Chester, Cheshire

Student days.

I went to Chester College as a mature student. Did a teaching course. Lived out at Hawarden and had to catch a bus into Bridge Street. From there I had to deposit my 2/3 yr old daughter at a private nursery near a church on the riverside, to then walk a mile up to the college past the Cathedral.
Loved... [more]

1947 to 1956

I was born in 1942 in Upton-by-Chester and my mother's family (Maddock) owned the butcher's shop that became Toycraft on Watergate Street, and one in the Market in the sixties. My parents emigrated to Canada with me in tow in 1956 and I get a lump in my throat, still, when I look at pictures or visit.
Such a lot of... [more]

Childhood memories

What a wonderful place to explore and grow up in, particularly as a history loving child. Born in Southport to await my father's return from army service in 1945, we soon moved back to the family origins in Chester.
The Taylor family had lived in Chester, within the walls since the mid 1700's. In the late 1940's the family of... [more]

wooden bridge

My uncle Bill Wright lived & worked in Chester from the war period to 1963. He was a widower and had a damp old ground floor of a rather grand house beside the wooden bridge across the Dee. My Aunts , his sisters would go up from London and stay with him and I would go every summer to stay a... [more]

J. G. Shaw and Sons c 1850 on into the 1920s

This photo shows the home and business of John Gill Shaw my great great grandfather.  He was born 23 November 1813.  He had 12 children some of which continued his ironmonger business into at least the 1920s.  His daughter, Martha, married Henry Craven, my great grandfather, of Buckley, Wales, on 26 April 1870.  They emigrated to Red Oak, Iowa, USA, in... [more]

Pub Regulars

My grandfather  Frederick Burghall and his wife used to have a drink in this pub once a week. They lived in nearby Handbridge. Their sons Frederick and Ernie used to have a pint also in the 70s and 80s.
Whilst doing my mother's family tree we visited the pub to see what it looked like. We had a good look around... [more]

Huitts or fluitts buildings

In the 1901 census my Great Grandparents the Burghall's were living here.They lived in Upper Northgate Street the census says.
I can trace the Burghall family back to Tattenhall in 1841. My mother has fond memories born in 1926, Mary Burghall, of diving and swimming the Dee, and attending Hunter Street School and St John's School.

English at heart

I am an American who went to school in Chester in 1966/67. Rather, should I say, I was registered for school at Chester College. However, I can't say I was actually in the building very often. There just always seemed to be somewhere else to go, and something more interesting to see instead.

I arrived in Chester just as... [more]

Around Chester Photographic Memories

In the late 19th century, the writers of tourist guides such as Baedeckers considered the Rows in Watergate Street to be the poor relations of those in other parts of the city. Certainly the building occupied by Peers looks dilapidated, as does the smaller building next to it.

50 Classics - Cathedrals

Built of red sandstone, Chester Cathedral was founded in 1092 as a Benedictine abbey. Parts of the original Norman church can still be seen, though much of the present cathedral dates from the 13th to the 16th centuries. In this photograph, the road appears to sweep straight into the west door. A cab driver and his horse wait patiently in the... [more]

50 Classics - Cathedrals

Intricately carved stalls enclose the choir in a rich setting. The superb wood carving dates from 1380, and on the misericords it depicts vivid scenes of medieval life and legend. A careful restoration programme of the cathedral was undertaken by Sir George Gilbert Scott, the eminent Victorian architect; here in the sanctuary he placed a suspended ironwork cross, which has since... [more]