A Chester Walk November 2000
Chester is one of the beautiful timbered cities of England. The Rows
are distinctive, with multiple levels. It appears to be virtually
all shops of various sorts. Get the walking tour from the visitor's center!
We began at Chester Cathedral...
Chester Cathedral on the Web
The timber on the ceiling, left, is in the upstairs of a very accommodating
jewelry shop. The timbers display the marks to look for to determine if you
are seeing genuine Tudor/Elizabethan timberwork. No original (fresh hewn)
wood was to be used elsewhere but the ship building industry. All building
wood came recycled from decommissioned ships of the Navy and the trades, and
thus is not only darkened, but twisted, warped, curved, etc.
These two photos contrast the building styles and wood usage of original
Elizabethan work and later copies. On the right, we see windows higher than
a ladder could reach, and clean, straight and well-shaped, woodwork.
On the left, we see a row of original houses -- note especially third and
fourth down from the right edge -- curved, non-parallel, twisted wood. And
windows ladder height or less...
I hope to return to Chester one day, as I found it a beautiful and interesting
little city. And it's a great base for visits throughout the borderlands and
North Wales.
Chester on the Web
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