Chester City Walls - Southern Section

Bridgegate to Wishing Steps

Average Walking Time = approximately 5 minutes (not accounting for sightseeing)

 

28. Bridgegate

The present arched Bridgegate was built in 1782 (designed by Joseph Turner). Its name reflects the fact that it connects the city to the medieval (Old) Dee Bridge. The gate here was originally referred to as the 'South Gate'. It has also been known as 'Welshgate' since before the construction of the Grosvenor Bridge in 1832 the Old Dee Bridge was the lowest bridged crossing point on the river to North Wales. The former medieval gate (which guarded the entrance to the city from the bridge) took the form of a gothic arch fortified by two round towers. However, this was modified by the addition of a tall square tower (Tyrer's Tower) built as part of a water supply system for the city in 1600, although this was destroyed in the Civil War. An octagonal tower replaced this but was demolished prior to the building of the present gate.

 

29. Selected View: From Bridgegate view North (up Lower Bridge Street)

Looking up Lower Bridge Street you can see a mix of architectural styles. Of particular note is the Bear and Billet (a building also on the Millennium Trail), now a public house, which dates from 1664. It was the residence of the Earl of Shrewsbury whose heraldic device was a bear and stake (billet).

 

 

 

 

 

30. Selected View: From Bridgegate view South (across River)

From here you are looking at what was the site of the lowest bridged crossing of the River Dee for centuries until the opening of the Grosvenor Bridge.

The present Old Dee Bridge was built around 1387 and stands on the site of an earlier timber bridge and that of a Roman bridge. At one time the bridge had a gatehouse and drawbridge towards the far side which were demolished in 1781.

On the far bank is the village (now suburb) of Handbridge, home to the fishing community located in Greenway Street whose boats still lie in the river downstream of the bridge. The area below the weir (the Earl's then King's Pool) has been an important fishery since Norman times. In particular, before steps were built into the weir, fish would wait below it until a high tide allowed them to pass upstream.

The area in the vicinity of the bridge was once Chester's powerhouse. The weir originally built by the Normans in 1092 created a head of water which was used to turn waterwheels for mills on both sides of the river. Dee Mills (milling grain into flour) stood where the hydroelectric station building now stands. When opened in 1913 the hydroelectric station is believed to have made Chester the first British city to have such a power facility. The building has been a water extraction facility since 1951.

Across the river are some of the Roman quarries and in the park on the far downstream bank there is a Roman shrine dedicated to the goddess Minerva, the patron of the quarrymen.

This public park is known as Edgar's Field (see the Discover Edgar's Field section). Tradition has it that the Saxon King Edgar, who in 973 was rowed up the Dee by subject British princes, had a palace here.

In the park is a red sandstone outcrop with pale bands above the river bank. This displays classic cross bedding associated with its deposition in a braided (multi-channel) river flowing through a desert environment (almost 250 million years ago). Chester's location was then much nearer to the equator because of the geological process of Continental Drift. See the Discover Edgar's Field section for more information.

 

31. Round Tower

This is the base of a medieval watch tower. The upper sections were removed in the 18^th century as part of the creation of a promenade along the Walls. It affords spectacular views along the river.

 

 

32. Selected View: From Round Tower across River

From this point there are stunning views of the weir (also on the Millennium Trail) and the Salmon Steps. These steps (best viewed at low water) were constructed to help salmon cross the weir to reach their spawning grounds (where they lay their eggs) in the headwaters of the Dee.

The River Dee is both a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). These designations are partly due to the river being a migration route for the Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) - as well as for its various habitats and other important species

The pink modernist buildings of 'Salmon Leap' on the far side of the river, honour the association with this fish. These residential properties occupy the site of the former snuff (tobacco) mills and a replica water wheel lies in the former mill race which cuts through the weir next to the Handbridge bank.

You can take a pleasant detour to the other bank by descending the Walls at the Bridgegate, crossing the river via the Old Dee Bridge and returning along the Southern bank to cross again via the Queen's Park Suspension Footbridge (built 1923) - which will return you to the Groves.

 

33. Recorder's Steps

Built around 1720, these steps were built to allow access between the Walls and the Groves as the two key areas where it was fashionable to promenade. Today they remain an important route between the Walls and the Groves and therefore the attractions of this riverside location with its cafes, ice cream stalls, bandstand, boat trips and opportunities to feed the local ducks and swans.