Chester Castle is in the city of
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
, Cheshire, England. It is sited at the southwest extremity of the area bounded by the
city walls. The castle stands on an eminence overlooking the
River Dee. In the castle complex are the remaining parts of the medieval castle together with the
neoclassical buildings designed by
Thomas Harrison which were built between 1788 and 1813. Parts of the neoclassical buildings are used today by the
Crown Court
The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all Indictable offence, indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals lied to it by the Magistrates' court, magistrates' court ...
and as a
military museum Military Museum may refer to museums of military and war, or specific museums including:
* Aldershot Military Museum, in Aldershot, England
* Athens War Museum, in Athens, Greece
* Base Borden Military Museum, Borden, Ontario, Canada
* California ...
. The museum and the medieval remains are a tourist attraction.
History
The castle was built in 1070 by
Hugh d'Avranches
Hugh d'Avranches ( 1047 – 27 July 1101), nicknamed ''le Gros'' (the Large) or ''Lupus'' (the Wolf), was from 1071 the second Norman Earl of Chester and one of the great magnates of early Norman England.
Early life and career
Hugh d'Avra ...
, the second
Earl of Chester
The Earldom of Chester was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England, extending principally over the counties of Cheshire and Flintshire. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs apparent to the English throne, and a ...
.
It is possible that it was built on the site of an earlier
Saxon fortification but this has not been confirmed. The original structure would have been a
motte-and-bailey castle with a wooden tower. In the 12th century the wooden tower was replaced by a square stone tower, the Flag Tower. During the same century the stone gateway to the inner bailey was built. This is now known as the Agricola Tower and on its first floor is the chapel of St Mary de Castro.
[ The chapel contains items of Norman architecture. In the 13th century, during the reign of Henry III, the walls of an outer bailey were built, the gateway in the Agricola Tower was blocked up and residential accommodation, including a Great Hall, was built along the south wall of the inner bailey. Later in the century, during the reign of Edward I, a new gateway to the outer bailey was built. This was flanked by two half-drum towers and had a drawbridge over a moat deep. Further additions to the castle at this time included individual chambers for the King and Queen, a new chapel and stables.]
Prominent people held as prisoners in the crypt of the Agricola Tower were Richard II and Eleanor Cobham
Eleanor Cobham (c.1400 – 7 July 1452) was an English noblewoman, first the mistress and then the second wife of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, who in 1441 was forcibly divorced and sentenced to life imprisonment for treasonable necromancy, a ...
, wife of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester
Humphrey of Lancaster, Duke of Gloucester (3 October 139023 February 1447) was an English prince, soldier, and literary patron. He was (as he styled himself) "son, brother and uncle of kings", being the fourth and youngest son of Henry IV of E ...
, and Andrew de Moray
Andrew Moray ( xno, Andreu de Moray; la, Andreas de Moravia), also known as Andrew de Moray, Andrew of Moray, or Andrew Murray, was an esquire, who became one of Scotland's war-leaders during the First Scottish War of Independence. Moray, he ...
, hero of the Battle of Stirling Bridge. During the Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...
, Yorkist
The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, t ...
John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu
John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu (c. 1431 – 14 April 1471) was a major magnate of fifteenth-century England. He was a younger son of Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, and the younger brother of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwic ...
was captured and imprisoned at the castle by Lancastrians following the Battle of Blore Heath, near the town of Market Drayton
Market Drayton is a market town and electoral ward in the north of Shropshire, England, close to the Cheshire and Staffordshire borders. It is on the River Tern, and was formerly known as "Drayton in Hales" (c. 1868) and earlier simply as "D ...
, Shropshire, in 1459. He was released from captivity following the Yorkist victory at Northampton
Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
in 1460. Outside the outer bailey gate was an area known as the Gloverstone where criminals waiting for execution were handed over to the city authorities. The Great Hall was rebuilt in the late 1570s.[
During the ]Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
Chester was held by the Royalists
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...
.[ The castle was assaulted by ]Parliamentary
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
forces in July 1643, and in January and April 1645. Together with the rest of the city, it was besieged
Besieged may refer to:
* the state of being under siege
* ''Besieged'' (film), a 1998 film by Bernardo Bertolucci
{{disambiguation ...
between September 1645 and February 1646.[ Following the civil war the castle was used as a prison, a court and a tax office.][ In 1687 James II attended ]Mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
in the chapel of St Mary de Castro. In 1696 Chester mint
MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...
was established and was managed by Edmund Halley
Edmond (or Edmund) Halley (; – ) was an English astronomer, mathematician and physicist. He was the second Astronomer Royal in Britain, succeeding John Flamsteed in 1720.
From an observatory he constructed on Saint Helena in 1676–77, Hal ...
in a building adjacent to the Half Moon tower.[ During the 1745 Jacobite rising a gun emplacement was built on the wall overlooking the river.][
By the later part of the 18th century much of the fabric of the castle had deteriorated and ]John Howard
John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...
, the prison reformer, was particularly critical of the conditions in the prison. Thomas Harrison was commissioned to design a new prison. This was completed in 1792 and praised as one of the best constructed prisons in the country. Harrison then went on to rebuild the medieval Shire Hall in neoclassical style. He also built two new wings, one to act as barracks, the other as an armoury
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are most ...
, and designed a massive new entrance to the castle site, styled the Propylaeum. The buildings, which were all in neoclassical style, were built between 1788 and 1822.[ The architectural historian ]Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...
comments that Harrison's work constitutes "one of the most powerful monuments of the Greek Revival
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...
in the whole of England".
In February 1867, Irish Fenian Michael Davitt
Michael Davitt (25 March 184630 May 1906) was an Irish republican activist for a variety of causes, especially Home Rule and land reform. Following an eviction when he was four years old, Davitt's family migrated to England. He began his caree ...
led a group of IRB men from Haslingden on an abortive raid for arms on the castle.
The Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
moved in to take hold of the castle and in 1873 a system of recruiting areas based on counties was instituted under the Cardwell Reforms and the castle became the depot
Depot ( or ) may refer to:
Places
* Depot, Poland, a village
* Depot Island, Kemp Land, Antarctica
* Depot Island, Victoria Land, Antarctica
* Depot Island Formation, Greenland
Brands and enterprises
* Maxwell Street Depot, a restaurant in ...
for the two battalions of the 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment of Foot. Under the Childers Reforms, the 22nd regiment evolved to become the Cheshire Regiment
The Cheshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. The 22nd Regiment of Foot was raised by the Duke of Norfolk in 1689 and was able to boast an independent existence of over 300 years. T ...
with its depot in the castle in 1881.[
In 1925, after being used for 200 years as a warehouse and ammunition store, the crypt and chapel in the Agricola Tower were reconsecrated by the ]Bishop of Chester
The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York.
The diocese extends across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the ...
for the use of the Cheshire Regiment. In 1939 the chapel was refurnished. The castle remained the depot of the Cheshire Regiment until 1939, when the regiment moved out to Dale Barracks
Dale Barracks is a British Army base at Moston near Chester, England. The military installation, which has accommodation and training facilities, was established shortly before the Second World War as a depot for the Cheshire Regiment. It is no ...
.
Present day
The complex is entered from Grosvenor Road through the Propylaeum, a Grade I listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. This consists of a massive entablature supported on widely spaced (''areostyle'') Doric columns
The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of col ...
, flanked by temple-like lodges. Directly ahead is the former Shire Hall (also listed Grade I) which now houses the Crown Court
The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all Indictable offence, indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals lied to it by the Magistrates' court, magistrates' court ...
s. Its façade has 19 bays, the central seven bays of which project forward and constitute a Doric portico. To the left is the former barracks block which is now the home of the Cheshire Military Museum
The Cheshire Military Museum is a military museum in Chester, Cheshire, England.
History
The museum has been housed in the former A Block in Chester Castle since 1972. It covers the history of four British Army regiments connected with the Cou ...
and an army cadet detachment. To the right is the block which was originally an armoury and later an officers' mess. Both blocks are in neoclassical style and are listed Grade I.
Further to the right are the remains of the Norman castle. The Agricola Tower is a Grade I listed building. It is built in sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
ashlar
Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...
with a metal roof in three storeys. The ground floor has a blocked gateway and to the right of the gateway is a slightly projecting stair turret. Internally, the ground floor consists of a crypt, and the first floor contains the chapel of St Mary Castro. The Agricola Tower is also a scheduled monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...
. The chapel is still consecrated as the regimental chapel of the Cheshire Regiment. Its ceiling is covered with frescos dating from the early part of the 13th century which depict the Visitation and miracle
A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...
s performed by the Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
which were revealed during conservation work in the 1990s.[
To the south and the west, the curtain walls, which include the Halfmoon Tower, the Flag Tower and the gun emplacement, are listed Grade I. Other walls within the castle complex are listed Grade II. These are the retaining walls and the railing of the forecourt designed by Thomas Harrison, and two other areas of the medieval curtain walls. In the castle courtyard is a statue of ]Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
dated 1903 by Pomeroy. The inner bailey is managed by Cheshire West and Chester Council
Cheshire West and Chester Council is the local authority of Cheshire West and Chester. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local government services ...
on behalf of English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
.[
]
See also
*Governor of Chester
The Governor of Chester was a military officer responsible for the garrison at Chester Castle. The equivalent or related role from the 11th to 14th centuries was Constable of Chester.
Governors
* 1399: John Montagu, 3rd Earl of Salisbury
* 1643: ...
*Siege of Chester
The siege of Chester occurred over a 16-month period between September 1644 and February 1646 during the First English Civil War. In the engagement, Sir William Brereton and the Parliamentarians were ultimately successful in taking poss ...
*Castles in Great Britain and Ireland
Castles have played an important military, economic and social role in Great Britain and Ireland since their introduction following the Norman invasion of England in 1066. Although a small number of castles had been built in England in the 1050 ...
*List of castles in England
This list of castles in England is not a list of every building and site that has "castle" as part of its name, nor does it list only buildings that conform to a strict definition of a castle as a medieval fortified residence. It is not a li ...
*List of castles in Cheshire
There are 20 castles in the county of Cheshire in North West England.
Introduction
Cheshire is one of the historic counties of England and its historic boundaries are different from the modern county lines. Some castles that were formerly in ...
*
* Listed buildings in Chester Castle parish
* Norman architecture in Cheshire
*List of Scheduled Monuments in Cheshire (1066–1539)
There are over 600 scheduled monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally ...
*List of works by Thomas Harrison
Thomas Harrison was an English architect who flourished in the last two decades of the 18th century and the first three decades of the 19th century. Little is known of his early life, and his precise date of birth is not known. He wa ...
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
External links
A history of the castle part 1
English Heritage site showing one of the frescos
History of Chester Castle Prison from theprison.org.uk
*
{{Chester city walls
Castles in Cheshire
Museums in Cheshire
Military and war museums in England
Buildings and structures in Chester
Buildings and structures completed in 1070
Buildings and structures completed in 1813
Buildings and structures completed in 1822
English Heritage sites in Cheshire
Grade I listed buildings in Chester
Grade II listed buildings in Chester
Scheduled monuments in Cheshire
Tourist attractions in Cheshire
Thomas Harrison buildings
Neoclassical architecture in Cheshire