Millennium Trail

Welcome to the Chester Millennium Festival Trail, laid down in 2000 as part of the city's '2000 Years of Building' Millennium Festival. All 40 buildings on this Trail were selected by local people as outstanding examples of Chester's architectural development over two millennia. From Roman times to the present day. They include many well known and much-loved buildings. Others are less familiar and some may surprise! They all contribute to the rich architectural heritage which makes Chester so special among Britain's historic cities. Once you've explored the trail enter Virtual Chester (external link) a 3d tour of the city plus extensive information about the buildings.

[above] The Millennium Trail Map - click for a larger version

Each building is celebrated with its own unique way-marker created by artist Michael Johnson. The complete route takes about two hours to walk. Click on a building for more details. Should you wish find out more about these and other important buildings in Chester the Chester Civic Trust's book '2000 Years of Building - Chester's Architectural Legacy' is a compilation of over 130 such structures. For more details, including how to obtain a copy, visit: The Chester Civic Trust Web Site (external link)

Forty Stops, 2000 years of Architecture

1 to 10: Town Hall to the Weir - Stops One to Ten

01: Town Hall

Designed by W H Lynne, opened in 1869.

02: Abbey Gateway

A vaulted sandstone arch dating from the mid-14th century.

03: Abbey Square

Georgian terraced houses mainly built between 1754 and 1761.

04: The Bell Tower

Officially called the Addleshaw Tower, it has housed the Cathedral bells since 1975.

05: The Eastgate Clock

Chester's most famous landmark, designed by Jouh Douglas, erected in 1899.

06: The Nine Houses

Tiny timber and sandstone cottages were built around 1650.

07: Roman Amphitheatre

One of only three legionary amphitheatres known in Britain, currently being massively excavated.

08: St. Johns Church

Within the Victorian exterior is one of the region's finest Norman churches and Chester's first cathedral.

09: Anchorites Cell

Probably built in the mid-14th century to house an anchorite or hermit.

10: Norman Weir

A massive stone Weir across the river, built in the 11th century.

11 to 20: Bear and Billet to the Three Old Arches - Stops Eleven to Twenty

11: The Bear and Billet

A many-windowed black and white frontage of this famous 17th century town house (Now under a different name).

12: St. Mary's Church

One of Chester's nine medieval parish churches, dating from the 14th and 15th Centuries.

13: Chester Castle

Built between 1788 and 1822 largely replacing the medieval castle.

14:Agricola Tower

The Agricola Tower is one of the oldest surviving parts of the great medieval castle.

15: Magistrate's Court

Built in 1991 to replace the old Magistrates Court in the Town Hall.

16: Gamul House

Behind the 18th century brick frontage lies a late medieval Great Hall, once owned by the Gamul family.

17: Park House

Georgian town house was built in 1715 by Madam Elizabeth Booth, and was one of the City's leading hotels in the early 19th Century.

18: Tudor House

Although the wall plaque states 1503, this important timber-framed town house was actually built early 17th century.

19: The Falcon

Formerly the town house of the Grosvenor family, this largely 17th century timber building was the first in Chester to lose its elevated Row walkway.

20: Three Old Arches

The three arches at Row level are some of the earliest structures to be seen in the Rows and provide a vital clue to what Chester's medieval stone houses looked like from the street.

21 to 30: 1 Bridge Street to Bishop Lloyd's Place - Stops Twenty One to Thirty

21: 1 Bridge Street

These corner buildings at The Cross are the most famous of Chester's Victorian 'black-and-white' revival.

22: Brown's of Chester

These adjacent buildings represent two phases in the development of Browns, Chester's leading store in the 19th century.

23: 33 Eastgate Street

This was built as Dixon and Wardell's Chester Bank, which opened in 1860.

24: St Werburgh Street

Built 1895-97, widely acknowledged to be the finest examples of Chester's 'black and white' vernacular revival.

25: St. Nicholas' Chapel

A much altered medieval chapel which at various times has been used as the city's Common Hall, Wool Hall, Georgian theatre, Victorian Music Hall and early cinema.

26: St. Werburgh's Row

This range of arcaded shops and offices is a rare example of 1930s architecture in Chester built in 1935.

27: Chester Cathedral

Founded as a Benedictine Abbey dedicated to St. Werburgh in 1092, this great building became the Cathedral in 1541.

28: Commercial Newsroom

Designed by Thomas Harrison, architect of Chester Castle, this fine Classical building opened in 1808 and housed a news-room, coffee room and subscription library.

29: 34 - 42 Eastgate Row

The buildings on this side of Watergate Street include some of the best preserved medieval stone town houses in Britain.

30: Bishop LLoyd's Place

Chester's most ornately carved timber-framed town house was built for George Lloyd (d. 1615), Bishop of Sodor and Man and then of Chester.

31 to 40 - Stanley Place to Westminster Coach and Motor Car Works - Stops Thirty One to Forty

31: Stanley Place

The late Elizabethan town house is dated 1590. It is named after the Stanley family, custodians of the nearby Watergate.

32: Watergate House

Thomas Harrison, architect of Chester Castle, designed this house for his friend Henry Potts, Clerk of the Peace for the County of Cheshire 1820.

33: Queen's School

EA Ould a pupil of John Douglas, designed this school in 1883. The site was formerly occupied by the City Gaol and House of Correction.

34: Water Tower

Dating from the time when Chester was a major port, the Water Tower was built at the edge of the river to protect the harbour in 1322-26.

35: Northgate Lock

A Thomas Telford designed impressive staircase of three wide deep locks on the Shropshire Union Canal.

36: The Blue Bell

Once an inn, this splendid little building is dated 1494 and formed part of a range of buildings known as 'Lorimer's Row'.

37: Blue Coat School

Built in 1717 to house a charity school for poor boys, the first of its kind outside London.

38: Rufus Court

An award winning development of the 1980's, tucked between the City Wall and Northgate Street.

39: The Odeon

One of the most prominent buildings in Chester, the Odeon Cinema of 1936 was designed in the typical Art Deco style by the Odeon company's architect, Harry Weedon.

40: Westminster Coach and Motor Car Works

This splendidly decorated brick and terra-cotta facade of the Edwardian Baroque motor works has been retained as part of Chester Library.