Our Heritage

A building on Chester’s Rows. It has been modified over the centuries but retains some features associated with its medieval origins, adds to the city’s characteristic magpie look, and is a contemporary space with an undercroft serving gin (including from local distilleries). Then there’s the name …God’s Providence House.

From the exterior this looks like a 19th Century building with some picturesque ruins at either end. However, this Bite-Sized Wonder, presented by Paul Hyde, also ventures inside to encounter its impressive interior dating from the arrival of the Normans and points out some references to its earlier Saxon origins.

Walking along the towpath of the Shropshire Union Canal between Hoole Lane and City Road it can be easy to forget that this area was once a zone of industry. One key reminder of the area’s industrial heritage is the Lead Shot Tower - step inside one of Chester’s iconic landmarks and a nationally important building.

Passers-by may, at first impression, consider this to be a somewhat uninspiring ruin. However, as Paul Hyde explains, these Roman remains help to define the size, shape and location of the legionary fortress of Deva - from which the present larger circuit of city walls evolved.

Presenter Paul Hyde encourages us to look up when passing this splendid example of a Victorian half-timber revival building by the renowned architect John Douglas.

Rusty or blood-stained - that is the question? This outcrop of rock in Chester’s Edgar’s Field Park has had a long journey from its origins in the Tropics of the Triassic. What’s more, it’s still moving! – albeit extremely slowly.

A Water Tower – but where is the water? Looking at it today there’s none stored inside and there’s none flowing around it. Discover the significance of this massive medieval sandstone structure that stands proudly at the end of a spur off the north-west corner of Chester’s famous City Walls.

When the Romans arrived almost 2000 years ago, they would have encountered a different landscape to what we see today, presenter Paul Hyde explains. However, it was a landscape that they decided was fit for a legionary fortress.

Both unique and old, The Rows have been two-tier thoroughfares of commerce since the Middle Ages. The buildings that form them have had many additions and modifications as well as replacements over the centuries. However, key features have remained.

Join presenter Paul Hyde as he uncovers some of the history of King Charles's Tower. Find out how magical birds and a doomed king are associated with this ancient tower on the north-east corner of Chester’s celebrated circuit of City Walls.