Old Fire Station/Chez Jules

Up on Northgate Street there is a restaurant called Chez Jules, but once upon a time it was the Northgate Fire Station. Built at a cost of £3,000 in 1911, to replace the previous one in the Potato Market, it lasted until 1971, when the main fire station relocated to St Anne Street.

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Flowers

Even though it is still January, and winter, there are plenty of flowers about.

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New Crane Wharf

The wharf was developed during the second half of the 18th century. A new road (New Crane Street) was built to connect it to the Watergate, and it could take sea-going vessels up to 350 tons. The riverside warehouse is a listed building, and is now a training base for sea cadets.

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Barclays Bank Northgate Street

What is now Barclays Bank was originally a school. First held in the Refectory, or any available part of the Cathedral, as well as St Nicholas' Chapel, this building was built in 1873, to give the King's School, founded by Henry VIII, a permanent home. The school later moved out into other venues before reaching its' present location south of the city.

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Grosvenor Park - The Ship Gate

The Ship Gate, or Shipgate, once stood a little to the left of the Bridgegate. It was an entrance for cargo to be brought up St Mary's Hill into the city. There was a gatekeeper, who took taxes and locked the gate at night. A ferry once ran from the Shipgate to Handbridge, which was cheaper than the toll to cross by the Old Dee Bridge, and there was also a ford at that point in the river. The gate was built during the reign of Henry II or Edward I, demolished in 1831, and moved to Grosvenor Park.

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Northgate Gaol

The City Gaol was housed in the old Northgate, and is now a private residence. Prisoners were held in dungeons cut deep into the sandstone below the city wall. There were no windows in some dungeons and the only air the prisoners got was by pipe, which could be blocked from outside, if they had enemies. If you look carefully in the second photo below, you can see the blocked airholes in the top left.

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River Dee

For centuries, the fortunes of Chester were tied to the River Dee. Ships carrying cargo arrived and left, bringing wealth to the citizens. Gradually, however, the river silted up, and the mooring places moved out along the river. In Roman times the harbour would have been approximately where the race course is now, then it moved to the Water Tower, then the Water Tower was extended out into the river, then to the Old Port area, then on out to Parkgate and Meols, from which coach services were run. These photos are down by the Cop, and if you look at the river bank on the largest one you can see some fallen stones, which I think are either from a quay wall, or from an attempt at dredging.

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