Monday, May 31, 2010

May 31 - Chester

I had heard from several people (and read in a couple of guide books) that Chester, which is not too far from here, has the only complete town wall standing in England, and a lovely Norman Cathedral to boot, so I booked tickets for a day trip to Chester and hoped for minimal rain. It threatened rain when I got up, and actually sprinkled a bit on me as I walked to the train station, but it cleared later, then clouded, etc. all day long - quite a nice day, actually. Chester is a pretty town for certain, and the town wall is impressive - but it is "complete" only with a stretch of the imagination. Two sections were knocked down for the railroad, and bridges over the railroad rebuilt with stone railing from the old wall, and some of the wall is not much above street level - I don't think it's as impressive as York, but it is definitely interesting, and I enjoyed walking around it.
It was also interesting to tour the Church of St. John the Baptist, which housed the cathedral for several hundred years, and has some fascinating and very romantic ruins from the collapse of part of the old church in the late 19th century. The current Chester Cathedral, a fine example of Norman architecture, is also very interesting. Both churches have very high vaulted ceilings, massive pillars, and lovely stained glass windows, some quite modern. In the current cathedral, there are also a large number of carved wooden seats, and many of the regular pews also have wood carvings, quite nice wood carvings, but many of them seem (to my untrained eye) rather secular for carvings on a pew, but perhaps I am missing something. I took quite a few pictures of them, because they are so interesting. I also took a picture of an interesting modern sculpture in the rectory garden.
It was a great day and very relaxing. The old part of Chester is quite beautiful, and I enjoyed walking around the wall and just loafing around town for a while.

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