24 Facts About Chester

Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England.

Chester was founded in 79 AD as a "castrum" or Roman fort with the name Deva Victrix during the reign of Emperor Vespasian.

Chester was one of the last cities in England to fall to the Normans, and William the Conqueror ordered the construction of a castle to dominate the town and the nearby Welsh border.

City walls of Chester are some of the best-preserved in the country and have Grade I listed status.

Anglo-Saxons extended and strengthened the walls of Chester to protect the city against the Danes, who occupied it for a short time until Alfred seized all the cattle and laid waste the surrounding land to drive them out.

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Chester played a significant part in the Industrial Revolution which began in the North West of England in the latter part of the 18th century.

Considerable amount of land in Chester is owned by The 7th Duke of Westminster who owns an estate, Eaton Hall, near the village of Eccleston.

Chester had a trademark of twisted chimney stacks, many of which can be seen on the buildings in the city centre.

Chester is twinned with: Sens, France; Lorrach, Germany; Lakewood, Colorado, USA; and Senigallia, Italy.

Chester has an oceanic climate, typical of the British Isles but more susceptible to cold than the extreme south.

Chester Urban Area is an urban area surrounding the city of Chester.

Much of the architecture of central Chester looks medieval and some of it is, but by far the greater part of it, including most of the black-and-white buildings, is Victorian, a result of what Pevsner termed the "black-and-white revival".

Major museum in Chester is the Grosvenor Museum, which includes a collection of Roman tombstones and an art gallery.

Major museum in Chester is the Grosvenor Museum which includes a collection of Roman tombstones and an art gallery.

Chester has its own film society, a number of amateur dramatic societies and theatre schools.

Groves area of Chester is the location of a Grade II listed bandstand, built in 1913.

Chester has had a professional classical music festival – the Chester Summer Music Festival, since 1967 and regularly from 1978.

Television in Chester is usually served by BBC North West Tonight and ITV Granada, and with its close proximity with North Wales, viewers can receive BBC Wales Today and ITV Cymru Wales rather than their local relays, Chester is where Channel 4's soap-opera Hollyoaks is set .

Chester General had a large marshalling yard and a motive power depot, most of which has now been replaced with housing.

However following a reorganisation of the local authorities effective 1 April 2009 the Conservative-led administration of the newly established Cheshire West and Chester council was not very supportive, so comparatively little was actually achieved.

The port facilities at Crane Wharf, by Chester racecourse, made an important contribution to the commercial development of the north-west region.

Original Chester Canal was constructed to run from the River Dee near Sealand Road, to Nantwich in south Cheshire, and opened in 1774.

Chester had a tram service during the late 19th and early 20th centuries which ran from Saltney, on the Welsh border in the west, to Chester General station, and thence to Tarvin Road and Great Boughton.

Chester was home to Chester City F C, who were founded in 1885 and elected to the Football League in 1931, and played at their Sealand Road stadium until 1990, spending two years playing in Macclesfield before returning to the city to the new Deva Stadium – which straddles the border of England and Wales – in 1992.