85-522: Sam Mendel (1811–1884), the " Merchant Prince ", was one of the leading merchants in Manchester during its rise to industrial prominence. He was born in Liverpool, but the family soon relocated to Manchester where his father, Emmanuel, established a rope, twine, and pitch-paper business and then later a hotel, the Manchester and Liverpool (subsequently known as Mendel's Hotel ). Samuel first worked in
170-517: 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
255-648: 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
340-550: 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
425-464: A cottage near Midfield House south of Lasswade , assembling his writings in the peace of the countryside. He died in his rooms on 42 Lothian Street, in south Edinburgh and was buried in St Cuthbert's Church yard at the west end of Princes Street . His stone, in the southwest section of the churchyard on a west-facing wall, is plain and says nothing of his work. His residence on Lothian Street
510-565: A deep reverence for the poet. But for that De Quincey was too timid, so he made his way to Chester , where his mother dwelt, in the hope of seeing a sister; he was caught by the older members of the family, but through the efforts of his uncle, Colonel Penson, he received the promise of a guinea (equivalent to £101 in 2023) a week to carry out his later project of a solitary tramp through Wales. While on his journey around Wales and Snowdon , he avoided sleeping in inns to save what little money he had and instead lodged with cottagers or slept in
595-525: 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
680-467: A number of new literary acquaintances. Thomas Hood found the shrinking author "at home in a German ocean of literature, in a storm, flooding all the floor, the tables and the chairs—billows of books..." De Quincey was a famed conversationalist. Richard Woodhouse wrote, "His conversation appeared like the elaboration of a mine of results..." From this time on, De Quincey maintained himself by contributing to various magazines. He soon exchanged London and
765-656: 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 . In 1071, King William the Conqueror made Hugh d'Avranches , who built Chester Castle ,
850-540: 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 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
935-645: 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
SECTION 10
#17327804815061020-616: 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
1105-477: 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
1190-412: 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
1275-585: A tent he had made himself. He sustained himself by eating blackberries and rose hips , only rarely getting enough proper food from the goodwill of strangers. From July to November 1802, De Quincey lived as a wayfarer. He soon lost his guinea by ceasing to keep his family informed of his whereabouts and had difficulty sustaining himself. Still, apparently fearing pursuit, he borrowed some money and travelled to London, where he tried to borrow more. Having failed, he lived close to starvation rather than return to his family. Discovered by chance by his friends, De Quincey
1360-594: A warehouse on Bow Street belonging to Mr. B. Liebert, and during this time he also travelled extensively. Building on his experience he began his own business and rapidly became one of Manchester's leading textile merchants. He built a large warehouse, Chepstow House, in central Manchester. At first he resided at Greenheys Priory, formerly the family home of Thomas De Quincey . He then built a substantial mansion, Manley Hall , in Whalley Range and filled it with an impressive collection of art (much of it acquired with
1445-464: 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
1530-574: 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 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
1615-471: 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 ,
1700-736: The Westmorland Gazette , a Tory newspaper published in Kendal , after its first editor had been dismissed, but he was unreliable at meeting deadlines, and in June 1819 the proprietors complained about "their dissatisfaction with the lack of 'regular communication between the Editor and the Printer'", and he resigned in November 1819. His political sympathies tended towards the right . He
1785-582: The Anglo-Saxon position in the area from then on. The Northumbrian Anglo-Saxons used an Old English equivalent of 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
SECTION 20
#17327804815061870-463: 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
1955-569: 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
2040-641: The Lake District . He lived for ten years in Dove Cottage , which Wordsworth had occupied and which is now a popular tourist attraction, and for another five years at Foxghyll Country House, Ambleside . De Quincey was married in 1816, and soon after, having no money left, he took up literary work in earnest. He and his wife Margaret had eight children before her death in 1837. One of their sons, Paul Frederick de Quincey (1828–1894), emigrated to New Zealand. In July 1818, de Quincey became editor of
2125-611: 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
2210-734: The Victorian era , many of the buildings being modelled on 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
2295-466: 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,
2380-454: The 1st century, could seat between 8,000 and 10,000 people. It is the largest known military amphitheatre in Britain, and 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
2465-723: 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 , 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
2550-649: The American publisher proceeded independently, reprinting the author's works from their original magazine appearances. Twenty-two volumes of De Quincey's Writings were issued from 1851 to 1859. The existence of the American edition prompted a corresponding British edition. Since the spring of 1850, De Quincey had been a regular contributor to an Edinburgh periodical called Hogg's Weekly Instructor , whose publisher, James Hogg , undertook to publish Selections Grave and Gay from Writings Published and Unpublished by Thomas De Quincey . De Quincey edited and revised his works for
2635-993: The Hogg edition; the 1856 second edition of the Confessions was prepared for inclusion in Selections Grave and Gay… . The first volume of that edition appeared in May 1853, and the fourteenth and last in January 1860, a month after the author's death. Both of these were multi-volume collections, yet made no pretence to be complete. Scholar and editor David Masson attempted a more definitive collection: The Works of Thomas De Quincey appeared in fourteen volumes in 1889 and 1890. Yet De Quincey's writings were so voluminous and widely dispersed that further collections followed: two volumes of The Uncollected Writings (1890), and two volumes of Posthumous Works (1891–93). De Quincey's 1803 diary
Samuel Mendel - Misplaced Pages Continue
2720-645: The Industrial Revolution. The population was 23,115 by 1841. A considerable amount of land in Chester 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
2805-760: The Lakes for Edinburgh , the nearby village of Polton , and Glasgow , and he spent the remainder of his life in Scotland. In the 1830s, he was listed as living at 1 Forres Street, a large townhouse on the edge of the Moray Estate in Edinburgh . Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine and its rival Tait's Magazine received numerous contributions. Suspiria de Profundis (1845) appeared in Blackwood's, as did The English Mail-Coach (1849). Joan of Arc (1847)
2890-481: 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
2975-605: The Minster Church of West Mercia, which later became Chester's first cathedral, and the Angles extended and strengthened the walls to protect 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
3060-684: 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 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
3145-409: The age of 21, when he received £2,000 (equivalent to £204,870 in 2023) from his late father's estate. He was unwisely generous with his funds, making loans that could not or would not be repaid, including a £300 loan to Coleridge in 1807. After leaving Oxford without a degree, he made an attempt to study law, but desultorily and unsuccessfully; he had no steady income and spent large sums on books (he
3230-520: The aid of the noted art dealers Thomas Agnew & Sons ). While resident there he converted from Judaism to High Church Anglicanism and became a trustee of St Clement's Church, Chorlton-cum-Hardy , despite not residing in the Parish . Along with another trustee, William Cunliffe Brooks , he controversially opposed the building of the new, larger church. He was also the patron of the village brass band. Due to difficulties with his business, caused by
3315-660: The alterations to trade arising from the opening of the Suez Canal , he was forced to sell Manley Hall and to abandon most of his business interests. There was a sale of his art collection at Christie's in 1875. His later years were spent in reduced circumstances in Chislehurst . He died in Balham in 1884. Thomas De Quincey Thomas Penson De Quincey ( / d ə ˈ k w ɪ n s i / ; né Thomas Penson Quincey; 15 August 1785 – 8 December 1859)
3400-563: 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
3485-527: 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
Samuel Mendel - Misplaced Pages Continue
3570-485: The best-preserved in the country and have Grade I listed status. Apart from a 100-metre (330 ft) section, 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
3655-471: 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
3740-543: 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
3825-507: The city and bounded by the Shropshire Union Canal , was at the very heart of this industry. The large Chester Cattle Market and 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
3910-531: 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
3995-480: 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
4080-476: 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
4165-504: 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. Charles Leigh concluded in 1701 that there
4250-535: The death of Wordsworth's young daughter Catherine. During 1813–1819 his daily dose was very high, and resulted in the sufferings recounted in the final sections of his Confessions . For the rest of his life, his opium use fluctuated between extremes; he took "enormous doses" in 1843, but late in 1848 he went for 61 days with none at all. There are many theories surrounding the effects of opium on literary creation , and notably, his periods of low use were literarily unproductive. From 1842 until 1859 he spent long periods in
4335-557: The family moved to The Farm and then later to Greenheys, a larger country house in Chorlton-on-Medlock near Manchester. In 1796, three years after the death of his father, Thomas Quincey, his mother – the erstwhile Elizabeth Penson – took the name De Quincey . That same year, his mother moved to Bath and enrolled him at King Edward's School . He was a weak and sickly child. His youth was spent in solitude, and when his elder brother, William, came home, he wrought havoc in
SECTION 50
#17327804815064420-727: 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 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,
4505-453: The fortress. The fortress was 20% larger than other fortresses in the Roman province of Britannia built around 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
4590-408: The mistranslation of the word metanoia into "repent" by most English translations of the Bible. [REDACTED] Category Chester Chester 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
4675-471: 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
4760-479: The notion of slavery, De Quincey aligned himself against the abolitionist movement in Britain . In his articles for The Edinburgh Post , on the issue in 1827 and 1828, he accused anti-slavery campaigners of running "schemes of personal aggrandizement", and worried that abolition would undermine the basis of the British Empire and cause uprisings like the Haitian Revolution against colonial rule. Instead he proposed that there should be gradual reformation led by
4845-402: The pseudonym "Dequincey Jinxey", in reference to De Quincey. She also used the pseudonym in interviews related to the archive. De Quincey's accomplished mastery of Greek was widely known and respected in the 1800s. Treadwell Walden, Episcopal priest and sometime rector of St. Paul's Church, Boston , quotes a letter from De Quincey's Autobiographic Sketches in support of his 1881 treatise about
4930-503: The quiet surroundings. De Quincey's mother was a woman of strong character and intelligence but seems to have inspired more awe than affection in her children. She brought them up strictly, taking De Quincey out of school after three years because she was afraid he would become big-headed, and sending him to an inferior school at Wingfield, Wiltshire . Around this time, in 1799, De Quincey first read Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth and Coleridge . In 1800, De Quincey, aged 15,
5015-413: 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
5100-399: The sanctuary. His financial situation improved only later in his life. His mother's death in 1846 brought him an income of £200 per year. When his daughters matured, they managed his budget more responsibly than he ever had himself. De Quincey suffered neuralgic facial pain, " trigeminal neuralgia " – "attacks of piercing pain in the face, of such severity that they sometimes drive
5185-466: 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
SECTION 60
#17327804815065270-494: The slave-owners themselves. In 1821, he went to London to dispose of some translations from German authors, but was persuaded first to write and publish an account of his opium experiences, which that year appeared in the London Magazine . His account proved to be a new sensation that eclipsed interest in Lamb's Essays of Elia , which were then appearing in the same periodical. The Confessions of an English Opium-Eater were soon published in book form. De Quincey then made
5355-408: 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
5440-413: 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 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
5525-474: The theme of the internal struggle with one's self. Dario Argento used De Quincey's Suspiria , particularly "Levana and Our Ladies of Sorrow", as an inspiration for his "Three Mothers" trilogy of films, which include Suspiria , Inferno and The Mother of Tears . This influence carried over into Luca Guadagnino 's 2018 version of the film . Shelby Hughes created Jynxies Natural Habitat , an online archive of stamp art on glassine heroin bags, under
5610-442: 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' – 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
5695-405: 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 ,
5780-485: The victim to suicide." He reports using opium first in 1804 to relieve his neuralgia. Thus, as with many addicts, his opium addiction may have had a "self-medication" aspect for real physical illnesses, as well as a psychological aspect. By his own testimony, De Quincey first used opium in 1804 to relieve his neuralgia; he used it for pleasure, but no more than weekly, through 1812. It was in 1813 that he first commenced daily usage, in response to illness and his grief over
5865-556: Was "a champion of aristocratic privilege" and "reserved Jacobin as his highest term of opprobrium." Moreover, he held reactionary views on the Peterloo massacre and the Sepoy rebellion , on Catholic Emancipation , and on the enfranchisement of the common people. De Quincey was also a proponent of British imperialism , believing it to be inherently just regardless of its cost. Despite his ideological commitment to personal identity and freedom that derived from his addiction to and struggles with opium, and in spite of his opposition to
5950-500: 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 , 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,
6035-560: Was a lifelong collector). By the 1820s he was constantly in financial difficulties. More than once in his later years, De Quincey was forced to seek protection from arrest in the debtors' sanctuary of Holyrood in Edinburgh. (At the time, Holyrood Park formed a debtors' sanctuary; people could not be arrested for debt within those bounds. The debtors who took sanctuary there could emerge only on Sundays, when arrests for debt were not allowed.) Yet De Quincey's money problems persisted; he got into further difficulties for debts he incurred within
6120-469: 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
6205-477: Was an English writer, essayist, and literary critic, best known for his Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (1821). Many scholars suggest that in publishing this work De Quincey inaugurated the tradition of addiction literature in the West. Thomas Penson Quincey was born at 86 Cross Street, Manchester , Lancashire. His father was a successful merchant with an interest in literature. Soon after Thomas's birth,
6290-630: Was brought home and finally allowed to go to Worcester College, Oxford , on a reduced income. Here, we are told, "he came to be looked upon as a strange being who associated with no one." In 1804, while at Oxford, he began the occasional use of opium . He completed his studies, but failed to take the oral examination leading to a degree, and he left the university without graduating. He became an acquaintance of Coleridge and Wordsworth, having already sought out Charles Lamb in London. His acquaintance with Wordsworth led to his settling in 1809 at Grasmere in
6375-554: Was demolished in the 1970s to make way for the Edinburgh University student center. During the final decade of his life, De Quincey labored on a collected edition of his works. He believed the task was impossible. Ticknor and Fields , a Boston publishing house, first proposed such a collection and solicited De Quincey's approval and co-operation. It was only when De Quincey, a chronic procrastinator, failed to answer repeated letters from James Thomas Fields that
6460-451: 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
6545-517: 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 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
6630-562: Was named Deva either after the goddess of the Dee, or directly from the British name for the river. The 'victrix' part of 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
6715-478: 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
6800-407: 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
6885-598: Was probably a British city called Genuina (or Gunia) before the arrival of the Romans. The Roman Legio II Adiutrix during the reign of 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
6970-517: Was published in Tait's . Between 1835 and 1849, Tait's published a series of De Quincey's reminiscences of Wordsworth, Coleridge, Robert Southey and other figures among the Lake Poets , a series that taken together constitutes one of his most important works. Along with his opium addiction, debt was one of the primary constraints of De Quincey's adult life. De Quincey came into his patrimony at
7055-440: Was published in 1927. Another volume, New Essays by De Quincey , appeared in 1966. His immediate influence extended to Edgar Allan Poe , Fitz Hugh Ludlow , Charles Baudelaire and Nikolai Gogol , but even major 20th-century writers such as Jorge Luis Borges admired and claimed to be partly influenced by his work. Berlioz also loosely based his Symphonie fantastique on Confessions of an English Opium-Eater , drawing on
7140-532: Was ready for the University of Oxford ; his scholarship was far in advance of his years. "That boy could harangue an Athenian mob better than you or I could address an English one," his master at Bath said. He was sent to Manchester Grammar School , in order that after three years' stay he might obtain a scholarship to Brasenose College, Oxford , but he took flight after 19 months. His first plan had been to reach Wordsworth, whose Lyrical Ballads (1798) had consoled him in fits of depression and had awakened in him
7225-489: 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. 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
#505494