View source for Chester

{{short description|City in Cheshire, England}}
{{about|the city in England|other uses}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2016}}
{{Infobox UK place
| official_name = Chester
| static_image_name = {{Photomontage
    | photo1a =Chester - Shops in city centre - 2005-10-09.jpg
    | photo2a = Blossom at Chester Cathedral (geograph 6118952).jpg
     | photo2b = Chester Town Hall (geograph 6469884).jpg
      | photo3a = Chester Roman Amphitheatre (geograph 6376074).jpg
       | photo3b = Chester Castle - geograph.org.uk - 4382223.jpg
       | position = center | size = 250 
       | color = white | spacing = 2
       | color_border = white
       }}
| static_image_caption = Clockwise from top: Eastgate Street, the [[Chester Town Hall|town hall]], [[Chester Castle|castle]], [[Chester Roman Amphitheatre|Roman amphitheatre]] and [[Chester Cathedral|cathedral]]
| static_image_2_name = [[File:Chester_coat_of_arms.png|100px]]
| static_image_2_caption = Coat of arms
| type = City
| coordinates = {{coord|53|11|29|N|2|53|25|W|type:city_region:GB-CHW|display=inline,title}}
| london_distance = {{convert|165|mi|km|abbr=on}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://boulter.com/gps/distance/?from=53.1903+-2.8916&to=51.507+-0.127&units=m|title=Coordinate Distance Calculator|work=boulter.com|access-date=8 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309000904/http://boulter.com/gps/distance/?from=53.1903+-2.8916&to=51.507+-0.127&units=m|archive-date=9 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
| london_direction = SE
| population = 
| population_ref = {{nowrap|92,760 (Built up area, 2021)<ref name=2021census>{{cite web |title=Towns and cities, characteristics of built-up areas, England and Wales: Census 2021 |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/housing/articles/townsandcitiescharacteristicsofbuiltupareasenglandandwales/census2021 |website=Census 2021 |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=8 August 2023}}</ref>}}
| population_demonym = Cestrian
| unitary_england = [[Cheshire West and Chester]]
| lieutenancy_england = [[Cheshire]]
| region = North West England
| country = England
| constituency_westminster = [[Chester North and Neston (UK Parliament constituency)|Chester North and Neston]]
| constituency_westminster1 = [[Chester South and Eddisbury (UK Parliament constituency)|Chester South and Eddisbury]]
| post_town = CHESTER
| postcode_district = CH1–4
| postcode_area = CH
| dial_code = 01244
| os_grid_reference = SJ405665
| parts_type = Areas of the city
| p1 = [[Abbot's Meads]]
| p2 = [[Blacon]]
| p3 = [[Boughton, Cheshire|Boughton]]
| p4 = [[Boughton Heath]]
| p5 = [[Caughall]] (Village)
| p6 = [[Christleton]] (Village)
| p7 = City Centre
| p8 = [[Curzon Park]]
| p9 = [[Great Boughton]]
| p10 = [[Handbridge]]
| p11 = [[Hoole]]
| p12 = [[Huntington, Cheshire|Huntington]]
| p13 = [[Lache]]
| p14 = [[Moston, Cheshire West and Chester|Moston]] (Village)
| p15 = [[Newton, Chester|Newton]]
| p16 = [[Piper's Ash]]
| p17 = [[Saltney]] (Town) (Part)
| p18 = [[Sealand, Cheshire|Sealand]] (Village) (Part)
| p19 = The Dale
| p20 = [[Upton-by-Chester]]
| p21 = Upton Heath
| p22 = [[Vicars Cross]]
| p23 = [[Westminster Park]]
}}

'''Chester''' is a [[cathedral city]] in [[Cheshire]], England, on the [[River Dee, Wales|River Dee]], close to the [[England–Wales border]]. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021,<ref name=2021census /> it is the most populous settlement in the borough of [[Cheshire West and Chester]]. It is also the historic [[county town]] of Cheshire and the [[List of Cheshire settlements by population|second-largest settlement in Cheshire]] after [[Warrington]].

Chester was founded in 79 AD as a "[[Castra|castrum]]" or [[Roman Empire|Roman]] fort with the name [[Deva Victrix]] during the reign of [[Emperor Vespasian]]. One of the main army camps in [[Roman Britain]], Deva later became a major civilian settlement. In 689, [[Æthelred of Mercia|King Æthelred of Mercia]] founded the Minster Church of West Mercia, which later became Chester's first cathedral, and the [[Angles (tribe)|Angles]] extended and strengthened the walls to protect the city against the [[Danes (Germanic tribe)|Danes]]. Chester was one of the last cities in England to [[Norman conquest of England|fall]] to the [[Normans]], and [[William the Conqueror]] ordered the construction of a castle to dominate the town and the nearby Welsh border. Chester was granted [[City status in the United Kingdom|city status]] in 1541.

The [[Chester city walls|city walls of Chester]] are some of the best-preserved in the country and have [[Listed building|Grade I listed]] status. Apart from a {{convert|100|m|adj=on}} section, the walls are almost complete.<ref name=m43 /> It has several medieval buildings. However, many of the black-and-white buildings within the city centre are [[Victorian era|Victorian]] restorations, originating from the [[Black-and-white Revival architecture|Black-and-white Revival]] movement.<ref>{{harvnb|Pevsner|Hubbard|2003|pp=130–131}}</ref> The [[Industrial Revolution]] brought railways, canals, and new roads to the city, which saw substantial expansion and development; [[Chester Town Hall]] and the [[Grosvenor Museum]] are examples of [[Victorian architecture]] from this period. Tourism, the retail industry, public administration, and financial services are important to the modern economy. Chester signs itself as ''Chester International Heritage City'' on road signs on the main roads entering the city.<ref>Morris, C. M., [https://chestercivictrust.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/50th-Anniversary-Historic-Towns-Studies-V4.pdf 50th Anniversary of the Historic Towns Studies, 1969–2019: Chester], Chester Civic Trust, published September 2019, accessed 10 June 2022</ref>

==History==
{{Main|History of Chester}}
[[Charles Leigh (physician)|Charles Leigh]] concluded in 1701 that there was probably a British city called Genuina (or Gunia) before the arrival of the Romans.<ref>{{cite book |title=The natural history of Lancashire, Cheshire, and the Peak in Derbyshire with an account of the British, Phœnician, Armenian, Gr. and Rom. antiquities in those parts |last=Leigh |first=Charles |url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A50038.0001.001/1:12?rgn=div1;view=fulltext |date=1700 |access-date=1 February 2023 |via=Text Creation Partnership |author-link=Charles Leigh (physician) |location=Oxford}}</ref>

===Roman===
{{Main|Deva Victrix}}
[[File:DevaMinervaPlan(bq).jpg|thumb|Diorama of the Roman Legionary fortress [[Deva Victrix]] in [[Grosvenor Museum]], Chester]]
The [[Roman Britain|Roman]] [[Legio II Adiutrix]] during the reign of the [[Emperor Vespasian]] founded Chester in AD 79 as a "[[Castra|castrum]]" or Roman fort with the name ''[[Deva Victrix]]''. It was established in the land of the Celtic [[Cornovii (Midlands)|Cornovii]], according to ancient [[cartographer]] [[Ptolemy]],<ref>{{harvnb|Ptolemy|1992|loc=Book II, Chapter 2}}</ref> as a [[castra|fortress]] during the Roman expansion northward,<ref>{{harvnb|Mason|2001|p=42}}</ref> and was named Deva either after the goddess of the Dee,<ref>Salway, P. (1993) ''The Oxford Illustrated History of Roman Britain''. ISBN CN 1634</ref> or directly from the British name for the river.<ref>{{cite web |title=A History of the County of Chester: Volume 5 part 1 |editor=C.P. Lewis |editor2=A.T. Thacker |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=19182#n6 |publisher=British-history.ac.uk |year=2003 |access-date=10 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216072341/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=19182#n6 |archive-date=16 December 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> The 'victrix' part of the name was taken from the title of the [[Legio XX Valeria Victrix|Legio XX ''Valeria Victrix'']] which was based at Deva.<ref>{{harvnb|Mason|2001|p=128}}</ref>  Central Chester's four main roads, Eastgate, Northgate, Watergate and Bridge Street, follow routes laid out at this time.

A civilian settlement grew around the military base, which probably originated from trade with the fortress.<ref>{{harvnb|Mason|2001|p=101}}</ref> The fortress was 20% larger than other fortresses in the [[Roman Britain|Roman province of Britannia]] built around the same time at [[York]] ([[Eboracum]]) and [[Caerleon]] ([[Isca Augusta]]);<ref>{{harvnb|Carrington|2002|pp=33–35}}</ref> this has led to the suggestion that the fortress, rather than London ([[Londinium]]), was intended to become the capital of the [[Roman province]] of [[Britannia Superior]].<ref>{{harvnb|Carrington|2002|p=46}}</ref> The civilian [[Chester Roman Amphitheatre|amphitheatre]], which was built in the 1st century, could seat between 8,000 and 10,000 people.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.culture24.org.uk/history+%2526+heritage/time/roman/art42592 |title=Revealed: New discoveries at Chester's Roman amphitheatre |first=Graham |last=Spicer |publisher=Culture24.org.uk |date=9 January 2007 |access-date=16 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100421162035/http://www.culture24.org.uk/history+%2526+heritage/time/roman/art42592 |archive-date=21 April 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> It is the largest known military amphitheatre in Britain,<ref>{{harvnb|Carrington|2002|pp=54–56}}</ref> and is also a [[Scheduled Monument]].<ref>{{PastScape|mnumber=69224|mname=Chester Amphitheatre|access-date=10 March 2008}}</ref> The [[Minerva's Shrine, Chester|Minerva Shrine]] in the Roman quarry is the only rock-cut Roman shrine still [[in situ]] in Britain.<ref>{{NHLE |num=1375783 |desc=Roman shrine to Minerva |access-date=15 March 2008}}</ref>

The fortress was garrisoned by the [[Roman legion|legion]] until at least the late 4th century.<ref name="Roman Chester journal">{{cite journal |last=Lewis |first=C.P. |author2=Thacker, A.T. |title=Roman Chester |journal=A History of the County of Chester: Volume 5 Part 1: The City of Chester: General History and Topography |pages=9–15 |publisher=British-History.ac.uk |year=2003 |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=19183 |access-date=15 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805100123/http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=19183 |archive-date=5 August 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> Although the army had abandoned the fortress by 410 when the Romans [[End of Roman rule in Britain|retreated from Britannia]],<ref>{{harvnb|Mason|2001|pp=209–210}}</ref> the [[Romano-British]] civilian settlement continued (probably with some Roman veterans staying behind with their wives and children) and its occupants probably continued to use the fortress and its defences as protection from raiders from the [[Irish Sea]].<ref name="Roman Chester journal"/>

===Medieval===
[[File:Castle Gate. Chester 02753.jpg|thumb|Castle Gate, Chester {{Circa|1781}}]]
[[File:Chester Castle 02790.jpg|thumb|[[Chester Castle]] {{Circa|1781}}]]
After the Roman troops withdrew, the Romano-British established several petty kingdoms. Chester is thought to have become part of [[Kingdom of Powys|Powys]].  ''Deverdoeu'' was a [[Welsh language|Welsh]] [[Welsh placenames|name]] for Chester as late as the 12th century (cf ''Dyfrdwy'', Welsh for the river Dee). Another, attested in the 9th-century ''[[Historia Brittonum|History of the Britons]]'' traditionally attributed to [[Nennius]], is ''{{nowrap|Cair Legion}}''<ref name=mommy>[[Nennius]] ({{abbr|attrib.|Traditional attribution}}). [[Theodor Mommsen]] ({{abbr|ed.|Editor}}). [[s:la:Historia Brittonum#VI. CIVITATES BRITANNIAE|''Historia Brittonum'', VI.]] Composed after AD&nbsp;830. {{in lang|la}} Hosted at [[s:la:Main Page|Latin Wikisource]].</ref><ref name=nashford>Ford, David Nash. "[http://www.britannia.com/history/ebk/articles/nenniuscities.html The 28 Cities of Britain] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415120312/http://www.britannia.com/history/ebk/articles/nenniuscities.html |date=15 April 2016 }}" at Britannia. 2000.</ref><ref name=shusher>Newman, John Henry &&nbsp;al. [http://www.mocavo.co.uk/Lives-of-the-English-Saints-St-Gilbert-Prior-of-Sempringham-Volume-3/527392/459 ''Lives of the English Saints: St. German, Bishop of Auxerre'', Ch.&nbsp;X: "Britain in 429, A.&nbsp;D.",<!--sic--> p.&nbsp;92.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160321234154/http://www.mocavo.co.uk/Lives-of-the-English-Saints-St-Gilbert-Prior-of-Sempringham-Volume-3/527392/459 |date=21 March 2016 }} James Toovey (London), 1844.</ref> ("[[caer|Fort]]" or "[[civitas|City]] of the Legion"); this later developed into ''{{lang|cy|Caerlleon}}'' and then the [[modern Welsh]] ''{{lang|cy|Caer}}''. (The town's importance is noted by its taking the simpler form in each case, while [[Isca Augusta]] in [[Monmouthshire]], another important legionary base, was known first as [[Caerleon on the Usk]], and now as [[Caerleon]]). King Arthur is said to have fought his ninth battle at the "city of the legions" (''Caerlleon'') and later [[Augustine of Canterbury|St Augustine]] came to the city to try to unite the church, and held his synod with the Welsh Bishops.

In 616, [[Æthelfrith of Northumbria]] defeated a Welsh army at the brutal and decisive [[Battle of Chester]] and probably established the [[Anglo-Saxon]] position in the area from then on.{{cn|date=March 2023}} The [[Northumbria]]n [[Anglo-Saxons]] used an [[Old English]] equivalent of the British name, ''{{lang|ang|Legacæstir}}'', which was current until the 11th century, when, in a further parallel with Welsh usage, the first element fell out of use and the simple name Chester emerged. In 689, King [[Æthelred of Mercia]] founded the Minster Church of West Mercia on what is considered to be an early Christian site: it is known as the Minster of St John the Baptist, Chester (now St John's Church) which later became the first cathedral. Much later, the body of Æthelred's niece, St Werburgh, was removed from [[Hanbury, Staffordshire|Hanbury]] in Staffordshire in the 9th century and, to save it from desecration by Danish marauders was reburied in the Church of SS Peter & Paul – later to become the Abbey Church (the present cathedral). Her name is still remembered in St Werburgh's Street, which passes alongside the cathedral, and near the city walls,{{cn|date=March 2023}} and in [https://www.stwerburghchester.co.uk St Werburgh's Roman Catholic church] in Grosvenor Park Road.

The Anglo-Saxons extended and strengthened the walls of Chester to protect the city against the Danes, who occupied it for a short time until [[Alfred the Great|Alfred]] seized all the cattle and laid waste on the surrounding land to drive them out. It was Alfred's daughter [[Æthelflæd]], Lady of the Mercians, that built the new Anglo-Saxon ''burh''.{{cn|date=March 2023}} A new Church dedicated to St Peter alone was founded in AD 907 by the Lady Æthelfleda at what was to become the Cross. In 973, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that, two years after his coronation at Bath, [[King Edgar's council at Chester|King Edgar of England came to Chester where he held his court]] in a palace in a place now known as Edgar's Field near the old Dee bridge in Handbridge. Taking the helm of a barge, he was rowed the short distance up the River Dee from Edgar's Field to the great Minster Church of St John the Baptist by six (the monk Henry Bradshaw records he was rowed by eight kings) tributary kings called ''reguli''.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

In 1071, King William the Conqueror<ref name="Cunliffe2001">{{cite book
|last=Cunliffe
|first=Barry W.
|title=The Penguin atlas of British & Irish history
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o4IZAQAAIAAJ
|access-date=30 December 2010
|year=2001
|publisher=Penguin
|isbn=978-0-14-100915-5
|page=72
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130528132514/http://books.google.com/books?id=o4IZAQAAIAAJ
|archive-date=28 May 2013
|url-status=live
}}</ref><ref name="Britannicainc1995">{{cite book
|title=The New Encyclopædia Britannica: Micropædia
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iI1WAAAAMAAJ
|access-date=30 December 2010
|year=1995
|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica
|isbn=978-0-85229-605-9
|page=180
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130528125625/http://books.google.com/books?id=iI1WAAAAMAAJ
|archive-date=28 May 2013
|url-status=live
}}</ref> made [[Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester|Hugh d'Avranches]], who built [[Chester Castle]], the first [[Earl of Chester|Earl of Chester (second creation)]]. From the 14th to the 18th century, the city's prominent position in [[North West England]] meant it was commonly known as Westchester. This name was used by [[Celia Fiennes]] when she visited the city in 1698.<ref>"The Illustrated Journeys of Celia Fiennes 1685 – c1712" edited by Christopher Morris</ref> and is also used in ''[[Moll Flanders]]''.

===Early modern period===

In the English Civil War, Chester sided with the royalist cause of King Charles I but was subdued by the Parliamentarians in 1643. The Mayor of Chester, Charles Walley, was removed from office and replaced by Alderman William Edwards. Another alderman, [[Francis Gamull]], a royalist MP and former Mayor, was ordered to surrender Dee Mills: they were to be demolished, and new mills built on city land.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hamilton |first1=William Douglas |title=Charles I – volume 514: October 1646 Pages 474–485 Calendar of State Papers Domestic: Charles I, 1645-7. Originally published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1891. |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/domestic/chas1/1645-7/pp474-485 |website=British History Online |access-date=16 August 2020}}</ref>

===Industrial history===
[[File:The Cross and Rows, Chester, Cheshire, England, ca. 1895.jpg|thumb|right|[[Photochrom]] of the [[Chester Rows]] designed by [[Thomas Meakin Lockwood|T.M. Lockwood]], as seen from the [[Chester Cross (junction)|Cross]], 1895]]
Chester played a significant part in the [[Industrial Revolution]], which began in the North West of England in the late 18th century. The city village of Newtown, located northeast of the city and bounded by the [[Shropshire Union Canal]], was at the very heart of this industry.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cheshire West and Chester Council |url=http://www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/microsites/chester_renaissance/about_us/history_and_market_analysis.aspx |website=www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk |publisher=Cheshire West and Chester Council |access-date=7 January 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141010162839/http://cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/microsites/chester_renaissance/about_us/history_and_market_analysis.aspx |archive-date=10 October 2014 |df=dmy }}</ref> The large Chester Cattle Market and the two Chester railway stations, [[Chester railway station|Chester General]] and [[Chester Northgate railway station|Chester Northgate Station]], meant that [[Newtown, Chester|Newtown]] with its cattle market and [[canals|canal]], and [[Hoole]] with its railways were responsible for providing the vast majority of workers and in turn, the vast amount of Chester's wealth production throughout the Industrial Revolution.

The population was 23,115 by 1841.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge, Vol IV |date=1848 |publisher=Charles Knight |location=London |page=475 |edition=First}}</ref>

===Modern era===
[[File:Falconinn.jpg|thumb|[[The Falcon, Chester|The Falcon Inn]] after restoration]]

A considerable amount of land in Chester is owned by [[Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster|The 7th Duke of Westminster]] who owns an estate, [[Eaton Hall (Cheshire)|Eaton Hall]], near the village of [[Eccleston, Cheshire|Eccleston]]. He also has London properties in [[Mayfair]].

[[Duke of Westminster|Grosvenor]] is the Duke's family name, which explains such features in the city as the [[Grosvenor Bridge (Chester)|Grosvenor Bridge]], the [[Chester Grosvenor and Spa|Grosvenor Hotel]], and Grosvenor Park. Much of Chester's architecture dates from the [[Victorian era]], many of the buildings being modelled on the [[Jacobean architecture|Jacobean]] half-timbered style and designed by [[John Douglas (English architect)|John Douglas]], who was employed by the Duke as his principal architect.{{cn|date=August 2023}} He had a trademark of twisted chimney stacks, many of which can be seen on the buildings in the city centre.

Douglas designed, amongst other buildings, the Grosvenor Hotel and the [[Public baths, Chester|City Baths]]. In 1911, Douglas' protégé and city architect James Strong designed the then-active fire station on the west side of Northgate Street. Another feature of all buildings belonging to the estate of Westminster is the 'Grey Diamonds'&nbsp;– a weaving pattern of grey bricks in the red brickwork laid out in a diamond formation.{{cn|date=August 2023}}

Towards the end of [[World War II]], a lack of affordable housing meant many problems for Chester. Large areas of farmland on the city's outskirts were developed as residential areas in the 1950s and early 1960s, producing, for instance, the suburb of [[Blacon]]. In 1964, a bypass was built through and around the city centre to combat traffic congestion.{{cn|date=August 2023}}

These new developments caused local concern as the physicality{{clarify|date=December 2014}} and, therefore, the feel of the city was being dramatically altered. In 1968, a report by Donald Insall, in collaboration with authorities and government, recommended that historic buildings be preserved in Chester.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.donaldinsallassociates.co.uk/ |title=Donald Insall Associates, official website |access-date=21 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071120114055/http://www.donaldinsallassociates.co.uk/ |archive-date=20 November 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> Consequently, the buildings were used in new and different ways instead of being demolished.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/destinations/europe/england/chester?v=print |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130128015916/http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/destinations/europe/england/chester?v=print |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-01-28 |title=Chester Travel Guide and Travel Information |work=Lonely Planet}}</ref>

The City Conservation Area was designated in 1969. Over the next twenty years, the emphasis was placed on saving historic buildings, such as [[The Falcon, Chester|The Falcon Inn]], [[Dutch Houses, Chester|Dutch Houses]], and Kings Buildings.

On 13 January 2002, Chester was granted the first UK [[Fairtrade City]] status by the [[Fairtrade Foundation]]. In 2011 this was extended to the entire borough.<ref>{{cite web |title=Celebrating Fairtrade Fortnight on the 20th anniversary of Chester becoming the UK's first Fairtrade City |publisher=Cheshire West and Chester Council |date=18 February 2022 |url=https://www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/news/celebrating-fairtrade-fortnight-on-the-20th-anniversary-of-chester-becoming-the-uks-first-fairtrade-city |access-date=29 July 2024}}</ref>

==Governance==
[[File:Arms of Chester City 02759.jpg|thumb|Arms of Chester City]]
There is one main tier of local government covering Chester, at [[Unitary authorities of England|unitary authority]] level, being [[Cheshire West and Chester Council]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/ |access-date=2023-07-30 |website=Cheshire West and Chester Council |language=en}}</ref> Much of the Chester urban area is an [[unparished area]], but some of the suburbs are included in [[civil parish]]es such as [[Great Boughton]] and [[Upton-by-Chester]] and there is also a small parish in the centre of the city called [[Chester Castle (civil parish)|Chester Castle]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Election Maps |url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/election-maps/gb/ |publisher=Ordnance Survey |access-date=14 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/pabills/200607/local_government_and_public_involvement_in_health.htm |title=Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill |work=United Kingdom Parliament |access-date=9 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070810022407/http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/pabills/200607/local_government_and_public_involvement_in_health.htm |archive-date=10 August 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The built-up area straddles the two parliamentary constituencies of [[Chester North and Neston]] and [[Chester South and Eddisbury]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Election Maps |url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/election-maps/gb/ |publisher=Ordnance Survey |access-date=30 January 2025}}</ref>

===Administrative history===
Chester was an [[ancient borough]], with its earliest known charters dating from the twelfth century. It was given the right to appoint its own sheriffs in 1506, making it a [[county corporate]], outside the jurisdiction of the [[Sheriff of Cheshire]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Reports from Commissioners Appointed to Inquire into the Municipal Corporations in England and Wales: Appendix 4 |date=1835 |page=2616 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MHBTAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA2616-IA3 |access-date=14 January 2024}}</ref> The borough gained city status in 1541 following the creation of the [[Diocese of Chester]]. The borough was reformed to become a [[municipal borough]] in 1836 under the [[Municipal Corporations Act 1835]], which standardised the way many boroughs operated across the country. As part of the 1836 reforms the borough was enlarged beyond its medieval boundaries to include the [[Boughton, Cheshire|Boughton]] area.<ref>{{cite book |title=Municipal Corporations Act |date=1835 |page=456 |url=https://archive.org/details/statutesunitedk35britgoog/page/456/mode/2up?q=Chester |access-date=14 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Parliamentary Boundaries Act |date=1832 |page=336 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Uq0uAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA336 |access-date=30 January 2025}}</ref>

When elected county councils were created in 1889, Chester was considered large enough for its existing borough council to provide county-level services. It was therefore made a [[county borough]], independent from [[Cheshire County Council]].<ref>[[Local Government Act 1888]]</ref> The borough was enlarged in 1936, when it absorbed [[Blacon]], and again in 1954, when it absorbed [[Hoole]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Chester Municipal Borough / County Borough |url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10055398 |website=A Vision of Britain through Time |publisher=GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth |access-date=30 January 2025}}</ref> The county borough was abolished in 1974, merging with the former [[Chester Rural District]] and [[Tarvin Rural District]] which covered the surrounding rural areas to create a new [[Chester (district)|Chester district]], which was a district-level authority with Cheshire County Council providing county-level services.<ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972|year=1972|number=2039|access-date=14 January 2024}}</ref> Chester's city status was extended to cover the whole of the district created in 1974.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=46303|page6485|date=31 May 1974}}</ref> In 1992, Chester City Council was given the right to appoint a [[List of mayors of Chester|Lord Mayor]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=52861|page=4553|date=13 March 1992}}</ref>

Chester City Council was abolished in 2009 when local government across Cheshire was reorganised; Cheshire County Council was also abolished, and the three districts of Chester, [[Ellesmere Port and Neston]] and [[Vale Royal]] merged to form a unitary authority called Cheshire West and Chester. [[Charter trustees]] were established to maintain Chester's city status and appoint the Lord Mayor.<ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The Cheshire (Structural Changes) Order 2008|year=2008|number=634|access-date=14 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The Local Government (Structural Changes) (Miscellaneous Amendments and Other Provision) Order 2009|year=2009|number=837}}</ref> Chester's [[City status in the United Kingdom|city status]] is now formally held by the area of the charter trustees, comprising the 15 [[Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom|wards]] of Cheshire West and Chester which correspond to the area of the pre-2009 Chester City Council.<ref name=chartertrustees>{{cite web |title=City of Chester Charter Trustees |url=https://lordmayorchester.co.uk/city-of-chester-charter-trustees/ |publisher=The Lord Mayor of Chester |access-date=10 May 2024}}</ref> The official city therefore includes rural areas beyond Chester's built-up area, and had a total population of 138,875 at the 2021 census, compared to 92,760 for the built-up area.<ref name=2021wards>{{cite web |title=Cheshire West and Chester population by wards, 2021 |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/northwestengland/wards/E06000050__cheshire_west_and_chester/ |website=City Population |access-date=10 May 2024}}</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:ChesterAerial.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.25|An aerial photograph of central Chester and the River Dee]]
Chester lies at the southern end of a {{convert|2|mi|km|adj=on}} [[Triassic]] [[sandstone]] ridge that rises to a height of 42&nbsp;m within a natural S-bend in the River Dee (before the course was altered in the 18th century). The bedrock, also known as the Chester Pebble Beds, is noticeable because of the many small stones trapped within its strata. Retreating glacial sheet ice also deposited quantities of sand and [[marl]] across the area where boulder clay was absent.

The eastern and northern parts of Chester consisted of heathland and forest. The western side towards the [[Dee Estuary]] was marsh and wetland habitats.

===Climate===
Chester has an [[oceanic climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]]: ''Cfb''), typical of the [[British Isles]] but more susceptible to cold than the extreme south.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.climate-data.org/europe/united-kingdom/england/chester-13/|title=Chester climate: Average Temperature, weather by month, Chester weather averages - Climate-Data.org|website=en.climate-data.org|access-date=2019-02-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190215151827/https://en.climate-data.org/europe/united-kingdom/england/chester-13/|archive-date=15 February 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Despite its proximity to the [[Irish Sea]], the temperature regime is similar to areas further inland, owing to the shelter provided by the [[Pennines]] to the northeast and the Welsh Mountains to the southwest. The nearest official weather station is at [[Hawarden Airport]], about {{convert|4|mi}} west of the city centre.

The absolute maximum temperature recorded was {{convert|37.1|C|F}} on 18 July 2022, the highest temperature reported in Wales. In an average year, the warmest day should reach {{convert|29.3|C|F}},<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/calcdetail.php?seasonid=0&periodid=1971-2000&indexid=TXx&stationid=1807
|title=Annual average maximum
|access-date=28 February 2011
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120430200103/http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/calcdetail.php?seasonid=0&periodid=1971-2000&indexid=TXx&stationid=1807
|archive-date=30 April 2012
|url-status=live
}}</ref> and 12.0 days<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/calcdetail.php?seasonid=0&periodid=1971-2000&indexid=SU&stationid=1807
|title=Average days >25c
|access-date=28 February 2011
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120430200107/http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/calcdetail.php?seasonid=0&periodid=1971-2000&indexid=SU&stationid=1807
|archive-date=30 April 2012
|url-status=live
}}</ref> in total should attain a temperature of {{convert|25.1|C|F}} or higher. Given the correctly aligned breezy conditions, a [[Foehn wind|föhn]] effect will operate, meaning local temperatures are somewhat higher than the surrounding area.

The absolute minimum temperature recorded was {{convert|-18.2|C|F}}<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/monitordetail.php?seasonid=7&year=1982&indexid=TNn&stationid=1807
|title=January 1982 minimum
|access-date=28 February 2011
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120430200111/http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/monitordetail.php?seasonid=7&year=1982&indexid=TNn&stationid=1807
|archive-date=30 April 2012
|url-status=live
}}</ref> during January 1982. Annually, an average of 42.2 air frosts should be recorded.

Annual rainfall is barely over 700mm<ref name=MetO2>{{cite web
|url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/observation/gcmys019j
|title=1981–10 Rainfall
|access-date=13 October 2017
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014035019/https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/observation/gcmys019j
|archive-date=14 October 2017
|url-status=live
}}</ref> due to a [[rain shadow]] effect caused by the Welsh Mountains. Over 1mm of rain is reported on 135.5 days.<ref name=MetO2/>

{{Chester weatherbox}}

==Divisions and suburbs==
{{anchor|Chester Urban Area}}
The '''Chester Urban Area''' is an urban area surrounding the city of Chester. The urban area includes the town of [[Saltney]] in [[Flintshire]], [[North Wales]] and the outlying suburbs of [[Bache, Cheshire|Bache]], [[Blacon]], [[Boughton, Cheshire|Boughton]], [[Curzon Park]], [[Great Boughton]], [[Handbridge]], [[Huntington, Cheshire|Huntington]], [[Hoole]], Kingsway, [[Lache]], [[Moston, Cheshire West and Chester|Moston]], [[Newton, Chester|Newton]], [[Newtown, Chester|Newtown]], [[Queens Park, Chester|Queens Park]], [[Upton-by-Chester|Upton]], [[Vicars Cross]] and [[Westminster Park]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://geoportal.statistics.gov.uk/datasets/built-up-areas-december-2011-boundaries-v2/data?geometry=-3.106%2C53.163%2C-2.646%2C53.235&orderBy=bua11nm&where=urban_bua%20%3D%20%27Yes%27 |title=Chester Built-up Areas (December 2011) Boundaries|publisher=Office for National Statistics|access-date=14 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/northwestengland/cheshire_west_and_chester/K06000004__chester/ |title=Chester: Built-up Area Subdivision|publisher=City Population|access-date=14 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{NOMIS2011|id=K06000004|title=Chester Built-up Area sub division|access-date=23 February 2021}}</ref>

Areas just outside the city include: [[Christleton]], [[Eccleston, Cheshire|Eccleston]], [[Guilden Sutton]], [[Littleton, Cheshire|Littleton]], [[Mickle Trafford]], [[Mollington, Cheshire|Mollington]], [[Saughall]] and [[Waverton, Cheshire|Waverton]].

==Landmarks and tourist attractions==
{{see also|Grade I listed buildings in Chester}}
[[File:Chester Town Hall - geograph.org.uk - 802547.jpg|thumb|left|[[Chester Town Hall]]]]
The more unusual landmarks in the city are the [[Chester city walls|city walls]], the [[Chester Rows|Rows]] and the black-and-white architecture. The walls encircle the bounds of the medieval city and constitute the most complete city walls in Britain,<ref name=m43>{{harvnb|Morriss|1993|p=43}}</ref> the full circuit measuring nearly {{convert|2|mi|km|0}}.<ref>{{harvnb|Bilsborough|1983|p=9}}</ref> The only break in the circuit is in the south-west section in front of [[County Hall, Chester|County Hall]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chester.gov.uk/tourism_and_leisure/heritage_trails/chester_city_walls_trail/south_west_section.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080424065755/http://www.chester.gov.uk/tourism_and_leisure/heritage_trails/chester_city_walls_trail/south_west_section.aspx |archive-date=24 April 2008 |title=Chester Walls South West Section |access-date=15 April 2008 |publisher=[[Chester City Council]] }}</ref> A footpath runs along the top of the walls, crossing roads by bridges over Eastgate, [[Northgate, Chester|Northgate]], St Martin's Gate, [[Watergate, Chester|Watergate]], [[Bridgegate, Chester|Bridgegate]], [[Newgate, Chester|Newgate]],<ref>{{cite web |last=No |first=Magphen |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/magphen/5187740203/ |title=Chester Newgate at night &#124; Flickr – Photo Sharing! |publisher=Flickr |date=13 December 2011 |access-date=8 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408043115/https://www.flickr.com/photos/magphen/5187740203/ |archive-date=8 April 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the Wolf Gate, and passing a series of structures, namely [[Phoenix Tower, Chester|Phoenix Tower]] (or King Charles' Tower), [[Morgan's Mount]], the Goblin Tower (or [[Pemberton's Parlour]]) and [[Bonewaldesthorne's Tower]] with a spur leading to the [[Water Tower, Chester|Water Tower]] and [[Thimbleby's Tower]].<ref>{{harvnb|Pevsner|Hubbard|2003|pp=154–156}}</ref> On Eastgate is [[Eastgate and Eastgate Clock|Eastgate Clock]], which is said to be the most photographed clock face in England after those that share the tower with [[Clock Tower, Palace of Westminster|Big Ben]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chester.gov.uk/tourism_and_leisure-1/culture_and_leisure/grosvenor_museum/information_sheets/eastgate_clock.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071019012722/http://www.chester.gov.uk/tourism_and_leisure-1/culture_and_leisure/grosvenor_museum/information_sheets/eastgate_clock.aspx |archive-date=19 October 2007 |title=Information Sheet: Eastgate Clock |access-date=16 April 2008 |publisher=[[Chester City Council]] }}</ref>
[[File:Northgate Street 29-31.jpeg|thumb|[[Black-and-white Revival architecture|Black-and-white architecture]] at [[3–31 Northgate Street, Chester|29–31&nbsp;Northgate]]]]
The Rows are unique in Britain.<ref>{{harvnb|Bilsborough|1983|p=17}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Ward|2009|p=50}}</ref> They consist of buildings with shops or dwellings on the lowest two storeys. The shops or dwellings on the ground floor are often lower than the street and are entered by steps, which sometimes lead to a [[crypt]]-like [[Vault (architecture)|vault]]. Those on the first floor are entered behind a continuous walkway, often with a sloping shelf between the walkway and the railings overlooking the street.<ref>{{harvnb|Morriss|1993|pp=13–14}}</ref> Much of the architecture of central Chester looks medieval and some of it is, but by far the greater part of it, including most of the black-and-white buildings, is [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]], a result of what [[Nikolaus Pevsner|Pevsner]] termed the "[[black-and-white revival]]" pioneered by architects [[John Douglas (English architect)|John Douglas]] and [[Thomas Meakin Lockwood|T.M. Lockwood]].<ref>{{harvnb|Pevsner|Hubbard|2003|pp=38–39, 130–131}}</ref>

The most prominent buildings in the city centre are the [[Chester Town Hall|town hall]] and the [[Chester Cathedral|cathedral]]. The town hall was opened in 1869. It is in [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival]] style and has a tower and a short spire.<ref>{{harvnb|Pevsner|Hubbard|2003|p=158}}</ref> The cathedral was formerly the church of [[St Werburgh's Abbey]]. Its architecture dates back to the [[Norman architecture|Norman]] era, with additions made most centuries since. A series of major restorations took place in the 19th&nbsp;century, and in 1975, a separate bell tower was opened. The elaborately carved [[Canopy (building)|canopies]] of the choir stalls are considered to be among the finest in the country. Also in the cathedral is the [[shrine]] of [[St Werburgh]]. The former [[monastery|monastic]] buildings are north of the cathedral.<ref>{{harvnb|Pevsner|Hubbard|2003|pp=135–147}}</ref> The oldest church in the city is [[St John the Baptist's Church, Chester|St John's]], which is outside the city walls and was at one time the cathedral church. The church was shortened after the [[dissolution of the monasteries]], and ruins of the former east end remain outside the church. Much of the interior is in Norman style and this is considered to be the best example of 11th–12th-century church architecture in Cheshire.<ref>{{NHLE |num=1375977 |desc=Church of St John the Baptist, Chester |access-date=15 April 2008}}</ref> At the intersection of the former Roman roads is [[Chester High Cross|Chester Cross]], to the north of which is the small church of [[St Peter's Church, Chester|St Peter's]], which is in use as an ecumenical centre.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parishofchester.com/centre.html |title=St. Peter's Ecumenical Centre |access-date=15 April 2008 |publisher=Parish of Chester |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090110234105/http://www.parishofchester.com/centre.html |archive-date=10 January 2009 }}</ref> Other churches are now redundant and have other uses: [[St Michael's Church, Chester|St Michael's]] in Bridge Street is a [[heritage centre]],<ref>{{NHLE |num=1376107 |desc=Heritage centre |access-date=15 April 2008}}</ref> [[Church of St Mary-on-the-Hill, Chester|St Mary-on-the-Hill]] is an educational centre,<ref>{{NHLE |num=1376382 |desc=St Mary's Centre |access-date=15 April 2008}}</ref> and [[Holy Trinity Church, Chester|Holy Trinity]] now acts as the Guildhall.<ref>{{harvnb|Pevsner|Hubbard|2003|pp=152–153}}</ref> Other notable buildings include the preserved [[Chester Shot Tower|shot tower]], the highest structure in Chester,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chester.gov.uk/PDF/HeritageBriefing_LeadWorks.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080529122857/http://www.chester.gov.uk/PDF/HeritageBriefing_LeadWorks.pdf |archive-date=29 May 2008 |title=Chester Lead Works |access-date=16 April 2008 |publisher=[[Chester City Council]] }}</ref> and [[St. Thomas of Canterbury Church, Chester|St Thomas of Canterbury Church]].<ref>A short history of our church building by Ian Thomas (Parish Magazine September 2010)</ref>

[[File:Louise Rayner Chester The Cross looking towards Watergate Street.jpg|thumb|The north side of Eastgate Street painted by [[Louise Rayner]]. On the far right is the 17th-century [[Boot Inn, Chester|Boot Inn]].]]
Roman remains can still be found in the city, particularly in the basements of some of the buildings and in the lower parts of the northern section of the city walls.<ref>{{harvnb|Pevsner|Hubbard|2003|pp=133–134}}</ref> The most important Roman feature is the [[Chester Roman Amphitheatre|amphitheatre]] just outside the walls, which underwent archaeological investigation in the early 21st century.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chester.gov.uk/council_and_democracy/news_and_views/projects_in_the_news/amphitheatre_project.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080201111057/http://www.chester.gov.uk/council_and_democracy/news_and_views/projects_in_the_news/amphitheatre_project.aspx |archive-date=1 February 2008 |title= Amphitheatre Project|access-date=16 April 2008 |publisher=[[Chester City Council]] }}</ref> Roman artefacts are on display in the Roman Gardens which run parallel to the city walls from Newgate to the River Dee, where there's also a reconstructed [[hypocaust|hypocaust system]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chester.gov.uk/council_services/planning_and_building_control/landscape/landscape_achievements/roman_gardens.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080406160146/http://www.chester.gov.uk/council_services/planning_and_building_control/landscape/landscape_achievements/roman_gardens.aspx |archive-date=6 April 2008 |title=Roman Gardens |access-date=17 April 2008 |publisher=[[Chester City Council]]}}</ref> An original hypocaust system discovered in the 1720s<ref>{{cite book |last=Hoselitz |first=Virginia |year=2007 |title=Imagining Roman Britain: Victorian responses to a Roman past |edition=1st |publisher=[[Boydell & Brewer]] |isbn=978-0-86193-293-1 |page=129}}</ref> can be seen in the basement of 39 Bridge Street, which is open to the public.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/directory/HOD004011E |title=English Heritage Spud-U-Like entry |access-date=18 August 2008 |publisher=The Civic Trust |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716093832/http://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/directory/HOD004011E |archive-date=16 July 2011 }}</ref>

Of the original medieval city, the most important surviving structure is [[Chester Castle]], particularly the Agricola Tower. Much of the rest of the castle has been replaced by the [[neoclassical architecture|neoclassical]] county court and its entrance, the Propyleum.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chester.gov.uk/tourism_and_leisure-1/culture_and_leisure/grosvenor_museum/information_sheets/chester_castle.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080618082610/http://www.chester.gov.uk/tourism_and_leisure-1/culture_and_leisure/grosvenor_museum/information_sheets/chester_castle.aspx |archive-date=18 June 2008 |title=Information Sheet: Chester Castle |access-date=15 April 2008 |publisher=[[Chester City Council]] }}</ref> To the south of the city runs the River Dee, with its 11th-century [[Chester Weir|weir]]. The river is crossed by the [[Old Dee Bridge]], dating from the 13th century, the [[Grosvenor Bridge (Chester)|Grosvenor Bridge]] of 1832, and Queen's Park suspension bridge (for pedestrians).<ref>{{harvnb|Pevsner|Hubbard|2003|pp=159–160}}</ref> To the southwest of the city, the River Dee curves towards the north. The area between the river and the city walls here is known as the Roodee and contains [[Chester Racecourse]], which holds a series of horse races and other events.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chester-races.co.uk/index.php |title=Chester Racecourse |access-date=16 April 2008 |publisher=Chester Racecourse |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080403033722/http://www.chester-races.co.uk/index.php |archive-date=3 April 2008 }}</ref> The first recorded race meet in England at Roodee Fields was on 9 February 1540.{{Citation needed|date=December 2012}} The Shropshire Union Canal runs to the north of the city and a branch leads from it to the River Dee.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chester.gov.uk/PDF/Heritage-Trail-Canal.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080529122859/http://www.chester.gov.uk/PDF/Heritage-Trail-Canal.pdf |archive-date=29 May 2008 |title=Canal Towpath Trail |access-date=16 April 2008 |publisher=[[Chester City Council]] }}</ref>

The major museum in Chester is the [[Grosvenor Museum]], which includes a collection of Roman tombstones and an [[Art museum|art gallery]]. Associated with the museum is 20 Castle Street, which has rooms furnished in different historical styles.<ref name="The Grosvenor Museum">{{cite web |url=http://www.chester.gov.uk/tourism_and_leisure-1/culture_and_leisure/grosvenor_museum.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080420101056/http://www.chester.gov.uk/tourism_and_leisure-1/culture_and_leisure/grosvenor_museum.aspx |archive-date=20 April 2008 |title= The Grosvenor Museum |access-date=16 April 2008 |publisher=[[Chester City Council]] }}</ref> The Deva Roman Experience has hands-on exhibits and a reconstructed Roman street. One of the blocks in the forecourt of the Castle houses the Cheshire Military Museum.<ref name="Cheshire Military Museum">{{cite web |url=http://www.chester.ac.uk/militarymuseum/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080415200603/http://www.chester.ac.uk/militarymuseum/ |archive-date=15 April 2008 |title=Cheshire Military Museum |access-date=16 April 2008 |publisher=[[University of Chester]] }}</ref>

[[File:Curzon Park Chester.JPG|left|thumb|[[Curzon Park]] as seen from [[Grosvenor Bridge (Chester)|Grosvenor Bridge]] across the [[River Dee, Wales|River Dee]]]]

The major public park in Chester is [[Grosvenor Park, Chester|Grosvenor Park]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chester.gov.uk/grosvenor_park.aspx |title=Grosvenor Park |access-date=16 April 2008 |publisher=[[Chester City Council]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080421210404/http://www.chester.gov.uk/grosvenor_park.aspx |archive-date=21 April 2008 |df=dmy }}</ref> On the south side of the River Dee, in [[Handbridge]], is Edgar's Field, another public park,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chester.gov.uk/tourism_and_leisure/heritage_trails/discover_edgars_field.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080524182041/http://www.chester.gov.uk/tourism_and_leisure/heritage_trails/discover_edgars_field.aspx |archive-date=24 May 2008 |title=Discover Edgar's Field |access-date=16 April 2008 |publisher=[[Chester City Council]] }}</ref> which contains [[Minerva's Shrine, Chester|Minerva's Shrine]], a Roman shrine to the goddess [[Minerva]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chester.gov.uk/tourism_and_leisure/heritage_trails/discover_edgars_field/minerva_shrine.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927213557/http://www.chester.gov.uk/tourism_and_leisure/heritage_trails/discover_edgars_field/minerva_shrine.aspx |archive-date=27 September 2007 |title=Minerva's Shrine |access-date=16 April 2008 |publisher=[[Chester City Council]] }}</ref> A [[war memorial]] to those who died in the world wars is in the town hall and it contains the names of all Chester servicemen who died in the First World War.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.carlscam.com/gazet.htm |title=War Memorial, Town Hall, Chester, Cheshire. |access-date=16 April 2008 |publisher=Carl's Cam |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512000551/http://www.carlscam.com/gazet.htm |archive-date=12 May 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref>

There are cruises on the River Dee and the Shropshire Union Canal, as well as guided open-air bus tours. The river cruises and bus tours start from a riverside area known as the Groves, which contains seating and a [[bandstand]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chester.gov.uk/advice_and_information/business_help_and_advice/doing_business_in_chester/an_ideal_location/recreation_and_leisure.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080331134420/http://www.chester.gov.uk/advice_and_information/business_help_and_advice/doing_business_in_chester/an_ideal_location/recreation_and_leisure.aspx |archive-date=31 March 2008 |title=Recreation and Leisure |access-date=17 April 2008 |publisher=[[Chester City Council]] }}</ref> A series of festivals is organised in the city, including [[mystery play]]s, a summer music festival and a [[Chester Literature Festival|literature festival]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chester.gov.uk/tourism_and_leisure-1/festivals_and_events.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411025705/http://www.chester.gov.uk/tourism_and_leisure-1/festivals_and_events.aspx |archive-date=11 April 2008 |title=Festivals and Events |access-date=16 April 2008 |publisher=[[Chester City Council]] }}</ref> There is a [[Visitor center|Tourist Information Centre]] at the town hall.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chester.gov.uk/tourism_and_leisure/visit_chester/tourist_information_centres.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080404123608/http://www.chester.gov.uk/tourism_and_leisure/visit_chester/tourist_information_centres.aspx |archive-date=4 April 2008 |title=Tourist Information Centre |access-date=17 April 2008 |publisher=[[Chester City Council]] }}</ref>

The Cheshire Police Constabulary was historically based in the city from its foundation in 1857. Originally on Seller Street, its headquarters moved to Egerton Street (both since redeveloped), and then from 1870 to 113 Foregate Street, where Parker's Buildings now stand. In 1883, the police headquarters moved to [[142 Foregate Street, Chester]], now preserved as a Grade II listed building. The county police headquarters has since moved again, in 1967, to Nuns Road before leaving the city in 2003 for Clemonds Hey, [[Winsford]].<ref>{{cite web |title=About us: our history |url=https://www.cheshire.police.uk/about-us/our-history/ |website=Cheshire Constabulary |access-date=4 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160531201324/https://www.cheshire.police.uk/about-us/our-history/ |archive-date=31 May 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Demography==
According to the 2011 census, Chester had a large [[White British]] proportion of around 110,000 or 90.9% of the population. 1.0% described themselves as Irish. 3.6% as [[Other White]]. 2.2% described themselves as Asian. 1.3% described themselves as [[Multiracial|Mixed Race]]. 0.6% described themselves as Black or [[Black British]] and 0.3% are classed as other.<ref name=BMEmapping>{{cite web |url=http://chawrec.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/BME-Mapping-Report-Complete.pdf |title=BME Mapping Report |date=October 2014 |access-date=20 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828181119/http://chawrec.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/BME-Mapping-Report-Complete.pdf |archive-date=28 August 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> Cheshire West and Chester also has a large number of Christians at 76.4%. 14% have no religion, and 8.2% are not stated. 0.7% are Muslim. 0.1% are Sikhs. 0.1% are Jewish. 0.2% are Buddhists.<ref name=ReligionAndEthnic>{{cite web|url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-211059 |title=Release Edition Reference Tables |publisher=Ons.gov.uk |date=17 June 2004 |access-date=8 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120527143912/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-211059 |archive-date=27 May 2012 |df=dmy }}</ref>

The population was forecast to grow by 5% from 2005 to 2021.<ref name=greaterchester>{{cite web |url=http://www.cheshire.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/601CE006-8690-485A-BD90-6372EB093CB6/0/ChesterDistrict.pdf |title=Demographics |work=Cheshire County Council |access-date=27 September 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080626191831/http://www.cheshire.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/601CE006-8690-485A-BD90-6372EB093CB6/0/ChesterDistrict.pdf |archive-date = 26 June 2008}}</ref> The resident population for [[Chester (district)|Chester District]] in the [[United Kingdom Census 2001|2001 Census]] was 118,200. This represents 17.5% of the Cheshire County total (1.8% of the North West population).<ref name=chesterdistrict>{{cite web |url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=276896&c=Chester&d=13&e=16&g=427459&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1222514886153&enc=1 |title=2001 Census: Census Area Statistics Chester (Local Authority) |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]] |access-date=27 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090111055611/http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=276896&c=Chester&d=13&e=16&g=427459&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1222514886153&enc=1 |archive-date=11 January 2009 |url-status=live }} Also: {{cite web |url=http://www.chester.gov.uk/council_and_democracy/research_and_intelligence/chester_in_context.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509040449/http://www.chester.gov.uk/council_and_democracy/research_and_intelligence/chester_in_context.aspx |archive-date=9 May 2008 |title=Chester in context |publisher=[[Chester City Council]] |access-date=27 September 2008 |url-status=dead |df=dmy }}</ref>

==Education==
The city is home to the [[University of Chester]]. Formerly a teacher training college, it gained full university status in 2005 and is the county's main provider of tertiary education.

[[Cheshire College – South & West]] is a vocational college with campuses in Handbridge as well as Ellesmere Port and Crewe.

[[The King's School, Chester|The King's School]], a [[Private schools in the United Kingdom|private school]], was established by [[Henry VIII of England|King Henry VIII]] in 1541. The girls-only [[The Queen's School, Chester|Queen's School]], another independent school, was founded in 1878.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/queens-school-marks-royal-milestone-10012377|title=Queen's School marks royal milestone with a week of celebration|work=The Chester Chronicle|date=8 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924112449/http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/queens-school-marks-royal-milestone-10012377|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=live|access-date=19 November 2015}}</ref>

Other secondary schools include:
* [[Bishops' Blue Coat Church of England High School|Bishops' Blue Coat C of E]]
* [[Chester Catholic High School|Catholic High School]]
* [[Queens Park High School]]
* [[Upton-by-Chester High School]]
* [[Blacon High School]]
* [[Christleton High School]]

==Culture==
[[File:Louise Rayner Chester Eastgate Street.jpg|thumb|Eastgate Street painted by [[Louise Rayner]], {{Circa|1880}}]]
The major museum in Chester is the [[Grosvenor Museum]], which includes a collection of Roman tombstones and an [[Art museum|art gallery]]. Associated with the museum is a building on 20 Castle Street that has rooms furnished in different historical styles.<ref name="The Grosvenor Museum"/> The Dewa Roman Experience has hands-on exhibits and a reconstructed Roman street. One of the blocks in the forecourt of Chester Castle houses the [[Cheshire Military Museum]].<ref name="Cheshire Military Museum"/>

The £37m [[Storyhouse]] arts centre opened in the city centre in 2017. It includes a theatre, cinema, restaurant and the city's main library. It is housed in the city's remodelled 1936 Odeon Cinema and replaces the [[Gateway Theatre (Chester)|Gateway Theatre]] and the former library on Northgate Street.

Chester Little Theatre is based in Newtown and run by Chester Theatre Club. It generally stages 5 or 6 plays each year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chestertheatreclub.co.uk/#about.html |title=Chester Theatre Club website |access-date=21 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100830042150/http://www.chestertheatreclub.co.uk/#about.html |archive-date=30 August 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> Chester Music Theatre is based in a converted church in Boughton. There was a multiplex cinema and a ten-pin bowling alley at Greyhound Retail Park on the city's edge, but these have closed. The cinema has moved to Broughton, just over the border in North Wales.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/broughton-cineworld-prepares-open-doors-9205500 |title=Broughton Cineworld prepares to open its doors |author=Michael Green |date=7 May 2015 |work=chesterchronicle |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150728132144/http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/broughton-cineworld-prepares-open-doors-9205500 |archive-date=28 July 2015 }}</ref> A new [[Picturehouse Cinemas|Picturehouse]] multi-screen cinema is being built in the city centre as part of the Northgate Project, due for completion in 2022. Chester has its own film society, several amateur dramatic societies and theatre schools.

The Grove area of Chester is home to a Grade II-listed bandstand built in 1913. A programme of afternoon performances runs every weekend and Bank Holiday from May to August each year, usually including brass bands, choirs, jazz, blues, and acoustic performers. The current Bandstand Coordinator is Luke Moore, who was appointed in 2018 and has expanded the programme to include a mixture of visual art, theatre, poetry, and community events alongside a variety of musical performances.

[[Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre]], founded in 2010, is the only site-specific professional open-air theatre company outside London. It has an eight-week annual summer repertory season.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grosvenorparkopenairtheatre.co.uk|title=Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre|access-date=14 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190922074444/https://www.grosvenorparkopenairtheatre.co.uk/|archive-date=22 September 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

To the east side of the city is [[Chester Zoo]], the UK's largest [[zoo]] with over 11,000 animals in 110 acres of award-winning gardens.

Numerous pubs, nightclubs, and bars, some of which are located in medieval buildings, populate the city. One such example is [[Quaintways]].

===Music===
Chester has had a professional classical music festival – the Chester Summer Music Festival, beginning in 1967 and regularly since 1978. The festival went into liquidation<ref>Michael Green, Chester Chronicle. [http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/chester-news/local-chester-news/2012/09/05/chester-festivals-organisation-goes-into-voluntary-liquidation-59067-31774900/ "Chester Festivals organisation goes into voluntary liquidation "] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525222352/http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/chester-news/local-chester-news/2012/09/05/chester-festivals-organisation-goes-into-voluntary-liquidation-59067-31774900/ |date=25 May 2013 }}, ''[[The Chester Chronicle]]'', Chester, 5 September 2012. Retrieved on 30 March 2013.</ref> in 2012. A major new music festival was launched in March 2013 (previously known as Chester Performs<ref>Chester Performs. [http://www.chesterperforms.com/blog/mbna-chester-music-festival-on-sale/ "MBNA Chester Music Festival on Sale"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150510214610/http://www.chesterperforms.com/blog/mbna-chester-music-festival-on-sale/ |date=10 May 2015 }}, ''Chester Performs'', Chester, 15 March 2013. Retrieved on 30 March 2013.</ref>), running annually every summer. The Chester Music Festival features the professional music group ''Ensemble Deva'' led by Giovanni Guzzo and Music Director Clark Rundell. Ensemble Deva regularly features soloists and section leaders from the country's leading symphony orchestras, including Liverpool Philharmonic, the Hallé and Manchester Camerata.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/whats-on/music/chester-cathedral-host-manchester-camerata-9595311 |title=Chester Cathedral to host Manchester Camerata and Chester Festival Chorus |last=Green |first=Michael |website=chesterchronicle |access-date=17 March 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324101115/http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/whats-on/music/chester-cathedral-host-manchester-camerata-9595311 |archive-date=24 March 2016 }}</ref>

The composer [[Howard Skempton]] was born in Chester in 1947.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://global.oup.com/uk/music/dance/skempton/|title=OUP: Howard Skempton|work=oup.com|access-date=26 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150226163926/http://global.oup.com/uk/music/dance/skempton/|archive-date=26 February 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

Chester has a brass band that was formed in 1853. It was known as the Blue Coat Band and today as The City of Chester Band.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chesterbrass.co.uk |title=City of Chester Band website |access-date=10 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070607121731/http://www.chesterbrass.co.uk/ |archive-date=7 June 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> It is a third section brass band with a training band. Its members wear a blue-jacketed uniform with an image of the Eastgate clock on the breast pocket of the blazer.

Chester Music Society was founded in 1948 as a small choral society. It now encompasses four sections: The Choir has 170 members drawn from Chester and the surrounding district; The Youth Choirs support three choirs: Youth Choir, Preludes, and the Alumni Choir; Celebrity Concerts promote a season of six high-quality concerts each year; The club is a long established section which aims to encourage young musicians and in many cases offers the first opportunity to perform in public.

The Chester Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) was founded in 1884 and is one of the premier non-professional orchestras in North West England. Formerly the Chester Orchestral Society, it performs music from a vast repertoire. The Orchestra is a registered charity and usually performs four or five concerts each year (including an annual carol concert) in the magnificent setting of Chester's ancient Cathedral under the direction of well-known professional conductors.

Telford's Warehouse, Alexander's Jazz Bar and The Live Rooms are the city's leading live music venues.

An annual popular music festival started in 2011 called Chester Rocks. It is held on the grounds of the Chester Racecourse.

The founder members of the band [[River City People]] (guitarist Tim Speed and his drummer brother Paul Speed) are from Chester. They had a number of hits in the early 1990s. Later into the same decade, [[Mansun]] formed in the city after singer Paul Draper met guitarist Dominic Chad whilst working in the local former Fat Cat Bar. More recently, [[Shy and the Fight]], featuring Chester-based musicians, has achieved national attention via airplay on [[BBC Radio 1|Radio 1]] and [[BBC Radio 2|Radio 2]], also appearing at [[Wychwood]] and [[Sŵn|Swn]] festivals. Other bands that have gone on to achieve a degree of success outside of the city include The Suns, The Wayriders, Motion Empire, Casino and Face Of Christ and The Lovelies.

===Media===
Chester's newspapers include the weekly paid-for ''[[Chester Chronicle]]'' and freesheet ''[[Chester Standard]]''. The ''[[Chester Evening Leader]]'' and ''[[Midweek Chronicle]]'' are no longer in publication.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/chester-daily-newspaper-prints-final-14116269|title=Chester daily newspaper prints final edition|first=Michael|last=Green|date=5 January 2018|access-date=30 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911232047/https://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/chester-daily-newspaper-prints-final-14116269|archive-date=11 September 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Dee 106.3|Chester's Dee Radio]] is the city's radio station, with [[Heart North West]], [[Capital North West and Wales]] and [[BBC Radio Merseyside]] also broadcasting locally. [[Lache FM]] is currently Chester's only Community radio station.

Television in Chester is served by ''[[BBC North West Tonight]]'' and ''[[ITV Granada Reports]] '', and with its close proximity to North Wales, viewers can also receive ''[[BBC Wales Today]]'' and ''[[Wales at Six|ITV News Wales at Six]] ''. Chester is where [[Channel 4]]'s soap opera ''[[Hollyoaks]]'' is set (although most filming takes place around Liverpool).

===In literature===
[[Lydia Sigourney]] gives her impressions of the city in her poem ''Chester'' published in ''Pleasant Memories of Pleasant Lands'', 1842. These relate to her visit to this country from America in 1840.<ref>{{cite web| last =Sigourney|first=Lydia|title=Pleasant Memories of Pleasant Lands| url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=6QZaAAAAMAAJ&pg=GBS.PA28| year=1842 |publisher=James Munroe and Company}}</ref>

==Economy==

[[File:Bridge Street and the Rows at Chester - geograph.org.uk - 4398258.jpg|thumbnail|Bridge Street and the Rows at Chester, designed by [[Thomas Meakin Lockwood|T.M. Lockwood]]]]

Chester's primary industries are now the service industries, which are tourism, retail, public administration, and financial services. Many domestic and international tourists visit to view the city's landmarks and heritage, with a complementary benefit to hotels and restaurants.

The city's central shopping area includes its unique Rows or galleries (two levels of shops), which date from [[medieval]] times and are believed to include the oldest shop front in England.<ref>{{cite press release
 | title = Visit Chester & Cheshire 2009 Visitor Guide
 | publisher = Experience Northwest England
 | year = 2009
 | url = http://www.visitchester.com
 | access-date = 11 April 2009
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090215215423/http://www.visitchester.com/
 | archive-date = 15 February 2009
 | url-status = live
 }}</ref> The city has many chain stores. Also, it features an indoor market and two main indoor shopping centres: The Grosvenor Shopping Centre and the Forum (a reference to the city's Roman past). There are retail parks to the west and south. [[Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet]] and [[Broughton Retail Park]] are near the city.

Chester has a relatively large financial sector including [[Bank of America]], [[NFU Mutual]], [[Lloyds Bank]], [[Virgin Money UK|Virgin Money]], [[Quilter plc|Quilter]], and [[M&S Bank]]. The price comparison website [[moneysupermarket.com]] is based over the Welsh border in [[Ewloe]]. Chester has its own university, the [[University of Chester]], and a major hospital, the [[Countess of Chester Hospital]], named after [[Diana, Princess of Wales]] and Countess of Chester.

Just over the Welsh border to the west, [[Broughton, Flintshire|Broughton]] is home to a large [[Airbus UK]] factory (formerly [[British Aerospace]]), employing around 6,000 staff, where the wings of the [[Airbus]] aeroplanes are manufactured.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_east/3594419.stm |title=A380 wings roll off production line at Airbus Broughton |work=BBC News |date=5 April 2004 |access-date=22 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061231221013/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_east/3594419.stm |archive-date=31 December 2006 |url-status=live }}</ref> There are food processing plants to the north and west. The [[Iceland (supermarket)|Iceland]] frozen food company is based in nearby Deeside.

===Developments===
[[File:River Dee Chester England.jpg|left|thumb|[[Chester Weir]] on the [[River Dee (United Kingdom)|River Dee]]]]
In 2007, Chester City Council announced a 10-year plan to see Chester become a "must-see European destination". At a cost of £1.3&nbsp;billion it was branded Chester Renaissance.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chesterrenaissance.co.uk |title=Chester Renaissance |access-date=10 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928185054/http://www.chesterrenaissance.co.uk/ |archive-date=28 September 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Northgate Development project began in 2007 with the demolition of St. Martin's House on the city's ring road. At a cost of £460&nbsp;million, Chester City Council and developers ING hoped to create a new quarter for Chester. The development was intended see the demolition of the market hall, bus station, theatre and NCP car park. They were to be replaced with a [[multi-storey car park]], bus exchange, performing arts centre, library, homes, retail space and a department store which will be anchored by House of Fraser.<ref name=northgatedevelopment>{{cite web |url=http://www.chester.gov.uk/northgate/news.htm |title=Northgate Development News |access-date=10 July 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070114234947/http://www.chester.gov.uk/northgate/news.htm |archive-date = 14 January 2007}}</ref> There project was put on hold in 2008 due to the economic downturn.<ref>{{cite web|author=David Holmes |url=http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/chester-news/local-chester-news/2008/10/31/chester-s-460m-northgate-scheme-on-hold-until-2012-59067-22157727/ |title=Chester's £460m Northgate scheme on hold until 2012 |publisher=Chester Chronicle |access-date=17 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118210147/http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/chester-news/local-chester-news/2008/10/31/chester-s-460m-northgate-scheme-on-hold-until-2012-59067-22157727/ |archive-date=18 January 2012 }}</ref> However a number of Chester's other Renaissance projects continued, including a new health centre, offices and apartments in the Delamere Street development,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chesterrenaissance.co.uk/delamere.htm |title=Chester Renaissance |publisher=Chester Renaissance |date=8 January 2010 |access-date=17 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090713064534/http://www.chesterrenaissance.co.uk/delamere.htm |archive-date=13 July 2009 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> and a hotel and new headquarters for Cheshire West and Chester Council in the £60million HQ development.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.robinsons.com/editorials.asp?c=69&d=4 |title=Chester HQ &#124; Industrial &#124; Robinson |publisher=Robinsons.com |access-date=17 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715192500/http://www.robinsons.com/editorials.asp?c=69&d=4 |archive-date=15 July 2011 }}</ref> Work on a new bus station started in October 2015 and it opened in June 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/chesters-new-gorse-stack-bus-10227880 |title=Chester's new Gorse Stack bus interchange construction work begins |first=Ed |last=Walker |date=9 October 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815235554/http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/chesters-new-gorse-stack-bus-10227880 |archive-date=15 August 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/new-chester-bus-station-begins-11204736 |title=New Chester bus station begins to take shape |first=David |last=Holmes |date=19 April 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816012536/http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/new-chester-bus-station-begins-11204736 |archive-date=16 August 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cheshire-live.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/new-chester-bus-station-now-13124049 |title=New Chester bus station now open to some services |access-date=7 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191007104348/https://www.cheshire-live.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/new-chester-bus-station-now-13124049 |archive-date=7 October 2019 |url-status=live |date=2 June 2017 }}</ref> The Northgate Project is now being led by the council and is due to include a new market hall, cinema, multi-storey car park and restaurant units on the site of the former bus exchange. Building work has begun and is due to be completed in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://chesternorthgate.com/2020/05/council-reaffirms-commitment-to-chester-northgate-as-the-key-to-the-citys-recovery-from-covid-19/ |title=Council reaffirms commitment to Chester Northgate as the key to the city's recovery from Covid-19 |access-date=22 June 2020 }}</ref>

==Transport==
===Roads===
The city is a hub for major roads, including the [[M53 motorway]] towards the [[Wirral Peninsula]] and [[Liverpool]] and the [[M56 motorway]] towards [[Manchester]]. The [[A55 road]] runs along the North Wales coast to [[Holyhead]] and the [[A483 road|A483]] links the city to nearby [[Wrexham]] and [[Swansea]] in [[Wales]].

===Buses===
Bus transport in the city is provided by [[Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire]] and [[Arriva Buses Wales]]; the council-owned and operated [[ChesterBus]] (formerly Chester City Transport) was sold to [[First Chester & The Wirral]] in mid-2007. Services connect the city with Liverpool, Rhyl, Flint, Holywell, Ellesmere Port, Northwich and Whitchurch. A [[National Express]] route between London and Liverpool stops in Chester.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://bustimes.org/localities/chester |website=bustimes.org |title=Chester bus services |access-date=15 December 2024}}</ref>

A new bus exchange was built in the city at Gorse Stacks and opened to its first services on 30 May 2017.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.keybuses.com/article/chester-interchange-opens-business |title=Chester Interchange opens for business |website=Buses magazine |date=13 July 2017 |access-date=16 December 2024}}</ref>

Chester has four dedicated [[park and ride]] sites, three of them (Upton, Boughton Heath and Wrexham Road) along major roads surrounding the city.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/residents/transport-and-roads/public-transport/buses/park-and-ride |title=Park and ride |publisher=Chester and Cheshire West Council |access-date=30 April 2023}}</ref>

===Railways===
[[File:Sprinter units, Chester Railway Station (geograph 2986906).jpg|thumb|left|Two Northern Rail trains at Chester station]]

[[Chester railway station]] is served by four [[train operating companies]]:
* [[Avanti West Coast]] provides [[inter-city rail|inter-city]] services between [[Euston railway station|London Euston]], {{rws|Crewe}} and {{rws|Holyhead}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our latest timetable and ticket info |work=Avanti West Coast |date=15 December 2024 |access-date=15 December 2024 |url= https://www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/travel-information/plan-your-journey/timetables}}</ref>
* [[Merseyrail]] operates electric services on the [[Wirral Line]], on a circular route via {{rws|Liverpool Central}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Timetables |work=Merseyrail |date=12 October 2024 |access-date=15 December 2024 |url= https://www.merseyrail.org/journey-planning/plan-your-journey/timetables/}}</ref>
* [[Northern Trains]] provides a regular service to {{rws|Manchester Piccadilly}}, via {{rws|Northwich}} and {{rws|Stockport}}, on the [[Mid-Cheshire line]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Timetables and engineering information for travel with Northern |work=Northern Railway |date=15 December 2024 |access-date=15 December 2024 |url= https://www.northernrailway.co.uk/travel/timetables}}</ref>
* [[Transport for Wales Rail|Transport for Wales]] operates services on four routes:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Timetables |work=Transport for Wales |date=15 December 2024 |access-date=15 December 2024 |url=https://tfw.wales/service-status/timetables}}</ref>
** {{rws|Birmingham International}} to Holyhead, via {{rws|Wrexham General}}
** Manchester Piccadilly to {{rws|Llandudno}}, via the [[North Wales Main Line]]; some services continue to Holyhead
** {{rws|Liverpool Lime Street}}, via {{rws|Runcorn}}
** Crewe, via Beeston Castle.

====History====
The city formerly had two railway stations: Chester General remains in use (now named simply ''Chester''), but [[Chester Northgate railway station|Chester Northgate]] closed in 1969 as a result of the [[Beeching cuts]].{{refn|group=nb|[[Richard Beeching]]'s report ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' was published in 1965.}} Chester Northgate, which was north-east of the city centre, opened in 1875 as a [[Terminal station|terminus]] for the [[Cheshire Lines Committee]]. Trains travelled via Northwich to {{rws|Manchester Central}}; later, services also went to Seacombe (Wallasey) and [[Wrexham Central railway station|Wrexham Central]] via {{stnlnk|Shotton}}. It was demolished in the 1970s and the site is now part of the Northgate Arena leisure centre.

Chester General opened in 1848 and was designed with an [[Italianate]] frontage. It now has seven designated platforms but once had fourteen. The station lost its original roof in the 1972 [[Chester General rail crash]]. In September 2007, extensive renovations took place to improve pedestrian access and parking.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chesterrenaissance.co.uk/railands.htm |title=Chester Railway Renovation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821115005/http://www.chesterrenaissance.co.uk/railands.htm |archive-date=21 August 2008 |website=Chester Renaissance |access-date=11 April 2009}}</ref> Chester General also had a sizeable marshalling yard and a [[motive power depot]], most of which has now been replaced with housing.

[[File:Dee bridge disaster.jpg|thumb|Dee bridge disaster, May 1847]]
In late 1847, the [[Dee bridge disaster]] occurred when a bridge span collapsed as a train passed over the River Dee by the [[Roodee]]. Five people were killed in the accident. The bridge had been designed and built by famed railway engineer [[Robert Stephenson]] for the [[Chester and Holyhead Railway]]. A [[Royal Commission]] inquiry found that the [[truss]]es were made of cast iron beams that had inadequate strength for their purpose. A national scandal ensued and many new bridges of similar design were either taken down or heavily altered.

===Cycling===
There are a series of colour-coded signposted cycling routes around the city.

On 19 June 2008, then [[Secretary of State for Transport]] [[Ruth Kelly]] named Chester as a [[cycling demonstration town]].<ref name=CycleEngland>{{cite web |url=http://www.dft.gov.uk/cyclingengland/cycling-cities-towns/ |title=CycleEngland |publisher=Cycle England |access-date=9 July 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090519000604/http://www.dft.gov.uk/cyclingengland/cycling-cities-towns/ |archive-date=19 May 2009 }}</ref> This initiative allowed for substantial financial support to improve cycling facilities and a number of schemes were planned.<ref name=CycleChester>{{cite web |url=http://www.cheshire.gov.uk/cycling/cyclechester.htm |title=CYCLEChester |publisher=CYCLEChester |access-date=9 July 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090616042038/http://www.cheshire.gov.uk/cycling/cyclechester.htm |archive-date=16 June 2009 }}> Also:{{cite web |url=http://www.chestercyclecity.org/ |title=Chester Cycle City |publisher=Chester Cycle city |access-date=9 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090606050411/http://www.chestercyclecity.org/ |archive-date=6 June 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Potential schemes included a new pedestrian and cycling bridge across the River Dee, linking the Meadows with [[Huntington, Cheshire|Huntington]] and [[Great Boughton]]; an access route between [[Curzon Park]] and the [[Roodee]]; an extension to the existing greenway route from [[Hoole]] to [[Guilden Sutton]] and [[Mickle Trafford]]; and an access route between the Millennium cycle route and Deva Link. However, following a reorganisation of the local authorities effective 1 April 2009, the Conservative-led administration of the newly established [[Cheshire West and Chester]] council was not supportive, so comparatively little was actually achieved.

Many of the ideas generated at the time were captured in a ''Cycle Chester Masterplan'' document.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.chestercyclecity.org/?p=682 |title=Cycle Chester Masterplan – A Cycle Friendly City Centre |website=Chester Cycling Campaign |access-date=12 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170413072753/http://www.chestercyclecity.org/?p=682 |archive-date=13 April 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Canals===
[[File:Chester - Bridge of Sighs.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Canal cutting by Chester city walls]]
The [[Chester Canal]] was constructed with locks leading down to the River Dee. Canal boats could enter the river at high tide to load goods directly onto seagoing vessels. The port facilities at Crane Wharf, by Chester racecourse, made an important contribution to the commercial development of the North West region. {{Citation needed|date=October 2008}}

[[File:Camlas ellesmere.png|thumb|upright|Map showing the proposed extensions of the Ellesmere Canal to Chester and Shrewsbury]]
The original Chester Canal was constructed to run from the River Dee near [[Sealand, Flintshire|Sealand Road]] to [[Nantwich]] in south Cheshire and opened in 1774. In 1805, the Wirral section of the [[Ellesmere Canal]] was opened, which ran from Netherpool (now known as [[Ellesmere Port]]) to meet the Chester Canal at Chester canal basin. Later, those two canal branches became part of the Shropshire Union Canal network. This canal, which runs beneath the northern section of the city walls of Chester, is navigable and remains in use today.

From about 1794 to the late 1950s, when the canal-side flour mills were closed, [[narrowboat]]s carried cargo such as coal, slate, gypsum or lead ore as well as finished lead (for roofing, water pipes and sewerage) from the leadworks in Egerton Street (Newtown). The grain from Cheshire was stored in granaries on the banks of the canal at Newtown and Boughton, and salt for preserving food arrived from [[Northwich]].

====Proposed canal====
The original plan to complete the Ellesmere Canal was to connect Chester directly to the Wrexham coalfields by building a [[Barge|broad-gauge waterway]] with a branch to the River Dee at [[Holt, Wales|Holt]]. If the waterway had been built, canal traffic would have crossed the [[Pontcysyllte Aqueduct]] heading north to Chester and the River Dee.

As the route was never completed, the short length of the canal north of [[Trevor Basin|Trevor]], near [[Wrexham]], was infilled. The [[Llangollen Canal]], although designed to be primarily a water source from the River Dee, became a cruising waterway despite its inherent narrow nature.

However, although Wrexham itself was bypassed, the plan to join the rivers [[River Severn|Severn]], Mersey, and Dee was completed, first by cutting the Wirral Arm from Chester to Ellesmere Port (Whitby wharf) and then by extending the Llangollen Arm via [[Ellesmere, Shropshire|Ellesmere]], [[Whitchurch, Shropshire|Whitchurch]] and Bettisfield Moss through to the [[Chester Canal]] at Hurleston. The network became the [[Shropshire Union Canal]].

===Trams===
Chester had a tram service during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It ran from Saltney, on the Welsh border in the west, to Chester General station and then to Tarvin Road and Great Boughton. It featured the narrowest gauge trams (3'&nbsp;6") in mainland Britain, due to an act of Parliament that deemed they must have the least obstructive route possible.{{Citation needed|date=December 2007}}

The tramway was established in 1871 by Chester Tramways Company. It was horse-drawn until it was taken over by the council in 1903. Renamed as [[Chester Corporation Tramways]], it was reconstructed to the 3'6" gauge and electrified with overhead cables. The tramway was closed in February 1930, a fate experienced by most other systems in the UK. All that remains are small areas of uncovered track inside the former bus depot, and a few tram-wire supports attached to buildings on Eastgate/Foregate Street. However, substantial sections of the track remain buried beneath the current road surface.

Chester electric tram number 4, built by [[G.F. Milnes & Co.]] in 1903, has been preserved by [[RAF Hooton Park|Hooton Park Trust]] and is currently undergoing restoration.<ref>{{Cite web |access-date=2 May 2022 |title=Chester's last surviving electric tram – Car No. 4 |url=https://www.facebook.com/chestertram4 | website=Facebook }}</ref>

===Aviation===
The nearest airport is [[Liverpool John Lennon Airport]], about {{convert|24|mi|0|abbr=out}} from Chester. [[Manchester Airport]] is approximately {{convert|29|mi|km|abbr=on}} away. [[Hawarden Airport]] primarily serves private aviation, business travel and corporate charter flights; it is located about {{convert|4|mi}} west of the city centre.

==Sport==
===Football===
[[File:Ccfc.jpg|thumbnail|left|The defunct [[Chester City F.C.|Chester City]] in action in 2007. The [[Deva Stadium]], now used by [[Chester F.C.]], is on the border between England and Wales]]

Chester was home to [[Chester City F.C.]], who were founded in 1885 and elected to the [[Football League]] in 1931 and played at their [[Sealand Road]] stadium until 1990, spending two years playing in [[Macclesfield]] before returning to the city to the new [[Deva Stadium]] – which straddles the border of England and Wales – in 1992. The club first lost its Football League status in 2000, only to reclaim it four years later as [[Football Conference|Conference]] champions. However, they were relegated again in 2009 and went out of business in March 2010 after 125 years in existence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chester-city.co.uk/archive.asp |title=Football Club History |publisher=Chester-city.co.uk |access-date=8 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327161505/http://www.chester-city.co.uk/archive.asp |archive-date=27 March 2010 |df=dmy }}</ref>

Notable former players of the club include [[Ian Rush]] (who later managed the club), [[Cyrille Regis]], [[Arthur Albiston]], [[Earl Barrett]], [[Lee Dixon]], [[Steve Harkness]], [[Roberto Martínez]] and [[Stan Pearson]].

Following their demise, a new team – [[Chester FC]] – was founded. They play at Chester City's [[Deva Stadium]] and were elected to the [[Northern Premier League Division One North]] for the [[2010–11 in English football|2010–11 season]], ending their first season as that division's champions, securing a place in the [[Northern Premier League Premier Division]] for the [[2011–12 in English football|2011–12 season]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/chesterfootballclub/news/chester-fc-crowned-champions-in-crazy-finish-to-league-301375.html |title=Chester FC crowned Champions in a crazy finish League |publisher=Pitchero.com |access-date=8 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021033958/http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/chesterfootballclub/news/chester-fc-crowned-champions-in-crazy-finish-to-league-301375.html |archive-date=21 October 2012 }}</ref> The club achieved promotion for the next two consecutive seasons. Currently they play in the [[National League (division)|National League North]], the sixth tier of English football.

===Basketball===
The city also has a professional basketball team in the country's top competition, the [[British Basketball League]]. [[Cheshire Phoenix]] – formerly known as Cheshire Jets – play at the Cheshire Oaks Arena at nearby Ellesmere Port; and a wheelchair basketball team, Celtic Warriors, formerly known as the Chester Wheelchair Jets.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chesterwheelchairjets.org.uk |title=Chester Wheelchair Jets website |access-date=10 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080827204704/http://www.chesterwheelchairjets.org.uk/ |archive-date=27 August 2008 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

===Rugby Union===
[[Chester RUFC|Chester Rugby Club]] ([[rugby union|union]]) plays in the English National League 2 North, having been promoted in 2012. It won the EDF Energy Intermediate Cup in the 2007–08 season and the Cheshire Cup several times.

===Watersports on the River Dee===
The River Dee is home to [[Grosvenor Rowing Club]], [[Royal Chester Rowing Club]] and the University of Chester Rowing Club, and two school clubs, [[The King's School Chester]] Rowing Club and [[Queen's Park High School|Queen's Park High]] Rowing Club. According to the rowing historian Tim Koch, the city's annual rowing regatta dates back to at least 1814,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Koch |first=Tim |date=22 September 2023 |title=Chester Regatta, Part I: Old But How Old? |url=https://heartheboatsing.com/2023/09/22/chester-regatta-part-i-old-but-how-old/ |access-date=5 November 2024 |website=Hear The Boat Sing}}</ref> making it older than [[The Boat Race]] (1829) and [[Henley Royal Regatta]] (1839), although the regatta claims to date back even further to 1733.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A history of Chester Regatta - 1733 to the present |url=https://www.chesterregatta.org/history.html |access-date=5 November 2024 |website=Chester Regatta}}</ref> Other annual rowing events include the Chester Long Distance Sculls and the Dee Autumn Head in autumn, and the North of England Head in March. The weir is used by a number of local canoe and kayak clubs. Each July, the [[Chester Raft Race]] is held on the River Dee in aid of charity.

===Horseracing===
[[Chester Racecourse]] hosts several [[Flat racing|flat race]] meetings from the spring to the autumn. The races take place within view of the City walls and attract tens of thousands of visitors. The May meeting includes several nationally significant races, such as the [[Chester Vase]], which is recognised as a trial for [[Epsom Derby|The Derby]].

===Other sports===
A successful hockey club, Chester H.C., plays at the County Officers' Club on Plas Newton Lane, and a [[handball]] team, Deva Handball Club, boasts of being the largest handball team in the country. Deva's handball club plays in National League 1 of handball. There is also an [[American football]] team, the [[Chester Romans]], part of the [[British American Football League]].

[[Chester Golf Club]] is near the banks of the Dee, and there are numerous private golf courses near the city, as well as a 9-hole municipal course at Westminster Park.

The Northgate Arena is the city's main leisure centre; smaller sports centres are in Christleton and Upton. The Victorian City Baths are in the city centre.

December 2011 saw the first [http://www.speedy-santas.co.uk/chester-santa-dash Chester Santa Dash]. A {{convert|4|km|mi|abbr=on}} running event whose route winds around the streets of Chester in aid of local charities; the Santa Dash is a festive event open to everyone of all ages and abilities.

The city has hosted the [[RAC Rally]] eight times.

==Twin towns==
Chester is twinned with:
* [[Sens]], [[France]]
* [[Lörrach]], [[Loerrach International]] [[Germany]]
* [[Senigallia]], [[Italy]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/twin-towns-come-together-chester-5187421 |title=Chester Twin Towns Come Together For Annual Meeting |work=Chester Chronicle |date=20 October 2011 |access-date=10 August 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016210420/http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/twin-towns-come-together-chester-5187421 |archive-date=16 October 2015 }}</ref>

==Notable people==
{{Main|List of people from Chester}}
:''See [[:Category:People from Chester]]''
* [[Ian Blair]] (born 1953), retired Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police<ref>{{cite book |title=Policing Controversy |author=Ian Blair |year=2010 |publisher=Profile Books |page=51 |isbn=978-1847652720}}</ref>
* [[Adrian Boult|Sir Adrian Boult]] (1889–1983), musical conductor, born in Liverpool Road<ref>Kennedy, Michael (2004) 'Boult, Sir Adrian Cedric (1889–1983)', ''[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]'', [[Oxford University Press]] [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/30835] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815094558/http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/30835|date=15 August 2016}}, Retrieved on 20 April 2008</ref>
* [[Randolph Caldecott]] (1846–86), artist and book illustrator, was born in Bridge Street, Chester<ref>{{cite ODNB |title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |chapter=Caldecott, Randolph (1846–1886) |author=James Hamilton |date=23 September 2004 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/4365 }}</ref>
* [[Leonard Cheshire|Group Captain Leonard Cheshire]] (1917–1992), Second World War [[RAF Bomber Command|RAF bomber pilot]] and founder of the [[Leonard Cheshire Disability]] charity, was born in Hoole Road, [[Hoole]], Chester (although he was brought up in [[Oxford]]);<ref>{{cite ODNB |title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |chapter=Cheshire, (Geoffrey) Leonard, Baron Cheshire (1917–1992) |author=Christopher Foxley-Norris |date=24 May 2008 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/50944 }}</ref> the house where he was born (now a [[guest house (lodging)|guest house]]) bears a [[blue plaque]] attesting to this
* [[Eileen de Coppet, Princess of Albania]] (1922–1985), the wife to the pretender of the throne of the [[Principality of Albania]], was born in Chester.{{citation needed|date=May 2019}}
* [[John Douglas (English architect)|John Douglas]] (1830–1911), architect, lived in and had his practice in Chester,<ref>{{cite book | last =Hubbard | first =Edward | title =The Work of John Douglas | publisher =[[The Victorian Society]] | year =1991 | location =London | pages =5–9 | isbn =0-901657-16-6 }}</ref> and designed many of its Victorian buildings
*[[David Evans (political official)|David Evans]] (born 1961), [[General Secretary of the Labour Party]]{{Cn|date=November 2023}}
* [[Leo Gradwell]]  (1899–1969), barrister and [[Arctic convoys of World War II|Arctic Convoys]] war hero{{citation needed|date=May 2019}}
* [[A. S. Hornby]] (1898–1978), notable [[grammar]]ian and [[lexicographer]]<ref>Cowie, A. P. (2004) 'Hornby, Albert Sidney (1898–1978)', ''[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]'', [[Oxford University Press]] [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/58806], Retrieved on 20 April 2008.</ref>
* [[Conor Kostick]] (born 1964), writer and historian{{citation needed|date=May 2019}}
* [[Rory Lewis]] (born 1982), portrait photographer<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/photographer-rory-lewis-latest-exhibition-7449860 |title=Photographer Rory Lewis talks about his latest exhibition with more than a few familiar faces |author=Dawn Collinson |newspaper=Liverpool Echo |date=18 July 2014 |access-date=15 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515020430/https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/photographer-rory-lewis-latest-exhibition-7449860 |archive-date=15 May 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Frank Eric Lloyd]] (1909–1992), author of ''Rhodesian Patrol'', born in Chester<ref>{{cite magazine | title = Lloyd's Cooperage | magazine = Cheshire Life | date = January 1952}}</ref>
* [[George Lloyd (bishop of Chester)|George Lloyd]] (1560–1615), Bishop of Chester, builder of [[Bishop Lloyd's House]] on Watergate Street, part of [[Chester Rows]]<ref>Dodd, A. H., (1959). LLOYD (or FLUDD), GEORGE (1560 - 1615), bishop of Chester. Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 5 Sep 2023, from https://biography.wales/article/s-LLOY-GEO-1560</ref>
* [[William Monk (artist)|William Monk]] (1863–1937), etcher, woodcut engraver and painter<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chesterstandard.co.uk/news/15973526.Etchings_exhibition_celebrates_Chester_artist/|title=Etchings exhibition celebrates Chester artist|date=19 April 2013|website=The Chester Standard|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180803223903/http://www.chesterstandard.co.uk/news/15973526.Etchings_exhibition_celebrates_Chester_artist/|archive-date=3 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Peter Newbrook]] (1920–2009), cinematographer, director, producer and writer<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/film-obituaries/5949229/Peter-Newbrook.html |title=Obituary: Peter Newbrook |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=31 July 2009 |access-date=15 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515022122/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/film-obituaries/5949229/Peter-Newbrook.html |archive-date=15 May 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Simon Nixon]] (born 1967), billionaire businessman, co-founder of [[Moneysupermarket.com]]<ref name=walesonline>{{cite news|last1=McCarthy |first1=James |title=Wales' 4th richest man makes another £170m after selling stake in price comparison website |url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/moneysupermarketcom-entrepreneur-simon-nixon-170m-4064505 |access-date=3 December 2015 |work=walesonline |date=5 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208065831/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/moneysupermarketcom-entrepreneur-simon-nixon-170m-4064505 |archive-date=8 December 2015 }}</ref>
* [[Michael Fitzgerald Page]] (1922–2014), celebrated author and British Merchant Navy Officer{{Cn|date=November 2023}}
* [[Henry Raikes]] (1782-1854), Chancellor of Chester Cathedral
* [[David Roberts (engineer)|David Roberts]] (1859–1928), an engineer who invented the [[Continuous track|caterpillar track]], grew up in [[Great Boughton]]{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}}
* [[L. T. C. Rolt]] (1910–74), engineering historian, born in Chester<ref>Buchanan, R. Angus (2004) 'Rolt, (Lionel) Thomas Caswall (1910–1974)', ''[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]'', [[Oxford University Press]] [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/37911], Retrieved on 23 April 2008.</ref>
* [[Anthony Thwaite]] (1930–2021), poet and writer<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth223 |title=Anthony Thwaite |access-date=23 April 2008 |publisher=[[British Council]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001015350/http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth223 |archive-date=1 October 2007 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
* [[Beatrice Tinsley]] (née Hill) (1941–1981), [[astronomer]] and [[Physical cosmology|cosmologist]], professor of astronomy at [[Yale University]]; was born in the city but was brought up in New Zealand<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nzedge.com/heroes/tinsley.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080502194347/http://www.nzedge.com/heroes/tinsley.html |archive-date=2 May 2008 |title= Beatrice Tinsley: Queen of the Cosmos |access-date=23 April 2008 |publisher=NZEdge.com }}</ref>
* [[John Vanbrugh|Sir John Vanbrugh]] (1664–1726), architect and dramatist, raised in Chester<ref>{{Cite book|title=The work of John Vanbrugh|last1=Beard|first1=Geoffery|isbn=978-0-7134-4678-4|year=1986|publisher=Batsford |page=12}}</ref>
* [[David Yale (chancellor)|David Yale]] ({{circa|1540}}–1626), Chancellor of Chester, member of the [[Yale (surname)|Yale family]] of [[Yale University]] in the United States<ref>Dodd, A. H., (1959). YALE family, of Plâs yn Iâl and Plas Grono Wrexham. Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 5 Sep 2023, from https://biography.wales/article/s-YALE-PLA-1500</ref>

;Actors
* [[Randle Ayrton]] (1869–1940)<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0044024/   IMDb Database] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190807140454/https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0044024/ |date=7 August 2019 }} retrieved 28 July 2018</ref>
* [[Emily Booth]] (born 1976), actress and writer<ref>{{IMDb name|0095696|Emily Booth}}</ref>
* [[Adrian Bower]] (born 1970)<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0100947/   IMDb Database] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915220646/http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0100947/ |date=15 September 2017 }} retrieved 28 July 2018</ref>
* [[Ray Coulthard]] (born 1968)<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0183557/   IMDb Database] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190727234403/https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0183557/ |date=27 July 2019 }} retrieved 28 July 2018</ref>
* [[Daniel Craig]] (born 1968 in Liverpool Road)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/1150232/ |title=Craig, Daniel |access-date=20 April 2008 |publisher=British Film Institute |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080121004709/http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/1150232/ |archive-date=21 January 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Emma Cunniffe]] (born 1973)<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0192209/   IMDb Database] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181102061702/https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0192209/ |date=2 November 2018 }} retrieved 28 July 2018</ref>
* [[Malcolm Hebden]] (born 1939 in Chester)<ref>[http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/archive/1998/03/04/6158919.I_see_Pendle_and_I_m_home/ ''I see Pendle and I'm home''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141106232618/http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/archive/1998/03/04/6158919.I_see_Pendle_and_I_m_home/ |date=6 November 2014 }}, [[Lancashire Evening Telegraph]], 4 March 1998</ref>
* [[Tom Hughes (actor)|Tom Hughes]] (born 1985)<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3433735/   IMDb Database] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726164010/https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3433735/ |date=26 July 2018 }} retrieved 28 July 2018</ref>
* [[Hugh Lloyd]] (1923–2008)<ref>{{IMDb name|0516005|Hugh Lloyd}}</ref>
* [[Ronald Pickup]] (1940–2021)<ref>{{IMDb name|0681975|Ronald Pickup}}</ref>
* [[Basil Radford]] (1897–1952)<ref>{{IMDb name|0705509|Basil Radford}}</ref>
* [[Graham Roberts (actor)|Graham Roberts]] (1929–2004)<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0731138/   IMDb Database] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218163048/http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0731138/ |date=18 February 2017 }} retrieved 28 July 2018</ref>
* [[John Steiner]] (1941–2022)<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0825952/  IMDb Database] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181229084925/https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0825952/ |date=29 December 2018 }} retrieved 28 July 2018</ref>

;Comedians
* [[Russ Abbot]] (born 1947) (birth name Russell Allan Roberts), musician, comedian and actor<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0007920/bio |title=Biography for Russ Abbot |access-date=20 April 2008 |publisher=The Internet Movie Database |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070708000116/http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0007920/bio |archive-date=8 July 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Jeff Green (comedian)|Jeff Green]] (born 1964), comedian<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/tees/stage/2002/10/jeffgreen/index.shtml |title=Your questions for Jeff Green |access-date=20 April 2008 |publisher=BBC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050321004635/http://www.bbc.co.uk/tees/stage/2002/10/jeffgreen/index.shtml |archive-date=21 March 2005 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Bob Mills (comedian)|Bob Mills]] (born 1957), comedian and gameshow host<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0589924/   IMDb Database] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003135114/https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0589924/ |date=3 October 2018 }} retrieved 28 July 2018</ref>
* [[Stevie Riks]] (born 1967), comedian, impressionist and musician<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3742322/   IMDb Database] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216054557/http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3742322/ |date=16 February 2017 }} retrieved 28 July 2018</ref>

;Sport
* [[Paul Butler (boxer)|Paul Butler]] (born 1988), [[IBF]] [[Bantamweight]] World champion boxer{{citation needed|date=May 2019}}
* [[Danny Collins (footballer)|Danny Collins]] (born 1980), [[Sunderland A.F.C.]] footballer<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.4thegame.com/club/sunderland-fc/player-profile/5870/dannycollins.html |title=Danny Collins player profile |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122133224/http://www.4thegame.com/club/sunderland-fc/player-profile/5870/dannycollins.html |archive-date=22 January 2009 }}</ref>
* [[Steven Cousins]] (born 1972), skater<ref>{{cite web |url= http://figureskating.sportresult.com/Bios/GBR/2016/0/51700/MEN/TO/487 |title= Steven COUSINS |publisher= International Skating Union |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160506022047/http://figureskating.sportresult.com/Bios/GBR/2016/0/51700/MEN/TO/487 |archive-date= 6 May 2016 |access-date= 15 May 2019 }}</ref>
* [[Andy Dorman]] (born 1982), [[Crystal Palace F.C.]] footballer<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.football.co.uk/st_mirren/players/andy_dorman_128022.shtml |title=Andy Dorman |access-date=20 April 2008 |publisher=Football.co.uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080506031855/http://www.football.co.uk/st_mirren/players/andy_dorman_128022.shtml |archive-date=6 May 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Doug Ellis]] (1924–2018), former owner of [[Aston Villa F.C.]], born in [[Hooton, Cheshire|Hooton]] and educated in Chester<ref>{{cite news |last1=Young |first1=Graham |title=Tributes to legendary football club chairman who was born in Ellesmere Port |url=https://www.cheshire-live.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/tributes-legendary-football-club-chairman-15267173 |access-date=11 October 2018 |publisher=Cheshire Live |date=11 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011214707/https://www.cheshire-live.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/tributes-legendary-football-club-chairman-15267173 |archive-date=11 October 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Ben Foden]] (born 1985), rugby player England and [[Northampton Saints]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rbs6nations.com/en/rugbyforce.php |title=Official RBS 6 Nations Rugby : RBS RugbyForce |publisher=Rbs6nations.com |access-date=17 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727001334/http://www.rbs6nations.com/en/rugbyforce.php |archive-date=27 July 2011 }}</ref>
* [[Tom Heaton]] (born 1986), [[Burnley F.C.]] goalkeeper<ref>{{cite book |editor-first=Barry J. |editor-last=Hugman |title=The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11 |year=2010 |publisher=Mainstream Publishing |location=Edinburgh |isbn=978-1-84596-601-0 |page=192}}</ref>
* [[Danny Murphy (footballer born 1977)|Danny Murphy]] (born 1977), footballer and former [[England national football team|England]] international<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.footballdatabase.com/index.php?page=player&Id=140 |title=Murphy |access-date=23 April 2008 |publisher=Football Database |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080901144251/http://www.footballdatabase.com/index.php?page=player&Id=140 |archive-date=1 September 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Michael Owen]] (born 1979), former English football international and [[Liverpool F.C.]] player<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thefa.com/England/SeniorTeam/Archive/?pf=p&i=5197&ap=p&searchname=owen |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080215234852/http://www.thefa.com/England/SeniorTeam/Archive/?pf=p&i=5197&ap=p&searchname=owen |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 February 2008 |title=Michael Owen |access-date=23 April 2008 |publisher=TheFA.com }}</ref>
* [[Antonio Pedroza]] (born 1991), former [[Crystal Palace F.C.|Crystal Palace]] footballer<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/timvickery/2011/05/vickery_23.html|title=Long journey pays off for Pedroza|author=Vickery, Tim|work=bbc.co.uk|access-date=25 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110731094841/http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/timvickery/2011/05/vickery_23.html|archive-date=31 July 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Alex Sanderson]] (born 1979), international rugby union player and younger brother of Pat<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2109130/bio |title=Biography for Alex Sanderson |access-date=23 April 2008 |publisher=The Internet Movie Database |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016210420/http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2109130/bio |archive-date=16 October 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Pat Sanderson]] (born 1977), international rugby union player<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.england-rugby.com/englandrugby/index.cfm?fuseaction=News.News_Detail&storyid=10917 |title=Pat Sanderson England Profile |access-date=23 April 2008 |publisher=England Rugby |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071109130004/http://www.england-rugby.com/englandrugby/index.cfm?fuseaction=News.News_Detail&storyid=10917 |archive-date=9 November 2007 }}</ref>
* [[Ryan Shawcross]] (born 1987), [[Stoke City F.C.]] footballer<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stokecityfc.com/page/ProfilesDetail/0,,10310~37690,00.html |title=Player profile for Ryan Shawcross |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090529045917/http://www.stokecityfc.com/page/ProfilesDetail/0%2C%2C10310~37690%2C00.html |archive-date=29 May 2009 }}</ref>
* [[Stuart Tomlinson]] (born 1985), former professional footballer, now professional wrestler at [[WWE]]<ref>{{cite news |last1=Triggs |first1=David |title=Chester footballer Stuart Tomlinson on his new career as an American wrestler |url=https://www.cheshire-live.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/chester-footballer-stuart-tomlinson-rises-10734362 |access-date=15 May 2019 |work=Chester Chronicle |date=14 January 2016}}</ref>
* [[Stuart Turner (cricketer)|Stuart Turner]] (born 1943), former [[Essex County Cricket Club|Essex]] cricketer<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/21627.html|title=Player profile: Stuart Turner|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=1 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016130119/http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/21627.html|archive-date=16 October 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Beth Tweddle]] (born 1985 in [[Johannesburg]], South Africa), World champion gymnast, attended [[The Queen's School, Chester]]<ref>{{cite news |last=Wheelock |first=Paul |title=Olympics 2012: Beth Tweddle aiming to end glorious career with London Games gold |url=http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/chester-news/need_to_read/2012/08/06/olympics-2012-beth-tweddle-aiming-to-end-glorious-career-with-london-games-gold-59067-31559938/ |newspaper=[[Chester Chronicle]] |date=6 August 2012 |access-date=15 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130721072513/http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/chester-news/need_to_read/2012/08/06/olympics-2012-beth-tweddle-aiming-to-end-glorious-career-with-london-games-gold-59067-31559938/ |archive-date=21 July 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Martin Tyler]] (born 1945), [[English people|English]] [[Association football|football]] [[Sportscaster|commentator]]{{citation needed|date=May 2019}}
* [[Ricky Walden]] (born 1982), professional [[snooker]] player<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rickywalden.co.uk/viewpage.php?page_id=2 |title=Ricky Walden Snooker Professional Official Site |publisher=Rickywalden.co.uk |access-date=17 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323153855/http://www.rickywalden.co.uk/viewpage.php?page_id=2 |archive-date=23 March 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Helen Willetts]] (born 1972), former badminton international and [[weather forecasting|weather forecaster]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/bbcweather/forecasters/helenwilletts_faq.shtml |title=Helen Willetts |access-date=23 April 2008 |publisher=BBC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080424133617/http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/bbcweather/forecasters/helenwilletts_faq.shtml |archive-date=24 April 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref>

;Music
* [[Kutski]] (born 1982), DJ and BBC Radio 1 presenter<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/kutski/biography.shtml |publisher=BBC |title=Kutski's Biography |access-date=15 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022191712/http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/kutski/biography.shtml |archive-date=22 October 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Lee Latchford-Evans]] (born 1975), singer of 1990s pop group [[Steps (group)|Steps]]{{citation needed|date=May 2019}}
* [[Nemone|Nemone Metaxas]] (born 1973), DJ and radio presenter<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/nemone/biography |title=Nemone's Biography |publisher=BBC |access-date=15 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003195902/http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/nemone/biography/ |archive-date=3 October 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Stephen Oliver (composer)|Stephen Oliver]] (1950–92), composer<ref>{{cite ODNB|author=Adam Pollock |chapter=Oliver, Stephen Michael Harding (1950–1992), composer |title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |publisher=OUP |date=September 2004 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/51267}}</ref>
* [[Andie Rathbone]] (born 1969), drummer of Chester-based indie band [[Mansun]]{{citation needed|date=May 2019}}
* [[Howard Skempton]] (born 1947), composer<ref>{{cite web |title=Howard Skempton's entry on the OUP website. |url=http://www.oup.co.uk/music/repprom/skempton |access-date=10 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080909021343/http://www.oup.co.uk/music/repprom/skempton/ |archive-date=9 September 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Steve Wright, singer of Juveniles, [[Fiat Lux (band)|Fiat Lux]], [[Camera Obscura (electronic duo)|Camera Obscura]] and Hoi Poloi<ref>{{cite web |author=kopite |url=http://www.hiredhistory.co.uk/interviews_the_positive_touch_early83.htm |title=HiredHistory |publisher=HiredHistory |date=8 March 1983 |access-date=17 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005022630/http://www.hiredhistory.co.uk/interviews_the_positive_touch_early83.htm |archive-date=5 October 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Freedom of the City==
The following people and military units have received the [[Freedom of the City]] of Chester:
 
{{Incomplete list|date=September 2019}}

===Individuals===
* [[Sir Thomas Grosvenor, 3rd Baronet|Sir Thomas Grosvenor]]: 1677. 
* [[Major-general (United Kingdom)|Major General]] [[Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster]]: 1973.

===Military units===
* The [[Cheshire Regiment]]: 1948.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}
* The [[Cheshire Yeomanry]]: 1996.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cheshire-live.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/chester-welcome-cheshire-yeomanry-freedom-17016129 |title=Chester to welcome Cheshire Yeomanry for Freedom of the City march |access-date=3 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191003023243/https://www.cheshire-live.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/chester-welcome-cheshire-yeomanry-freedom-17016129 |archive-date=3 October 2019 |url-status=live |date=2 October 2019 }}</ref>
* {{HMS|Albion|L14|6}}, [[Royal Navy|RN]]: 2003.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cheshire-live.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/public-ballot-announced-special-hms-16774773 |title=Public asked to join special HMS Albion service at Chester Cathedral |access-date=26 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190914085607/https://www.cheshire-live.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/public-ballot-announced-special-hms-16774773 |archive-date=14 September 2019 |url-status=live |date=18 August 2019 }}</ref>
* 1st Battalion The [[Mercian Regiment]]: 26 March 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/local-news/mercian-regiment-freedom-chester-2842986|title=Mercian Regiment to get freedom of Chester|first=North Wales Daily|last=Post|date=25 March 2008|access-date=26 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228165048/http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/local-news/mercian-regiment-freedom-chester-2842986|archive-date=28 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
* 1st [[Battalion]] The [[Royal Welsh]] {{Citation needed|date=August 2011}}

==See also==
{{portal|Cheshire|North West England}}
* [[Grade I listed buildings in Chester]]
* [[All Saints Church, Hoole]]
* [[Bishop Lloyd's House]]
* [[St Barnabas' Church, Chester]]
* [[St Mary's Church, Handbridge]]
* [[St Paul's Church, Boughton]]
* [[Chester (placename element)]] for other place names containing 'Chester', 'Cester', 'Caster' etc.

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=nb}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bilsborough |first=Norman |title=The Treasures of Cheshire |publisher=North West Civic Trust |year=1983 |location=Swinton |url=https://archive.org/details/treasuresofchesh00norm |isbn=0-901347-35-3 |url-access=registration }}
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Carrington |editor-first=P |title=Deva Victrix: Roman Chester Re-assessed |publisher=Chester Archaeological Society |year=2002 |location=Chester |isbn=0-9507074-9-X}}
* {{Cite book |last=Emery |first=G |year=1998 |title=Chester inside out |publisher=Gordon Emery |location=Chester, United Kingdom |isbn=1-872265-92-8}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Emery |first1=G |last2=Penney |first2=M |year=1999 |title=Curious Chester: Portrait of an English city over two thousand years |publisher=Gordon Emery |location=Chester, United Kingdom |isbn=1-872265-94-4}}
* {{Cite book |last=Emery |first=G |year=2002 |title=Chester electric lighting station: From steam and hydro–The illuminating story of Chester streetlighting and Britain's first rural electricity supply |publisher=Gordon Emery|location=Chester, United Kingdom |isbn=1-872265-48-0}}
* {{Cite book |last=Emery |first=G |year=2003|title=The Chester guide: England's walled city, Roman remains, museums, attractions, River Dee, shopping on the mediaeval rows, cathedral, access |publisher=Gordon Emery |location=Chester, United Kingdom |isbn=1-872265-89-8}}
* {{Cite book |last=Emery |first=G |author2=Shuttleworth, S. |author3=Kavanagh, T. |author4=Taylor, G. |author5=Buss, R. |author6= Stephens, R. |year=1999 |title=The old Chester canal: A History and Guide|publisher=Gordon Emery |location=Chester, United Kingdom}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lewis |first=P.R. |year=2007 |title=Disaster on the Dee: Robert Stephenson's Nemesis of 1847|publisher=Tempus Publishing |location=Stroud, United Kingdom |isbn=978-0-7524-4266-2}}
* {{Cite book |last=Marshall |first=A. E. |year=1966 |title=Myths and Legends of Chester |publisher=Chester blind welfare society |location=Chester, United Kingdom |isbn=0-9511783-0-X}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mason |first=David J.P. |title=Roman Chester: City of the Eagles |publisher=Tempus Publishing Ltd |year=2001 |location=Stroud |isbn=0-7524-1922-6}}
* {{Cite book | last =Morriss | first = Richard K. | title =The Buildings of Chester | publisher=Alan Sutton | year =1993 | location =Stroud | isbn =0-7509-0255-8}}
* {{Cite book |last=Morton |first=H. V. |author-link=H. V. Morton |year=1930 |title=In Search of England |publisher=Methuen |location=London |isbn=0-416-34480-1}}
* {{Citation |last1=Pevsner |first1=Nikolaus |author-link =Nikolaus Pevsner |last2=Hubbard |first2=Edward |author2-link=Edward Hubbard (architectural historian) |title=The Buildings of England: Cheshire |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |year=2003 |orig-year=1971 |location=New Haven & London |isbn=0-300-09588-0}}
* {{Cite book |last=Place |first=G.W. |year=1994 |title=The Rise and Fall of Parkgate, Passenger Port for Ireland, 1686–1815 (Chetham Society) |publisher=Carnegie Publishing Limited|location=Lancaster, United Kingdom |isbn=1-85936-023-8}}
* {{Cite book |author=Ptolemy |author-link=Ptolemy |title=The Geography |publisher=Dover Publications Inc. |year=1992 |isbn=0-486-26896-9 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/geography0000ptol}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wall |first=B. |title=Tales of Chester |publisher=S. B. Publications |location=Shropshire, United Kingdom |isbn=1-85770-006-6|year=1992}}
*{{Cite book |last=Ward |first=Simon |title=Chester: A History |publisher=Phillimore |year=2009 |location =Chichester |isbn=978-1-86077-499-7}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wilding |first=R. |year=1997 |title=Miller of Dee: The story of Chester mills and millers, their trades, and wares, the weir, the water engine and the salmon |publisher=Gordon Emery |location=Chester, United Kingdom |isbn=1-872265-95-2}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wilding |first=R. |year=2003 |title=Death in Chester: Roman Gravestones, Cathedral Burials, Martyrs, Witches, the Plague, Horrible Hangings, Gruesome Deaths and Ghostly Goings-on |publisher=Gordon Emery |location=Chester, United Kingdom |isbn=1-872265-44-8}}{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Chester}}
{{Wikivoyage|Chester}}
*{{PastScape|mnumber=1503685 |access-date=8 October 2015}} –  a detailed historical record about the Fortress Baths, Chester

{{UK cities}}
{{Cheshire, Cheshire West and Chester}}
{{Cheshire}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Chester| ]]
[[Category:Populated places established in the 1st century]]
[[Category:County towns in England]]
[[Category:Towns of the Welsh Marches]]
[[Category:Fortified settlements]]
[[Category:Rally GB]]
[[Category:Unparished areas in Cheshire]]
[[Category:Cities in North West England]]
[[Category:Towns in Cheshire]]
[[Category:Former civil parishes in Cheshire]]