BOOK : CHESTER - Archive Photographs Series

Compiled by Michael Day & Pat O'Brien
This fascinating book contains a collection of over 200 photographs and not only pays tribute to the architectural history of the city, but also recollects and recreates the everyday life of the people of the city over the last 150 years.

The streets in which they shopped, the houses in which they lived, their celebrations, methods of transport, customs, clothes, work and leisure activities are all remembered.

From the skill of fishermen with draft nets on the River Dee to dukes, gentry and royalty, the images in this selection bring to life, once more, a past that has vanished forever.

Modern Chester has its roots in two thousand years of history. Scattered about the city are a myriad of artefacts from different historical periods; one such is the Roman amphitheatre, but Norman architecture can be found within the Cathedral and St John's church, as well as in the fourteenth century Rows.

The Tudor House is reputed to be one of the oldest buildings in the city but splendid Tudor, Georgian and Victorian buildings are located throughout Chester.

This book, however, deals with the last 150 years of the city's history and could best be described as 'within recent memory'. It is a document that remembers changes that have been described by grandparents and parents or even witnessed by ourselves.

So much has changed in the name of progress. Occasionally such progress unearths relics of the past, such as a Roman mosaic floor but the trend has been for demolition and destruction: even the Anchorite's cell of 1358 is now irretrievably altered.

In this essentially social history of the city and its environs, the residents of Chester and their way of life are recorded and remembered.

The images in this book recall not just the city itself but also the people who were born, lived, worked and died in the area.

The text is only a guideline; it is hoped that the pictures included will evoke memories that have long lain hidden in the reader's mind, such memories will enhance the pleasure of reading the book.