A day on the walls of Chester

The Romans built wooden defences around Deva (Chester) and later rebuilt in stone. The Saxons then used a lot of the Roman walls to defend against the Vikings. Norman Earls repaired the walls in the period 1120-1350 and towers and gateways were added in the Middle ages. By the 18th century the walls no longer being used for military defences, they became walkways. The gated entrances to the City were pulled down and replaced with stone arches. The walk around the walls is almost 2 miles long and a very enjoyable day can be had if you stop for Coffee and Ice cream!

This is Kaleyards gate built in 1275 when the Cathedral was an Abbey. The Monks used this gate to access their Vegetable garden outside the walls and locked it each evening. The gate is of such a size that a Knight on horseback was unable to enter. Well you wouldn`t want Boris to ride in and take over as Mayor.  Over 700 years later the gate is still locked each night.

(US readers; Boris is Mayor of London.)

Jaq up on the walls above Kaleyards gate. The cathedral is to the left inside the city walls.

Steps over Eastgate arch

The Eastgate arch was built in 1768 and replaced a medieval gate.

t

View from the clock along Eastgate street.

The clock was set in motion on Queen Victoria`s 80th birthday in 1899 after missing the date of her Diamond jubilee. I wonder if someone ended up in the Tower of London after that mess up.

A lovely walk and as you can see the sun was shining and most of all Jaq looks very happy so after a year of marriage I must be doing something right. If you want a virtual walk around the walls click here.