[Illustration: EXTERIOR.--CHESTER CATHEDRAL.--INTERIOR.]
Not far from Liverpool, and in the heart of Cheshire, we come to the
small but famous river Dee and the old and very interesting city of
Chester. It is built in the form of a quadrant, its four walls enclosing
a plot about a half mile square. The walls, which form a promenade two
miles around, over which every visitor should tramp; the quaint gates
and towers; the "Rows," or arcades along the streets, which enable the
sidewalks to pass under the upper stories of the houses by cutting away
the first-floor front rooms; and the many ancient buildings,--are all
attractive. The Chester Cathedral is a venerable building of red
sandstone, which comes down to us from the twelfth century, though it
has recently been restored. It is constructed in the Perpendicular style
of architecture, with a square and turret-surmounted central tower. This
is the Cathedral of St. Werburgh, and besides other merits of the
attractive interior, the southern transept is most striking from its
exceeding length. The choir is richly ornamented with carvings and fine
woodwork, the Bishop's Throne having originally been a pedestal for the
shrine of St. Werburgh. The cathedral contains several ancient tombs of
much interest, and the elaborate Chapter Room, with its Early English
windows and pillars, is much admired. In this gorgeous structure the
word of God is preached from a Bible whose magnificently-bound cover is
inlaid with precious stones and its markers adorned with pearls. The
book is the Duke of Westminster's gift, that nobleman being the landlord
of much of Chester. In the nave of the cathedral are two English
battle-flags that were at Bunker Hill. Chester Castle, now used as a
barrack for troops, has only one part of the ancient edifice left,
called Julius Caesar's Tower, near which the Dee is spanned by a fine
single-arch bridge.
[Illustration: JULIUS CAESAR'S TOWER.]
[Illustration: ANCIENT FRONT.]
[Illustration: GOD'S PROVIDENCE HOUSE.]
[Illustration: BISHOP LLOYD'S PALACE.]
[Illustration: OLD LAMB ROW.]
The quaintest part of this curious old city of Chester is no doubt the
"Rows," above referred to. These arcades, which certainly form a capital
shelter from the hot sun or rain, were, according to one authority,
originally built as a refuge for the people in case of sudden attack by
the Welsh; but according to others they originated with the Romans, and
were used as the vestibules of the houses; and this seems to be the more
popular theory with the townsfolk. Under the "Rows" are shops of all
sizes, and some of the buildings are grotesquely attractive, especially
the curious one bearing the motto of safety from the plague, "God's
providence is mine inheritance," standing on Watergate street, and known
as "God's Providence House;" and "Bishop Lloyd's Palace," which is
ornamented with quaint wood-carvings. The "Old Lamb Row," where Randall
Holme, the Chester antiquary, lived, stood by itself, obeying no rule
of regularity, and was regarded as a nuisance two hundred years ago,
though later it was highly prized. The city corporation in 1670 ordered
that "the nuisance erected by Randall Holme in his new building in
Bridge street be taken down, as it annoys his neighbors, and hinders
their prospect from their houses." But this law seems to have been
enforced no more than many others are on either side of the ocean, for
the "nuisance" stood till 1821, when the greater part of it, the timbers
having rotted, fell of its own accord. The "Dark Row" is the only one of
these strange arcades that is closed from the light, for it forms a kind
of tunnel through which the footwalk goes. Not far from this is the
famous old "Stanley House," where one unfortunate Earl of Derby spent
the last day before his execution in 1657 at Bolton. The carvings on the
front of this house are very fine, and there is told in reference to the
mournful event that marks its history the following story: Lieutenant
Smith came from the governor of Chester to notify the condemned earl to
be ready for the journey to Bolton. The earl asked, "When would you have
me go?" "To-morrow, about six in the morning," said Smith. "Well,"
replied the earl, "commend me to the governor, and tell him I shall be
ready by that time." Then said Smith, "Doth your lordship know any
friend or servant that would do the thing your lordship knows of? It
would do well if you had a friend." The earl replied, "What do you mean?
to cut off my head?" Smith said, "Yes, my lord, if you could have a
friend." The earl answered, "Nay, sir, if those men that would have my
head will not find one to cut it off, let it stand where it is."
[Illustration: THE STANLEY HOUSE, FRONT.]
[Illustration: THE STANLEY HOUSE, REAR.]
It is easy in this strange old city to carry back the imagination for
centuries, for it preserves its connection with the past better perhaps
than any other English town. The city holds the keys of the outlet of
the Dee, which winds around it on two sides, and is practically one of
the gates into Wales. Naturally, the Romans established a fortress here
more than a thousand years ago, and made it the head-quarters of their
twentieth legion, who impressed upon the town the formation of a Roman
camp, which it bears to this day. The very name of Chester is derived
from the Latin word for a camp. Many Roman fragments still remain, the
most notable being the Hyptocaust. This was found in Watergate street
about a century ago, together with a tessellated pavement. There have
also been exhumed Roman altars, tombs, mosaics, pottery and other
similar relics. The city is built upon a sandstone rock, and this
furnishes much of the building material, so that most of the edifices
have their exteriors disintegrated by the elements, particularly the
churches--a peculiarity that may have probably partly justified Dean
Swift's epigram, written when his bile was stirred because a rainstorm
had prevented some of the Chester clergy from dining with him:
"Churches and clergy of this city
Are very much akin:
They're weather-beaten all without,
And empty all within."
[Illustration: THE PHOENIX TOWER.]
[Illustration: THE WATER TOWER.]
The modernized suburbs of Chester, filled with busy factories, are
extending beyond the walls over a larger surface than the ancient town
itself. At the angles of the old walls stand the famous towers--the
Phoenix Tower, Bonwaldesthorne's Tower, Morgan's Mount, the Goblin
Tower, and the Water Tower, while the gates in the walls are almost
equally famous--the Eastgate, Northgate, Watergate, Bridgegate, Newgate,
and Peppergate. The ancient Abbey of St. Mary had its site near the
castle, and not far away are the picturesque ruins of St. John's Chapel,
outside the walls. According to a local legend, its neighborhood had the
honor of sheltering an illustrious fugitive. Harold, the Saxon king, we
are told, did not fall at Hastings, but, escaping, spent the remainder
of his life as a hermit, dwelling in a cell near this chapel and on a
cliff alongside the Dee. The four streets leading from the gates at the
middle of each side of the town come together in the centre at a place
formerly known as the "Pentise," where was located the bull-ring at
which was anciently carried on the refining sport of "bull-baiting"
while the mayor and corporation, clad in their gowns of office, looked
on approvingly. Prior to this sport beginning, we are told that solemn
proclamation was made for "the safety of the king and the mayor of
Chester"--that "if any man stands within twenty yards of the bull-ring,
let him take what comes." Here stood also the stocks and pillory. Amid
so much that is ancient and quaint, the new Town Hall, a beautiful
structure recently erected, is naturally most attractive, its dedication
to civic uses having been made by the present Prince of Wales, who bears
among many titles that of Earl of Chester. But this is about the only
modern attraction this interesting city possesses. At an angle of the
walls are the "Dee Mills," as old as the Norman Conquest, and famous in
song as the place where the "jolly miller once lived on the Dee." Full
of attractions within and without, it is difficult to tear one's self
away from this quaint city, and therefore we will agree, at least in one
sense, with Dr. Johnson's blunt remark to a lady friend: "I have come to
Chester, madam, I cannot tell how, and far less can I tell how to get
away from it."
[Illustration: ABBEY GATE.]
[Illustration: RUINS OF ST. JOHN'S CHAPEL.]