Chester city walls

Chester city walls consist of a defensive structure built to protect the city of Chester in Cheshire, England. Their construction was started by the Romans when they established the fortress of Deva Victrix between 70 and 80 AD. It originated with a rampart of earth and turf surmounted by a wooden palisade. From about 100 AD they were reconstructed using sandstone, but were not completed until over 100 years later. Following the Roman occupation nothing is known about the condition of the walls until Æthelflæd refounded Chester as a burgh in 907. The defences were improved, although the precise nature of the improvement is not known. After the Norman conquest, the walls were extended to the west and the south to form a complete circuit of the medieval city. The circuit was probably complete by the middle of the 12th century.

Maintenance of the structure of the walls was an ongoing concern. They were further fortified before the Civil War, and were damaged during the war. Following this they ceased to have a defensive purpose, and were developed for leisure and recreation. The walls are now a major tourist attraction, and form an almost complete circuit of the former medieval city, with a total walkway length of 2.95 kilometres (1.8 mi). Upkeep and repair of the walls continues to be a problem.

In about 74 or 75 AD the Roman legion Legio II Adiutrix established a fortress in Chester. The fortress was initially defended by an earth rampart surmounted by a wooden palisade and surrounded by a ditch with a sharp V-shaped profile. It is likely that the rampart was about 3 m (10 ft) high on a base of about 6 m (20 ft). The earth for the rampart was obtained from digging the ditch. It was set on a base of logs and held together by branches and brushwood. At intervals of about 160 m (520 ft) along the ramparts were wooden towers with a square base of about 4.5 m (15 ft); they were probably about 7.5 m (25 ft) high. On each of the four sides was a main gate with timber towers. The gates on the north and east sides stood on the present sites of Northgate and Eastgate. From about 90 AD Chester was occupied by Legio XX Valeria Victrix, who started a programme of rebuilding, including the improvement of the walls. Starting in about 100 AD the earth walls were reconstructed using sandstone. A wall of stone was added to the earth rampart. This consisted of large square blocks of stone built on a chamfered plinth up to a walkway about 4.9 m (16 ft) above the base. It was surmounted by an elaborately carved cornice, and a parapet topped by capstones. The gates and towers were also rebuilt in stone. It is thought that the north gate was a single arch, while the others had twin portals. The east gate formed the main entry to the fortress, and was particularly impressive, possibly with three storeys. The stone was quarried locally from the immediate area of the fortress. Although started in about 100 AD, the rebuilding of the walls was abandoned in the early part of the 2nd century, perhaps with the walls incomplete, and was not finished until over 100 years later. The walls continued to be maintained throughout the Roman occupation, with major repairs undertaken during the 4th century.

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