Jump to content

Chester Castle

Coordinates:53°11′07″N2°53′32″W/ 53.1853°N 2.8923°W/53.1853; -2.8923
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the civil parish named Chester Castle, seeChester Castle (parish).

Chester Castle
Chester Castle
Chester Castle is located in Cheshire
Chester Castle
Location within Cheshire
General information
Architectural styleNorman,Neoclassical
Town or cityChester,Cheshire
CountryEngland
Coordinates53°11′07″N2°53′32″W/ 53.1853°N 2.8923°W/53.1853; -2.8923
Construction started1070
Completed1822
Design and construction
Architect(s)Thomas Harrison

Chester Castleis in the city ofChester,Cheshire, England. It is sited at the southwest extremity of the area bounded by thecity walls.The castle stands on an eminence overlooking theRiver Dee.In the castle complex are the remaining parts of the medieval castle together with theneoclassicalbuildings designed byThomas Harrisonwhich were built between 1788 and 1813. Parts of the neoclassical buildings are used today by theCrown Courtand as amilitary museum.The museum and the medieval remains are a tourist attraction.

History

[edit]

The castle was built in 1070 byHugh d'Avranches,the secondEarl of Chester.[1]It is possible that it was built on the site of an earlierSaxonfortification but this has not been confirmed. The original structure would have been amotte-and-baileycastle 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.[1]The chapel contains items of Norman architecture.[2]In the 13th century, during the reign ofHenry 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 ofEdward 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 8 metres (26 ft) deep. Further additions to the castle at this time included individual chambers for the King and Queen, a new chapel and stables.[1][3]

The Norman chapel

Prominent people held as prisoners in the crypt of the Agricola Tower wereRichard IIandEleanor Cobham,wife ofHumphrey, Duke of Gloucester,andAndrew de Moray,hero of the Battle of Stirling Bridge.[4]During theWars of the Roses,YorkistJohn Neville, 1st Marquess of Montaguwas captured and imprisoned at the castle byLancastriansfollowing theBattle of Blore Heath,near the town ofMarket Drayton,Shropshire, in 1459. He was released from captivity following the Yorkist victory atNorthamptonin 1460.[5]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.[1]

During theCivil WarChester was held by theRoyalists.[1]The castle was assaulted byParliamentaryforces in July 1643, and in January and April 1645.[6]Together with the rest of the city, it wasbesiegedbetween September 1645 and February 1646.[1]Following the civil war the castle was used as a prison, a court and a tax office.[3]In 1687James IIattendedMassin the chapel of St Mary de Castro.[4]In 1696 Chestermintwas established and was managed byEdmund Halleyin a building adjacent to the Half Moon tower.[3]During the1745 Jacobite risinga gun emplacement was built on the wall overlooking the river.[1]

Engraving byBuck Brothersof Chester Castle in 1747

By the later part of the 18th century much of the fabric of the castle had deteriorated andJohn Howard,the prison reformer, was particularly critical of the conditions in the prison.Thomas Harrisonwas 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 medievalShire Hallinneoclassicalstyle. He also built two new wings, one to act asbarracks,the other as anarmoury,and designed a massive new entrance to the castle site, styled thePropylaeum.The buildings, which were all in neoclassical style, were built between 1788 and 1822.[1]The architectural historianNikolaus Pevsnercomments that Harrison's work constitutes "one of the most powerful monuments of theGreek Revivalin the whole of England ".[7]

In February 1867, Irish FenianMichael Davittled a group ofIRBmen from Haslingden on an abortive raid for arms on the castle.[8]

TheArmymoved in to take hold of the castle and in 1873 a system of recruiting areas based on counties was instituted under theCardwell Reformsand the castle became thedepotfor the two battalions of the22nd (Cheshire) Regiment of Foot.[9]Under theChilders Reforms,the 22nd regiment evolved to become theCheshire Regimentwith its depot in the castle in 1881.[9]

In 1925, after being used for 200 years as a warehouse and ammunition store, the crypt and chapel in the Agricola Tower werereconsecratedby theBishop of Chesterfor the use of the Cheshire Regiment. In 1939 the chapel was refurnished.[4]The castle remained the depot of the Cheshire Regiment until 1939, when the regiment moved out toDale Barracks.[10]

Present day

[edit]
Harrison'sPropylaeum,the ceremonial entrance to the Castle

The complex is entered from Grosvenor Road through thePropylaeum,a Grade Ilisted building.This consists of a massiveentablaturesupported on widely spaced (areostyle)Doric columns,flanked by temple-like lodges.[11]Directly ahead is the formerShire Hall(also listed Grade I) which now houses theCrown Courts.Its façade has 19 bays, the central seven bays of which project forward and constitute a Doricportico.[12]To the left is the former barracks block which is now the home of theCheshire Military Museumand 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.[13][14]

Further to the right are the remains of the Norman castle. The Agricola Tower is a Grade I listed building. It is built insandstoneashlarwith 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.[15]The Agricola Tower is also ascheduled monument.[16][17]The chapel is still consecrated as the regimental chapel of the Cheshire Regiment. Its ceiling is covered withfrescosdating from the early part of the 13th century which depict theVisitationandmiraclesperformed by theVirgin Marywhich were revealed during conservation work in the 1990s.[1]

Agricola Tower

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.[18]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,[19]and two other areas of the medieval curtain walls.[20][21]In the castle courtyard is a statue ofQueen Victoriadated 1903 byPomeroy.[22]The inner bailey is managed byCheshire West and Chester Councilon behalf ofEnglish Heritage.[1]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]

Citations

  1. ^abcdefghijInformation Sheet: Chester Castle |,Cheshire West and Chester
  2. ^St Mary de Castro, Chester, Cheshire,Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland, archived fromthe originalon 5 October 2012,retrieved13 June2010
  3. ^abcNorthall, John (2006),Chester Castle,Castles of Wales,retrieved7 March2008
  4. ^abcRichards 1947,p. 102.
  5. ^Laughton, Jane (2008).Life in a late medieval city: Chester, 1275–1520.Windgather Press. p. 36.ISBN978-1-905119-23-3.
  6. ^Phillips, A. D. M.; Phillips, C. B. (2002),A New Historical Atlas of Cheshire,Chester:Cheshire County Council,p. 37,ISBN0-904532-46-1
  7. ^Pevsner & Hubbard 2003,p. 157.
  8. ^Marley, Laurence (2007).Michael Davitt.Four Courts Press. p. 26.ISBN978-1-84682-265-0.
  9. ^ab"Training Depots".Regiments.org. Archived fromthe originalon 10 February 2006.Retrieved16 October2016.
  10. ^"Military & Wartime Activities during the 20th Century"(PDF).History of Upton by Chester.Retrieved24 May2014.
  11. ^Historic England,"Propylaea, Chester Castle (1271822)",National Heritage List for England,retrieved8 April2012
  12. ^Historic England,"Assize Courts Block, Chester Castle (1271823)",National Heritage List for England,retrieved8 April2012
  13. ^Historic England,"A Block, Chester Castle (1271824)",National Heritage List for England,retrieved8 April2012
  14. ^Historic England,"B Block, Chester Castle (1245520)",National Heritage List for England,retrieved8 April2012
  15. ^Historic England,"Agricola Tower, Chester Castle (1271825)",National Heritage List for England,retrieved8 April2012
  16. ^Pastscape:Agricola Tower,Historic England,retrieved5 April2009
  17. ^Historic England,"Chester Castle (part) (1006773)",National Heritage List for England,retrieved8 April2012
  18. ^Historic England,"Curtain wall to west and south west of inner bailey, Chester Castle (1245537)",National Heritage List for England,retrieved8 April2012
  19. ^Historic England,"Retaining walls and railing of semi circular forecourt, Chester Castle (1245518)",National Heritage List for England,retrieved8 April2012
  20. ^Historic England,"Curtain wall to east of inner bailey, Chester Castle (1271821)",National Heritage List for England,retrieved8 April2012
  21. ^Historic England,"Curtain wall to south of inner bailey, Chester Castle (1245539)",National Heritage List for England,retrieved8 April2012
  22. ^Pevsner & Hubbard 2003,p. 158.

Sources

[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related toChester Castle.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chester_Castle&oldid=1233402240"