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106-452: Chester Castle is in the city of Chester , Cheshire, England. It is sited at the southwest extremity of the area bounded by the city walls . The castle stands on an eminence overlooking the River Dee . In the castle complex are the remaining parts of the medieval castle together with the neoclassical buildings designed by Thomas Harrison which were built between 1788 and 1813. Parts of

212-402: A Company of some sixty men, four to a room, two to a bed. Standard furnishings were provided, and each room had a grate used for heating and cooking. In England, this domestic style continued to be used through the first half of the eighteenth century; most new barracks of this period were more or less hidden within the precincts of medieval castles and Henrician forts . In Scotland, however,

318-517: A crypt -like 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. 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 , a result of what Pevsner termed the " black-and-white revival " pioneered by architects John Douglas and T.M. Lockwood . The most prominent buildings in

424-648: A rain shadow effect caused by the Welsh Mountains. Over 1mm of rain is reported on 135.5 days. 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 , Blacon , Boughton , Curzon Park , Great Boughton , Handbridge , Huntington , Hoole , Kingsway, Lache , Moston , Newton , Newtown , Queens Park , Upton , Vicars Cross , and Westminster Park . Areas just outside

530-550: 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 . 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 Mixed Race . 0.6% described themselves as Black or Black British and 0.3% are classed as other. Cheshire West and Chester also has

636-609: A land attack led to defensive ' lines ' being built around the dockyard towns, and infantry barracks were established within them (e.g. at Chatham, Upper and Lower Barracks, 1756, and Plymouth, six defensible square barracks, 1758–63). The newly constituted Royal Marines were also provided with accommodation in the vicinity of the Dockyards (e.g. Stonehouse Barracks , 1779) becoming the first Corps in Britain to be fully provided with its own accommodation. Large urban barracks were still

742-525: 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. The population was forecast to grow by 5% from 2005 to 2021. The resident population for Chester District in the 2001 Census was 118,200. This represents 17.5% of the Cheshire County total (1.8% of the North West population). The city

848-602: A more demonstrative style was employed following the Jacobite rising of 1715 (as at Ruthven Barracks ) and that of 1745 (as seen in the monumental Fort George ). This bolder approach gradually began to be adopted south of the border during the eighteenth century (beginning with nearby Berwick , 1717). There was much building in and around the Royal Dockyards at this time: during the Seven Years' War , fears of

954-596: A new prison. This was completed in 1792 and praised as one of the best constructed prisons in the country. Harrison then went on to rebuild the medieval Shire Hall in neoclassical style. He also built two new wings, one to act as barracks , the other as an armoury , and designed a massive new entrance to the castle site, styled the Propylaeum . The buildings, which were all in neoclassical style, were built between 1788 and 1822. The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner comments that Harrison's work constitutes "one of

1060-568: A number of remains of Roman army barracks in frontier forts such as Vercovicium and Vindolanda . From these and from contemporary Roman sources we can see that the basics of life in a military camp have remained constant for thousands of years. In the Early Modern Period , they formed part of the Military Revolution that scholars believe contributed decisively to the formation of the nation state by increasing

1166-642: A permanent military presence nearby. Prison cell blocks often are built and arranged like barracks, and some military prisons may have barracks in their name, such as the United States Disciplinary Barracks of Leavenworth . Barracks were used to house troops in forts during the Upper Canadian period . Leading up to and during the War of 1812 , Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe and Major-General Isaac Brock oversaw

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1272-725: A rarity, though. In London there was a fair amount of barrack accommodation, but most of it was within the precincts of various royal palaces (as at Horse Guards , 1753). The prominent Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich (1776) was one exception (but significantly the Artillery were under the command of the Board of Ordnance rather than of the Army). In the aftermath of the French Revolution , though, things changed. The size of

1378-702: A reconstructed Roman street. One of the blocks in the forecourt of the Castle houses the Cheshire Military Museum. The major public park in Chester is Grosvenor Park . On the south side of the River Dee, in Handbridge , is Edgar's Field, another public park, which contains Minerva's Shrine , a Roman shrine to the goddess Minerva . A war memorial to those who died in the world wars is in

1484-561: A spur leading to the Water Tower , and Thimbleby's Tower . On Eastgate is Eastgate Clock , which is said to be the most photographed clock face in England after those that share the tower with Big Ben . The Rows are unique in Britain. 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

1590-477: A summer music festival and a literature festival . There is a Tourist Information Centre at the town hall. 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

1696-412: A temperature of 25.1 °C (77.2 °F) or higher. Given the correctly aligned breezy conditions, a föhn effect will operate, meaning local temperatures are somewhat higher than the surrounding area. The absolute minimum temperature recorded was −18.2 °C (−0.8 °F) during January 1982. Annually, an average of 42.2 air frosts should be recorded. Annual rainfall is barely over 700mm due to

1802-558: A threat to the constitution, barracks were not generally built in Great Britain until 1790, on the eve of the Napoleonic Wars ). Early barracks were multi-story blocks, often grouped in a quadrangle around a courtyard or parade ground . A good example is Berwick Barracks , which was among the first in England to be purpose-built and begun in 1717 to the design of the distinguished architect Nicholas Hawksmoor . During

1908-546: A wooden tower. In the 12th century the wooden tower was replaced by a square stone tower, the Flag Tower. During the same century the stone gateway to the inner bailey was built. This is now known as the Agricola Tower and on its first floor is the chapel of St Mary de Castro. The chapel contains items of Norman architecture. In the 13th century, during the reign of Henry III , the walls of an outer bailey were built,

2014-580: Is Cair Legion (" Fort " or " City of the Legion"); this later developed into Caerlleon and then the modern Welsh 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

2120-532: Is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire , England, on the River Dee , close to the England-Wales border . With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement of Cheshire West and Chester (which had a population of 357,150 in 2021). It is also the historic county town of Cheshire and the second-largest settlement in Cheshire after Warrington . Chester

2226-464: Is a heritage centre , St Mary-on-the-Hill is an educational centre, and Holy Trinity now acts as the Guildhall. Other notable buildings include the preserved shot tower , the highest structure in Chester, and St Thomas of Canterbury Church . 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

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2332-661: Is also a Scheduled Monument . The Minerva Shrine in the Roman quarry is the only rock-cut Roman shrine still in situ in Britain. The fortress was garrisoned by the legion until at least the late 4th century. Although the army had abandoned the fortress by 410 when the Romans retreated from Britannia , 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

2438-665: Is also a scheduled monument . The chapel is still consecrated as the regimental chapel of the Cheshire Regiment. Its ceiling is covered with frescos dating from the early part of the 13th century which depict the Visitation and miracles performed by the Virgin Mary which were revealed during conservation work in the 1990s. To the south and the west, the curtain walls, which include the Halfmoon Tower,

2544-530: 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. The University of Law also has a campus in nearby Christleton . Cheshire College – South & West is a vocational college with campuses in Handbridge as well as Ellesmere Port and Crewe. The King's School , a private school ,

2650-698: Is owned by The 7th Duke of Westminster who owns an estate, Eaton Hall , near the village of Eccleston . He also has London properties in Mayfair . Grosvenor is the Duke's family name, which explains such features in the city as the Grosvenor Bridge , the Grosvenor Hotel , and Grosvenor Park. Much of Chester's architecture dates from the Victorian era , many of the buildings being modelled on

2756-854: The Barracks Complex in Września . Each of the Portuguese Army bases is referred as a quartel (barracks). In a barracks, each of the dormitory buildings is referred as a caserna ( casern ). Most of them are regimental barracks, constituting the fixed component of the Army system of forces and being responsible for the training, sustenance and general support to the Army. In addition to the regimental administrative, logistic and training bodies, each barracks can lodge one or more operational units (operational battalions, independent companies or equivalent units). Although there are housing blocks within

2862-643: The Battle of Blore Heath , near the town of Market Drayton , Shropshire, in 1459. He was released from captivity following the Yorkist victory at Northampton in 1460. Outside the outer bailey gate was an area known as the Gloverstone where criminals waiting for execution were handed over to the city authorities. The Great Hall was rebuilt in the late 1570s. During the Civil War Chester was held by

2968-558: The Chartist riots three barracks were established in north-west England in the 1840s, Ladysmith Barracks at Ashton-under-Lyne, Wellington Barracks at Bury and Fulwood Barracks at Preston. A review conducted following the demise of the Board of Ordnance in 1855 noted that only seven barracks outside London had accommodation for more than 1,000. This changed with the establishment of large-scale Army Camps such as Aldershot (1854), and

3074-463: The City of Chester is Samantha Dixon ( Labour ), who has held the seat since a by-election in 2022 . 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 , administratively separate from the rest of Cheshire. The borough gained city status in 1541 on the creation of

3180-701: The Crimean War . The first large-scale training camps were built in the Kingdom of France and the Holy Roman Empire (Germany) during the early 18th century. The British Army built Aldershot camps from 1854. By the First World War, infantry , artillery , and cavalry regiments had separate barracks. The first naval barracks were hulks , old wooden sailing vessels; but these insanitary lodgings were replaced with large naval barracks at

3286-562: The Crown Courts . Its façade has 19 bays, the central seven bays of which project forward and constitute a Doric portico . To the left is the former barracks block which is now the home of the Cheshire Military Museum and an army cadet detachment. To the right is the block which was originally an armoury and later an officers' mess . Both blocks are in neoclassical style and are listed Grade I. Further to

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3392-569: 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. When elected county councils were created in 1889, Chester was considered large enough to provide its own county-level services. So it was made a county borough , independent from Cheshire County Council . The county borough

3498-684: The Emperor Vespasian founded Chester in AD 79 as a " castrum " or Roman fort with the name Deva Victrix . It was established in the land of the Celtic Cornovii , according to ancient cartographer Ptolemy , as a fortress during the Roman expansion northward, and was named Deva either after the goddess of the Dee, or directly from the British name for the river. The 'victrix' part of

3604-598: The Jacobean half-timbered style and designed by John Douglas , who was employed by the Duke as his principal architect. 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 City Baths . In 1911, Douglas' protégé and city architect James Strong designed the then-active fire station on

3710-545: The Old Dee Bridge , dating from the 13th century, the Grosvenor Bridge of 1832, and Queen's Park suspension bridge (for pedestrians). 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. The first recorded race meet in England at Roodee Fields

3816-568: The Royalists . The castle was assaulted by Parliamentary forces in July 1643, and in January and April 1645. Together with the rest of the city, it was besieged between September 1645 and February 1646. Following the civil war the castle was used as a prison, a court and a tax office. In 1687 James II attended Mass in the chapel of St Mary de Castro. In 1696 Chester mint was established and

3922-575: The U.S. Marine Corps had gender-separate basic training units. Currently, all services have training where male and female recruits share barracks, but are separated during personal time and lights out. All the services integrate male and female members following boot camp and first assignment. After training, unmarried junior enlisted members will typically reside in barracks. During unaccompanied, dependent-restricted assignments, non-commissioned and commissioned officer ranks may also be required to live in barracks. Amenities in these barracks increase with

4028-531: The "city of the legions" ( Caerlleon ) and later 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. The Northumbrian Anglo-Saxons used an Old English equivalent of

4134-517: The 1790s: first at Knightsbridge (close to the royal palaces), then in several provincial towns and cities: Birmingham, Coventry, Manchester, Norwich, Nottingham and Sheffield (as well as Hounslow Barracks just west of London). Several smaller cavalry and artillery barracks were established around this time, but very little was built for the infantry; instead, a number of large camps (with wooden huts) were set up, including at Chelmsford, Colchester and Sunderland , as well as at various locations along

4240-435: The 18th century, the increasing sophistication of military life led to separate housing for different ranks (officers always had larger rooms) and married quarters; as well as the provision of specialized buildings such as dining rooms and cook houses, bath houses, mess rooms, schools, hospitals, armories, gymnasia, riding schools and stables. The pavilion plan concept of hospital design was influential in barrack planning after

4346-425: The 1950s and 1960s, following a standardized architectural model, usually with an area of between 100,000 and 200,000 square metres, including a headquarters building, a guard house, a general mess building, an infirmary building, a workshop and garage building, an officer house building, a sergeant house building, three to ten rank and file caserns, fire ranges and sports facilities. In average each CANIFA type barracks

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4452-466: 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. These new developments caused local concern as the physicality 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. Consequently,

4558-599: The British name, 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

4664-575: The Cavalry, Wellington Barracks for the Guards, and St George's Barracks (since demolished) behind the National Gallery . In several instances elsewhere, buildings were converted rather than newly built (or a mixture of the two, as at Cambridge Barracks, Portsmouth where a new frontage, housing officers, was built in front of a range of warehouses converted to house the men). In response to

4770-405: The First World War (when large camps such as Catterick were established), to the closure of many barracks in the interwar period . Many of those that remained were rebuilt in the 1960s, either substantially (as happened at Woolwich, behind the facade) or entirely (as at Hyde Park and at Chelsea – built 1863, demolished and rebuilt 1963, closed 2008). There has been an ongoing focus on improving

4876-507: The Flag Tower and the gun emplacement, are listed Grade I. Other walls within the castle complex are listed Grade II. These are the retaining walls and the railing of the forecourt designed by Thomas Harrison, and two other areas of the medieval curtain walls. In the castle courtyard is a statue of Queen Victoria dated 1903 by Pomeroy . The inner bailey is managed by Cheshire West and Chester Council on behalf of English Heritage . Citations Sources Chester Chester

4982-617: The King and Queen, a new chapel and stables. Prominent people held as prisoners in the crypt of the Agricola Tower were Richard II and Eleanor Cobham , wife of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester , and Andrew de Moray , hero of the Battle of Stirling Bridge. During the Wars of the Roses , Yorkist John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu was captured and imprisoned at the castle by Lancastrians following

5088-481: The Lord Mayor. Chester's city status is now formally held by the area of the charter trustees, comprising the 15 wards of Cheshire West and Chester which correspond to the area of the pre-2009 Chester City Council. 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. Chester lies at

5194-619: 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. Chester has an oceanic climate ( Köppen : Cfb ), typical of the British Isles but more susceptible to cold than the extreme south. Despite its proximity to the Irish Sea , the temperature regime is similar to areas further inland, owing to

5300-482: The army grew from 40,000 to 225,000 between 1790 and 1814 (with the Militia adding a further 100,000). Barrack accommodation at the time was provided for a mere 20,000. To deal with the situation, responsibility for building barracks was transferred in 1792 from the Board of Ordnance to a specialist Barracks Department overseen by the War Office. With a view to dealing with sedition, and perhaps quelling thoughts of revolution, several large cavalry barracks were built in

5406-411: The barracks and personnel are maintained in an orderly fashion. Junior enlisted and sometimes junior NCOs will often receive less space and may be housed in bays, while senior NCOs and officers may share or have their own room. Junior enlisted personnel are typically tasked with the cleanliness of the barracks. The term " Garrison town" is a common expression for any town that has military barracks, i.e.,

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5512-406: The basement of 39 Bridge Street, which is open to the public. 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 county court and its entrance, the Propyleum. To the south of the city runs the River Dee, with its 11th-century weir . The river is crossed by

5618-400: The buildings were used in new and different ways instead of being demolished. 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 Inn , 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

5724-463: The chapel was refurnished. The castle remained the depot of the Cheshire Regiment until 1939, when the regiment moved out to Dale Barracks . The complex is entered from Grosvenor Road through the Propylaeum , a Grade I listed building . This consists of a massive entablature supported on widely spaced ( areostyle ) Doric columns , flanked by temple-like lodges. Directly ahead is the former Shire Hall (also listed Grade I) which now houses

5830-425: The circuit is in the southwest section in front of County Hall . A footpath runs along the top of the walls, crossing roads by bridges over Eastgate, Northgate , St Martin's Gate, Watergate , Bridgegate , Newgate , and the Wolf Gate, and passing a series of structures, namely Phoenix Tower (or King Charles' Tower), Morgan's Mount , the Goblin Tower (or Pemberton's Parlour ), and Bonewaldesthorne's Tower with

5936-417: The city against the Danes . Chester was one of the last cities in England to 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 1541. The city walls of Chester are some of the best-preserved in the country and have Grade I listed status. Apart from a 100-metre (330 ft) section,

6042-416: The city centre are the town hall and the cathedral . The town hall was opened in 1869. It is in Gothic Revival style and has a tower and a short spire. The cathedral was formerly the church of St Werburgh's Abbey . Its architecture dates back to the Norman era, with additions made most centuries since. A series of major restorations took place in the 19th century, and in 1975, a separate bell tower

6148-430: The city include: Christleton , Eccleston , Guilden Sutton , Littleton , Mickle Trafford , Mollington , Saughall and Waverton . The more unusual landmarks in the city are the city walls , the 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, the full circuit measuring nearly 2 miles (3 km). The only break in

6254-458: The city walls , and in 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 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 . A new Church dedicated to St Peter alone

6360-413: The city walls. The most important Roman feature is the amphitheatre just outside the walls, which underwent archaeological investigation in the early 21st century. 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 system . An original hypocaust system discovered in the 1720s can be seen in

6466-516: The construction of Fort York on the shores of Lake Ontario in present-day Toronto . There are several surviving British Army barracks built between 1814 and 1815 at that site today. Multiple limestone barracks were built half a mile west of Fort York in 1840, only one of which survives. The British Army handed over " New Fort York ", as the second fort was called, to the Canadian Militia in 1870 after Confederation . The Stone Frigate , completed in 1820, served as barracks briefly in 1837–38, and

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6572-626: The end of 1882, the money collected for exemption from billet was transferred to the military ministry. This has made it possible to step up the construction of barracks for the army. By 1 January 1900, 19,015 barracks had been built, which accommodated 94% of the troops. In the 17th and 18th centuries there were concerns around the idea of a standing army housed in barracks; instead, the law provided for troops routinely to be billeted in small groups in inns and other locations. (The concerns were various: political, ideological and constitutional, provoked by memories of Cromwell 's New Model Army and of

6678-414: The establishment of a number of Naval barracks (an innovation long resisted by the Royal Navy, which had tended to accommodate its sailors afloat either on their ships or else in hulks moored in its harbours). The first of these, Keyham Barracks in Devonport (later HMS Drake ), was begun in 1879, and only completed in 1907. During the 20th century, activity ranged from the need for speedy expansion during

6784-416: The expansion of Garrison towns such as Colchester ; over time in these locations temporary huts were replaced with more permanent barracks buildings. Large-scale camps were not the only way forward, however; from the 1870s, the localisation agenda of the Cardwell Reforms saw new and old barracks established as depots for regional or County brigades and regiments. The latter part of the 19th century also saw

6890-401: The expense of maintaining standing armies . Large, permanent barracks were developed in the 18th century by the two dominant states of the period, France the "caserne" and Spain the "cuartel". The English term 'barrack', on the other hand, derives from the Spanish word for a temporary shelter erected by soldiers on campaign , barraca ; (because of fears that a standing army in barracks would be

6996-400: The first cathedral. Much later, the body of Æthelred's niece, St Werburgh, was removed from 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

7102-410: The formation of a proper combat army. Emperor Paul understood that the organization of military accommodations has its own task not only to provide a soldier with a house, but also to adapt him to the purpose and conditions of life of the soldier. Only a barracks cohabitation, concentrated in more or less significant masses, seemed to Paul the only purposeful approach for the development and maintenance of

7208-438: The fortress and its defences as protection from raiders from the Irish Sea . After the Roman troops withdrew, the Romano-British established several petty kingdoms. Chester is thought to have become part of Powys . Deverdoeu was a Welsh name for Chester as late as the 12th century (cf Dyfrdwy , Welsh for the river Dee). Another, attested in the 9th-century History of the Britons traditionally attributed to Nennius ,

7314-434: The gateway in the Agricola Tower was blocked up and residential accommodation, including a Great Hall, was built along the south wall of the inner bailey. Later in the century, during the reign of Edward I , a new gateway to the outer bailey was built. This was flanked by two half-drum towers and had a drawbridge over a moat 8 metres (26 ft) deep. Further additions to the castle at this time included individual chambers for

7420-433: 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 . In 1071, King William the Conqueror made Hugh d'Avranches , who built Chester Castle , the first 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

7526-437: The major dockyard towns of Europe and the United States, usually with hammocks instead of beds. These were inadequate for the enormous armies mobilized after 1914. Hut camps were developed using variations of the eponymous Nissen hut , made from timber or corrugated iron. In many military forces, both NCO and SNCO personnel will frequently be housed in barracks for service or training. Officers are often charged with ensuring

7632-433: The military spirit and discipline, for the study of the soldier's personality and qualities, for the convenience of training and military exercises. Barrack is not only the home of a soldier, but also the school where he is brought up. This idea was fully grasped by Paul, and the construction of barracks for the army everywhere became his main objective, to the achievement of which he put all his strength, all his energy. From

7738-587: 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. At the intersection of the former Roman roads is Chester Cross , to the north of which is the small church of St Peter's , which is in use as an ecumenical centre. Other churches are now redundant and have other uses: St Michael's in Bridge Street

7844-529: The most powerful monuments of the Greek Revival in the whole of England". In February 1867, Irish Fenian Michael Davitt led a group of IRB men from Haslingden on an abortive raid for arms on the castle. The Army moved in to take hold of the castle and in 1873 a system of recruiting areas based on counties was instituted under the Cardwell Reforms and the castle became the depot for

7950-554: The name was taken from the title of the Legio XX Valeria Victrix which was based at Deva. Central Chester's four main roads, Eastgate, Northgate, Watergate and Bridgegate, follow routes laid out at this time. A civilian settlement grew around the military base, which probably originated from trade with the fortress. The fortress was 20% larger than other fortresses in the Roman province of Britannia built around

8056-481: The neoclassical buildings are used today by the Crown Court and as a military museum . The museum and the medieval remains are a tourist attraction. The castle was built in 1070 by Hugh d'Avranches , the second Earl of Chester . It is possible that it was built on the site of an earlier Saxon fortification but this has not been confirmed. The original structure would have been a motte-and-bailey castle with

8162-676: The perimeter of some regimental barracks, the Portuguese usual practice is for the members of the Armed Forces to live outside the military bases with their families, inserted in the local civilian communities. Many of the Portuguese regimental barracks are of a model developed by the old Administrative Commission for the New Infrastructures of the Armed Forces (CANIFA). Because of this, they are commonly referred as "CANIFA type barracks". These types of barracks were built in

8268-493: The quality of barracks accommodation; since the 1970s several former RAF bases have been converted to serve as Army barracks, in place of some of the more cramped urban sites. Today, generally, only single and unmarried personnel or those who choose not to move their families nearby live in barracks. Most British military barracks are named after battles, military figures or the locality. In basic training, and sometimes follow-on training, service members live in barracks. Formerly,

8374-407: 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. Charles Leigh concluded in 1701 that there was probably a British city called Genuina (or Gunia) before the arrival of the Romans. The Roman Legio II Adiutrix during the reign of

8480-411: The right are the remains of the Norman castle. The Agricola Tower is a Grade I listed building. It is built in sandstone ashlar with a metal roof in three storeys. The ground floor has a blocked gateway and to the right of the gateway is a slightly projecting stair turret. Internally, the ground floor consists of a crypt, and the first floor contains the chapel of St Mary Castro. The Agricola Tower

8586-413: The right to appoint a Lord Mayor . 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

8692-483: The rough barracks of 19th-century conscript armies, filled with hazing and illness and barely differentiated from the livestock pens that housed the draft animals , to the clean and Internet-connected barracks of modern all-volunteer militaries , the word can have a variety of connotations. Early barracks such as those of the Roman Praetorian Guard were built to maintain elite forces. There are

8798-412: The same time at York ( Eboracum ) and Caerleon ( Isca Augusta ); 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 . The civilian amphitheatre , which was built in the 1st century, could seat between 8,000 and 10,000 people. It is the largest known military amphitheatre in Britain, and

8904-573: 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 4 miles (6.4 km) west of the city centre. The absolute maximum temperature recorded was 37.1 °C (98.8 °F) on 18 July 2022, the highest temperature reported in Wales. In an average year, the warmest day should reach 29.3 °C (84.7 °F), and 12.0 days in total should attain

9010-634: The south coast. Barrack-masters were appointed, one such was Captain George Manby at the Royal Barracks, Great Yarmouth . Coincidentally his father, Captain Matthew Manby, had been barrack-master at Limerick . It was not until some years after the end of the Napoleonic Wars (and post-war recession ) that barrack-building began again. John Nash built four as part of his London improvements: Regent's Park and St John's Wood for

9116-479: The southern end of a 2-mile (3.2 km) Triassic sandstone ridge that rises to a height of 42 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

9222-533: The town hall and it contains the names of all Chester servicemen who died in the First World War. 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 . A series of festivals is organised in the city, including mystery plays ,

9328-483: The two Chester railway stations, Chester General and Chester Northgate Station , meant that Newtown with its cattle market and 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. A considerable amount of land in Chester

9434-590: The two battalions of the 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment of Foot . Under the Childers Reforms , the 22nd regiment evolved to become the Cheshire Regiment with its depot in the castle in 1881. In 1925, after being used for 200 years as a warehouse and ammunition store, the crypt and chapel in the Agricola Tower were reconsecrated by the Bishop of Chester for the use of the Cheshire Regiment. In 1939

9540-511: The use of troops in reign of James II to intimidate areas of civil society. Furthermore, grand urban barracks were associated with absolutist monarchies, where they could be seen as emblematic of power sustained through military might; and there was an ongoing suspicion that gathering soldiers together in barracks might encourage sedition.) Nevertheless, some "soldiers' lodgings" were built in Britain at this time, usually attached to coastal fortifications or royal palaces. The first recorded use of

9646-611: The walls are almost complete. It has several medieval buildings. However, many of the black-and-white buildings within the city centre are Victorian restorations, originating from the Black-and-white Revival movement. 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,

9752-410: The west side of Northgate Street. Another feature of all buildings belonging to the estate of Westminster is the 'Grey Diamonds' – a weaving pattern of grey bricks in the red brickwork laid out in a diamond formation. 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

9858-672: The word 'barracks' in this context was for the Irish Barracks, built in the precinct of the Tower of London in 1669. At the Ordnance Office (responsible for construction and upkeep of barracks) Bernard de Gomme played a key role in developing a 'domestic' style of barrack design in the latter half of the 17th century: he provided barrack blocks for such locations as Plymouth Citadel and Tilbury Fort , each with rows of square rooms arranged in pairs on two stories, accommodating

9964-469: 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 , which was a district-level authority with Cheshire County Council providing county-level services. Chester's city status was extended to cover the whole of the district created in 1974. In 1992, Chester City Council was given

10070-695: Was established by King Henry VIII in 1541. The girls-only Queen's School , another independent school, was founded in 1878. Barracks The main objective of barracks is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training, and esprit de corps . They have been called "discipline factories for soldiers". Like industrial factories, some are considered to be shoddy or dull buildings, although others are known for their magnificent architecture such as Collins Barracks in Dublin and others in Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Vienna, or London. From

10176-451: Was extended to the entire borough. There is one main tier of local government covering Chester, at unitary authority level, being Cheshire West and Chester Council . Much of the Chester urban area is an unparished area , but some of the suburbs are included in civil parishes such as Great Boughton and Upton-by-Chester and there is also a small parish in the centre of the city called Chester Castle . The Member of Parliament for

10282-518: Was founded in 79 AD as a " castrum " or 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, King Æthelred of Mercia founded the Minster Church of West Mercia, which later became Chester's first cathedral, and the Angles extended and strengthened the walls to protect

10388-593: 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 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

10494-516: Was intended to lodge around 1000 soldiers and their respective armament, vehicles and other equipment. Until the end of the 18th century personnel of the Imperial Russian Army were billeted with civilians homes or accommodated in slobodas in a countryside. First barracks were built during the reign of Emperor Paul I . For these purposes, Paul I established a one-time land tax based on the amount of land owned by citizen. This tax

10600-465: Was managed by Edmund Halley in a building adjacent to the Half Moon tower. During the 1745 Jacobite rising a gun emplacement was built on the wall overlooking the river. By the later part of the 18th century much of the fabric of the castle had deteriorated and John Howard , the prison reformer, was particularly critical of the conditions in the prison. Thomas Harrison was commissioned to design

10706-403: Was not mandatory, but person who paid it was permanently exempted from billets. He considered as unquestionably harmful for the combat development of the soldier not only a constant participation in the home life of civilians, caused by the billet system, — Paul believed that even an accommodation in the slobodas, which did not cut soldier off from a household concerns and chores, is unsuited to

10812-478: Was on 9 February 1540. The Shropshire Union Canal runs to the north of the city and a branch leads from it to the River Dee. The major museum in Chester is the Grosvenor Museum, which includes a collection of Roman tombstones and an art gallery . Associated with the museum is 20 Castle Street, which has rooms furnished in different historical styles. The Deva Roman Experience has hands-on exhibits and

10918-407: Was opened. The elaborately carved 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 monastic buildings are north of the cathedral. The oldest church in the city is 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

11024-560: Was ordered to surrender Dee Mills: they were to be demolished, and new mills built on city land. 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. The large Chester Cattle Market and

11130-563: Was refitted as a dormitory and classrooms to house the Royal Military College of Canada by 1876. The Stone frigate is a large stone building originally designed to hold gear and rigging from British warships dismantled to comply with the Rush–Bagot Treaty . In Poland barracks are represented usually as a complex of buildings, each consisting of a separate entity or an administrative or business premises. As an example,

11236-603: Was used by Celia Fiennes when she visited the city in 1698. and is also used in Moll Flanders . 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,

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