 |
 |
 The Watertower |
A Virtual Stroll Around the Walls of Chester 17. St. Martin's Gate |
|
In December 1998, during (archaeologically unsupervised) excavations to lay pipes along the course of City Walls Road, workers discovered a pila- a stone pillar which once formed part of a Roman hypocaust, or central heating system. It does not form part of an in situ building so was presumably transported here for re-use from the ruins of a bath house or substantial private dwelling. One such existed until the 18th century in nearby Watergate Street and- even closer to the Infirmary site- evidence was discovered for the possible existence of a Centurion's residence just across the present Inner Ring Road under the currently-derelict bowling green in Hunter Street. As we have learned elsewhere, this entire area is currently awaiting some form of redevelopment- details of which finally emerged in July 2001- which hopefully will include a thorough archaeological investigation to confirm this.
'Pemberton's
Parlour' Sculptor John Tilston also, incidentally, also created the fine statue of Queen Anne which long adorned the south front of the old Exchange in Town Hall Square. When this burned down in 1862, the statue was moved to Bonewaldesthorne's Tower, remaining there until the 1960s, when it was, for reasons unknown, transferred to a council depot in Canal Street and from there mysteriously disappeared, never to be seen again... An account of a walk around the Walls, penned around the year 1706, and quoted by Hemingway, says this of the old tower, "from hence, we go still westwards, passing... a small tower formerly called Goblin's, or Dill's, since PEMBERTON'S PARLOUR, which, being ruinous, was of late half of it taken down; the other half, being a semi-circle, still remains, and, arched-over and benched round with stone, makes a very station from whence you have a fine prospect of the Crofts and the west parts of the city". Well recorded may be the name and activities on this spot of 18th century ropemaker and mayor John Pemberton, but the city records show that, in 1733, one Jonathan Whittell applied for and was granted, for a yearly payment of 12d, permission to use the lane "between Barn Lane (King Street) and the New Tower "to spin and make small cords and ropes". This ropewalk long survived and is shown on Hemingways map of 1829, almost a century later. Water Tower Street stands on its site today. • Years later, in July 2010, the Masonic Hall, City Mission and other historic buildings are long demolished but little else has occured, save for the entire area, closely resembling a wartime bomb site, being hidden behind hoardings, ironically bearing the logo of Chester Renaissance, and awaiting an economic climate sympathetic to continued progress. The last we heard, our masters were talking about the possibility of cobbling together a make-do 'retail led' development- eupemistic council talk meaning no new library, no performing arts centre, no cinema- the very badly-needed community-orientated features they used to convince the locals that their massively expensive development of shops nobody needs and luxury apartments nobody wants would somehow be a good thing and an asset to our historic city centre. Meanwhile, the land lies fallow, returning rapidly to wilderness, awaiting a time when common sense returns. Could be a long wait. Right:
This
entire
run-down
area
between the
Inner
Ring
Road
and
the
distant Town
Hall is
due
to
change
beyound
all
recognition
in
the
near
future: here's the
details... Curiosities from Chester's History no. 26
|
The hospital was extended once again to house new out-patient and accident departments,
this new section being opened on 11th June 1963 by Princess Marina, the Duchess
of Kent.
But
at
least
the
original
1761
Infirmary itself-
a grade
II
listed
building-
has
been
fully
restored
to
form
an
integral
part
of
the
new
housing
development,
and
its
interior
sub-divided
into
18
'executive
apartments'.
We
saw
the
building
floodlit
at
night
in
October
2001,
just
after
the
scaffolding
had
come
down,
and
must
say
it
looked
magnificent.
To
our
left,
as
we
continue
to
move
parallel
to
the 
The
tower
once
straddled
the
wall
as
a
completely
circular
structure
with
a
walkway
running
through
the
middle,
and
stood
twice
its
present
height.
Badly
damaged
during
the
17th
century Civil War Siege
of
Chester, it
deteriorated
until
the
early
part
of
the
18th
century,
when,
as
part
of
an
extensive
programme
of
repairs
to
the
war-damaged
walls,
the
crumbling
top
and
inner
portions
were
demolished
and
the
local
builder
and
sculptor John
Tilston rebuilt
what
was
left
into
its
present
form-
that
of
a
decorative
arbour,
complete
with
sculpted
panels
depicting
the
Royal
and
City
coats
of
arms
and
bearing
the
following
inscription: 
-followed
by
the
names
of
the
Mayors
1701-8,
and
the
name
of
the
Recorder
and murengers-
the
officials
responsible
for
the
administration
of
the Murage,
a
tax
imposed
upon
goods
entering
the
city
for
the
maintainance
of
the
City
Walls. The
'divers
large
breaches'
referred
to
were
the
result
of
the
long
battering
by
Parlimentary
guns
and grenados (mortars)
during
the
bloody
siege
of
sixty
years
earlier.
Passing
on,
the
increasing
noise
and
smell
of
traffic
warns
us
that
we
are
once
again
approaching
the
Inner
Ringroad
and
here
we
see
before
us
the
most
recent
breach
in
Chester's
ancient
circuit
of
walls- St. Martin's
Gate-
so
called
because
of
an
association
of
the
area
with
the
ancient
parish
of
that
name- ironically, the ancient church that gave the parish its name was demolished to make way for the road and few now remember where it stood for the best part of a millennium. 
Compare
this
photograph
with
the
one
below,
which
shows
the
same
view
thirty
years
on,
and
the
present
mundane
collection
of
modern
structures
along St.
Martin's
Way.
The
large
and
ugly
office
block
on
the
left
has
stood
empty
for
a
number
of
years.
This,
and
all
the
land
between
it
and
the
Town
Hall-
currently
occupied
by
the
main
bus
station,
boarded-up Masonic
Hall and City
Mission and
an
ancient
bowling
green
(not
to
mention
the
Roman
and
medieval
remains
beneath)-
were
due
to
be
replaced
by
a
huge
new
retail
and
housing
development.
After
many
of
these
buildings
had
been
vacated
and
boarded
up-
and
a
great
deal
of
public
unease
about
the
scale
and
nature
of
the
project
was
expressed-
the
developers, Scottish
Widows,
chose
to
pull
out,
declaring
the
project
to
be "no
longer
viable".
The
immediate
future
of
this
large
area
of
Chester
city
centre
thus
remains,
for
the
moment,
uncertain,
although,
of
recent
months,
a
company
by
the
name
of London
&
Amsterdam
Developments is
reported
to
be
in
discussions
with
Chester's
planning
officials
about
the
site.
Go 
Above
the
hotel
may be seen rising
the tall
19th
century
steeple
of
what
was
originally
a
Saxon
foundation, Holy
Trinity
Church in 
Just
beyond,
behind
King's
Buildings
is King's
Court,
a
pleasant
and
secluded
development
of
small
modern
houses
which
provide
an
interesting
contrast
with
the
fine
17th
and
18th
century
buildings
in
King
Street.
Top of Page | Site Front Door | Site Index | Chester Stroll Introduction | Watertower | Bridge of Sighs
Help keep the Chester Virtual Stroll growing and up-to-date: please donate ! |
Strictly ©
Steve
Howe
/
B&W
Picture
Place
1990-2014