Chester is a
cathedral city and the county town of
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
, 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 Locality"; downloaded fro]
Cheshire West and Chester: Population Profiles
, 17 May 2019 it is the most populous settlement of
Cheshire West and Chester
Cheshire West and Chester is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It was established on 1 April 2009 as part of the 2009 str ...
(a
unitary authority
A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
which had a population of 329,608 in 2011)
and serves as its administrative headquarters. It is also the historic
county town
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...
of Cheshire and the
second-largest settlement in Cheshire after
Warrington
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mers