as good as it was to get back on British soil in London and visit family in Cornwall, there was extra excitement surrounding our trip to Chester in the Northwest. my sister Kim and i took our spouses up there to show them the city that only we of the seven members of our family were born in*. i was very pleased to find that time seemed to have been kind to Chester: it seems to be fairly affluent and well maintained, and generally thriving really. it's really a cool city, with almost 2,000 years of history behind it, starting with the Romans in AD 79. they established the city as a fort and called it Deva after the goddess of the local River Dee, and they built a wall all the way around their settlement. this wall, though subsequently rebuilt in medieval and Victorian times, is still standing and is the most complete city wall in the UK.
clockwise from top left: one of the signs marking the way along the walls surrounding the old city of Chester; a view of those walls near the cathedral; inside the famous "Rows", elevated walkways providing access to yet more shops; and what the Rows look like from the street.
one of the prominent historical periods represented by Chester's buildings is the Tudor, typified by the black and white wood and clay used in its construction. the wood is black because it is painted with tar to give it weather protection, and the clay (or often dung) is pasted over a latticework of sticks between the wood beams and then whitewashed for rain resistance. most of these buildings date from the 16th and early 17th centuries, and as such often appear to be very "wobbly" or crooked, as there was no way for large timbers to be cut exactly straight then. in the center of Chester, near the "Cross" (from whence the town crier still yells out proclamations at noon) are many of these buildings, several built with an outdoor walkway around the second story known as the "Rows", which arrangement is thought to be unique. many of the other structures in town and the surrounding areas are built with the indigenous sandstone, which is quite soft and so clearly shows the wear of its age. one of the largest structures rendered primarily in sandstone is the Chester Cathedral, of which the early-8th century Saint Werburgh is the patroness.
some views of Chester, including, clockwise from top left: the famous "pillarbox" style mailbox; some telephone boxes outside old Tudor buildings; the Queen's Park Bridge that spans the River Dee; more Tudor buildings along the important Eastgate Street; the River Dee itself, taken from the Queen's Park Bridge; and a view of Chester Cathedral from the back. below, the city's most famous landmark, the Eastgate Clock, which was built in 1897 to celebrate the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria, is still ticking.
i was able to appreciate Chester much more on this trip than i ever had as a child. it has a castle (also built of sandstone), a horse racing track, one of the best zoos in the country and plenty of green space in and around it. it's rich in history and is the principal town of Cheshire, a county whose relative wealth derives from widespread agriculture and a healthy tourism sector, among other things. it's also got a awesome leisure center called Northgate Arena, which has pretty much the best swimming pool imaginable for young folks. Kim and i remembered having and attending many birthday parties there, and were dismayed to find that it would cost us over £3 ($6) just to get to go and have a quick look at it for old time's sake. oh well, we had to make do with the available entertainment:
good old fashioned fun on the streets of Chester--but leapfrogging the traffic bollards used to seem so much harder, below.
we rented a car in Chester, and though the city center is almost impossible to access by motorized vehicle, i was surprised at how easily i was able to navigate (and actually to drive on the left side of the road; though we'd been riding a motorcycle on the left in Japan, it was a lot harder to keep a car within lanes). somehow i was able to feel my way around much of the city by memory, even though i'd never driven there before. one of the locations i was able to find was our old church building, the very one in which i was baptized over 20 years ago and which i went to at least once a week for 14 years. the Blacon neighborhood it's in wasn't the nicest back then, but it's looking decidedly rough these days. the building was sold some years ago and is currently being used as a mosque, according to what we were told.
the old Chester chapel, or new Chester mosque, perhaps, which looks a lot grimmer even than it was. below, better times at that chapel: my dad and me on the day of my baptism, Thursday, March 5th, 1987.
there is a new chapel for the Chester ward, though it's way out in Ewloe in North Wales and is about twice the distance from our old house as this building is. we did make our way out there for church, and were warmly welcomed by many old friends, just as we were in our old neighborhood on our trips there. details of these visits, as always, will follow, so stay tuned to thejayfather.
*Jill and i recently learned that not only is Daniel Craig, the latest James Bond actor, one of Chester's most famous sons, but that he was born in the same hospital as me, and on the same day, 11 years earlier. talk about cosmic.
clockwise from top left: one of the signs marking the way along the walls surrounding the old city of Chester; a view of those walls near the cathedral; inside the famous "Rows", elevated walkways providing access to yet more shops; and what the Rows look like from the street.
one of the prominent historical periods represented by Chester's buildings is the Tudor, typified by the black and white wood and clay used in its construction. the wood is black because it is painted with tar to give it weather protection, and the clay (or often dung) is pasted over a latticework of sticks between the wood beams and then whitewashed for rain resistance. most of these buildings date from the 16th and early 17th centuries, and as such often appear to be very "wobbly" or crooked, as there was no way for large timbers to be cut exactly straight then. in the center of Chester, near the "Cross" (from whence the town crier still yells out proclamations at noon) are many of these buildings, several built with an outdoor walkway around the second story known as the "Rows", which arrangement is thought to be unique. many of the other structures in town and the surrounding areas are built with the indigenous sandstone, which is quite soft and so clearly shows the wear of its age. one of the largest structures rendered primarily in sandstone is the Chester Cathedral, of which the early-8th century Saint Werburgh is the patroness.
some views of Chester, including, clockwise from top left: the famous "pillarbox" style mailbox; some telephone boxes outside old Tudor buildings; the Queen's Park Bridge that spans the River Dee; more Tudor buildings along the important Eastgate Street; the River Dee itself, taken from the Queen's Park Bridge; and a view of Chester Cathedral from the back. below, the city's most famous landmark, the Eastgate Clock, which was built in 1897 to celebrate the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria, is still ticking.
i was able to appreciate Chester much more on this trip than i ever had as a child. it has a castle (also built of sandstone), a horse racing track, one of the best zoos in the country and plenty of green space in and around it. it's rich in history and is the principal town of Cheshire, a county whose relative wealth derives from widespread agriculture and a healthy tourism sector, among other things. it's also got a awesome leisure center called Northgate Arena, which has pretty much the best swimming pool imaginable for young folks. Kim and i remembered having and attending many birthday parties there, and were dismayed to find that it would cost us over £3 ($6) just to get to go and have a quick look at it for old time's sake. oh well, we had to make do with the available entertainment:
good old fashioned fun on the streets of Chester--but leapfrogging the traffic bollards used to seem so much harder, below.
we rented a car in Chester, and though the city center is almost impossible to access by motorized vehicle, i was surprised at how easily i was able to navigate (and actually to drive on the left side of the road; though we'd been riding a motorcycle on the left in Japan, it was a lot harder to keep a car within lanes). somehow i was able to feel my way around much of the city by memory, even though i'd never driven there before. one of the locations i was able to find was our old church building, the very one in which i was baptized over 20 years ago and which i went to at least once a week for 14 years. the Blacon neighborhood it's in wasn't the nicest back then, but it's looking decidedly rough these days. the building was sold some years ago and is currently being used as a mosque, according to what we were told.
the old Chester chapel, or new Chester mosque, perhaps, which looks a lot grimmer even than it was. below, better times at that chapel: my dad and me on the day of my baptism, Thursday, March 5th, 1987.
there is a new chapel for the Chester ward, though it's way out in Ewloe in North Wales and is about twice the distance from our old house as this building is. we did make our way out there for church, and were warmly welcomed by many old friends, just as we were in our old neighborhood on our trips there. details of these visits, as always, will follow, so stay tuned to thejayfather.
*Jill and i recently learned that not only is Daniel Craig, the latest James Bond actor, one of Chester's most famous sons, but that he was born in the same hospital as me, and on the same day, 11 years earlier. talk about cosmic.
1 comment:
Yeah, but you're WAY hotter than Daniel Craig...
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