Chester has a long and fascinating history, dating from the arrival of
the Roman army around AD 74. Their fortress was the stimulus for the
growth of a prosperous town with such attributes of classical
civilization as bathhouses, central heating, and an amphitheatre. The
fifth-century collapse was followed by expansion under Saxon Mercia, and
the threat of Viking attack was countered by the creation of a burh.
Chester prospered as an administrative and trading settlement,
ultimately benefiting from commercial contacts with the Viking world.
After the Norman Conquest, it became the capital of a powerful earldom
and later Edward I's headquarters for his conquest of North Wales. A
large abbey dominated the center and swathes of land were enclosed in
friary precincts. After the Middle Ages the city lost its harbor to
silting and then endured a long and damaging siege during the Civil War.
It escaped full-scale industrial expansion, although it did suffer from
the accompanying problems of increasing population and poor housing. In
the twentieth century the decision over whether to preserve or replace
its historic core gave the city fathers one of their greatest
challenges. Chester was for many centuries the major urban center in
north-west England. Despite its varying fortunes the city has never
ceased to engage in the trade and commerce that have given the place its
own special identity. This beautifully illustrated book explores the
city through the ages and looks at the activities of the people who
contributed to its intriguing story. Archaeologists and historians have
attempted to throw light on those lives and the author has drawn widely
from their work, as well as his own, besides using the surviving
historic fabric of the city, to create a book that will appeal to both
resident and visitor.
