Siege of 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 population of 79,645 in 2011, it is the most populous settlement of Cheshire West and Chester (a unitary authority which had a population of 329,608 in 2011) and serves as its administrative headquarters. 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 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 the best-preserved in the country and have Grade I listed status. It has a number of medieval buildings, but many of the black-and-white buildings within the city centre are Victorian restorations, originating from the Black-and-white Revival movement. Apart from a 100-metre (330 ft) section, the walls are almost complete. The Industrial Revolution brought railways, canals, and new roads to the city, which saw substantial expansion and development; Chester Town Hall and the Grosvenor Museum are examples of Victorian architecture from this period. Tourism, the retail industry, public administration, and financial services are important to the modern economy. Chester signs itself as Chester International Heritage City on road signs on the main roads entering the city.

Crypt Chambers (or Crypt Building) is at 28–34 Eastgate Street and 34–40 Eastgate Row, Chester, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building and incorporates a section of the Chester Rows.

33 Eastgate Street, Chester, at the corner of Eastgate Street and St Werburgh Street, Chester, England, was built in 1859–60 for the Chester Bank and, as of 2012, it continues in use as the NatWest Bank. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. It is in Neoclassical style, but was built at the time that the Black-and-white Revival was underway in the city, and was therefore the subject of much criticism for being "out of place". It consists of three storeys, with five bays on the Eastgate Street side, and three bays facing St Werburgh Street. The ground floor is rusticated with tall round-arched openings. On the side facing Eastgate Street the middle three bays of the upper storeys are occupied by a blank portico with four Corinthian columns supporting a pediment with modillion cornices. All the windows are sashes. The banking hall has a panelled ceiling carried on four Ionic columns.

Browns was a department store in Chester established in 1780 by Susannah Brown. The store traded from its site on Chester's Eastgate Street from 1791 until 2021. Once regarded as the "Harrods of the North", the building interior contains many ornate features such as glass-domed roofs and elaborate plasterwork surrounding small chandeliers in the main entrance area. Some of the glass roof on the second floor has been concealed as it has been covered by the construction of the third-floor extension which contained the main café and Kalmora Spa. The oldest part of the store is housed in the Grade I listed Crypt Chambers, designed by T. M. Penson incorporating Georgian, Tudor and Gothic facades. Construction was completed in 1858. The building incorporates part of the Chester Rows. On the front of the tower at Row level is a blank scroll, on the east face is a recessed panel containing the initials W. B. (for William Brown), on the west face the initials are C. B. (for Charles Brown) and on the rear face is a scroll inscribed AD 1858: Crypt Chambers. The Gothic facade frontage is built over a medieval undercroft dating from the twelfth century. The undercroft most recently contained 'The Tea Press' tea room. Another extension to the building was completed in 1965 to link Browns to the nearby Grosvenor Shopping Centre. A new three-story extension was built in 2002 on the site formerly occupied by the offices of the Chester Chronicle. It was acquired by Debenhams in 1976. Browns was the only store in the group to retain its own trading name alongside the standard 'Debenhams' branding. Debenhams entered liquidation in early 2021 and all remaining stores closed during May that year. The building was owned by British Land. It was bought by Martin Property Group in 2022, along with the neighbouring Grosvenor Shopping Centre.

The Boot Inn is at 17 Eastgate Street and 9 Eastgate Row, Chester, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. The building consists of a shop occupying a former undercroft at street level, above which is a public house at the level of the Row and above.

2–18 St Werburgh Street is a terrace consisting of a bank, shops and offices on the east side of St Werburgh Street and the north side of Eastgate Street, Chester, Cheshire, England. The terrace is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.

St Andrew's Church is a redundant church located in Newgate Street, Chester, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

St Michael's Buildings are on the east side of Bridge Street, Chester, Cheshire, England. They contain a section of Chester Rows, with shops at street level and along the Rows, and an arcade of shops stretching behind these to link with the Grosvenor Shopping Centre. The whole structure is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.

39 Bridge Street is a building in Chester, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, its major archaeological feature being the remains of a Roman hypocaust in its cellar.The building has four storeys, with a shop at street level and a portion of Chester Rows in the storey above. The hypocaust in the cellar dates to the 2nd century during the Roman occupation of Chester. In the late 13th or early 14th century a medieval undercroft was built adjacent to the hypocaust, with a house above. In 1864 a new floor was inserted at street level and a shop front was added in the 20th century. The ground floor is now used as a café. The remains of the hypocaust were found during the reconstruction of the property in 1864. They consist of 27 square columns in a rectangular chamber which originally contained 32 columns in eight rows of four.

St Werburgh's Mount consists of a range of shops at 15 to 27 St Werburgh Street, Chester, Cheshire, England, on the south side of the street facing Chester Cathedral. The range is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as two designated Grade II listed buildings.

St Werburgh Chambers consists of a pair of shops in St Werburgh Street, Chester, Cheshire, England, on the south side of the street facing Chester Cathedral. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

St Oswald's Chambers consists of a commercial property at 20–22 St Werburgh Street, Chester, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.