Category Archives: Walks

A visit with panoramic views: the Iron Age hillfort Moel y Gaer in Rhosesmor

View from the inner rampart over the outer rampart and beyond to the distant landscape in the east

Introduction

Rhosesmor is a small village not far from Mold, which boasts an Iron Age hillfort a short walk from the village hall car park, with stunning 360° views over the surrounding hills and across the Dee estuary and beyond.

Aerial view of Moel y Gaer Rhosesmor by Chris Musson / CPAT. Source: Internet Archaeology

It was an iffy day when I visited, weather-wise, with a lot of cloud overhead and the threat of rain, but it was possible to see for many miles all around, and is very easy to understand why this could have been a strategically valuable location. The footpath around the top of the first, inner rampart is well worn and unimpeded, and a really lovely walk. The interior and the outer of the two banks, and both ditches, are covered with gorse, which was in flower. There are paths through the gorse on the plateau, but it makes it difficult to see the line of the second, outer rampart, which in the Iron Age was never a complete circuit.

When I was an archaeology undergraduate in the 1980s my parents moved from Hertfordshire to a village not far from Chester. Whenever I returned home my favourite pastime was taking the family dog and exploring the hills in northeast Wales. That led me to the Clwydian range and Moel y Gaer Llanbedr. As a newbie to Wales, with no understanding of Welsh placenames, I had no idea that there were actually three Moel y Gaer hillforts in the area and more further afield so when I returned to university (and bearing in mind that there was no Internet in those days) I spent some time in the library assembling data about Moel y Gaer Rhosesmor, thinking it was Moel y Gaer Llanbedr, before the penny dropped. Decades later I have at last got around to visiting the the Rhosesmor hillfort, and what a super site it is, with a complete panorama of diverse views. See Visiting information at the end of the post for parking details and the route from the car park to the hillfort.

The Archaeology

The best online source of information about the hillfort is Graeme Guilbert’s page about the site on the Internet Archaeology website, part of a bigger article about the excavation of Welsh hillforts. I recommend this, because as well as details about the site, many of which I have included below, the page has some really excellent photographs of the excavations during the 1970s and reconstructions of the two different types of roundhouse.

LiDAR view of Moel y Gaer. Source: Lock, Gary and Ralston, Ian. 2024. Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland. Available at https://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk

Moel y Gaer translates roughly as “the bare fort,” presumably referring to the somewhat barren moorland conditions characterizing the top of many hillforts, which accounts for why there are three of them with the same name in the area. It is perched on the southern end of Halkyn mountain, c.300m (984ft) above the Dee floodplain. The visible remains include two banks, both of which follow the contours of the hill. The higher, inner bank provides a complete circuit of the hillfort, whilst the second, lower bank, divided from the inner bank by a deep ditch, never provided a complete circuit, as the LiDAR image to the left makes clear. The most interesting and informative aspects of Moel y Gaer are, however, the structures and features that were excavated in the 1970s and are no longer visible, described briefly below.

The reservoir

Ironically the most clearly identifiable feature today is a rectangular reservoir, completely enclosed and covered in grass and a good perch for admiring the views. If you sit by one of the metal inspection batches, you can hear something whirring gently below, but otherwise it is just a grassy platform with some metal-topped lids.

It is because of the reservoir that the site was excavated by Graeme Guilbert and his team in the 1970s, with the bulk of the work carried out between 1972 and 1974. Although the development of a modern structure slapped on a prehistoric site was undoubtedly controversial, it did at least give the opportunity for archaeologists to investigate 0.6 hectares (1.4 acres) of the 2.7 hectares (6.6 acres), and the results were excellent. It is rare that it is possible to cut a 15ft trench through a rampart, due to time and cost constraints, but this was done at Moel y Gaer, and the information about the interior, enabled by the excavation of such a large area, is now referenced in all discussions of hillfort interiors.

Sketch of the possible Neolithic structure and well as the worked flint scatter, both in red, shown in relation to the later Iron Age structures. Source: Britnell 1991, p.58

The archaeology of the hilltop begins in the earlier prehistoric period. The earliest of these is the Neolithic, represented by worked flint and chert, including scrapers, blades and arrowheads and associated waste products. Pottery fragments were found in shallow pits. Most importantly, a possible rectangular structure, a very rare find, consisting of a short length of fence and a series of postholes, suggests a Neolithic settlement.

Two Early Bronze Age round barrows have been identified within the later ramparts. One is on the highest part of the hill near the reservoir; the other was apparently levelled during the Iron Age occupation of the hill, and when excavated was found to include a burial chamber but no skeleton (probably due to the acidic conditions), and no accompanying artefacts. Early Bronze Age barrows are common in the area, but most were left in tact. It is a puzzle why one was retained and the other levelled.

The first phase of the hillfort itself predates the banks and ditches and may date back to the Late Bronze Age, in the 8th or 7th century BC. A set of roundhouse structures and a palisade trench carved into the stone were found, although it is not clear if the roundhouses and the palisade (an elaborate fence) were contemporary or if the settlement was initially unenclosed. It had a gap of 11m, indicating an entrance, although it remains unknown if this was the only entrance into the enclosure. As Guilbert says, the size of the gap “may seem inappropriate to a purely aggressive, or even largely defensive purpose” and he suggests that the site may have been positioned as much for its visual impact as for security purposes. In 1977 some trial trenches were opened that suggest that the palisade extended around most of the hillfort perimeter. The pre-rampart palisade is not a unique feature, and there is at least one other in the region, at Eddisbury hillfort on the mid-Cheshire Sandstone Ridge.

Phase 1 of the hillfort showing the palisade slot at left and the roundhouses, many with porches. Source: Guilbert 2018, Internet Archaeology.

Also in Phase 1 there were 26 roundhouses, between c.6.5m and 11.5m in diameter. All were made of an inner and an outer ring of postholes, the inner and larger ones thought to hold roof supports and the outer one to hold much lighter wall supports. All had entrances, most of which were facing east or southeast, and some of which were provided with a square porch by the addition of two posts at their entrances. Eleven had hearths at or near the centre, suggesting that those with and without hearths were used differently. Some of the structures overlapped, suggesting that they were rebuilds. A cache of pebbles, thought to be for slingshots, were found in one of the roundhouses on the edge of the rampart. Other structures were also found, consisting of twelve small oval pits as well as a series of postholes in pairs, but these may or may not belong to Phase 1.

The footpath along inner rampart, following the line of the contour around the top of the hill, marked by the line of gorse

It is not known how long a period separated Phase 1 from Phase 2. Phase 2 of the hillfort consisted of the construction of the inner rampart and ditch. The surviving bank, which made up the rampart, was up to 6m wide and nearly 2m high. At the back it sloped towards the interior but its front was provided with a “showy” revetted stonework facing that alternated with wooden posts 0.6 – 0.9m apart. A generic image of a box rampart is shown below for reference. The rampart posts were tied into a wooden framework within the bank, and the interior was divided into compartments or cells that were filled with rubble, perhaps to provide additional structural integrity and to enable easy repairs when any one part of the rampart failed. This is referred to by Barry Cunliffe as “the Moel y Gaer style” of rampart building.

J. Forde-Johnston’s illustration of box ramparts, with my annotations showing key features. Source: Forde-Johnston 1976 p.180

Another section of the inner rampart

Phase 2 of the hillfort showing the earliest rampart at left, the roundhouses, and the 4-posters. Source: Guilbert 2018, Internet Archaeology.

The enclosed space in Phase 2 was occupied by a mixture of twelve roundhouses, different from the Phase 1 structures, and around thirty four-posted structures that were largely set apart from the roundhouses, indicating a level of deliberate planning. The roundhouses in this phase, between 5.7 and 8.1m in diameter, only had a single circuit of stakeholes and no separate roof supports, indicating more lightweight structures, with or without roofs. As in the previous phase, entrances were mainly aligned to the east. The four-posters are known from other hillfort and lowland sites, but there are no indications at Moel y Gaer about how they were used. Interestingly, when the site was abandoned the timbers from many of the 4-posters were removed, presumably for re-use elsewhere. The roundhouses and the ramparts on the bank were simply abandoned, leading to the decay of both. The period of Phase 2 occupation dates to the 4th century BC.

A gorse-covered section of the outer rampart seen from the inner rampart

Phase 3 involved the repair of the inner rampart, which was widened and heightened and topped with rubble, with new breastwork added along the top. This work was radiocarbon dated to the 4th -1st century BC. Work began on the second, outer rampart, of which intermittent sections and accompanying ditch survive. Only two stretches of the bank at the east end were built to a clearly visible height, all covered in gorse, but there are places on the walk along the upper rampart where you can clearly see the height of the second rampart, which must have been impressive in places on the other side of the inner rampart’s ditch. A palisade was built on top of it, which may have been intended to look like a more substantial wood-faced revetment from the outside. Possibly during this phase, although the relationship between the components is not clear, a set of rectangular buildings were added. These had no foundations of any type, but instead sat on sill-beams that were laid on the surface of the plateau. They were provided with stone floors and were accompanied by metalled areas interpreted as yards.

The east entrance

There were thought to be at least two entrances, one at the east end that remains in use,with an inturned entrance, and one at the west end that was later blocked in, a phenomenon noted at other hillforts in the region.

Moel y Gaer is interesting in relation to other hillforts on the Clwydian Range. Although the Egyptian temple on top of Moel Famau is just visible from the interior, there was no hillfort on Moel Famau. Moel Fenlli is just visible, but most of the hillforts on the Clwydian Range were focused on the Vale of Clwyd on the other side of the range. Moel y Gaer is, by contrast, focused on opposite side of the range, with exceptional views up and down the Dee and across the Wirral towards Merseyside, as well as east towards the mid-Cheshire sandstone ridge where there are other hillforts. There would have been a direct line of sight between Moel y Gaer and Burton Point, if the latter is confirmed as a promontory fort (see my post on the subject of the latter here).

Some of the unanswered questions

Even with an excavation on the scale of the rescue work carried out at Moel y Gaer in the face of the planned reservoir there are many questions that remain unanswered.

For example, the possibility of a Neolithic settlement is of considerable importance, but it is not known if the hilltop contains any more clues about this period of occupation.

In Phase 1 the 11m (36ft) gap in the palisade is something of a puzzle if the site was intended to be defensive. Speculating, it might have been intended to give easy and hurried access for livestock, perhaps in the event of a raid or for herd management purposes, but without the vital information from animal bone it cannot be determined if animals were ever present at the site.

The orientation of Iron Age roundhouses, showing that the majority are orientated between the east and southeast. Source: Oswald 1997

Similarly, in phase 2 it is suggested that roundhouses with and without hearths may have had different purposes, but these purposes cannot be assessed due to the lack of artefacts, and plant and animal remains. In both phases 1 and 2 the roundhouse entrances faced mainly east and southeast. There has been a lot of discussion about whether this sort of orientation, which was common, represented practical considerations such as allowing light and heat into the building from the early morning and excluding westerly winds; or whether more spiritual and cosmological motivations were concerned with aligning buildings to solar events.

In phase 2 it is not known what the four-poster buildings may have been used for unless data can be obtained from unexcavated parts of the hillfort. Although it has been traditionally suggested that such postholes represent buildings raised off the ground surface on posts, and that these may have been granaries, from most sites there is very little, if any evidence in the form of plant or animal remains, or artefacts, to indicate what function they may have had.

View from the inner rampart over the outer rampart

View from the inner rampart over the outer gorse-covered rampart towards the Dee estuary

In Phase 3 it is not known why the second, outer rampart was only built in incomplete sections, although Ian Brown suggests that such sites may reflect a building strategy employing separate working gangs or family units who simply failed to complete the work by joining up the sections by the time the hillfort was abandoned. The rectangular buildings that may or may not have been contemporary with the second rampart, and both their date and function remain ambiguous.

Perhaps the biggest unanswered question, common to all of the phases, is what sort of economic practices were adopted by those who occupied the hillfort. Today there is extensive livestock herding in the area, both sheep and cattle, and this may have formed the basis of subsistence in the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age, but there may also have been other types of agricultural and horticultural activity, or trade links may have supplied the cereal and vegetable components of diet. Nor is it known to what degree the builders of the Moel y Gaer Rhosesmor hillfort were related or in communication with the hillforts on the Clwydian Range, and if they may have shared or exchanged resources, or whether they were in conflict. In theory this was the territory in the Late Iron Age of a “tribe” known by Roman writers as the Deceangli, but whether this indicates solidarity between all communities in that territory, and over what sort of period of time, is unknown. Similarly, it is not known if there were affiliated lowland settlements in the valley below. Without evidence these and other livelihood questions remain open.

View from the ramparts out to Liverpool Bay

View to the east

Post-hillfort history

Of the post-hillfort history the earliest is the unconfirmed tradition that one of Owain Glyndŵr’s supporters, Hywel Gwynedd, set up a camp here, but was captured and beheaded in 1406. Excavations produced no signs of them. It is, however, a matter of history that in 1814 a fire-beacon was set up here during the Napoleonic Wars to take advantage of the superb views over the estuary and river.

On your way back to the car, the Victorian church of St Paul with its fantastic roof is well worth a visit.

See the National Church Trust website for information about the history of the church, but here are the first two paragraphs:

St Paul’s was built in local limestone between 1874-6 by the architect John Hill for the villagers working in the lead mining industry, which dates back to pre-Roman times. Rhosesmor grew as a distinct lead mining village in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. St Paul’s benefited from local landowners who contributed to the formation of the church. The site was given by Hugh Lupus, first Duke of Westminster (1825-1899) with foundation stone laid by Mrs J Strutt Bankes of Soughton Hall in 1874.

By 1890 necessary repairs, including the present roof beams, were undertaken by architect John Douglas of Chester. The west end Annunciation windows, by Jones and Willis were presented by the Revd W E Torr of Eastham, on the Wirral. The availability of funds grew over the next 25 years and Mr Scott Bankes, replaced the dilapidated chairs in the nave and supplied new fittings for the chancel.

Final Comments

Visiting hillforts is all about enjoying what you can see, but it is also about using excavation reports to imagine what was once there. The quiet serenity of a hilltop site with wide views, its former ramparts smoothed by centuries of erosion, is probably completely at odds with the busy lives represented by the roundhouses and four-posters, and the ongoing maintenance after the substantial ramparts were first built.

Moel y Gaer Rhosesmor is one of the most thoroughly investigated hillforts in north Wales, and it hints at many more possibilities, via geophysical survey and excavation, for understanding both this and other hillfort sites in the region, from the Late Bronze Age to the end of the Iron Age.

With its panoramic views over the hills and the Dee, Moel y Gaer Rhosesmor is an absolutely marvellous place to visit.

Visiting

The hillfort is at top left. The parking is in the Rhosesmor community hall immediately off the B5123 (red arrow). The yellow arrows show the route to the hillfort. Source: Google Maps

The hillfort is at top left of the image. Parking is at the Rhosesmor community hall, marked on the map with a red arrow (What3Words ///litigate.messy.hems). There is a blue parking sign, but it is a bit hidden. From the car park the yellow arrows show the route.

It is a short walk along the lane towards the route up to the hillfort, with the churchyard of St Paul’s on your left.

At the junction head uphill along a private road. A very faded Public Footpath signpost points you in the right direction, but it is perfectly obvious. This is quite a short stretch, all uphill. It ends at the entrance to a house on the left and a metal gate on the right. Access to the hillfort is via the gate, which leads you onto the open hillside and its top. It is perhaps a 15 minute walk from the car park to the ramparts.

As you can see in many of the above photographs, the inner bank is fully accessible along a well worn footpath that goes around the full circuit of the hillfort, and their are walks through the gorse on the plateau itself. The lower bank and ditch are completely covered with gorse, and are not accessible unless you like to wrestle with very dense spiky gorse. The fully enclosed reservoir is covered in grass, and provides unobstructed views over the entire area.

St Paul’s Church has toilets and a small shop selling essentials as well as hot drinks. The church is very welcoming and well worth a visit for the beautifully crafted wooden ceiling over the apsidal chancel.

Sources

Books, papers and leaflets

Britnell, William J. 1991. The Neolithic. In John Manley, Stephen Grenter and Fiona Gale. The Archaeology of Clwyd. Clwyd County Council, p.55-64

Brown, Ian 2009. Beacons in the Landscape. The Hillforts of England and Wales. Windgather Press

Brück, Joana. The Architecture of Routine Life. In Joshua Pollard (ed.), Prehistoric Britain. Blackwell

Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust (leaflet – no date). Moel y Gaer.

Cunliffe, Barry 2005 (4th edition). Iron Age Communities in Britain. Routledge

Garner Dan (and contributors) 2016. Hillforts of the Cheshire Ridge. Investigations undertaken by The Habitats and Hillforts Landscape Partnership Scheme 2009–2012. Archaeopress

Guilbert, Graeme 1975. Moel y Gaer: an area excavation on the defences. Antiquity 49, 109-117

Guilbert, G., 1977. The Northern Welsh Marches: some recent developments. In J. Collis (ed), The Iron Age in Britain — A review. University of Sheffield, p.41–50.

Guilbert, Graeme 2018. Historical Excavation and Survey of Hillforts in Wales: some critical issues. Internet Archaeology 48
https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue48/3/toc.html

Davies, Jeffrey L. and Frances Lynch 2000. The Late Bronze Age and Iron Age. Frances Lynch, Stephen Aldhouse-Green and Jeffrey L Davies (eds.) Prehistoric Wales. Sutton Publishing, p.79-138

Oswald, A 1997. A doorway on the past: practical and mystic concerns in the orientation of roundhouse doorways. In (eds.) A. Gwilt and Colin Haselgrove. Reconstructing Iron Age Societies. Oxbow Monograph 71, p.87-95

Websites

Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland
By Gary Lock and Ian Ralston 2024
https://hillforts.arch.ox.ac.uk

Butser Ancient Farm Archive
The Moel y Gaer House
https://www.butser.org.uk/page43.html

Heneb Historic Environment Record
Moel y Gaer Rhosesmor hillfort, Iron Age phase
https://archwilio.org.uk/her/chi3/report/page.php?watprn=CPAT100296

Walking at the magnificent Iron Age ‘Old Oswestry’ hillfort

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This post looks at the walk around the hillfort and its ramparts, with its section of Wat’s Dyke at its foot, and lovely views across the landscape. Parking details are at the end.

Old Oswestry from the southwest, via the footpath across the field from Gatacre car park

This makes a great day trip with a visit to the Whittington Castle (see Wikipedia), only 2.5km away to the east, or the market town of Oswestry just to the south (see the official Visit Oswestry site here). It is free of charge to visit at any time, with one main parking area and a small lay-by. See Visiting details at the end.

Signage from Old Oswestry. Click to expand.

Old Oswestry hillfort is a magnificent archaeological site and local landmark dating to the 4th to 7th centuries BC during the Iron Age with terrific views over the surrounding lowland landscape. Seen from above the pentagonal shape is particularly distinctive, and you notice this whilst walking, as it is one of the few hillforts at which you reach corners. It is also undulating – as you walk around the top you will notice that they path goes up and down, never at all steeply but just enough to draw attention to the varying levels. If you keep looking across the plateau you will see that this too is undulating; sometimes you can see across it but at other times you can’t. It is one of the most impressive and least-understood hillforts in the country, excavated only twice with sample trenches, with much more knowledge remaining to be discovered.

In April there are bluebells, celandines and wood anemones, and to keep the scrub down there are small herds of black sheep (Soay and Hebridean crosses) roaming the banks and ditches. On my visit this August, just a few days ago, the long-term drought had left everything incredibly parched, and the plateau grass had died off. Some of the young trees and shrubs were in fruit with red hawthorn berries, blackberries and dark purple alder berries. There had obviously been rosebay willowherb recently in flower, with its fluffy seeds catching the sun, and some gigantic thistles had recently gone over. Otherwise, it was the bracken that was winning the fight against the drought, in spite of a fine herd of attractive black sheep.

Banks and ditches at the western entrance looking north

The site of Old Oswestry is built on a hill of clay, sands, gravels and mixed boulders left behind after the retreat of the last glacier, the whole thing lying on a bed of glacial clay. You can see boulders underfoot as you walk around the perimeter of the plateau. Old Oswestry is the largest of three similar hillocks, one of which is immediately visible to the south. The hillfort was excavated in 1939 and 1940 with seven trenches cut mainly across the ramparts, followed 80 years by a small excavation of three trenches in 2021 and 2022, again across the ramparts. The interior has never been subject to excavation.

Hillfort phases. Source: English Heritage

The earliest known occupants used the hillfort during the Neolithic, and left behind two polished stone axes and a set of worked stone tools. The story of the archaeology of the Iron Age hillfort is complicated, but in essence it began with two banks that supported ramparts (defences built of stone), separated from each other by a ditch. The first pair of banks and ditches followed the natural line of the hill, only interrupted by two entrances, on the east and west sides. Over the 300 years that the hillfort remained in use, additional banks and ditches were added, in a less straight forward arrangement, causing the entrances to become corridors with banks along their sides. In total, there are two banks on the eastern side, five on the southern side, four on the south and seven on the west where a complex of hollowed out depressions were added either side of the western entrance. To date it is not known what the hollows were used for and they remain unique in Britain. There are photos of them below.

Map showing Wat’s Dyke (brown line) and Offa’s Dyke (green line). Source: Keith Ray and authors on ResearchGate

The hillfort was incorporated by Wat’s Dyke, which arrives at the hillfort’s southern corner, and departs at its northern end, using the hillfort’s presence as a component of the linear boundary that extends over a 60 km (37 mile) stretch of the Welsh border built in the 8th or 9th century AD. It begins in Maesbury, just south of Oswestry and extends all the way to Basingwerk, near Holywell, on the north Wales coast, roughly parallel to Offa’s Dyke, but much shorter. Although its purpose is currently a matter of speculation, it is thought to mark the border of Mercia in the west, and to be both a defensive and a symbolic structure, marking differences is political allegiance and administrative systems. There is only one small part of it visible at Old Oswestry, at the southwest corner, but the line of the Dyke is marked by a line of hedgerow and trees that heads north from the hillfort.

LiDAR view of Old Oswestry, with Wat’s Dyke (red arrows) and the craters and trenches (pink arrows) clearly visible. Click to enlarge. Source: Lock, Gary and Ralston, Ian. 2024. Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland: https://tinyurl.com/mputmk3d

In the LiDAR image of Old Oswestry to the right, Wat’s Dyke can be seen at the bottom left, where it meets the corner on a perpendicular on the southern side and extends from northeast corner of the hillfort, both visible as a shaded bank leading into and out of the hillfort. The builders were obviously great pragmatists, making good use of a natural barrier in the landscape!

During the First World War, the interior of the hillfort enclosure was used for military training purposes, including the digging of practice trenches and setting off mortars and other explosive devices that left small craters in the top. Marks of both the trenches and the craters are visible in some aerial photographs, and are visible in the LiDAR image right (click to expand).

The photographs are a mixture from April 2025 and August 2026, showing the difference between the well-watered spring and the long-term drought of 2026.

View from the foot of the west entrance to the west

View across the fields at the entrance to the hillfort

The west entrance towards the plateau

From the bottom of the west entrance there is a shallow slope, with wide wood-framed stone steps to avoid mud slippage, leading up to the plateau. Here, there is a walk that follows the circumference of the hillfort.

East side of the top of the hillfort. Note that this photograph was taken in April 2025; in August 2026 the plateau was completely parched, and a light yellow colour as in some of the photographs below.

The middle of the interior is fenced off for pasture most of the way round, although you can enter it at the eastern entrance, where you also get a good sense of how undulating the plateau actually is, even though it looks completely flat in aerial photographs. At this point, as with many others, you cannot see from one side of the enclosed space to the other. Walking to the highest point of the plateau from the eastern entrance, up a slight slope, gives you panoramic views.

View across the eastern entrance towards the north in August 2026

The ramparts and ditches can all be explored freely, and these give an excellent idea, even after centuries of erosion, of the scale of the construction work that made up the site. All of the rampart banks are so magnificently high that if you stand in the ditches, all you can see is the walls of the banks either side of you. It is in the ditches and on the side of banks, rather than along the plateau itself, that most of the wild flowers are to be found.

Across the top two banks and ditches to the view beyond

Optional stairways that lead across the banks and ditches from the circumference walk, showing the surviving depth of one of the ditches

The line of Wat’s Dyke marked by the hedgerow and trees, heading north from the northern edge of the hillfort

April 2025

Rosebay willowherb, August 2026

View east from the plateau

Perimeter walk around the plateau

Upper and second ramparts looking west

Walking along the top of the second rampart to the east

Walking to the west along the third rampart

The hollows at the west end are reached most easily from a black metal kissing gate on the north side (left, going up) on the slope from the western entrance. This lets onto a single track footpath that passes at the bottom of the hollows and lets you get a sense of the scale of them, which is impressive. The hollows on the other side of the footpath can also been seen, but are much smaller. A footpath actually goes across the middle of them, but they are best seen from the second (looking down) or third ramparts (looking back).

One of the ponds or cells that you can see in the aerial photograph at the top of the page

One of the ponds or cells that you can see in the illustration at the top of the page, to the left of the west entrance as you go uphill, in April 2025. This was dry in the drought conditions of August 2026, but some of the hollows still had marsh plants at their edges.

Soft-stem bulrush growing around the base of the hollows even after a drought

Returning to the car via the west entrance

The great bank at the base of the hillfort and the lesser bank below it

The Tudor “Park Hall,” which burned down in 1918. Source: Lost Heritage website

The hillfort itself is dramatic and breathtaking, but the surrounding landscape also bears unmistakeable signs of Oswestry’s heritage, whilst beneath the fields there may well be more of the area’s prehistory to uncover. The hillfort used to part of the Park Hall estate, which once had one of England’s most impressive Tudor houses at its core before it tragically burned down in 1918. The Oldport Farm immediately below the hillfort on its southeastern side dates at least to the 17th century, and perhaps earlier, and the fields retain the imprint of much earlier agricultural heritage. During the First World War both the centre of the hillfort and other places in the vicinity, was used for digging practice trenches, both a chilling and touching reminder of the realities of the war. A Prisoner of War Camp and cemetery were both established nearby. There are even glimpses of the impact of the Industrial Revolution from the top of the hillfort, with the 19th century railway and Thomas Telford’s A5.

If you are looking for a great place for a short walk that focuses on a splendidly impressive and nationally important site, this should not be missed. The walk can be extended via other footpaths, or can be combined with a visit to Oswestry itself, which is a very attractive market town. You can download the Visit Oswestry’s Heritage Trail here.

The site was owned by Lord Harlech until 1946 when he handed it over to the state, and it is now the responsibility of English Heritage.

Sketchfab 3-D interactive model of Old Oswestry Hillfort. Click here to go to the Sketchfab page.

Visiting

The route to Old Oswestry Hillfort, showing the main parking area at Gatacre car park, as well as the lay-by at the foot of the west entrance. Source: Old Oswestry Hillfort website – visiting page

The site is managed by English Heritage and it is free of charge to visit at any time, with one main parking area a five minute walk away from the hillfort, and a small lay-by. There is brown heritage signage from the A5, which takes you through a residential area to the Gatacre Playing Field car park where there is plenty of parking (What3Words ///spray.funky.tasters). There is also a layby with room for four or five cars. Both parking areas are shown on the map produced by the Old Oswestry Hillfort website.

From Gatacre Playing Field car park showing the field route and the lane route to the western entrance to the hillfort. Source: What3Words

I always park at the Gatacre car park because there is always plenty of room and it is only a five minute walk from the hillfort’s west entrance (the main access route to the hillfort). The route to the hillfort is all on the flat, along a metalled path and a small, very quiet lane.

If it hasn’t been raining, there is an even shorter route if you use the footpath (Oswald’s Way) from just beyond the car park to cut across the field – this was a gorgeous vista of sunflowers in August 2026, and would probably be even more sunflower-intensive in years that have had a bit of rainfall.

There are no facilities at the hillfort of any description, but there are plenty within Oswestry itself, only a short drive (less than two miles / 3.5km) from the site, or at Whittington Castle to the east.

The west entrance is a long, shallow slope now provided with long wood-framed steps lined with stone to protect visitors from muddy conditions, that leads up to the top. At the top, there is a footpath all around the plateau. The western and eastern entrances also offer access via gates and footpaths to the lower banks and ditches as well as the puzzling hollows that flank the west entrance. Note that sheep roam the banks and ditches, so gates must be closed and dogs must be kept on leads.

Bracken on the banks and ditches at the northwestern corner of the hillfort

Although the entire plateau walk is a nice easy stroll all the way around, well-worn by dog walkers, some of the lower ramparts are more challenging. Most of the hillfort walks along banks and ditches are very easy to access on the south and west sides, but bracken can be a perpetual problem on some of the ramparts and ditches beneath the plateau on the north and east sides of the hillfort, particularly in the summer. It seriously impedes passage, as well as potentially doing significant damage to archaeological deposits, whilst its density eliminates other species, significantly reducing biodiversity. Love it or hate it, one has to admire the tenacity of bracken under such extreme conditions. Both volunteer work and sheep are combining to reduce the impact of such invasive species, managing the site for the benefit of biodiversity, the archaeology and visitors. If you find one of the rampart or ditch walks a bit of a struggle, there are plenty of others to try.

There are plenty of well thought out information signs along the course of the west entrance as well as on the footpath around the top, providing details about the archaeology and history of the site.

The walk can be extended via other footpaths. For example the diagonal route across the field from the car park to the hillfort’s west entrance is part of Oswald’s Trail, a 12 mile / 13 km circular walk about which you can read more on the Shropshire’s Great Outdoors website. Or it can be combined with a visit to Oswestry itself, which is a very attractive market town. You can download the Visit Oswestry’s Heritage Trail here.

View from the hillfort towards Oswestry

Sunflowers on the path across the field from Gatacre Playing Fields to the western entrance of the hillfort

Artist's reconstruction of Old Oswestry Hillfort, based on the discovery of two roundhouses. By Ivan Lapper.

Artist’s reconstruction of Old Oswestry Hillfort based on the surviving earthworks and entrances and the discovery during excavations of the ephemeral remains of two roundhouses. There are no ramparts shown on top of the banks, but the illustration gives a sense of how the interior might have looked, and how the east entrance may have been configured. By Ivan Lapper. Source: English Heritage

Late June at Ness Botanic Garden on the Wirral

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On one of those days last week when I had a list of a hundred other things I ought to have been doing, and when the sun was blasting down from the heavens like an impending judgement, I jumped in the car and went to Ness Botanic Gardens on the Wirral. Even on a seriously hot day, there was a breeze coming up off the Dee estuary, there were plenty of shaded and wooded areas to enjoy, and Ness is notable for the sheer quantity of seating and benches available throughout. I was there for three hours, so taking water was essential, but if you forget to bring any with you, the shop is well stocked with bottled water.

My previous visit, during rhododendron and azalea season, was only six weeks ago, but the change was absolute. The brightly coloured floral effusions of shrubberies, woodland edges and wending pathways had gone over for the season, but in their place both sun- and shade-loving extravaganzas had emerged and were doing a fabulous job of ornamenting large areas of the gardens. Water features are a significant aspect of Ness, and even though drought conditions were in play, the ponds and wending channels were looking good, supporting numerous water-adapted plant species, some of them with leaves as large as parasols, as well as dragonflies and damson flies. The herbaceous borders in the big open expanse below the main building are being re-done and were not the extravaganza of colour I had been expecting, and the rose border had gone over, but what I learned on this visit is how much there is to see beyond the core areas. The gardens extend into shaded wooded areas with winding trails and great views over the Dee and the north Wales coast, and there are extensive wildflower meadows.

There is plenty of parking. Visitors are provided with a map of the site with the entrance ticket. Ness has a nice, well attended café which does excellent coffee and a good range of sandwiches, hot food and cold drinks, with both indoors and outside tables available. There is a small plant sales centre outside the shop, with excellent quality plants that are kept well-watered (mine are doing well in their new homes), and a shop indoors selling gifts. The Ness Botanic Gardens website with full visitor details is here.

Available to download from the Ness Gardens website at https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/nessbotanicgardens/Ness;,Map,3_2_26.pdf, but I have not found a way of rendering it easy to print. You are given a copy, however, with your ticket

For a very enjoyable day out, this could be combined very easily with the RSPB Burton Mere nature reserve, which is just 10 minutes away.

Cooling walks at RSPB Burton Mere on a seethingly hot day

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My third visit to the RSPB nature reserve at Burton Mere on the southwest Wirral was made particularly remarkable by the unprecedented and indeed record-breaking levels of heat in late June. Thankfully, Burton Mere offers an excellent balance of sunny board walks and leafy pathways and tracks, as well as cool hides, and there was a slight breeze from the Dee even where other areas locally were perfectly still. The reed beds and woodland walks were delightful on such a hot day, and there were two different types of wild orchid in flower, which were something of a treat. There were plenty of birds to see cooling down in the water, with the furthest hide, Border Hide, as busy with a wide range of wading birds as it had been on both my earlier visits. Apologies for the wildfowl photographs, which are at the absolute limit of the range of my camera lens. A full daily list of what has been spotted is always posted on the RSPB Burton Mere’s Facebook page to give an idea of what to look out for. I was particularly glad to see the avocets with their upward-curving beaks and distinctive black and white plumage. Avocets had become extinct as residential breeding birds in Britain prior to their reintroduction in 1947. According to the RSPB website, over half of those breeding in the UK today are still on managed wetland reserves. There were plenty of them at Burton Mere this week.

There were only a few other human visitors, and when I paused at the welcoming café on my way out, for a delicious latte and an ice cream at an outside table in the shade, I was in splendid isolation, accompanied only by a small jackdaw, which eyed my ice cream with all the optimism of one who is regularly fed by visitors. The heat has clearly deterred many visitors, but it was easy enough to avoid extensive periods of exposure to the sun. Because of the heat, taking water is a strongly recommended precaution, but if you forget to take your own the café sells bottled water as well as other cold drinks.

Visiting details can be found on the RSPB Burton Mere website here. If combined with the Ness Botanic Gardens, only 10 minutes away, this could make a good day out. Both have cafés for lunches and other refreshments, and both have plenty of parking.

My previous post about RSPB Burton Mere, with much better photographs of the bird life, is on the blog here.

Bee orchid

Southern marsh orchid

View across the marshes to Burton Point, where the purported hillfort is located on the RSPB land (look out for the sign posts)

My somewhat shaky video of the view from the Border Hide at Burton Mere, taken on my camera balanced on one of the Border Hide window sills. I love the cacophony of bird calls (just under 2 minutes long).

St Boniface Collegiate Church and The Chantry House in Bunbury

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The church of St Boniface, Bunbury

The Chantry House

The Grade I listed collegiate church, established by Sir Hugh Calveley in the 14th century, is listed in the Simon Jenkins book “England’s Thousand Best Churches”, and has a very distinctive personality. I also wanted to find “The Chantry House,” having read about it in Clare Dudman’s recent article in the Chester Antiquary. It is a half-timbered Tudor period building, Grade II* listed, later the home of John Bradshaw of Stockport, born 1602, died 1659, described by Clare as “regicide and President of the first Council of the State of the British Commonwealth (1649-1651).”

Although there is a list of sources at the end as usual, particular thanks are owed to the the history of the church from the St Boniface website as a PDF here.

The collegiate Church of St Boniface

Introduction

St Boniface himself, whose birth name was Winfrith, was a late 6th-century to mid-7th century English Benedictine monk, becoming a missionary in Germany and Frisia under the authority of the pope. He became an archbishop under Gregory III before going on to introduce reforms to the Church of France.

The church is perched on the side of the small valley of the river Gowy. It sits within a neat roughly rectangular stone-built boundary wall, which is most impressive on its western side, enclosing a rambling churchyard, which flows gently downhill. The Gowy that runs at the base of the valley is a fast-moving stream at this point, which wends its way northwest before emptying into the Mersey.

As with many medieval churches in the area, there is speculation that an Anglo-Saxon building preceded St Bonficace, made of wood, on the same site; and there is evidence, in the form of fragments of decorative stonework, of a Norman church preceding the early 14th century building.

The earliest phase of the medieval St Boniface’s Church was in 1320, when the Normal church was rebuilt in the Decorated style, but a large part of the church was rebuilt in 1385-6 when Sir Hugh Calveley established the church as a chantry to ensure that the canons’ prayers would reduce his time in Purgatory. As a nobleman Sir Hugh was a knight and a warrior and, already in his 60s, he had survived not only warfare, but also the devastating famines and plagues of the 14th century.

The current Church of St Boniface was established as a collegiate church, the first one I have visited in this area. The name “college” derives from the Latin word collegium, and translates roughly as “appointed or chosen together.” In other words, it is an official community of some description, not confined as it usually is today to an educational establishment. A collegiate church sits somewhere between a parish church and a monastic establishment. Instead of a single parish priest overseeing the church and congregation, the college of canons was a Christian community, but unlike a monastery was not secluded, did not follow a specific set of rules of the sort followed by monastic communities and did not require a life-time vow of commitment to the collegiate church. Most importantly, the church was just as much a community resource as any parish church and the canons, ordained priests with specific additional roles, were involved in parish life. Collegiate churches tended to be rather better financed than the average parish church, at least when they were initially established, because they were usually founded by wealthy donors like royalty, bishops or the aristocracy, whilst others were attached to university colleges. Some of the collegiate churches were dissolved following the Reformation following Henry VIII’s appointment of himself as the head of the new Church of England.

St Boniface’s was one of a number of churches that were also established as collegiate chantries. Chantries were intended to safeguard the soul, an ongoing financial investment to ensure prayers for the souls of specific individuals for eternity, thereby reducing a soul’s time in Purgatory. The most prestigious chantries were established in monasteries, where monks ordained as priests could carry out mass on behalf of those who had set up chantries, but any individual could set up his or her own church for the purpose of chantry.

Although the overall appearance of the church is coherently gothic, a great many changes were made during its life. The main styles are earlier Decorated gothic and, dating to Sir Hugh de Calveley’s investment, later Perpendicular remodelling. The nave and aisles were remodelled in c.1490. In the 1700s upper galleries were added to the nave. The church was substantially modified during the Victorian period. The 18th century galleries were removed, restoration work included the Late Perpendicular Ridley Chapel, which was in ruinous condition and the chancel floor was tiled. None of the medieval stained glass survived in any part of the church, partly due to the nave windows being fitted with iron casements in 1840. A clerestory was added above the windows, adding more light. The oak-panelled ceiling dating to the 1950s. The present stained glass is either 19th/early 20th century or modern, although small fragments of surviving medieval glass have been incorporated where possible.
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Simplified plan of the Church of St Boniface

The exterior

The first impression of the church exterior, as you do a circuit, is that the north side of the church has a massive and costly expanse of regimented windows, which together with the clerestory fill the church with far more light than a medieval church would normally have experienced, even with stained glass in place.

Although both sides of the nave consist of eight bays, you will notice that the north and south sides are different from one another. The north side, with a much smaller concentration of graves in the churchyard, has a much bigger bank of windows than the south side, making a remarkable first impression. Above them is an unusual balustrade that is not echoed on the south side. On both sides of the church are battlements and many pinnacles (some of which have fallen and can be seen in the churchyard) and do look out for gargoyles and grotesques, because there are some good examples.

The main gateway through the boundary wall, leading up two steps towards the tower, is 18th century. The medieval west door into the tower, used today as the visitor entrance, would have been used only for ceremonial occasions. Apart from the buttresses that support it, the tower is incorporated into the body of the church itself. A small door is located on the north side was opened during baptisms, whilst the congregation would have entered via the elaborate Decorated style south porch in the churchyard, retaining its original medieval doors, effigy of St Boniface and its clear views over the valley.

The south porch

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The interior

The tower and nave

Instead of standing beyond the nave, as with most churches, the tower is incorporated within the nave, with both aisles running along its sides (now blocked off for use as storage at the west, tower end). The base of the tower sits on sandstone bedrock and dates to Sir Hugh’s rebuild, with walls nearly 2m thick.

As well as the west and south entrances, there is also a small north door without a porch, but this was used only during baptisms, and was known as “the Devil’s Door.” During the ceremony it was left open to ensure that any evil spirits that escaped the child during baptism would exit the church. The frame of the doorway is original but the door itself dates to 1630.

View down the nave towards the chancel

The tower opens into the nave, which consists of a tall central section with views to the chancel at the east. The nave is flanked by two very elegant aisles. The aisle arcades are in Perpendicular style, replacing earlier aisles in the Decorated style, and are supported on particularly slender columns, giving an additional impression of space and height.

The remarkable bank of windows, particularly on the north side, provides the nave with much more light than it would normally have experienced, all in the style of the gothic Perpendicular. As all of the windows would have contained stained glass, there would have been much less light penetrating the interior than today, and the impact must have been spectacular. A 19th century clerestory is set above the windows, adding more light. The tall nave is topped with an oak-panelled ceiling dating to the 1950s. At the join between walls and ceiling there are angels holding painted shields representing local families who donated funds to ongoing care and modification of the church. The minimal amount of supporting wall between the windows has an impact on other aspects of the interior, as there is much less wall space than usual for memorial sculptures.

Immediately on your left as you enter the nave, underneath the window, is a statue commemorating Jane Johnson who died at the age of 24. It was found buried under a yew tree in 1882. The reason for this ignominious fate was apparently because the incumbent vicar in the 1760s found the large breasts too disturbing for an ecclesiastical context. On the far east end of the nave, in an aisle on the north side (left as you walk from the the tower towards the chancel) there is some fine medieval floor tiling under a communion table, with some grave stones laid into the floor. The tiles were found elsewhere in the church and moved here to preserve them.

Above the communion table is a short row of carved medieval stone sculptures, most of which represent excellent examples of grotesques, the remains of a former reredos. Grotesques are also set into the tops of the walls, particularly in the south aisle. On the opposite side of the nave, below the organ pipes, is a faint painted medieval altarpiece showing Christ rising from the tomb, flanked by important attendants, one of whom may represent St Boniface. Both the communion table and the organ pipes are located where chapels were once located at the east ends of each aisle.

The font dates to 1663, the medieval font apparently having been damaged during the Civil War. Behind the font in the south aisle are two lovely sets of painted wooden parclose panels showing images of saints, dating to c.1420-1450.

A brass chandelier dates to 1776.

The chancel

The 1921 Fred Crossley screen

Sir Hugh de Calveley with a calf shown on his suit of armour, his head resting on a sculpted calf and a third concealed in this photograph by his arms

The large chancel has been less radically modified than the nave. The walls were raised to a new height in 1520 but the rest of the chancel remains largely unchanged since the 1380s. It was originally divided from the nave by a rood screen, but the current screen, with its delicate carvings, was designed by Fred Crossley and dates from 1921. The size of the chancel was due to its role as a chantry. According to the St Boniface church’s online history leaflet, “The chancel in Sir Hugh’s collegiate church was designed to provide room for a chantry staff of eleven – a master, a submaster, five chaplains, two chanters, and two singers” in order to pray for the souls of the king, Sir Hugh and their ancestors and families. Sir Hugh died in 1394, unmarried.

The east window, apparently moved here from another church, was in the Decorated style, dating to the 14th century, its lovely tracery described by Pevsner/Hubbard as “uncommonly fanciful” and unique in Cheshire in terms of its flowering tracery. Much of the church’s medieval stained glass survived into the 19th century but the east window was blown out during a storm in the 1700s, and this window now has modern stained glass. Finds of glass beyond the east end show that it originally depicted the Jesse tree.

Sir Hugh himself is in pride of place in the centre of the chancel, with his 7ft long effigy sitting above a chest tomb, all in expensive alabaster, with many traces of paint still surviving on the chest tomb. It is surrounded by the original spiked railings. The three calves of Sir Hugh’s family shield are present on parts of his effigy, and a lion sits at his feet. The niches of the chest tomb would have contained weeping figures, now lost. The graffiti belongs mainly to the 17th century, carved by Civil War prisoners. Whether Sir Hugh is actually buried here is unknown.

Within the altar rails at the north side of the chancel is the colourfully elaborate effigy and tomb of Sir George Beeston, restored in 1937. He was a descendant of Sir Hugh de Calveley, and served in the Royal Navy as Admiral of the Fleet under four monarchs. Opposite it, also behind the altar rails on the south side (right) are the three seats of the sedilia, where the clergy sat during services, along with a small piscina, a basin for holy water, which drained into the churchyard, all attractively ogee-headed.

Unlike most churches, where an organ was slotted into an aisle of the nave, the 1895 organ at St Boniface was installed in the chancel on the southern side, facing into the south aisle.

The Ridley Chapel

The 1527 Ridley Chantry Chapel was built by Sir Raufe Egerton, a soldier rewarded for his loyalty by Henry VIII with a village near Bunbury. The endowment was much more modest than that of Sir Raufe’s ancestor Sir Hugh, employing two chantry priests employed to pray for his own soul, and those of his family. He built a house in which the priests resided, still standing today and discussed briefly below.

The chapel sits on the south side of the chancel, accessed through a substantial stone screen via a pair of very unusual carved doors, different on the chancel and chapel sides. The doors have a unique interlaced trellis topping and, on the chancel side, linenfold carving. On the chapel side the doors have and have the monograms of Sir Raufe and his wife Mary carved into the lower sections.

The screen dividing the chancel from the chapel has, on its interior face, some Renaissance paintwork, the earliest known in the region.

Until the Civil War, Sir Raufe’s marble chest-tomb stood, like Sir Hugh’s, in the centre of the chantry chapel. The chapel remained unfinished at his death and although some work continued, according to the detailed instructions left in his will, the dissolution of the college churches and chantries in 1548 led to the abandonment of the work, and it was in a highly ruinous condition by the mid 19th century, when restoration was undertaken.

After 1548

The church’s chantry college was dissolved during Reformation in 1548 and the church became Crown property before the tithes (the income of the church) were sold by Elizabeth I.

Beeston Castle

Although efforts were made to keep Cheshire out of the Civil War (1642-1659), with the Bunbury Agreement signed to this effect, the county was nevertheless dragged into the hostilities. Royalist forces had taken up position at Chester in 1642, using it as a base to provision themselves from the Dee, which was still a working port with river access via the Dee to the Irish Sea and Liverpool Bay. Shortly afterwards, Parliamentarians established themselves at Nantwich. Beeston sat right in the middle of the two opposing bases, and the parliamentarians installed a garrison at the castle in February 1643, under the control of Captain Thomas Steele, who oversaw repairs to make the castle defensible. St Boniface’s was used by Parliamentarians who were garrisoned at Bunbury to house Royalist prisoners who had been taken in the fighting at Beeston Castle and other local battlefields.

In the 1700s galleries were added to the nave, but these were removed in the 1860s during a period of Victorian alterations, which also removed the plaster covering the walls, the wall paintings and the traditional box pews. The tiling on the floor of the chancel dates to this time.

Electric light was not introduced until 1931. Sadly in 1940 a land-mine inflicted serious damage on the church, partly because the 1840s alterations to the windows had badly undermined the structural integrity of the church.

Today the nave has a feeling of timelessness that is very difficult to pin down. This may be due to the mass of light that the main windows and the clerestory produce, combined with the lofty ceiling on slender columns; the absence of traditional blocks of pews in favour of backed benches; and the minimal amount of memorial clutter on the walls, all providing the nave with a faint and attractively unusual hint of modernity. The chancel is much more traditional, but the centrepiece provided by Sir Hugh’s effigy and chest tomb, the painted tomb of Sir George Beeston and the addition of the Ridley Chapel are all truly compelling features. The amount of paintwork in the church is unusual, and although much of it was restored in the Victorian period, it gives an excellent idea of how much more colour would have been present in a pre-Commonwealth church. This venerable church, established to provide chantry services for Sir Hugh de Calveley, is distinctive in both look and feel, outside and in, and has a lot of very unusual features to offer the visitor.

The Chantry House

The village surrounding the church is very attractive, with multiple styles of building dispersed along the lines of several lanes, one of which dips down to the Gowy and climbs steadily beyond. Most of the village’s core dates back as far as the Tudor period, with fine historic buildings from other periods, all surrounded by an interrupted ring of more modern homes.

Thomas Aldersey. Source: The Haberdashers’s Company

One of the interesting personalities in the village was Thomas Aldersey who in 1565 purchased the tithes (church income) from Elizabeth I. He was a contemporary of Sir Raufe Egerton, and as well as being a Member of Parliament, he was affiliated to the Company of Haberdashers, a powerful London Puritan guild, and appointed them as his trustees in 1590. This was significant because it gave the guild authority over the church, and their involvement lead to Bunbury becoming a centre for non-conformism and, in the 17th century, became the home of Cheshire’s first Methodist society. Even more interesting is that a census of 1640 showed that the parish housed some 112 illegal Catholics. Unsurprisingly, the two factions were often in conflict. This non-conformism lasted into the 19th century when there were two non-conformist chapels in Bunbury, the Wesleyan Trinity Chapel established in 1806, and a Primitive Methodist church on College Lane built in 1876.

John Bradshaw by George Perfect Harding. Source: Wikipedia

At the foot of the dip alongside the Gowy is The Chantry House, built by the same Raufe Egerton responsible for the Ridley Chapel, as a home for his chantry priests. It is a domestic half-timbered property dated by Historic England to roughly 1527, some 200 years after Sir Hugh Calveley had been sufficiently terrified by the prospect of Purgatory to finance a new incarnation of the church. Like many other buildings in Bunbury, The Chantry House has a rich history of its own and in 1594 was donated by Thomas Aldersey to the school’s master (the school has since been demolished). It was here that John Bradshaw is thought to have lodged as a child to attend the neighbouring school, growing up to become a jurist, judge, lawyer and politician. As a Chief Justice in Chester and North Wales, he presided over a number of witch trials. In 1649, he was made Lord President of the parliamentary commission that was established to put Charles I on trial, signed the death warrant on January 29th 1649, and subsequently held senior positions in the Commonwealth. Although he was buried in Westminster Abbey with his wife, on the reinstatement of the monarchy under Charles II they were both later disinterred, put on show, and then posthumously executed by beheading.

The Chantry House

As Clare Dudman’s article highlighted, the centuries-old line of sight between the house and the church was under threat recently, when a proposal was submitted for a new building development in the meadow that lies between Chantry House (and the River Gowy), and the slope up to the church. The planning permission was recently refused in favour of retaining the open meadow. Here’s an excerpt from the Decision Notice (Application No. 25/3509/PIP) refusing planning permission:

The river Gowy

The proposed development is located within the Open Countryside and does not meet
any of the exceptions noted for development within Open Countryside. Furthermore, the
proposal would not integrate into the rural surrounding context and would erode the
existing distinction between the settlement boundaries and the wider open countryside
which contributes to the character of Bunbury. Furthermore, the development would
impact on the important local views and vistas and would have a conspicuous
urbanising effect that would fail to respect the intrinsic rural character of the wider
landscape, which would be harmful to the verdant rural character, appearance and
qualities of Bunbury contrary to Policies PG6.

Common sense, good taste and support for the retention of rural elements within the village prevailed in the end. A footpath through the field gives good views of both The Chantry House and the church.

There is a Wikipedia page showing all the listed buildings in Bunbury.

Visiting details

There are no details of opening times for St Boniface either on the website or at the church, but it was open on both visits, and appears to have an open door policy. It is worth checking the website to ensure that you don’t accidentally arrive when a service or a church event is being held. For those using satnav, the church is on Bowe’s Gate Road and the What3Words address is ///dollar.papers.currently. There is no official car park but there is plenty of on-street parking in the immediate vicinity of the east end of the church.

If you are more organized than I was, you can download a PDF of the history of the church from the St Boniface website before you visit here. I recommend doing so because there are no pamphlets to pick up or purchase at the church to learn about its history, although on a cupboard top on the right-hand side, just before you enter the nave, you can open a copy of the book England’s Thousand Best Churches by Simon Jenkins to see the one-page summary, and next to it there is a framed sheet of A4 with a potted history of the church. Other sources are listed below.

The Chantry House is a private residence and not open to the public.

If you go for a wander around the village, do take care to stand well back for the traffic, because there are no footpaths on most of the lanes, and delivery vehicles and through-traffic tend to travel at some speed, in spite of the narrow and bendy roads.

Sources:

Books and papers

Cook, G.H. 1959. English Collegiate Churches. Phoenix House Ltd

Dudman, Clare 2026. The Chantry House and School Field, Bunbury. Chester Antiquary (newsletter of Chester Archaeological Society), 2026 issue 1
https://chesterarchaeolsoc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/CHE_Antiq_26-01_V03.pdf (with links to other sources of information)

Farmer, David 2011 (5th edition). Oxford Dictionary of Saints. Oxford University Press.

Jenkins, Simon 2000. England’s Thousand Best Churches. Penguin Books

Jeffrey, Paul 2007. The Collegiate Churches of England and Wales. Robert Hale Ltd.

Pevsner, Nikolaus and Edward Hubbard 1971. The Buildings of England: Cheshire. Penguin Books

Roffey, Simon 2007. The Medieval Chantry Chapel. An Archaeology. Studies in the History of Medieval Religion XXXIV. Boydell Press

Websites

Chester Civic Trust
February 2025 event: Chester Witches
https://chestercivictrust.org.uk/february-event-chester-witches/

Historic England
The Church of St Boniface, Bowes Gate Road, Bunbury, List Entry 1138626
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1138626
The Chantry House, Wyche Road, Bunbury, List Entry 1138635
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1138635

St Boniface Church, Bunbury
Home
https://www.stbonifacebunbury.org/
Tour of St Boniface
https://www.stbonifacebunbury.org/_files/ugd/2ae44a_06c1c7df158841a39fd31257c004ed7e.pdf
Historical Document Archive
https://www.stbonifacebunbury.org/archive-1

Wikipedia
Listed Buildings in Bunbury
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Listed_buildings_in_Bunbury,_Cheshire

A delightful and colourful visit to Ness Botanic Gardens on the Wirral

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Following his purchase of land in Ness in 1898, Arthur Kilpin Bulley, the son of a wealthy Liverpool cotton importer, created Bees Ltd, a nursery specializing in exotic seed and plant imports, at the same time financing planned collection expeditions to far off destinations like the Himalayas and China. He died in 1942, and in 1898 his daughter gifted the garden to the University of Liverpool. The University continues to manage the gardens, now totally 64 acres, with areas of rockery, woodland, water gardens, specimen lawns, an orchard, a small greenhouse with succulents, a laburnum and wisteria arch, and of course there are lovely views over the Dee estuary to north Wales.

Ness Botanic Gardens are open from March to October. When I went with my friend Katie yesterday it was with the hope of seeing a lot of rhododendrons and azaleas as well as the laburnum and wisteria arch, and we were in luck. It was overcast but dry, and the floral extravaganza brought delicious colour and light into the otherwise rather dull day.

There is plenty of parking. Visitors are provided with a map of the site with the entrance ticket. My battered copy is shown right (click to enlarge). I did look to see if there was a printer-friendly copy to download on the Ness Gardens website, but I couldn’t find one. There is a different style of map, but it all on a green background and not printer-friendly. The Gardens has a nice cafe which does excellent coffee and a good range of sandwiches, hot food and cold drinks, and both indoors and outside tables are available. There is a small plant sales centre outside, and a shop indoors selling gifts.

The small and rather puzzling Burton Point Iron Age promontory fort on the Wirral

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Burton Point from below

The earthworks at Burton Point have been consistently dated to the Iron Age, and the site has usually been described as a promontory hillfort. This post is about the prehistoric, medieval and post-medieval history of the site, with a particular focus on the Iron Age.

The footpath over the railway leading to the viewing platform in the wooded area within the RSPB wildlife reserve, and the earthworks below. Source: Google Maps

The site is located on a former promontory at the end of a headland at the western edge of the RSPB Burton Wetlands nature reserve. You may see older websites saying that Burton Point is on private land, but this has now changed and entry to the viewing point over the defences now simply requires a ticket via the RSPB reception area. The site is served by good footpaths and signposting and includes basic interpretation signage to give visitors some idea of what might have been there during the Iron Age. As the RSPB reserve is really excellent (I have written about it here) it makes for a great day out even for people who are not particular bird aficionados.

Burton Point fortifications as seen from the footpath in the above imgae

Burton Point fortifications as seen from the approach along the footpath from the RSPB reserve, highlighted in red

Do note that on the whole, there is not a lot to actually see. The Iron Age defences are on the other side of a fence, with notices not to cross the fence, so exploring the bank and ditch would be trespass. Even though you are overlooking the defences, it is not at all easy to make out what is going on. The other approach is to take the cycle track that runs near the base of Burton Point to try and get a look at it from below, but here again it is difficult to make out where the defences are located and how they would have been deployed to protect an Iron Age settlement. The best way to get a good look of the site is from above, and you can do this by viewing the Mister Drone UK video of the site, which is by far the most effective way of understanding the relationship between the different parts of the site and the modern landscape and former riverscape.

Archaeological phases

Between 2005 and 2006 the University of Chester undertook three field surveys: contour, topographical and geophysical, as well as a documentary review to track down any historical reference to the site in contemporary records. These were reported by Gary Crawford-Coupe in the Journal of Chester Archaeological Society in 2006.

As you can see in the 1689 map above, it was a very noticeable promontory, with the river channel running along its base, offering clear views upriver towards Chester, and downriver towards Hilbre Island, which we could see on the day. The visibility of Hilbre will depend to a great degree on the weather, but this was the hottest day of the year to date, and there was not a cloud in the sky. Opposite, on the Welsh side, is Flint Castle which, like Burton Point, is now set back from the river by a long margin of accumulated silt, but was right on the water’s edge when it was built in 1277.

The four main periods of archaeological evidence proposed for the site are Neolithic, Iron Age, Medieval and 17th century. The site was quarried extensively for red sandstone, which has caused changes to its appearance. These are discussed by Gary Crawford-Coupe’s 2006 paper, based on the University of Chester’s field surveys, which is the best source of collated information, and can be downloaded free of charge from the Archaeological Data Service (see Sources at the end).

Neolithic

View along the Dee Estuary to the northwest towards the coast from the former riverbed under Burton Point

Although there are scatters of Mesolithic lithic finds on the Wirral dating to the earlier and later Mesolithic, examples of which were found in the nearby village of Burton, there is nothing dating to this period at Burton Point. Three interesting finds dating to the Neolithic were, however, found, discussed in Crawford-Coupe’s paper. There were two arrowheads, one tanged and one transverse, and a polished axe head from Graig Lwyd in Penmaenmawr. Graig Lwyd axes were found over a wide area and represent a successful trading network.

Iron Age

The site

Fortification at Burton Point, consisting of a bank and ditch

The site has not been excavated so recognition of a site and its interpretation as an Iron Age promontory fort has mainly been a matter of the presence of a bank and ditch. The bank and ditch arrangement is referred to as a glacis type (in which the bank runs directly on a diagonal slope into the ditch). The site has produced no further late prehistoric information, and no diagnostic artefacts have been recovered although it should be noted that the lack of finds from the Iron Age in the Cheshire area is entirely typical. The main object type discovered from Iron Age sites is VCP (Very Coarse Pottery), a distinctive coarse pottery used for transporting salt, but none of this has been found at Burton Point to date. In spite of this lack of corroborating evidence, most of those who have inspected and commented on the site have been confident that this is indeed a small Iron Age promontory hillfort that could have supported a small population, perhaps little larger than an extended family. It was first registered as a Scheduled Monument in 1913 and in 1979 the schedule was modified to include a larger area.

Artist’s impression of Maiden Castle on Bickerton Hill, overlooking the Cheshire Plain to the west, which in an interesting experiment had a clear line of sight to Burton Point. Produced by the Habitats and Hillforts Project 2008-2012. Source: Sandstone Ridge Trust

There is good circumstantial evidence to suggest an Iron Age date for the Burton area. Burton Point was also well positioned for visual communication with contemporary sites, as discussed by David Matthews in 2006 and Erin Lloyd Jones in 2019. A 2011 experiment, the Hilltop Glow event, organized by the former Heather and Hillforts project, demonstrated that Burton Point and reported on the BBC (BBC News March 2011) was one of ten Iron Age hillfort sites (on the Clwydian Range, Halkyn Mountain, the mid-Cheshire Sandstone Ridge, and at Burton Point) that determined which sites could be seen from one another when torches were lit. The BBC report of the experiment quoted Heather and Hilltops representative Erin Robinson, stating that Burton Point was visible as far away as Maiden Castle at Bickerton Hill, 25km /15.5 miles (shown above), as well as nearer sites on the Clwydian Range. Burton Point would also have been in the proximity of Iron Age sites 129 and 154 at Puddington Lane in nearby Burton Village, which confirm that a later Bronze Age and Iron Age presence were in this area. By boat, Iron Age settlements in both Chester and Meols would have been within easy reach: Iron Age settlement features were found during the excavations of the Roman amphitheatre in Chester; and at Meols a number of Iron Age finds, including coins, have lead to suggestions that Meols may have been a trading port with connections to both north and south along the coast at that time.

Burton Point LiDAR image from the Atlas of Iron Age of Britain and Ireland (EN3190). The line leading diagonally from northeast to southwest is the footpath leading to the viewing area.

There are however some features that remain puzzling. If this is supposed to be a settlement on a promontory, separated from the rest of the headland by a bank and ditch, it is remarkably difficult to understand its form from what remains, whether you are overlooking the site, looking up at it from below, or examining maps, LiDAR imaging or aerial photographs. This is partly due to quarrying and erosion, but also because it is impossible to walk over what remains of the site, which is fenced off. However, what may have been the Iron Age defences appear to be set below what remains of the headland. This means that the settlement on the promontory would have been lower than the headland behind it, a strategic disadvantage if the bank and ditch were defensive rather than merely statements of territory or prestige. On my first visit it seemed counter-intuitive that this was a promontory hillfort because the defences were only around 20ft above the river bed. Once the term “fort” is removed from the equation, it is still puzzling, and although a short stretch of bank and ditch were visible, they were below the level at which we were standing on the headland behind the defences, a few feet higher than the defences. Faint heart never won fair hillfort, so a few days later I parked up near the cycle track that runs around the base of Burton Point and had another look from what would have been the Dee riverbed, from where the headland clearly rises above the level of the defences. The Mister Drone footage and the above LiDAR image, which I found only later also indicate that the defences were below the headland behind it.

Even so, the bank and ditch may have been more symbolic than actually defensive. Speculating wildly, if the promontory was occupied for its views or as a trading point, the defences could have been built to control access to and exit from a specialized site. In this case, or any other function for the site (including domestic settlement) the bank and ditch could have had more to do with a statement of territoriality and prestige than any actual threat.

The surveys undertaken by the University of Chester (Crawford-Coupe 2005) were unable to provide definitive data to substantiate the proposed dating. The tangle of tree roots prevented any detection of sub-surface structures.

There are alternative suggestions. After his visit to inspect the site in November 1950, Professor A.W. Lawrence, thought that the earthworks represented quarry upcast prior to starting a new quarry (Historic England Research Records Monument No.67150). The same source puts forward the possibility that even if it is accepted that the bank and ditch are defensive, they could represent “a Dark Age Celtic Fort,” partly based on the possibility that the parish name Burton may be derived from Burh-tun, meaning “farm/dwelling by the fort.” The CHER record (9/1) mentions, without a reference, that “[i]t has been suggested that it maybe the military base of the Dane, Hingamund.”

The site continues to interest those researching the Iron Age and has been mentioned in subsequent reports on other sites, placing it in a wider regional context. As Crawford-Coupe points out, matters are unlikely to be clarified until an excavation takes place.

Composite map showing the distribution of Iron Age sites in northwest England and north Wales. Sources: I combined the two maps from Ritchie 2018 and Nevell 2025

Roman

For those wondering whether there may have been a Roman trading post or watchpost here, perhaps part of a network with Meols, both reasonable thoughts given the notable lines of sight on a clear day, a single Roman brooch was found (SMR-no.59). A single object cannot be extrapolated into a whole site or a particular set of activities but the discovery is still interesting, particularly as there was a find of another Roman brooch (SMR no.56), a fibula-type, in a field opposite Ness Gardens only 1.5 miles / 2.4 km away from Burton Point. I have not yet found a detailed account or image of either brooch.

Medieval use and quarrying

Flint Castle on the Dee Estuary, opposite Burton Point

After the site was abandoned in the Roman period, it is thought that it was used for stone quarrying by Edward I for Flint Castle, together with stone from Ness where Edward kept a small garrison. Most of the stone used for Flint Castle was yellow sandstone, that tends to look rather grey today, but red sandstone that could have been quarried from Burton Point and its vicinity was also used as infill and for some inner stonework.

Richard II’s Cheshire archers are thought to have embarked from Burton Point on the expedition to Ireland in 1399.

Post-medieval land use, quarrying and burials

As has already been mentioned, in the Middle Ages the channel of the Dee is thought to have run up to the base of Burton Point, and there are various records of requests for access to the small headland for mooring, unloading and storage. The University of Chester survey published in 2006 noted a section of wall and some pavings, which may have had something to do with these requests, but it is all fairly ambiguous.

1732 map of the river Dee and estuary showing Burton Point. Source: sustainablebeach.co.uk

In 1889 it was reported that 29 burials were found, all interred orientated east to west, with no grave goods. An east-west burial is consistent with a Christian burial, but that does not narrow it down much. When the skeletal remains were examined, there were no marks to indicate how they died, which seems to rule out a Civil War explanation, but leaves the possibility of plague or shipwreck. A shipwreck was recorded for 1637. Shipwreck victims may or may not have incurred injuries during the wrecking of the ship, but plague would have left no signs at all and would be consistent with such a remote burial, unconnected with a church and consecrated land.

Final Comments

Imaginative reconstruction of how an Iron Age site may have looked

Given that no roundhouses or any indications of palisades have been found at the site, this information sign represents a profound act of imagination based loosely on structures found on other Iron Age sites in the general area.

Partly due to erosion and quarrying that have obliterated most of the site, and partly due to the position of the defences at a level lower than the main headland, the site is not particularly easy to understand as an Iron Age defended promontory settlement. Nevertheless, it is generally accepted as such, demonstrated by the University of Chester report published in 2006, and its inclusion in discussions of the Iron Age in the area, its presence on distribution maps of Iron Age sites and its inclusion on online Atlas of Iron Age Hillforts in Britain and Ireland. There do remain questions about the overall plan of the proposed late prehistoric settlement.

Sources

Books and papers

Britnell, W.J. and Silvester, R.J. 2018. 1. Introduction. In (eds.) Britnell, W.J. and Silvester, R.J. 2018. Hillforts and Defended Enclosures of the Welsh Borderland. Internet Archaeology 48
https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue48/7/1.html

Crawford-Coupe, Gary 2006. II. The Archaeology of Burton Point. Journal of Chester Archaeological Society, new series 89, p.71-90
https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-2910-1/dissemination/pdf/JCAS_ns_080/JCAS_ns_080_071-090.pdf

Gregory, Richard A. and Mark Adams with contributions by Denise Druce, Laura Griffin, Chris Howard-Davis, Gwladys Monteil, Elaine L. Morris, Rob Philpott, Ian Smith and Adam Tinsley 2019. Excavation at Two Cropmark Enclosures at Puddington Lane, Burton, Wirral, 2010–2015.
Journal of Chester Archaeological Society, new series 89, 2019, p.1–69
https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-2910-1/dissemination/pdf/JCAS_ns_089/JCAS_ns_089_001-070.pdf

Griffiths, David., Robert A. Philpott, Geoff Egan and contributors 2007. Meols, the Archaeology of the North Wirral Coast. Oxford University School of Archaeology: Monograph 68: Institute of Archaeology, University of Oxford.
https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/view/meols_sal_2007/downloads.cfm

Lloyd Jones, Erin 2019. Connections between the hillforts of the Clwydian Range and the wider landscape. Unpublished PhD, Bangor University
https://pure.bangor.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/22607372/2017_Jones_EL_PhD.pdf

Matthews, David J. 2006. Mapping hillfort intervisibility and its potential to define Iron Age tribal areas in the northern and mid Marches. Unpublished MA Thesis

Matthews, Keith J. 2001. The Iron Age of Northwest England: A socio-economic model. Journal of the Chester Archaeological Society 76, p.1-51
https://www.academia.edu/900876/The_Iron_Age_of_North_West_England_A_Socio_Economic_Model

Morgan, Victorian and Paul Morgan 2004. Prehistoric Cheshire. Landmark Publishing

Nevell, Mike 2025. Northwest Regional Research Framework: Later Prehistory
https://researchframeworks.org/nwrf/resource-assessments/later-prehistory/

Philpott, Robert A. and Mark H. Adams and contributors 2010. Irby, Wirral. Excavations on a Late Prehistoric Romano-British and Medieval site 1987-96. National Museums Liverpool

Ritchie, Matt 2018. A Brief Introduction to Iron Age Settlement in Wales. Internet Archaeology 48. https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue48/2/1.html

Silvester R.J. 2018. 4. North-east Wales and the Cheshire borderlands. In (eds.) Britnell, W.J. and Silvester, R.J. 2018. Hillforts and Defended Enclosures of the Welsh Borderland. Internet Archaeology 48
https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue48/7/toc.html

Wilmott, Tony and Dan Garner 2018. The Roman Amphitheatre of Chester, Volume 1: The Prehistoric and Roman Archaeology. Oxbow Books

Websites

ARCHAEOdeath
The Archaeology of Burton Point: The Heritage Open Day at Burton Mere RSPB
https://howardwilliamsblog.wordpress.com/2022/09/16/the-archaeology-of-burton-point-the-heritage-open-day-at-burton-mere-rspb/

Atlas of Hillforts in Britain and Ireland
EN3190 – Burton Point. Gary Lock and Ian Ralston 2012-2016
https://tinyurl.com/mrxeu34s

Based In Churton
Exploring Maiden Castle Iron Age Hillfort, Bickerton Hill (mid-Cheshire Sandstone Ridge)
https://wp.me/pcZwQK-8Az
Sunshine, archaeology and great views at Caer Drewyn Iron Age hillfort at Corwen
https://wp.me/pcZwQK-4ft
Hillforts and amazing views – and why is there an Egyptian temple on the top of Moel Famau?
https://wp.me/pcZwQK-9dE
The fabulous nature reserve at the RSPB’s Burton Mere Wetlands
https://wp.me/pcZwQK-7QS

BBC News
North Wales Hillfort Test of Iron Age Communication
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-east-wales-11832323

Heritage Gateway
Historic England Research Records Monument Number 67150.
https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=67150&resourceID=19191

Historic England
Promontory fort on Burton Point 550m south west of Burton Point Farm
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1013298?section=official-list-entry

Mister Drone UK
Burton Point, Iron Age Fort Remains search by drone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9izFQLB148

Northwest Regional Resource
Introduction: The Later Prehistoric Resource. 1200BC-43AD. Compiled by Michael Nevell, with contributions.
https://researchframeworks.org/nwrf/resource-assessments/later-prehistory/

A Sustainable Vision for Hoylake Beach
The Curious Case of the Cheesemongers (for the very useful 1732 map of the Wirral)
https://sustainablebeach.org.uk/index.php/evidence-and-data/library/the-curious-case-of-the-cheesemongers/

The view across to Wales from the foot of Burton Point

Hillforts and amazing views – and why is there an Egyptian temple on the top of Moel Famau?

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The Jubilee Tower

It was something of a surprise when I walked up to the top of Moel Famau during the week and found myself face to face with a building that was clearly based on an ancient Egyptian temple, the Grade II listed Jubilee Tower. People talk about the views, the hillforts, the heather, the bilberries and the bird life, but no-one had mentioned that there was a rather unexpected slice of Egyptomania on the peak. One would certainly, thankfully, not be permitted to build on a national beauty spot these days, but I suppose that it could be a lot worse, like the hideous, overpriced café on Snowdon. The Jubilee Tower is not elegant, it is not authentic, and it is anything but pretty, but it did make me smile, and other walkers were clearly enjoying it too. Heritage comes in various forms, some of them most unexpected. The Egyptian Revival produced some splendid buildings and monuments, and although this one is not amongst the most accomplished, its location singles it out as a fairly remarkable example, a genuine curiosity.

Map of Moel Famau footpaths, as well as the locations of Moel y Gaer and Foel Fenlli hillforts. Source: Nearly Uphill

Moel Famau, on the Clwydian Range, is lovely. It is the highest peak on the Clwydians and a very popular destination for hikers and dog walkers alike. I don’t really remember my first visit, so it was very much like visiting for the first time. There are a number of different approaches to the peak. I went along the Bwlch Pen Barras road, a pass through the Clwydian Range where there are two official starting points with car parks. one of which takes you through the coed (wood), but it was far too gloriously sunny to be under cover, which means that that the best starting point was the large amount of lay-by parking (which I believe is free) or the Bwlch Pen Barras car park (payment required) . The What3Words address for the Bwlch Pen Barras car park is ///hobble.passwords.device. You are already very high up at this point, with terrific views over the Vale of Clwyd before you even start, and the footpath that I took (the purple track at far left of the above map) provides superb views over the Vale of Clwyd.

The walk, along a wide, well maintained path, starts very gently and for the first 20 minutes or so is very easy. It becomes much steeper for a fairly short section leading up to the peak, but people of all levels of fitness seemed to be tackling it, some stopping frequently for a breather. It’s worth that last push because the 360º views are breathtaking.

If you climb up the steps to the top of the Egyptian Revival “temple” there are metal plaques explaining the building. It turns out that what we see today is just the stump of a much more ambitious project, the Jubilee Tower, which included an obelisk. It was designed by architect Thomas Harrison, and was built to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of George III in 1810, paid for by public subscription, with Flintshire magistrate Lord Kenyon laying the foundation stone in October of that year. Harrison’s buildings in Chester are far less frivolous, with most of his work in the Neoclassical style, including the Grosvenor Bridge and the Propylaeum (monumental gateway) into Chester Castle and the Neoclassical building that is now owned by the university but was previously occupied by the council as its Shire Hall. The building materials were taken up by horse and cart. The design of the obelisk was modified during construction, with a shorter and stumpier version being completed in about 1817 after a break in work due to financial difficulties and a dispute between Harrison and the builder. Unfortunately the obelisk soon started to deteriorate, and eventually collapsed in a storm in 1862. The rest of the structure continued to decay until 1970 when it underwent restoration, and in 2013 it again required significant restoration work. Here’s the Coflein description of the Jubilee Tower:

The Jubilee Tower in the Edwardian period. Source: BBC News

The monument now survives as a battered plinth, 12-15m diameter, of roughly coursed rubble stone. Located on a mound which may be artificial. Each face has a central blind doorway of dressed stone, in simple Egyptian style, under a roll-moulded lintel; roughly hewn cornice or hoodmould. Above these blind openings are broad rectangular panels of dressed freestone with roll-moulded surrounds. The corners of the monument have stone and concrete steps, starting from low square projections, which lead to the centre of the monument. Inside are the circular rubble stone footings of a former higher section of tower, 6m in diameter. Around the outside of the monument is a renewed retaining wall 0.5-1m high, open at the corners. A plaque reads ‘Cefn Gwlad award 1970’, with Prince of Wales emblems.

The Egyptian Revival followed Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt in 1798. He took with him over 100 specialists, the “savants,” amongst whom were artists and draughtsmen who recorded the ancient Egyptian temples.

One of the first and very popular books to publish these images was Dominique Vivant-Denon’s “Journeys in Upper and Lower Egypt” published in 1802. Even before Jean-François Champollion’s translation of hieroglyphs in 1822, and over a century before Howard Carter’s discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen in 1922, Egypt had wriggled its way firmly into the British imagination. Even so, I would love to have been at the meeting where plonking a pseudo-Egyptian monument on the top of a remote beauty spot in honour of the king’s jubilee was presented as a such a good idea that people invested in it.

Moel y Gaer hillfort is the green beret on top of the pinkish-brown supr

Also on the top of the temple are plaques showing the names of the hills all around, with Cadair Idris and Snowdonia visible as silvery silhouettes through the slight haze, and the Moel Arthur hillfort next along on the Clwydian Range.

Looking northeast towards Prestatyn across Moel Arthur and Penycloddiau hillforts from the top of Jubilee Tower

View from the main path to Moel y Gaer hillfort

If you are a fan of the Iron Age this is a terrific walk. The path passes Moel y Gaer, which sits on a spur of the hillside, and is a piece of absolute perfection. It is not on a public footpath, but it is clearly visible from the main route up Moel Famau. Its banks and ditches form an elegant tiara, and its position overlooking the Vale of Clwyd is superb. Once you have reached the peak of Moel Famau, the hill housing the Moel Arthur hillfort is clearly visible, with Penycloddiau beyond. Foel Fenlli is a walk in its own right, but it is an important part of the walk back down from Moel Famau, because its vast banks and ditches are clearly outlined against a bright sky, yelling its late prehistoric credentials, a far more aggressive and prominent statement than Moel y Gaer.

The impressive fortifications of Foel Fenlli, as seen from the Moel y Gaer path

Apart from the acres of dark brown heather and the bright spring green of the valley below, there is not a lot of plant life to see at this time of year, although it is very striking without a floral contribution. The heather, dark chestnut brown and lifeless at this time of year, has been cut into a peculiar pattern of rectangles to encourage new growth, apparently for the benefit of wildlife. There is not much in the way of shrubs and the trees in the wood are conifer plantations. There are plenty of birds of prey if you have equipped yourself with binoculars. I look forward to visiting again when the heather is in flower in late summer, which should be stunning.

It is about a 40 minute walk up, although I forgot to take a note of the times in either direction and have the impression that it took me only about half an hour back down, with extra time added for pausing to enjoy the views and for lazy mellowing and exploring the monument at the top. I am something of a route-marcher, so that needs to be taken into account. You can walk on beyond Moel Famau in various directions on public footpaths. Most obviously the path continues, in a much narrower form, across the Clwydian Range, which looks like an absolutely splendid option. If you have the energy, you can walk to the village of Bodfari, in another pass through the Clwydian Range, whilst the Offa’s Dyke Trail goes all the way to Prestatyn. In the opposite direction, you can follow the route over Foel Fenlli all the way to Chirk, skirting the dramatic Eglyseg Mountain and passing Castell Dinas Bran and the Pontcysyllte aqueduct.

It was one of those spring days when everyone looked as though they had been released from a cage, shedding winter like a bad memory. Super. To read more about the environment and archaeology of the Clwydian Range and Llantysilio Mountains see the PDF produced by the Heather and Hillforts project.

Aerial view of the Clwydian Range. Coflein image 662395. Source: Coflein

Walking the history of Chester’s canals, from the river Dee to Boughton #2 – The Walk

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This post has been divided into two. Part 1, already posted here, looks at some of the history of the Chester city canals, in brief. Part 2 is a mainly photographic account following a walk along the canals from the point where the river Dee connects to the canal network to just beyond Tarvin Bridge. Part of this was once the Chester Canal, which then became the Ellesmere and Chester Canal, as two different systems joined up with the rest of the canal network, and finally became the Shropshire Union Canal, the name by which it is known today.

Map of the first part of the canal route. The start point is marked by the red dot. The rest of the route follows the canal as far as the Chester Boughton Hall Cricket Club

Map of the entire route from the Dee to Chester Boughton Hall Cricket Club

Map of the entire route, with the orange arrows showing the route from the Dee to Chester Boughton Hall Cricket Club. The pink arrows are the route I took from the Little Roodee car park to the start of the canal. The darker purple arrow marks the arch beneath the railway viaduct that continues the river walk.

Detail of Tollemache Terrace

The walk begins at the point where the canal meets the river Dee, at the red dot (What3Words ///golf.finishing.upset). It follows the tiny section of the old Chester Canal around the corner into the Dee Branch, which was created to allow access from the Wirral Line to the Dee. The walk then crosses the roving-bridge with views up along the Wirral Line, across to the boatyard and down Tower Wharf Basin towards the main line of the canal to the east. The walk then proceeds between Tower Wharf Basin and the Dee Branch, round the corner into the turning basin and along the rest of the canal, without any additional complications. You can, of course, do as much or as little as you like. There is much more to see than included here – it’s a terrific walk. I went as far as the Chester Boughton Hall Cricket Club, and the photographs go that far, but of course you can walk on as far as Wolverhampton if you have the time and stamina!

The return route is slightly different. I parked in the long-term Little Roodee car park, which is under the city walls, so on the return route along the canal walked up onto the city walls (What3Words ///gone.dome.paths) and followed the walls back to the car park.

Map of the return route via the city walls

The slightly different return leg of the route, which leaves the main line of the canal and goes up on to the city walls looking down on the canal before heading, still on the city walls, towards the Little Roodee long term car park

There is plenty of parking in Chester, but I chose to park in the Little Roodee (What3Words ///helps.going.budget) because I was not sure how long I would take, and this is a long-term fixed-fee car park. In the event, with plenty of stops to take photographs, it took around two and a half hours in total, two hours out (with lots of stops to take photos) and then an hour back to the Little Roodee via the City Walls, coming off the canal and walking above it from near to the King Charles Tower. There are plenty of places to stop for drinks and a bite to eat.

The starting point, where the canal tips water into the river Dee. The lock gates are long vanished, buy you can see where they once were.

The two main points to make at the beginning of the walk at the lock between the canal network into the Dee are that 1) this is obviously derelict and no longer usable, meaning that the canal network is now divorced from the river; and 2) this is one of the earliest parts of the Chester system, a legacy of the first Chester Canal, which went from Chester to Nantwich. The connection with the river authorities had not been agreed before work began on the canal, and it took a number of years before the essential link between the Port of Chester and the Chester Canal were negotiated.

The walk continues over the road, from where this photograph was taken. Note that the canal passes under the road bridge. Although this is now a fixed bridge, it was once a swing bridge to allow vessels of all heights to enter and leave the canal system.

Over the road (cross with care as it is on a blind corner) you continue along the canal, staying to its left. This is the final set of locks as you come from the west and south, or the first as you begin to proceed up the canal system towards Nantwich, the source of the water.

Beginning to explore the Chester leg of the canal system

On your left is a housing development with retail at its base. This marks the site of the old Dee Basin which is where, after coming down a flight of five locks, narrowboats and wide barges would enter a holding area to await the tide.

The former Dee Basin

The former Dee Basin, shown on signage in the Tower Wharf Basin

When the Chester Canal was first built this was a tidal basin, but when the Chester Canal and the Ellesmere Canal merged, the water level was controlled by locks. Continuing on, and staying left of the modern lift bridge, the bridge ahead of you leads you into the opening of the so-called Dee branch and on to Tower Wharf and the heart of the Chester canal system. To proceed, do not go under the bridge (the footpath ends here) but go up the flight of steps to its left, turn right and cross the road and enter the Tower Wharf basin via the white gates. On your right is the main line and Tower Wharf. On your left, at a much lower level, is the Dee Branch, a requirement after the Wirral Line was added by the Ellesmere Canal (see an explanation of this in Part 1). A lock was added to allow access to this lower section that flows out to the former Dee Basin and the river lock.

The Dee branch, with the main line up the bank at a higher level.

Tower Wharf basin

Telford’s Warehouse

There are some terrific features to look out for in the Tower Wharf Basin. When the Wirral Line was built a new boatyard was added with a graving dock, both still in situ, and the boatyard not only survives but has been in continuous use since it was built. Immediately on your right, at the far southern end of the basin, is a late 18th century building called Telford’s Warehouse (now a pub), designed by Thomas Telford with the open arches allowing vessels to load and unload under cover. Running along the side of the Dee branch is an attractive row of Victorian brick-built terraced housing on Whipcord Lane, post-dating the canal.

Straight ahead is what is known as Taylor’s Boatyard after a former owner, complete with the graving dock. The graving dock is a dry dock into which ships can be floated, and then the lock emptied so that hulls can be worked on. Sadly it is surrounded, for safety reasons, by ugly metal fencing, but it is a lovely feature. The boatyard lies beyond.

Looking down from the roving-bridge into the graving dock

Attractive iron column in the graving dock

In 1802 business in the Basin had not only picked up but was doing so well that its capacity was considerably over-stretched and a new basin was required, named North Basin, which was surrounded by more warehousing. An absolutely delightful roving-bridge or snake/turnover bridge connects Tower Wharf with North Basin, an innovation that allowed horses pulling boats to cross the canal without being unhooked from the vessel.

North Basin

The roving bridge

If you have crossed the bridge, re-cross it to return to the central section of the basin, between the Tower Wharf Basin and the Dee Branch and retrace your steps. Instead of going back up to the road where you entered, go under the bridge, following the towpath. From here on, the route simply follows the towpath. There are too many sights and sites to describe in detail, but here are some of the most interesting features contemporary with the working canal, with links to more information where I have found it.

As you leave the Tower Wharf Basin complex, you walk under the railway bridge and turn left into a section known as the Turning Basin, made particularly wide to enable horse-drawn vessels to negotiate the sharp turn into the basin. There is a turning hook on the wall just under the Raymond Street Bridge that was also there to help vessels make the turn. If you look up to the south (or your right, heading out along the canal) note that the canal follows the line of the city walls.

Looking back at the turning basin at the entrance to Tower Wharf Basin

The other end of the basin, leading to the locks

Before the Ellesmere Canal Company introduced the Wirral Branch, there used to five locks that went all the way up to the Dee Basin, which has now largely been filled in and used for modern housing. When the new branch was added, the bottom two locks were demolished and the canal diverted north. The three remaining locks are still fully functional today and allow vessels to navigate a 33ft (10m) drop/rise. At the top of the locks is a square house with a prominently overhanging roof eave, again one of Telford’s designs. At this point today the canal runs under the St Martin’s Way ring road before carrying on along the foot of the northern stretch of the city walls.

After passing a row of modern house on your left you will notice two bridges overhead, the first tiny. This is the somewhat battered-looking Grade II listed Bridge of Sighs, probably built in the 18th century. Although it is named after the magnificent one in Venice, the similarity lies in the fact that both were used for carrying prisoners, in this case from the prison to the chapel in the Bluecoast School to receive their last rites prior to execution. The next bridge carries Upper Northgate Street over the canal, some sdfdsf ft / sdfsd m above.

The tiny Bridge of Sighs over the canal, followed by the Northgate Street bridge

Bridge of Sighs, Chester, shown from Upper Northgate Street

Triassic sandstone through which the canal was cut, allegedly following the line of a Roman ditch

The canal passes the King Charles Tower as the canal and city walls part company, the canal briefly heading southeast and then due east.

The back of the Memorial Chapel next to Abakhan on Gorse Stacks

The back of the Penri Chapel next to Abakhan on Gorse Stacks. The Iceland on Frodsham Street is on the right

Looking back to the city walls and the King Charles tower above the canal. It is at this point on the reverse leg of the walk that there is a path up to the walls, which leads back to the Little Roodee car park.

Signage at Cow Lane Bridge

Queen’s Place

This unexpected structure at the end of Queen’s Place is just a facade with no building behind it, the remnant of a lecture hall once attached to the 1777 Independent Chapel

The original Griffiths Corn Mill is now the Mill Hotel and Spa

Covered footbridge linking two parts of the hotel, with the Hoole water tower beyond

The Grade II-listed Steam Mill building was built in 1786 as one of Britain’s first steam-powered flour mills. The listing details can be found on the Historic England website

This canalside building near the Union Canal Bridge is in a very sorry state.

This was a busy area, with industrial and commercial enterprises moving in to take advantage of the proximity of the canal. There are a number of very fine buildings to spot here, and if you follow Stuart Shuttleworth’s walk (see video below) he takes you into some of the surrounding streets to explore some of the relevant buildings behind the canal.

Union Canal Bridge. Details are available on the Grace’s Guide industrial history website.

One of the protective iron uprights on the Union Bridge stonework, with rope markings from the barges pulled by horses

City Road Bridge (1863) by J. Mowle and Co.

Replica Spitfire, apparently once used as a raft

Replica Spitfire, apparently once used in a raft race

Looking back to the Old Harker’s Arms

Moxy Hotel with Waitrose beyond

The Chester leadworks shot tower. Information about the works and the tower on the Historic England website

Signage along the canal showing original photograph of the leadworks

Sign on the edge of the canal, and in front of a building site for “luxury retirement apartments”

Wharton Court

Hoole Lane Bridge, 123A

Hoole Lane Lock

Hoole Lane Mission Hall. Information at Hoole History and Heritage Society

Tollemache Terrace

Chemistry Lock and sluice, Grade II listed. More information on the Historic England website

Towards the Bridge Inn (the white building)

Tarvin Bridge Lock

Chester and Boughton Hall Cricket Club

The view of the canal as it moves out of Chester towards Waverton and beyond

Starting the return leg of the walk at Tarvin Bridge Lock, next to the cricket club

Walking back into Chester, past the Boughton water tower. See details on the Historic England website.

The point on the towpath at which I walked up to the flight of steps to go up to the city walls and turn right to return to the car park.

Sources

The full list of sources are in Part 1

Walking the history of Chester’s canals, from the river Dee to Boughton #1 – Short History

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This post is divided into two. Part 1 (this part) looks in brief at some of the history of the Chester city canals, mainly to untangle the complicated story of what is happening at the Tower Wharf Basin, where the Chester and Ellesmere Canals came together. Part 2 is a mainly photographic account of the walk along the canals from the river Dee to the Chester Boughton Hall Cricket Club, just beyond Tarvin Bridge.

The pink arrows are my route from the Little Roodee car park to the start of the canal. The orange arrows are the route taken from the start of the canal at the river Dee to Chester Boughton Hall Cricket Club. Details of the walk are in Part 2.

Cow Lane Bridge in the 1880s. Source: chesterwallsinfo

This post begins with a short description of the history of the Shropshire Union Canal, describes why the intersections just beyond the Northgate staircase lock is so complicated, and goes on to describe the walk.

The Shropshire Union Canal runs today from the Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal at Ellesmere Port, to Autherley Junction near Wolverhampton on the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal over a distance of 66.5 miles (107km). Because it runs beyond the city walls, only making its presence felt to tourists where it crosses Northgate and along the base of the city walls, it does not feature on the city’s usual tourist routes. Unlike Chester’s well known medieval, Georgian and Victorian architectural attractions, the canal is more directly a component part of the city’s industrial past, but is just as essential in the city’s story.

The history of the Shropshire Union Canal

During the 18th century civil engineer James Brindley (1716-1772) was responsible for building over 365 miles of canals. Brindely realized that any inland waterway network would need to connect to all the great navigable rivers that connected to the sea, including the Thames, the Mersey, the Severn and the Trent, incorporating other important navigable rivers like the the Avon and the Dee. The network was a sprawling affair, but it revolutionized transport, avoiding roads that would become mired and impassable in winter, as well as unnavigable sections of rivers, and the riverine problems of tides, drought and flood. Water into and out of the canal system was regulated and therefore predictable, and allowed year-round transport. The advantages became very clear very quickly, and manufacturing and trading businesses began to locate themselves at critical points on the canal network. Eagerness to invest in infrastructure resulted in a canal boom in the mid to late 1700s. Each new section of canal required an Act of Parliament, subject to Royal Assent, and Act after Act was passed as the network expanded.

The Chester Canal. Source: Shearing 1985, p.150

The execution of the canal project for Chester was deeply flawed. Jumping on the canal bandwagon, entrepreneurs and investors envisaged a money-making venture that would bring Shropshire and Cheshire into the mainstream trade network with Birmingham, the nation’s canal hub and centre of industry, via a junction at Middlewich with the 1777 Trent and Mersey Canal. Unfortunately, the builders of the Chester Canal did not have agreements in place to connect their new Chester Canal either to the Trent and Mersey Canal, which denied them permission to build a junction, or with the River Dee Company, which also put barriers in their way leading to several years of negotiation before a satisfactory solution was reached. The Chester Canal, opening in 1779, was not built to Middlewich, where it had been planned for the Chester to join the Trent and Mersey, and instead stopped at Nantwich, segregated from the rest of the national canal network. With little traffic carrying low-value cargoes, as well as a packet boat service, the canal was a fairly substantial failure. In 1787 the Beeston staircase locks collapsed and there were insufficient funds to pay for repairs. The Chester Canal hovered on the verge of bankruptcy.

The complex arrangement of the Ellesmere Canal and its branches is shown as thin blue winding lines. The thick blue line from Chester is the Dee. The yellow lines are roads. Click to see a bigger version. Source: Wikipedia

If it had not been for the 1791 Ellesmere Canal project, the Chester Canal would not have managed to limp on much longer. The proposal for sections of canal to link the Mersey at Netherpool (now Ellesmere Port) to both the river Dee at Chester and the Severn at Shrewsbury was ambitious, but attracted sufficient support for a surveyor to be hired and possible routes to be explored. The Ellesmere Canal proposal was presented to parliament and received its Royal Assent in April 1793. Although shortages in funding prevented the realization of the full vision, shown right, Chester was at last brought into the national canal network. Part of this necessitated the addition of a new branch of canal from Chester to Ellesmere Port, which connected with the Chester Canal in what is now the Tower Wharf Basin. The two companies merged in 1813, becoming the Ellesmere and Chester Canal Companh. In 1833 the Middlewich branch was added, as the Chester Canal company had originally planned, and was connected to the rest of the network via the Trent and Mersey.

Hunter 1782 map with the canal before the basins were added for the Wirral Line

These changes required major infrastructure changes in Chester itself that are still clearly visible today. Starting from the former interface between the river and the canal, just off Sealand Road, the derelict remains of the river-canal lock are clearly visible as industrial archaeology. The gates have long gone and this section of the lock and the branch that once lead into the Dee Basin, along Tower Road on the map below, on its way to the Dee Branch, is full of aquatic plant life. As you walk along towards the Dee Branch, rounding the corner and passing under the bridge, you find yourself in the basin complex, the Ellesmere Canal Company’s solution to how best to incorporate the Wirral Line north to Ellesmere Port. However before the Ellesmere Canal Company was involved, the Chester Canal simply ran straight ahead, running directly along the Dee Basin into a set of five staircase locks before heading east towards Boughton.

Canal and River Trust map of the basin and wharves, showing the complex arrangement of locks and basins required to incorporate the Wirral branch of the canal to Ellesmere Port.

Map from the 1858 Roberts Chester Guide, showing the big Dee Basin at the far end where locks connected it to the Dee. Click image to enlarge

The set of basins and wharves that became necessary when the Chester Canal was incorporated into the Ellesmere Canal Company’s plans capture the fascinating history of how the area’s canal system was forced to evolve. Three different sections of the canal are involved in this complex arrangement, shown above. The earliest of these phases belongs to the original Chester Canal, which begins at the river Dee and once headed straight along into a series of five locks that climbed the hill to the dramatic sandstone cut and onwards to Hoole and Boughton before turning south to Christleton and beyond. The second phase is the Ellesmere Canal Company’s civil engineering work to incorporate the new “Wirral Line,” which headed in a roughly northerly direction out of Chester. This now chopped off the Chester Canal at the base of the locks, demolishing two of the five locks, to create the Tower Wharf Basin. The new arrangement cut off the canal from the river, meaning that another section of canal, called the Dee Branch, had to be created parallel to the main basin and accessed via a lock, to allow vessels to travel between the main line, the Wirral line and the Dee. It is not an elegant solution, but it worked. The rest of the canal is very straight forward as you walk towards Hoole, Boughton and beyond. The historical interest in those sections of the canal is more about the bridges and the flanking architecture that grew up around the canal.

The docks at Ellesmere Port during the 19th century

The docks and wharves at Ellesmere Port during the 19th century, from the Ellesmere Port canal museum archives

In 1846 the decision was made to bring together the various canal and railway interests together under one umbrella organization, the Shropshire Union Railways and Canals Company, providing the different sections of canal from Ellesmere Port to Wolverhampton with a single name: the Shropshire Union Canal. In 1894 the Manchester Ship Canal opened, and the Ellesmere Port access to the Mersey was now via the new shipping channel.

In spite of canalization of the Dee in the 1730s was intended to make the rapidly silting river navigable and to make Chester competitive once again with Liverpool, but in spite of these measures silting continued and the river became impractical for serious commercial shipping and shipbuilding, particularly in the face of Liverpool’s rapid expansion. The last ships were built on the Dee in the early 20th century, ending a centuries old industry, and the connection between the Shropshire Union and the river went out of use.

Chester Railway Station 1848. Source: Hoole History and Heritage Society

The railway came to Chester in 1840, picking up some of the slack, but Chester’s days as a centre for trade and industry were over and the main financial opportunity that the railway brought was tourism. The canal, however, continued to be used as part of the canal network, connecting to maritime trade via the Mersey. Eventually, as rail replaced the canals, many of them became derelict, only reviving as leisure resources in the later 20th century.

The canal attracted many businesses along its edges, and today the canal preserves a considerable amount of commercial and industrial heritage, adding a welcome extra dimension to Chester’s historic legacy. The canal network today is used for pleasure, mainly in the form of cruising, walking and cycling. It still covers a vast region of England and Wales and is managed by a mixture of state organizations and by both regional and local charities.

Schematic map showing how Chester relates to the canal network today. Source: Swanley Bridge Marina

As canals have become attractive for residential development, new housing has also been erected, some developments more sympathetic than others, but all interesting. The mixture is captured in the walk in Part 2. Apart from a few isolated examples, most of the warehousing that once flanked the basins and the canal has long gone, replaced by modern apartments, including student accommodation and retail outlets.

The Dee no longer connects to the canal network. The lock between the river and the Dee Branch of the canal, lying just over Sealand Road, is completely derelict. One of the locks further along is padlocked shut. The old swing bridge that had allowed vessels to interrupt road traffic to enter the canal network was replaced by the fixed road bridge in the 1960s. Today the leg of the Dee branch of the canal running parallel to the Basin, once used for access to the river, is used for mooring privately owned narrowboats.

Signage at the canal basin showing information about Telford’s Warehouse

I have kept this history brief, merely to introduce the walk. Rather than reinventing the wheel, please see the Sources below, which contain much more information. The three video links also provide an excellent overview, between them, of the canal, its history, and some of the buildings and businesses associated with it. The first is by John Herson, one of whose guided canal walks I have done and thoroughly enjoyed, which focuses on Tower Wharf, the Canal Basin and the relationship of the canal with the Dee. The second is by Stuart Shuttleworth and looks at the main line of the canal as it passes through Chester. Together they form a brilliant introduction to the subject, showing the key places to visit. At the end, underneath Sources, there is another video by “Pastfinder,” which is longer and explores what remains today in more depth, walking and talking at the same time, making it quite easy to retrace his footsteps. There are some fascinating additional pieces of information in this.

John Herson:

Stuart Shuttleworth:

Sources:

A lot of information is contained in the two videos above and the one at the end of the post.

Other sources of information are as follows:

Books and papers

Carrington, Peter 1994. English Heritage Book of Chester. Batsford / English Heritage

Martin, Richard 2018. Ships of the Chester Rivers. Shipbuilding on the Dee from Chester to the Point of Ayr 1800-1942. Bridge Books

Mosse, J., David Lobband and Judith Pile 2023 (9th edition). Collins Nicholson Waterways Guide 4. Four Counties and the Welsh Canals. HarperCollins

Nicholson, R. 1989 (4th edition). Nicholson/Ordnance Survey Guide to the Waterways 2: Central. Robert Nicholson Publications and Ordnance Survey

Shearing, Edwin A. 1985. Chester Canal Projects: Part I. Journal of the Railway and Canal Historical Society. Vol XXVIII, no.3, November 1984. p.98-103

Shearing, Edwin A. 1985. Chester Canal Projects: Part II. Journal of the Railway and Canal Historical Society. Vol XXVIII, no.4, March 1985. p.146-154

Ward, Simon 2013 (2nd edition). Chester. A History. The History Press

Websites

Canal and River Trust
Welcome to Chester. Escape the city on this tranquil waterway (PDF)
https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/media/document/0z8YCnXdfYHg_am-LmUGSg/p22Wl115w_dWrQTRa-XYJd5Q5nl2UR6N17EY2G1JFyc/aHR0cHM6Ly9jcnRwcm9kY21zdWtzMDEuYmxvYi5jb3JlLndpbmRvd3MubmV0L2RvY3VtZW50Lw/0192bddd-4001-76ad-a95b-0ad3662ccdcc.pdf

Canal Routes
Chester Canal History
https://www.canalroutes.net/Chester-Canal.html
Chester Canal Route
https://www.canalroutes.net/Shropshire-Union-Canal.html#Chester-Canal-Route
Ellesmere Canal – Wirral Line
https://www.canalroutes.net/Shropshire-Union-Canal.html#Ellesmere-Canal-Wirral-Line
Shropshire Union Canal
https://www.canalroutes.net/Shropshire-Union-Canal.html

Cheshire West and Cheshire
Chester Canal Conservation Area Character Appraisal Ellesmere Port to Nantwich (PDF)
https://www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/documents/planning-and-building-consultancy/total-environment/conservation-and-design/conservation-area-appraisals/canal-conservation-area-elesmere-port-to-nantwich-latest-version-261118.pdf
Chester Characterization Study
https://www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/your-council/policies-and-performance/council-plans-policies-and-strategies/planning-policy/chester-characterisation-study

chesterwalls.info
Photographs of the Chester Canal Old and New, parts 1-5
https://chesterwalls.info/gallery/canalgallery.html

Chesterwiki
(with a lot of adverts interspersed)
Canalside
https://chester.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Canalside
Canal and Boatyard
https://chester.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Canal_and_Boatyard

Grace’s Guide to British Industrial History
James Brindley
https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/James_Brindley
William Jessop
https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/William_Jessop

Heritage Chester
Bite-Sized Wonder – The Lead Shot Tower
YouTube video

Historic England
Bridge of Sighs, Upper Northgate Street
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1375967
Telfords Warehouse, Raymond Street
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1375919?section=official-list-entry

Inland Waterways Association, Chester and Merseyside Branch
Chester Heritage Port Designation Document (PDF)
https://70cf2f03-3eb2-43c8-889f-b8f841fc3757.usrfiles.com/ugd/70cf2f_64e6633c34b9420f8c06a368857d1a42.pdf

UK Waterways Guide
Map of the Shropshire Union Canal
https://www.ukwaterwaysguide.co.uk/map/shropshire-union-canal/all-branches

“Pastfinder”:

Based in Churton

A Londoner living in West Cheshire

Category Archives: Walks

A visit with panoramic views: the Iron Age hillfort Moel y Gaer in Rhosesmor

Introduction

The Archaeology

Some of the unanswered questions

Post-hillfort history

Final Comments

Visiting

Sources

Books, papers and leaflets

Websites

Walking at the magnificent Iron Age ‘Old Oswestry’ hillfort

Visiting

Late June at Ness Botanic Garden on the Wirral

Cooling walks at RSPB Burton Mere on a seethingly hot day

A delightful and colourful visit to Ness Botanic Gardens on the Wirral

The small and rather puzzling Burton Point Iron Age promontory fort on the Wirral

Archaeological phases

Neolithic

Iron Age

The site

Roman

Medieval use and quarrying

Post-medieval land use, quarrying and burials

Final Comments

Sources

Books and papers

Websites

Introduction

The Archaeology

Some of the unanswered questions

Post-hillfort history

Final Comments

Visiting

Sources

Books, papers and leaflets

Websites

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Visiting

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The collegiate Church of St Boniface

Introduction

The exterior

x The interior

The tower and nave

The chancel

The Ridley Chapel

After 1548

The Chantry House

Visiting details

Sources:

Books and papers

Websites

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Archaeological phases

Neolithic

Iron Age

The site

Roman

Medieval use and quarrying

Post-medieval land use, quarrying and burials

Final Comments

Sources

Books and papers

Websites

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Sources

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The history of the Shropshire Union Canal

Sources:

Books and papers

Websites

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x
The interior