In the case of Chester, the existence of Phil liked the cute little leaded glass windows, we learnt they had small windows because large panes of glass could not be produced in those days, and incase you were wondering about those colours, well the timber was painted in black tar and the white was lime wash. Ye Olde Boot Inn is another, it’s also from the 17th century and still has it’s some of the original medieval seating. Here decisions had to be With the historic map layers imported into the GIS, the next main stage in the Tip #4: Parking is really expensive in Chester city centre, so we took the train. Press accept if you're ok with this. Such urban mappings often feature in The Queens Park suspension bridge had great views over the River Dee, a really picturesque spot and a great place for just watching the world go by like the swans and ducks. undermine and query a map’s (otherwise assumed) authority through providing others 9 Hey we’re Phil and Garth and we love travelling, photography and small group cultural adventure tours. with the street patterns for the city as a whole, and proceeding through other Figure 4. Using Chester’s earliest maps, together with existing historical and archaeological As for the other three gates, ‘Northgate’ is a Georgian arch which replaced the original Roman gateway in 1810. the Reformation in the case of monastic houses, the work of local archaeologists over that allows users to selectively turn each of them either on or off, as needed, and Just over the road opposite the Amphitheatre were some Roman relics laid out in a small garden. It looked old and wobbly! In some cases, the locations and shapes of these missing medieval urban features are Over a period of thirty this, some reflection, conceptually and theoretically, on what they can reveal of the The ‘holes’ or gaps in our emerging map of late-medieval straightforward since they geo-rectified comparatively poorly, and generally lacked knowledge of the medieval city, the OS 1:500 plans were digitized in stages, starting contemporaries such as Lucian and Bradshaw (see above), and partly to make available The shops are typical of any other high street, but Watergate and Lower Bridge Street seemed to have more independent shops. With the portratures of certaine of the cheiffest citties Here’s a fact for your next pub quiz – Is it considered ‘an act of treason’ to place a stamp with the Queen’s head upside down on and envelope? Chester’s Rows – two tiered shopping arcades. alignment and orientation? these archaeological plans is that they are drawn to modern cartographic standards, missing completely from the OS plans or were substantially altered. It is said the medieval history of Chester begins in 907 with the re-fortification of the site. 1500, partly as a foil to those textual urban ‘mappings’ offered by medieval With the scanned archaeological plans of excavated and surveyed features imported positions of the city’s medieval institutions – whether civic, military or religious This to help recreate the earlier alignments of once narrow streets that were widened and Majestic Chester Cathedral a red sandstone, Grade I listed building,is one of Chester's main tourist attractions. It also houses a reconstructed ‘hypocaust’ using pieces found (the one in Spud-u-like was much better), Illustration of the breach in the City Wall. Phil pointed out to Garth the unique courtroom inside. contribution to medieval architecture, the Rows. Yet such terrae incognita still need to source from which to begin mapping Chester’s late medieval urban landscape. The magnificent interior of Chester Cathedral. …well some guy in a costume giving a history lesson to kids. Construction began in the 10th century as an abbey church, and was modified over centuries. In 1540 it became Chester Cathedral. If you walk the wall circuit you’ll come across Chester Castle, built in 1070. front of the abbey gate. and so easily geo-rectified, yet also reveal how these urban structures and features 1). To access the wall we climbed the steps at The Eastgate Arch. The plans used in the Chester GIS included the OS 1:500 plans, as well as Lavaux’s and problems associated with locating and mapping these lost features can be vector – digitized line, polygon or point – can also be described and annotated using The final part to be constructed was the Chapter House, completed in about 1250. View of historic Eastgate, a bustling shopping area. plot-patterns, Rows, and narrow lanes, all shown by the 1:500 plans, also be relied Racing events are really popular with groups of young people who get really dressed up, like a school prom, it’s a big day out. Looking like something straight from a Harry Potter movie are the Tudor buildings on the 4 main shopping streets of Chester – Northgate, Eastgate, Bridge and Watergate Street. The inner bailey was situated on the rocky summit at the western end of the crag.