Romans, Vikings & what else makes Chester England's most historic town

[00:00:07]When thinking of charming old medieval English towns, Chester might not be the first that comes to mind, but it boasts a very rich heritage and a Viking connection as well. Let's explore.

[00:00:21]>> [music] [music] >> So, Chester started out as a Roman fort during the reign of Emperor Vespasian in the 70s. It was first the seat of the Legio Secunda Adiutrix and then it became the seat of Legio XX Valeria Victrix.

[00:00:47]So, these are the Roman Gardens, the park that contains a range of remains from local Roman sites with highlights including columns from the Roman Gymnasium, fascias from the Deva Victrix fortress, and also a reconstructed hypocaust, so the underground heating system. There's also a reconstructed mosaic found in the city's main bathhouse.

[00:01:11]The fort was actually larger than Eboracum, York, and Londinium in London, and I suppose it is because it was quite a problematic area swarming with Celtic populations.

[00:01:23]And Chester also has Britain's largest known Roman amphitheater, a training ground for Rome's 20th Legion, and also an entertainment venue.

[00:01:32]Actually, there have been two stone-built amphitheaters on the site offering different kinds of access, and now only the northern half of the structure is exposed because the southern half is covered by buildings.

[00:01:44]This was still in use till about 350, had seating for about 8,000 spectators, and among other things, one can view the remains of a shrine to the goddess Nemesis, the goddess of retribution.

[00:02:00]The fort remained functional till the beginning of the 5th century when the entire province of Britannia was abandoned by the Romans.

[00:02:13]>> [music] >> Nearby lie the ruins of a church where you can see set high into one of the Gothic arches a very interesting structure which is a wooden coffin allegedly from the 11th century. So, someone in the 19th century would have found it, thought it was very interesting, and then placed it so high up.

[00:02:38]After the Romans leave, things tend to get a little murky. We don't really know what exactly happened to Chester.

[00:02:44]However, we do find reference in one later chronicle written by Nennius, the history of the Britons, that the name of the settlement would have been Kaier in Welsh. However, we do know that at the beginning of the 7th century, King Ethelfrith of Northumbria managed to defeat a couple of old Welsh groups, and that marked the beginning of the Anglo-Saxon dominance in the area.

[00:03:05]Another important date would be 689 when Ethelred of Mercia this time founded a minster. And this minster would have probably been on the site of an earlier church. And the minster was dedicated to St. John the Baptist.

[00:03:22]>> [music] >> A cathedral in the 11th century, it was once the seat of the Bishop of Lichfield, province of Canterbury.

[00:03:37]Since the dissolution of monasteries in the reign of Henry the VIII, the nave was restored as a parish church, and then parts of it collapsed, then it was used as a royalist garrison during the the War in 1645.

[00:03:58]And inside you can view some very interesting tombstone decorations, like a smithy's hammer. This is not Thor's hammer, by the way.

[00:04:06]>> [music] >> And also some stone cross heads from the 10th century. So, this is the Viking age indeed.

[00:04:13]At the beginning of the 10th century, the walls of the city were fortified because of the invasions of Drum roll, drum roll, the Vikings. And the Vikings actually managed to take hold of the city before being repelled by Alfred.

[00:04:29]Speaking of Vikings in the Grosvenor Park, you can find two modern sculptures representing the Norse giants Surtr and Ymir.

[00:04:37]And later, his daughter, Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians, she ordered the construction of a proper fortification, the so-called burh.

[00:04:47]And here's where it gets a little bit fantastic. It is said that uh King Edgar, after his coronation in Bath in 973, he would have traveled to Chester at an assembly site. And um it is also said that he was rowed down the River Dee from a place now called Edgar's Field, so the for the alleged assembly site, to the Minster. And during that trip, he would have had by his side a couple of chieftains, um petty kings, such as Kenneth II of Scotland or um Malcolm of Strathclyde, who would have sworn allegiance to him during this trip.

[00:05:30]And this would be an artistic representation of the event. It's quite catchy, if you ask me. But even more interesting is what you can find nearby.

[00:05:39]Something absolutely fabulous unfolds. A Minerva's shrine from the early 2nd century carved into the face of a sandstone quarry and in the original location.

[00:05:56]Back in the center, this random building is also a church dedicated to the 11th century St. Olaf of Norway. This is on Lower Bridge Street, which was probably settled with Scandinavians at the time.

[00:06:12]Then we also have a Norman castle, but it was modified quite a lot through the ages, including the addition of neoclassical elements. An older part would be, for example, the 13th century Agricola Tower, [music] the first stone gateway.

[00:06:33]>> [music] >> Now walking a bit through the Tudor to medieval galleries and reaching the East Gate with the most photographed clock in all of England after Big Ben. The present gateway dates from 1768 and is a three-arched sandstone structure, which carries the walkway forming part of Chester city walls, but it is also the site of the original entrance to the Roman fortress.

[00:07:13]Now in 1899, a clock was added to the top of the gateway to celebrate 60 years of Queen Victoria's reign 2 years earlier.

[00:07:24]So if you walk along Eastgate Street under the clock, turn right and continue until you meet the inner ring road, you'll get to the Roman amphitheater.

[00:07:32]And if you look to your left, you will see the Church of St. John the Baptist.

[00:07:37]Now I must say, sometimes the architecture can be really confusing because of all the influences that intertwine and are centuries apart.

[00:07:51]>> [music] >> Chester also has some of the best preserved medieval city walls in all of Britain.

[00:08:06]The city walls comprise a full circuit, which was probably complete by the middle of the 12th century. Parts of them are 2,000 years old. Anglo-Saxons would have repaired the north and east sections, and after the Norman Conquest, the walls to the west and south were extended to incorporate the castle.

[00:08:24]After the Civil War, they were reduced to recreational purpose, and at the beginning of the 18th century, a walkway with an unfortified parapet took shape.

[00:08:34]So, walking on the walls truly gives you a sense of the multiple historical layers from Romans to Saxons to Normans, the medieval boom, the industrial age with its canals and railways, up to modern times.

[00:08:53]>> [music] >> Chester Cathedral is the former abbey church of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint Werburgh, or Werburga in Latin, and since the 16th century, it has been the seat of the Bishop of Chester.

[00:09:14]The abbey church, beginning with the Lady Chapel at the eastern end, was extensively rebuilt in the Gothic style during the 13th and 14th century and later as well, the specific English Gothic known as the perpendicular style.

[00:09:29]>> [music] >> So, you have pointed arches, rib vaults, stained glass, and so on.

[00:09:33]But again, what you can see nowadays, very neat and tidy, is a Victorian creation. [music] It is a very rhythmic and homogeneous arrangement of large traceried windows, pinnacles, battlements. So, aesthetically pleasing, but with very few remnants of the original monastic church from Norman times.

[00:09:58]>> [bell] [bell] [bell] [music] >> A very recognizable feature are the black and white half-timbered buildings that dot all the city.

[00:10:29]Most buildings are not medieval. In fact, there are a couple of medieval buildings. Most Most of what you see is Victorian. Much of Chester's present-day appearance owes itself to Victorian enthusiasm for the picturesque and the deep past.

[00:10:46]The half-timbered revival began in the 1850s and continued up to the first half of the 20th century. And much was designed by architects like John Douglas, who was employed by the Duke of Westminster as his principal architect.

[00:11:02]The Duke of Westminster, whose family name is Grosvenor, which is why all around the city you can see this name in the hotel, bridge, the park, the museum, and so on.

[00:11:16]So, I hope you enjoyed these impressions from Chester, a very underrated city in my opinion. If you did, check out more of my work, and I warmly invite you to consider a paid membership to keep the ball rolling on this channel.

[00:11:30]Thanks a lot. This was Irina. Take care and till next time.