There are, however, some interesting specialised dredging barges hanging about.

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Roman Gravestone 18

This gravestone is one of several in Chester which show the dead enjoying a banquet in the afterlife. Curatia holds a drinking cup, and has a small 3-legged table in front of her couch. The two birds perched on garlands of leaves were thought to bring good fortune and to represent the soul's freedom to escape. The tritons, blowing seashell horns, reflect the belief that the souls of the dead travelled across the ocean to the Isles of the Blessed. The translation of the inscription reads: 'To the memory of the departed, Curatia Dinysia aged 40 years; erected by her heir'.

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The Glover Stone

The Glover Stone once stood at the corner of Bunce Street and Castle Street, where it had two uses: the first was as a boundary marker and the second as a place for glovers to prepare skins for making gloves by scraping them on the stone. Criminals sentenced in the castle's county court were taken here by the constable to be handed over to the city's sheriffs. They were then carted to Boughton for execution, or, if the crime was sufficiently petty, to be whipped around the city. The stone disappeared in the late eighteenth century, but has been tentatively identified by local historian Gordon Emery as the one shown in the photo below, now located in the Water Tower Gardens. Certainly, the stone is of bluestone, and must have been brought some distance.

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Roman Lead Ingots II

Others of the lead ingots in the Grosvenor Museum bear decipherable inscriptions. The one shown below was found in 1838 2km east of the city centre near Tarvin Bridge. The inscription on the top reads:-

IMP.VESP.V.T.III.COS

'made when the Emperor Vespasian was consul for the fifth time and the Emperor Titus was consul for the third time', which dates it to AD 74
On the other side is:-

DECEANGL

'from the territory of the Deceangli'. The Deceangli were the tribe who lived in north-eastern Wales, and most of the lead mines were on their territory.

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Veterinary Therapy Centre

One of the most interesting places I have visited recently is the Veterinary Therapy Centre just outside Chester, in Capenhurst. Here dogs recovering from spinal problems can be rehabilitated by exercising in a tank of water. There is a treadmill in the base of the tank, and the water level can be raised or lowered to suit the size of the dog. Leahurst, the Veterinary college featured in the recent series presented by Rolf Harris for the BBC, refers some of its' patients to this facility. There website is here: http://www.vettherapycentre.co.uk

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Arbol

There is a new shop open on Northgate Street, an offshoot of Ovo. Called Arbol house, it offers an eclectic range of homeware and gifts. I thought it might be called Arbol because of chilli de arbol (tree chilli), but no, it is just the Spanish word for tree, therefore tree house, geddit? They do have a website, but it isn't quite fully up and running yet, at www.arbolhouse.com

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Roman Lead Ingots

There are a number of Roman lead ingots on display in the Grosvenor Museum. Lead-bearing ores were very important to the Romans, not just for the lead, but because silver often occurs in the same veins. Romans mined for lead and silver in the hills of Flintshire, a few km west of Chester, and exported it widely. The pig (ingot) below weighs 87kg, and was found buried beneath the surface of the Roodee. Close to it were oaken piles, Roman pottery, and coins, suggesting there may have been a jetty  and the pig was dropped overboard.

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Baking

Wednesday is Baking Day at the Wesleyan Methodist, and last week I went to take a look. I last went over a year ago, and the standard has definitely improved. Perhaps ambitions and enthusiasm have been fuelled by all those 'Great British Bake Off' TV programs.

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Charity Christmas Cards

Should you wish to buy charity Christmas cards in Chester, there are two places to go. One is in the Cathedral, and the other at the Wesleyan Methodist. Both are staffed by volunteers, and all profits go directly to the charities concerned. You can even get cards printed in Welsh.

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And Albert

And Albert is a gift shop in Eastgate Row specialising in handcrafted Fairly Traded products from around the world. The shop is next door to The Boot, and is much larger than it appears from the outside, with an upstairs and a back room containing furniture. At the rear of the shop is a fire exit which I guess leads out onto Leen Lane. A great place for Christmas and birthday gifts, and you can order online at www.andalbert.com

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Bollands Revisited

I went back to Bollands, the tea and coffee shop, the other day, and they had some interesting new ideas - a 'blend your own tea' section, a new range of teapots, and gift hampers. They have also managed to launch their website, you can take a look here: bollandsofchester.co.uk

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Berries

All the trees have huge quantities of berries this year, in complete contrast with the lack of apples and pears. Abundance of berries is meant to predict a long, cold, hard winter, and certainly the first frosts have been very early this year - I have had to scrape ice off the car a couple of times already.

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Roman Gravestone 34

In the Grosvenor Museum there are the most impressive collection of Roman gravestones in Britain. Some are more complete than others, but all were buried for centuries, preserving them. The one below does not have an inscription, but shows Actaeon, a hunter who was changed to a stag and ripped to death by his own hounds. You can see him warding off the dogs, already part changed into a stag with horns sprouting from his head.

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Thatched Roofs

In the city centre, the majority of roofs used to be thatch, until the city council decreed that
'for the ornament and security of this Citty from fire...all houses now erected or hereafter to bee erected in Foregatestreete, Eastgatestreete, Northgatestreete, and Bridgestreete of this Citty shall be covered with slate or tyle and not thatched'.
As well as reducing the number of fires, this had the unexpected bonus of reducing the numbers of rats in the city, as they lived in the thatch in great numbers, and the city has had no outbreaks of plague since, though this may well be coincidental.

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Felt-Making

I went to a felt-making workshop on Saturday, at Funky Aardvark. Taught by Zoe Collyer of http://www.zoecofelt.co.uk, it was good fun and we all managed to produce passable felt vessels. The first photo shows the finished product, the following ones show the various stages.

 

  

 

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