Cestre.
("Doomsday Book.")
This famous place occupies a singular position. It is a city and county
of itself, a municipal county since 1888, and a parliamentary borough,
besides being an episcopal city, a seaport, and county town of Cheshire.
Chester is also the capital of the county of Cheshire. It is situated on
a rocky elevation, on the north bank of the River Dee, by which the city
is partly encircled. Just seventeen miles north of it lies the great
manufacturing and seaport town of Liverpool. At one time Chester was a
palatine city, enjoying all the privileges peculiar to that dignity.
This practically conferred independent authority on a city far situated
from the Metropolis. The head of the city was a little king, and enjoyed
discretionary power. In a brief sketch of this, in the account of
Durham, is clearly shown the mutual advantages accruing, especially in
cases of emergency, such as incursions of the enemy, to both the city
thus honoured and the Metropolis London.
The geographical position of Chester in the extreme west of England, and
its proximity to the restless Welsh, demanded some such power to cope,
at a moment's notice, with any unexpected event from that quarter. This
nearness to Wales contributed in a great measure to the importance of
this city, as will be presently shown.
The earliest authentic history of Chester ascribes its origin to the
British tribe called the Cornavii. At the time of the Roman invasion
they inhabited that part of England which now is known as the counties
of Chester, Salop, Stafford, Warwick, and Worcester.
[Illustration: CHESTER