The River Dee: Its Aspect and History (page 1/3)

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Eaton Hall

Eaton Hall, the Cheshire seat of the Duke of Westminster, is situated in a very large, though hardly picturesque, park, which is liberally thrown open to strangers, and, in consequence, is a great boon to Chester. The Grosvenor Lodge is only a few hundred yards from the city walls, and an avenue of two miles in length leads up to the deer-park, which is entered by a large lodge and gateway, and [...] [more...] [$]

Remains of Valle Crucis Abbey

“It was exactly in the year 1200 that Madoc, Lord of Bromfield, at the time when Prince Llewellyn was contending with King John, founded this monastic house in a deep hollow, already called the Valley of the Cross, from a monumental cross which stood there previously, and stands theire still [...] [more...] [$]

Title Page, The River Dee

THE RIVER DEE
ITS ASPECT AND HISTORY [more...] [$]

Bryn-y-Pys

This hall was built in the late 1730s, was remodelled in the 1850s, and, having fallen into disrepair, was demolished in 1956. The engraving here was printed in 1875 [...] [more...] [$]

Ruins of St. John’s, from the Grosvenor Park,

bwpics has a history and more pictures of this ruined church which was heavily ‘restored’ in the 19th century.

“[...] we find in St. John’s Church a permanent and very grand memorial of the Early Norman period [i.e. approx. 1070 – 1100 — Liam]. In Saxon times Chester was included, with all the extensive tract of Mercia, in the Diocese which acknowledged allegiance to the great see of St. Chad: but with the early Norman kings came a change that made Chester a definite centre of episcopal jurisdiction. [...]

“Chester [...] still retains, on the very edge of its historic river, a striking monument of its early diocesan dignity. The gigantic round Norman piers of the Nave stand just as they stood in the days of William Rufus; and the fine Triforium above belongs yo a period not much later; and though large portions of this structure have been destroyed, and though its partial restoration in modern times [1875] is unworthy of its ancient grandeur, yet in two respects this church cannot fail to make a great impression on all who see it.

“The ruins at the East-end, recently extricated from heaps of rubbish and the growth of trees, are now a recognised ornament of Chester, near the new park which is laid out on a table-land above the banks of the Dee; while the lofty tower, erect though mouldering, and still showing in parts some [more...] [$]