Information Sheet: The History of No. 20 Castle Street

No. 20 is a good example of a Town House of a prosperous family of local gentry, in this case the Swettenham family of Somerford Booths Hall near Macclesfield. Chester had many of these houses which variously ranged in grandeur. In the 18th Century such houses were the centre of the social activity, particularly during the Chester Races which were held in the first week in May. However, in the 19th Century these houses often fell into disrepair and many were demolished. Over the next two centuries Egerton House, the house of the Egertons of Oulton, which was on the site of the Northgate roundabout, disappeared to make way for the ring road in the 1960's, and another very fine house, number 52-54 Lower Bridge Street was demolished.

Today most of the town houses that survive do so only as gutted shells, and are used as offices. A few, such as like Booth's Mansion in Watergate Street, which was the town house of the Booths (Lord Stamford) of Dunham Massey, have been restored and can now be fully appreciated. It is fortunate that No. 20 Castle Street has survived, and that it is now possible to display it as part of the Grosvenor Museum. Number 20 Castle Street was not a particularly grand house, but the large panelled room on the first floor shows that the owners of the house had social aspirations.

It is possible that this property was originally owned by Philip Oldfield in the late 16th century, who was an eminent Chester lawyer. Oldfield was buried in St. Marys-on-the-Hill on the other side of Castle Street, where there is still a memorial tablet commemorating him. The property may then have passed to his second son, Sir Philip Oldfield of Chester and Bradwell near Congleton. Sir Philip married Mary, daughter of John Somerford of Somerford (also near Congleton) in 1600. Sir Philip Oldfield was described by the Chester Herald and Antiquary Randle Holme as 'A very honest gent, my good friend.' His daughter and heiress, Margaret Oldfield then married Edmund Swettenham of Somerford Booths Hall. It is probably through this marriage that the property passed to the Swettenham family. Edmund Swettenham died in 1675 and his estates passed to his grandson who was also
called Edmund.

As the earliest surviving parts of the house date to the later years of the 17th Century, it is difficult to know if the building was started by the first or second Edmund Swettenham. Edmund Swettenham II was
High Sheriff of Cheshire in 1691 and 1707. Owning a house so close to Chester Castle would have been most convenient for a High Sheriff, with the government of the county centering on the Castle. In 1714 this property passed to Edmund's son, also Edmund Swettenham (III). On inheriting the family estates Edmund drew up a will which makes definite mention of his house 'in the Gloverstone at Chester'.

In 1721 Edmund Swettenham III also became High Sheriff of Cheshire, and his elder sister, Margaret, married Roger Comberbach I. The Comberbachs were an old Nantwich family, and Roger Comberbach had become Recorder of Chester in 1700 and was later a Judge on the North Wales circuit. It was after him that the 'Recorder's Steps' leading from the City Walls to the River Dee were named. Edmund Swettenham III's daughter Frances married her cousin Roger Comberbach II. In 1750 Edmund Swettenham leased the  Georgian House to Roger Comberbach who probably continued to live in it until his death in 1771.

Roger Comberbach, like his father, was a barrister and was called to the Inner Temple in 1721. He edited a volume of legal reports of his father which were published "The Contest; An Ode upon the British Country Life". In 1734 he was appointed Pronotary of the Palatinate of Chester" a legal position at the Exchequer Court in Chester Castle. It was presumably because of his work at Chester Castle that he came to lease the house from his fatherin- law. On the death of Edmund Swettenham III in 1768 Somerford Booths Hall first passed to Roger and Frances Comberbach II and then to their son Roger Comberbach III, who on inheriting the estate changed his name to Roger Swettenham.

Between 1771 and 1803 the Georgian House was leased to another relative, Susannah Wilmot. It was then mortgaged to a 'combe-maker', Thomas Taylor, but in 1813 he became bankrupt and the property was repossessed. Roger Comberbach (Swettenham) died in 1814 and in 1815 the property was purchased by Robert, the second Earl Grosvenor, who was later to become the 1st Marquis of Westminster.

For rather more than a century the Grosvenors let the property to various people. In the 1840's and 1850's it was a lodging house run by a Mrs Bowden. Between 1885 and 1914 it was lived in by a Miss Mary Nutting, then from the end of the First World War to about 1930 it was let to George Crossland Taylor. Mr Taylor was the first owner of the Crosville Bus Company. In March 1931 the property was purchased by Chester City Council. However, it was not until 1950 that plans were drawn up to convert the building into period room displays. The Victorian and Georgian Rooms were opened to the public in 1956. In the following years the failure to strengthen the structure led to severe subsidence and by 1979 the building had to be closed as it was on the verge of collapsing. A restoration programme was undertaken, costing about £200,000, which strengthened No.20 Castle Street, and linked the building with No. 22. which now houses the Archaeological Service.

Restoration of the building involved stripping the paintwork on the staircase back to the original oak, and extensive repairs have had to take place to the Georgian and Stuart Room panelling and uncovering the Victorian Kitchen Range. This work was sponsored by Marks &
Spencer and the North West Museums Service. Four new room displays were added in 1990 on the second floor, the Victorian Bedroom and Schoolroom, Edwardian Bathroom & 1920s Nursery to bring the story of the house into the 20th century.

The Architecture of 20 Castle Street

 

The building has undergone many extensive alterations over the past three hundred years and it is difficult to decide if any parts of the house are earlier than about 1680. It is possible that the original house could have been half-timbered and the building has been progressively clad in brickwork. The earliest features of the house are:

1) The back brick wall of the house facing onto the conservatory. The brickwork is set in English bond, a method of bricklaying which was replaced by 'Flemish' bond early in the 18th Century. There is a decorative brick corbelled string course at the start of the second floor level. This was to provide greater support for the floor joists at this level.
2) The staircase. This seems to date to about 1680. The staircase is almost identical to one in the Dutch houses in Bridge Street. The 'Barley Sugar' balusters of the staircase are typical of the later part
of the 17th Century.

3) Panelling in the Stuart room. This is likely to have been made at the same time as the staircase. It is possible that it could have been moved from a room in the Castle Street frontage when this was reconstructed in the early 18th Century.

Sometime between 1710 and 1730 the house was extensively altered and a new brick facade was built to the house. This is now in 'Flemish' bond and a heavy 'bolechthion' moulding was added to the front doorway. This moulding is repeated on the door from the stair landing going into the 'Georgian' Room. The owner of the house seems to have wanted a more impressive drawing room and the room was heightened to put the much higher panelling in position. This was done by 'pinching' about three feet from the room above, which now has steps up to it. This was the reason for the rebuilding of the frontage.

The panelling in the 'Victorian' Room was probably put in place at this time, and the wide arch with a keystone to the hallway dates from this period. Later alterations to the building are less obvious. The kitchen area is likely to have been remodelled in the 1880's when the range was put in position.

There was also an outside washhouse in the backyard which was demolished in about 1950 when 20 Castle Street was joined to the Museum by a corridor. The structural problems in the building which caused the extensive restoration work between 1979 and 1982 were largely  the result of alterations which had taken place in the early 18th Century. The new brick facade and rooms at the front tended to pull away from the slightly older rooms at the back of the building. This resulted in collapse in the centre, particularly in the hallway where there was inadequate support over a brick vaulted cellar beneath.

Castle Street & The 'Gloverstone'.

Edmund Swettenham's will refers pecifically to his 'house in the Gloverstone'. The Gloverstone was an area in front of the main gateway to the Outer Bailey of Chester Castle. It included Castle Street, or 'Castle Lane' as it was known in the 18th Century. The Gateway consisted of two massive drum towers and must have towered over both Castle Street and the Gloverstone. This was an area in which a number of craftsmen lived, particularly clock-makers.

The area of the Gloverstone lay outside the City of Chester and the Castle and the Gloverstone came under the jurisdiction of the County. The tradesmen living in this area could thus avoid becoming members of the city craft companies and the xpenses that entailed. The 'Gloverstone' also referred to massive 'blue' stone boulders which stood outside the Castle gateway. It was at this point that condemned prisoners from the Castle were handed over to the Mayor of Chester for execution. When the Castle gateway was demolished in 1789, the stone was moved, but it is probably the large boulder which survives today just to the north of the Water Tower in the Water Tower gardens.

Further Information

Information on the Gloverstone area of the city is to be found in the Journal of the Chester Archaeological & Historic Society for 1865. vol 5., an article by G.W. Shrubsole. This volume also contains an article on Chester Castle and its environs by E.W.Cox.