bowdon - Cheshire County Council - Cheshire County Council ...

DIBEOTORY.J CHESHIRE. CHESTER. 219is 4 feet 3) inches in length; the staff, finely chased-with spirals of roses and thistJes, is divided into threeportions by large knops, the foot knop bearing thearms of Stanley, the Isle of Man and the City ot Chester,and the latter coat is repeated on the flat plate at thebottom; the head of the mace is surrounded by foliaged.figures alernating with the national badges, crowned,and is surmounted by a circlet from which spring thearches of the crown; on the flat top of the head arethe royal arms of the Stuarts, and it also ' bears aninscription showing that it was given to the town in1668 by Charles, 8th Earl ot Derby, lord of Man andthe Isles, and who was also then mayor. The sword,4 feet 2 inches long, has a double-edged steel blade of39 inches, bearing traces of engraved shields of arms;the guards, or quUlons. which curl upwards, and the pommel,are of silver-gilt; the scabbard is covered with redvelvet, enclasped at intervals by ten silver-gilt belt« andplates, vrith arms and names of mayors and others from1668 to 1781. The sword has been reputed to be that presentedto the city in 1394 by Richard II. but its shape andornamentation do not accord vrith so early a date, and itis most probable that it is the sword given to the city byHenry VH, and mentioned in hitf first charter, dated" 6thAprU, 1506. The mayor's chain and badge of gold werepresented in 1851 by John WUUams esq. then mayor ; thechain is formed of plain links ; the badge, a circularmedallion displaying the city arms, within a laurelwreath, depends from an earl's coronet; the sheriff'schain, of silver-gilt, is similar in design, and was thegift, in 1869, of Alderman F. Butt. The mayor'sporter's staff is a silver-headed cane. 6 feet 3 incheslong, and was given in 1721 by Thomas Edwards,mayor; the sheriff's staff, presented in 1867 by ThomasBowers, then sheriff, is of polished lancewood, 6 feet8 inches long, and has a silver head bearing the cityarms. The silver oar, so called, is of wood cased withsilver; it is 14 inches in length and has the Chesterhall-mark for 1719-20 and various inscriptions, armsand badges. The common seal, of silver, is 5-| inchesin diameter and was made in the 17th century, in imitationof the earlier 14th century seal, now lost; the mayor'sseal, also of sUver, is smaUer and has also been copiedfrom a much older one; in addition to these, the city alsopossesses one of the original statute merchant seals, datingfrom about 1283, The mayor and aldermen wear robes ofscarlet oloth and sables, and the sheriff one of purple clothwith black velvet facings. The Corporation are very richin sUver plate, though it is mostly of late date, the oldplate having been sold during the Civil War to providefor the defence of the city and the payment of its debts;the earliest piece now held by the Corporation is atankard of 166S-9, given to the city by Alderman RalphWhitley, who died 5th October, 1679.The castle of Ohester, built about 1084 by William theNorman, was originally a fortress of considerable extent,but a great part of it was taken down about 1790 for thepurpose of erecting the County HaU, a fine structure inthe classic style, from designs by Mr. Thomas Harrison,architect, with a colonnaded portico of the Grecian-Doricorder, 103 ft, in length. The large hall is semi-circular inform ftnd is supported by twelve columns of the Ionic order.A second hall or court has recently been erected in whichcivil actioi)s are tried. The western side of the area isoccupied by the spadous armoury. Here are held theassizes, county courts, petty sessions and meetings of theCounty Council; the castle also serves as barracks.Opposite the entrance to the Gastle is a bronze equestrianstatue of Field-Marshal Viscount Combermere G.C.B.(d. 2ist Feb. 1865), modelled by the late Baron MarochettiB.A, and erected in 1879, at a cost of ;^6,ooo, subscribedby the inhatritants of the county. The total hdght is about24 feet. On one side of the pedestal is an inscription andon the other a list of battles in which Lord Combermerewas engaged,Blackfriars, and the Welsh Border Mounted BrigadeField Ambulance Boyal Army Medical Corps, headquarters, Thomas street.The Territorial Drill Hall, in Albion street, erected in1869, at a cost of about ;^2,5oo, is a buUding of stone withembattled front and a tower, and was designed by Messrs.Kelly and Edwards, architects, of Chester; the haU is 100feet in length and 60 feet in width, and was refioored in1891 with wood at a cost ot about ;^40o; adjoining is thearmoury and magazine, over which are committee andreading rooms, and there is a dwelling house for the hallkeeper.The CampbeU Memorial HaU, Boughton, erected at theexpense of Mrs. Pitcairn CampbeU, in memory of henhusband, the Rev, Edward Augustus Pitcairn CampbeUM,A. of Vicar's Cross, Chester, who died in 1892, is astructure of red brick with stone facings, comprising alarge hall for entertainments, gymnasium, two biUiardrooms, reading room and library. The buUding, openedSept. 16, 1895, is vested in trustees for the benefit of theparish of BoughtonThe dty of Chester was at one time a place of considerablecommeffcial importance, but with the rise ofLiverpool it graduaUy dedined; there are, however, somemanufactures, which indude the shot tower and leadsmelting works and white lead and paint factories, alsotobacco and snuff factories, several timber yards andsteam saw mills, breweries, corn mills with steam andwater power, and the extensive nurseries of Messrs.Dicksons Limited.The markets are on Wednesday and Saturday, the latterbdng the principal day: the Market HaU, iii Northgatestreet, is a spacious building, well suppUed with meat, fish,poultry, vegetables, and all kinds of provisions.. The commarket, on Saturday, is held in the Corn Exchange, Eastgatestreet, and is well attended by thp neighbouringfarmers. There is also a weekly market for horned cattle,sheep and pigs held in the Cattle Market, George street, onThursdays, and sales bv auction of fat stock every Tuesday.Cheese fairs are held in the Market HaU, Northgate street,on the third Wednesday in each month. There are alsofairs every month for horses and oattle, held on Thursdays.There are five newspapers, two of which have a largecirculation and have been established moire than a century;the third and fourth a few months previous to therepeal of the stamp duty. The fifth (which is a monthlypublication) has