Monument details
| HER Number: | 3007/2/0 |
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| Type of record: | Archaeology |
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| Name: | Chester City Walls |
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Summary
The present circuit of the City Walls is nearly two miles long and consists of four gates and several towers, all linked by a red sandstone wall. The north and east walls follow the original Roman foundations, which still remain in some cases, but the south and west walls were extended in the medieval period to include the castle to the south. The extension to the medieval walls must have taken place before 1121, as the Ship Gate is mentioned in the confirmation charter of St. Werburgh’s Abbey. The present walls follow roughly the area of the medieval walled town, although most of the material above walk level is eighteenth or nineteenth century.
The wall was probably originally defended by battlements to the outside, while the interior was protected by timber rails mounted on stone projections, which can still be seen at the Kaleyard gate. The north and east sides of the city wall were also protected by a ditch, which ran from Pemberton’s parlour to just beyond the Newgate. Beyond this stretch, the slope of the ground was relied upon for protection. The repair and upkeep of the walls was a costly business, and was paid for by ‘murage’, a toll upon certain goods entering the city. The damage caused by the Civil War swept away much of the medieval work, and the walls were repaired during the reign of Queen Anne.
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the ditches were filled in and the walls repaired, the medieval gates being replaced. The walls continued to be rebuilt and repaired so that the wall-walk could be maintained as a promenade. Most of the walls visible above ground level today are wighteenth or nineteenth century.
| Parish: | CHESTER CITY, CHESTER, CHESHIRE WEST AND CHESTER |
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Monument Types
- SITE (Undated)
- DITCH (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- GATE (some (1-100) Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- TOWER (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- TOWN (Town-walled Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- TOWN DEFENCES (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- TOWN WALL (Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
- WALL (Wall-stone Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
| Protected Status: | Area of Archaeological Importance; Conservation Area; Listed Building (old) (I) 595-1/1'107: Title not entered; Listed Building (old) (I) 595-1/1/100: Title not entered; Listed Building (old) (I) 595-1/1/101: Title not entered; Listed Building (old) (I) 595-1/1/102: Title not entered; Listed Building (old) (I) 595-1/1/103: Title not entered; Listed Building (old) (I) 595-1/1/104: Title not entered; Listed Building (old) (I) 595-1/1/105: Title not entered; Listed Building (old) (I) 595-1/1/106: Title not entered; Listed Building (old) (I) 595-1/1/109: Title not entered; Listed Building (old) (I) 595-1/2/111: Title not entered; Listed Building (old) (I) 595-1/2/113: Title not entered; Listed Building (old) (I) 595-1/3/132: Title not entered; Listed Building (old) (I) 595-1/4/115: Title not entered; Listed Building (old) (I) 595-1/4/117: Title not entered; Listed Building (old) (I) 595-1/4/118: Title not entered; Listed Building (old) (I) 595-1/4/121: Title not entered; Listed Building (old) (I) 595-1/5/129: Title not entered; Listed Building (old) (I) 595-1/5/130: Title not entered; Listed Building (old) (I) 595-1/6/123: Title not entered; Listed Building (old) (I) 595-1/6/124: Title not entered; Listed Building (old) (I) 595-1/6/126: Title not entered; Listed Building (old) (I) 595-1/6/128: Title not entered; Listed Building (old) (I) 595-1/6/137: Title not entered; Scheduled Monument CH7: Title not entered |
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Related records
| 3007/2/3 | Related to: Chester City Walls - Bonewaldesthorne's Tower (Monument) |
| 3007/2/16 | Related to: Chester City Walls - Bridgegate (Monument) |
| 3007/2/21 | Related to: Chester City Walls - Cowlane Gate (Monument) |
| 3007/2/23 | Related to: Chester City Walls - Dee Bridge Gate (Monument) |
| 3007/2/15 | Related to: Chester City Walls - Drum Tower (Monument) |
| 3007/2/10 | Related to: Chester City Walls - Drum Tower (Monument) |
| 3007/2/11 | Related to: Chester City Walls - Eastgate (Monument) |
| 3007/2/24 | Related to: Chester City Walls - Horse Gate (Monument) |
| 3007/2/9 | Related to: Chester City Walls - Kaleyard Gate (Monument) |
| 3007/2/19 | Related to: Chester City Walls - Lowse Tower (Monument) |
| 3007/2/5 | Related to: Chester City Walls - Morgan's Mount (Raised Platform) (Monument) |
| 3007/2/6 | Related to: Chester City Walls - Northgate (Monument) |
| 3007/2/4 | Related to: Chester City Walls - Pemberton's Parlour (Dillies or Goblin's Tower) (Monument) |
| 3007/2/7 | Related to: Chester City Walls - Phoenix or King Charles Tower (Monument) |
| 3007/2/8 | Related to: Chester City Walls - Saddlers' Tower (Monument) |
| 3007/2/14 | Related to: Chester City Walls - SE corner tower - 'Barnaby's Tower' (Monument) |
| 3007/2/18 | Related to: Chester City Walls - Shipgate (Monument) |
| 3007/2/17 | Related to: Chester City Walls - South Wall - 3-7 Shipgate Street (Monument) |
| 3007/2/2 | Related to: Chester City Walls - Spur Wall (Monument) |
| 3007/2/22 | Related to: Chester City Walls - The Bars (Monument) |
| 3007/2/12 | Related to: Chester City Walls - Thimbleby's Tower (Building) |
| 3007/2/1 | Related to: Chester City Walls - Water Tower or New Tower (Monument) |
| 3007/2/20 | Related to: Chester City Walls - Watergate (Monument) |
| 3007/2/13 | Related to: Chester City Walls - Wolf Gate or Old New Gate (now know as Thimbleby's Tower) (Monument) |
| 3007/2/0 | Chester City Walls |
| 3007/2/0 | Related to: Chester City Walls (Monument) |
| 3007/2/0 | Related to: Chester City Walls (Monument) |
| 3007/2/0 | Chester City Walls |
| 3007/2/0 | Related to: Chester City Walls (Monument) |
| 3007/2/0 | Related to: Chester City Walls (Monument) |