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 Eastgate part I |
A Virtual Stroll Around the Walls of Chester The Eastgate part II |
|
oregate
and Eastgate Streets lay on the line of Watling Street, the
Saxon name for the great Roman road which commenced at Dover, passed through
London and crossed the country to enter the fortress of Deva at the now-vanished
South Gate and leave by the Eastgate, the Porta Principalis Sinistra,
on its way to Manchester and York.
(Of particular interest to students of Chester is a chapter in Thomas Codrington's
1903 Roman Roads in Britain dealing with ancient Watling Street,
which you may read here) Eastgate Street and its continuation beyond the Cross, Watergate Street, lie approximately on the line of the main thoroughfare of Roman Deva, the Via Principalis (Chester, incidentally, is the only city in Britain where the main streets are signposted in both English and Latin).
From where we stand, the street extends 220 yards to the Cross and the square tower of St. Peter's Chuch, the site of the southern side of the great Principia, or Roman headquarters building and on again the same distance- the tall spire of Holy Trinity Church in Watergate Street marks the site of the vanished West Gate, or Porta Principalis Dextra. This shows at a glance the extent of the fortress across its narrower side- about 440 yards.
Could the Saxon founders of Holy Trinity have utilised a ruined Roman gatehouse adjoining the West Gate of the fortress? A very similar situation existed in what is now the middle of the busy junction of Bridge Street and Grosvenor Street, where for centuries there stood a church dedicated to St. Bridget, which was founded around the year 797 by King Offa on the site of the vanished Roman South Gate, or Porta Praetoria.
Some
mighty
column
bases
from
the
vanished
Principia
were
discovered
when
the
old
Shoemaker's
Row in
Northgate
Street
was
rebuilt
and
have
been
preserved.
You
can
inspect
them
(well
worth
the
effort)-
albeit
through
an
inappropriate
mass
of
merchandise,
in
the
basement
of
what
was
until
recently
a
clothes
shop.
From the Cross, the ancient meeting place of the principal streets of Chester, a right turn will take you back to our starting place, the Northgate, a left takes you down Bridge Street to the River Dee and the Bridgegate while continuing strait on into Watergate Street will eventually bring us to the Watergate. On either side, you can see the openings of the remarkable covered galleries known as the Rows, an architectural feature unique to Chester.
There are numerous theories as to their origins, for example, that they evolved from the structures that came to be erected, one row above another, on the sloping piles of rubble that lined the main streets in the centuries following the departure of the Legions and the destruction of the buildings within their great fortress. Go here to read Joseph Hemingway's lengthy description of the Rows, written 170 years ago, in 1836 but still entirely recognisable today.
"Chester is a town of balconies. The first impression I received of it was a town whose inhabitants spend a great portion of their lives leaning over old oak galleries, smoking and chatting and watching life go by below them in the streets.
The Rows are simply long, covered arcades formed by running a highway through the first stories of a street of old buildings. You mount from the roadway to the Rows on frequent flights of stone steps and find yourself in the strangest shopping streets in England. Here are the best shops hidden away in the darkness of these ancient arcades, and it is possible to shop dry-shod in the worst weather.
There is a peculiar charm about these Rows. They are not typically medieval, because there is no record of any other street of this kind in the Middle Ages, yet they impart a singular impression of medievalism: through the oak beams which support the galleries you see black-and-white half-timbered houses on the opposite side of the street, with another Row cut through their first floors, on whose balconies people are leaning and talking and regarding the flow of life.
The main streets of Chester give you the impression that a huge galleon has come to anchor there with easy, leisurely passengers leaning on the deck rails"
H. V. Morton: In Search of England 1924
You can read more of Morton's impressions of Chester here
The
Eastgate
The
present
Eastgate
was
erected
in
1769,
a
plain
stone
archway
with
small
posterns
on
either
side
for
pedestrian
access.
On
the
outside
of
the
gate
are
the
arms
of
the
Grosvenors
and
the
inscription:
"ERECTED
AT
THE
EXPENCE
OF
RICHARD
LORD
GROSVENOR
A:D:
MDCCLXIX"
On
the
west
side
are
displayed
the
city
arms
and,
"THIS
GATE
BEGUN
A.D.
MDCCLXVIII
JOHN
KELSALL
ESQr.
MAYOR.
FINISHED
A.D.
MDCCLXIX
CHA.
BOSWELL
ESQr.
MAYOR"
It
replaced
a
great
medieval
structure
formerly
occupying
the
site,
"A
goodly
great
gate,
of
an
antient
fair
building,
with
a
tower
upon
it,
containing
many
fair
rooms
within".
The
old
Eastgate
was
a
massive
affair,
with
a
single
pointed
arch
supporting
a
great
high
square
battlement
of
stone
with
octagonal
corner
turrets,
arrowslits
and
crenellations.
The
tower
above
it
was
known
as
the
Harre (Harry) Tower.
In 1586, the Harre Tower was let to the Joiner's Company at a yearly rental of 6s. 8d.
This
medieval
gate
in
turn
replaced
the
original
Roman
entrance,
while
incorporating
much
of
that
structure
within
it.
Drawings
exist
recording
the
demolition
of
the
medieval
gate,
clearly
showing
the
twin
barrel-vaulted
arches
of
the
Roman
entrance,
14
feet
high
and
20
feet
apart,
complete
with
guard
houses
on
each
side.
Mounted
between
the
arches
was
a
sculpted
image
of
a
centurion,
or
perhaps
of
Mars,
the
Roman
god
of
war,
arrayed
in
armour
and
holding
a
shield
in
one
hand
and
a
spear
in
the
other.
Whoever
it
actually
represented,
this
image
must
have
been
a
welcome
sight
to
generations
of
tired
Roman
infantrymen
approaching
the
end
of
a
long
march.
Distinguished
18th
century
travel
writer
and
naturalist
Thomas
Pennant,
alluding
to
the
old
gate,
wrote
"I
remember
the
demolition
of
the
ancient
structure,
and
on
taking
down
the
more
modern
case
of
Norman
masonry
the
Roman
appeared,
full
in
view.
It
consisted
of
two
arches,
formed
of
vast
stones,
fronting
the
Eastgate
Street
and
Forest
Street -
the
pillar
between
them
dividing
the
street
exactly
in
two".
(The name of Forest Street, incidentally- now Foregate Street- had, as is commonly claimed, nothing to do with it being the road to the forests that once thrived beyond the city but was a corruption of 'Fore-East Street'- the street before the Eastgate.)
In
1910,
Chester
historian
Frank
Simpson
commented
"What
a
pity
it
was
ever
to
have
removed
the
ancient
Eastgate
at
all.
What
a
beautiful
relic
of
Norman
times
would
have
now
remained
if
the
road
had
been
diverted
on
either
side
of
it!"
Tragically,
that
which
had
miraculously
survived
for
around
sixteen
hundred
years
was
thoughtlessly
done
away
with
in
a
matter
of
days.
All
that
now
survives
is
a
section
of
wall
which
probably
belonged
to
one
of
the
guard
chambers
preserved
in
the
cellar
of
no. 48
Eastgate
Street.
The
'Honorable
Incorporation'
As
you
look
at
the
Eastgate
from
within
the
wall,
on
the
left-hand
side,
immediately
next
to
the
gate
is
a
narrow
passageway.
At
the
end
of
this,
in
what
is
now
the
premises
of
a
bank,
formerly
existed
a
public
house
called
the
King's
Arms
Kitchen, also known as Mother Hall's.
You
may
just
see
its
sign
on
the
left
of
the
Eastgate
in
the
photograph
below,
which
was
taken
about
1900.
In
the
18th
and
19th
centuries,
it
housed
a
drinking
and
gambling
club
going
by
the
splendid
name
of
The
Honorable
Incorporation
of
the
King's
Arm's
Kitchen.
This came about as the result of an order by King Charles II that the custom of electing the mayor and his officers was to end. Sir Thomas Grosvenor was appointed as mayor, thus spawning an oligarchy between Eaton Hall (the Grosvenor residence) and Chester Corporation that would last until the Election Reform Act of 1832. The city's people were, unsurprisingy, increasingly unhappy with this imposition of an 
unelected mayor and Corporation, and one evening around the year 1770, a group of tradesmen met in a room in this pub and decided to form a City Assembly of their own, which
was
organised
(a wonderful idea) as
a
complete shadow assembly, a satirical
imitation
of
the
Corporation,
with
its
own
elected
mayor,
recorder,
town
clerk,
sheriffs, aldermen and common councilmen. They even had a replica of the mayor's sword and mace made for them. In the course of time, the serious, satirical point of the King's Arms Kitchen was largely lost and it degenerated into a drinking and gambling club. The regulars, however, did not forget the old rules and regulations, such as that which declared that if a stranger sat in the mayor's chair, it was his duty to buy drinks for all present. During the Second World War, many an American GI was invited to sit in the mayor's chair!
The
fittings
of
the
room
where
this
worthy
institution
met,
complete
with
wood
panelling
upon
which
was
inscribed
the
succession
of
member's
names,
was
preserved
when
the
pub
closed
in
1978,
and
was
transferred
to
the
Grosvenor
Museum,
where
they
were
imaginitively
incorporated
into
the
decor
of
the
museum's
teashop,
and
may
still
be
seen
there
today.
Go
here
to
find
out
much more,
and
read
the
fascinating
reminiscences
of
an
anonymous
19th
century
'frequenter'...
On
the
right
of
the
Eastgate
in
this
old
photograph
you
can
see
Huxley's
Vaults,
a
public
house
and
wine
merchant
established
here
in
1783
and
surviving
until
the
1960s.
For unknown reasons (possibly fortunately) Huxley's was also fondly known by its habituees as Dirty Dick's.
(For much more about the
vanished watering holes of Chester go here.)
Several
changes
of
use
later-
this
most
prime
of
locations
became
a
branch
of
a
building
society and a
mobile
phone
emporium- it is now a pawnbroker's.
The
coach
is
pulling
away
from
the
Chester Grosvenor
Hotel,
the
site
of
which
was
originally
occupied
by The Golden Talbot, advertised in the long-defunct Adam's Weekly Courant of 17th September 1751 as "that ancient and well-accustomed inn which is now fitted up in the neatest manner and held by Thomas Hickman (late agent to the Hon. Colonel Lee deceas'd) where all gentlemen, ladies and others who shall be pleased to make use of the said house may depend on the best accomodations and most civil usage".
The old Talbot was demolished and on its site rose The Royal
Hotel (illustrated right)
which
was
built
in
1784
by
one
John
Crewe,
who,
together
with
a
Mr Barnston
stood
for
Parliament
as
Whigs
against
Mr Thomas
Grosvenor
and
Mr
Richard
Wilbraham
Bootle
who,
as
Tories,
supported
William
Pitt.
The
two
seats
had
been
Grosvenor
family
'perks'
for
decades,
and
the
city
council
were
hand-in-glove
with
them.
After
ten
days
of
campaigning,
the
parties
were
neck-and-neck,
until
money
won
the
day-
Mr
Crewe,
described
as
being
of
'only
moderate
fortune,'
spent
£10,000
on
bribes,
but
the
Grosvenors
spent
£20,000
and
the
Tories
were
in.
(However,
eight
years
later,
the
Chester
Directory
for
1792
shows
John
Crewe
and
Sir
Robert
Salisbury
Cotton
as
representatives
for
the
county,
while
Thomas
Grosvenor
Esq.
and
the
Right
Hon.
Lord
Belgrave
as
members
for
the
city)
The
antagonism
between
the
Grosvenors
and
city
fathers
on
one
hand
and
their
opponents
on
the
other
went
on
for
a
further
30
years,
but,
despite
rulings
against
them
in
the
House
of
Lords,
the
Tory
stranglehold
over
the
city's
affairs
continued
until
the
reform
act
of
1832.
The
Royal
Hotel
was
the
opposition's
social
centre,
with
news
and
coffee
rooms
and
an
elegant
assembly
room
for
balls
and
concerts.
Earl
Grosvenor,
however,
had
the
last
laugh.
He
bought
the
building
and
in
1863,
had
it
totally
demolished,
and
replaced
by
the
much
larger
building
we
see
today-
and
named
it
after
his
family.
A
century
later,
the
Grosvenor
Hotel
was
considered
a
cosy
and
unpretentious,
if
rather
dowdy
place,
but
it
contained
the
city's
only
large
ballroom
apart
from
that
in
the
Town
Hall,
so
perforce
all
the
balls
(Hunt,
Farmer's,
Conservative
and
League
of
Pity
amongst
them)
were
held
there.
With
the
increasing
prosperity
of
the
city,
the
hotel
underwent
a
programme
of
upgrading
and
refurbishment,
adding
many
modern
conveniences
but
losing
much
of
its
old-world
charm.
Author, broadcaster and all-round character Gyles Brandreth, who served as Chester's
Member of Parliament from 1991-97, referred to the Grosvenor in his wonderfully readable volume of diaries, Breaking the Code thus, "owned by the Duke of Westminster who, I imagine, is about the only person who can actually afford to stay there: it's very lush and very pricey".
Far humbler perhaps, but no less interesting, is a business premises situated just across the road from the Grosvenor Hotel. Following a sign to the city walls immediately next to the Eastgate leads the visitor to a flight of steps, tucked beneath which is the smallest shop in Chester- possibly in the entire country. Formerly the premises of a wool trader, around the year 1895 it became a gentlemen's hairdressers (three customers and the place was packed!)- and stayed that way for 108 years, until November 2003 when its last owner, long-serving traditional barber Bernie Philips retired. A busy sandwich bar now trades from there. Our photograph shows the still-unaltered rear of the premises.
• Some stunning panoramic movies of Eastgate Street may, along with much else, be seen at the excellent Chester 360°.
So, having
re-mounted these steps to the city walls and lingered
awhile
to
watch
the
bustling
crowds
beneath,
we
shall
now
press
on
towards
the
Newgate...
Curiousities from Chester's History no. 11
- 1509 Henry VII died, his second son ascended the throne as Henry VIII and married Catherine of Aragon, the widow of his elder brother Arthur. Arthur was the eldest son of Henry and Elizabeth of York. He was born on 20 September 1486, barely a year after the pivotal battle of Bosworth Field, and died on 2 April 1502. Arthur was named after the mythical King Arthur- Henry VII was Welsh and the legend was popular in medieval England. He was titled Prince of Wales (and was the first to receive the title) when he was 3 years old. Negotiations for his marriage to Katharine of Aragon, daughter of the famous Ferdinand and Isabella, began in 1488. The terms were settled in 1500 and the couple were married in London on 14 November 1501. They journeyed to Ludlow Castle, the traditional seat of the Prince of Wales, and established a small court. However, Arthur died suddenly on 2 April 1502, possibly of tuberculosis. During his visit to Chester in 1489, he was described as "a great friend to the monks". (One of the great 'what-ifs' of English history- had Arthur survived and ascended to the throne, would the split with Rome, the dissolution of the monasteries and the establishment of the Church of England have ever occured? What would today's Britain be like as a result?) William ap John was fined three-halfpence for being a "peeping Tom"
- 1510 An order is made that "none shall attend priest's offerings, first mass, gospel ales or Welsh weddings, within this city, under a penalty of ten shillings".
- 1515 A fight took place "betwixte the citzens of Chester and divers Waylshe men at Saint Warburghe Lane ende but lytill hurt done, for the Waylesmen fledde".
- 1517 Great visitation of Bubonic Plague; grass grew a foot high at the High Cross and other streets in the city. Many, it was said, died "whilst opening their windows." A silence descended upon the city, relieved only by the cry of the watchmen calling "bring out your dead" as they went their rounds with the Dead Carts. Before the plague bore down upon the city, many citzens claimed they witnessed a fiery halo of light in the heavens above.
- 1519 Hernando Cortez enters Tenochtitlan, capital of Mexico, and is received by Montezuma, the Aztec ruler. Coffee comes to Europe for the first time...
- 1523 Roger Ledsham, keeper of the Great Gate of the Abbey of St.Werburgh was drowned in the 'horse-pole' (a pond formerly situated in present-day Abbey Square)
- 1524 Turkeys from South America first eaten at the English court. Thomas Highfield becomes twenty fifth Abbot of St. Werburgh's (-1527)
- 1526 The Abbey cloisters were rebuilt.
- 1527 Thomas Marshall becomes twenty sixth Abbot of St. Werburgh's until 1529, when he is succeeded by John Birchenshawe (-1538)
- 1530 King Henry VIII recognised as Supreme Head of the Church of England
- 1531 The 'great comet' (later Halley's) arouses a wave of superstitious fears throughout Europe
- 1533 Henry secretly marries Anne Boleyn and is excommunicated by the Pope. The Mayor of Chester, Henry Gee, ordered that "No manner person or persons go abroade in this citie mumming in any place within the said citie, their fayses being coveryd or disgysed (because) many dysordered persons have used themselves rayther all the day after idellie in vyse and wantoness then givΩΩen themselves to holy contemplation and prayre the same sacryt holye and prynsååepaul feast." He also ordered that ale, beer and wine were not to be sold after 9pm on any day or after Divine Service on Sundays. The reforming Mayor Gee also had much to say regarding the activities of Chester's citzens on the Roodee
- 1535 Sir Thomas Moore, having refused the oath of the king's supremacy, is tried for treason and executed.
- 1536 Catherine of Aragon died. Queen Anne Boleyn beheaded at the Tower of London. Henry marries Jane Seymour
- 1537 The Nunneries and other religious houses were suppressed on the order of the Mayor, Ffoulk Dutton. At the dissolution there were 10 White Friars, 7 Grey Friars, 5 Black Friars and 14 ladies at St. Mary's Nunnery. Water was first brought from Boughton to the Bridgegate by lead pipes. Jane Seymour dies in childbirth; her son was created Earl of Chester at his birth
- 1538 Thomas Clarke becomes twenty eigth and final Abbot of St. Werburgh's (-1540)
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