Is situated a short distance west of the Bridge Gate, and the building of it is ascribed to William the ConOrdericus. queror.* The ground on which it stands, is exempted from the jurisdiction of the City by the Charter of Hen. VII. The destruction of the old Castle commenced in 1789, under the authority of an Act of Parliament; and in 1807, another Act was obtained, for enlarging the Castle precincts, and improving the entrance to it, under which Act, the site of the Nun's Gardens, and Nun's The present Lord Colchester, when Mr. Abbott, attended this circuit, professionally as a Barrister; and it is said received his first brief here, from the hands of Mr. Humphryes, now Prothonotary of the Court. In recollection of this occurrence of early life, the Noble Lord has presented a Law Library, for the use of the Judges, which is fitted up in their apartments. It is somewhat remarkable, that the Chief Justice, when in Chester, assumes a Military Command. From the moment he enters the Castle, all orders emanate from him, and he gives the watch-word, &c. A guard of honor attends his Lordship, and salutes, on entering and quitting his carriage. During the stay of the Judges, their table is supplied, and their apartments are also furnished, at the EXPENSE OF THE CITY. Many conjectures might be hazarded on the origin of this custom, but nothing certain is known. It is, however, of very high antiquity; and the appointment of the Day of Assize, is immediately followed by a Writ from the Exchequer Lane, were purchased, and added to the County property. The Higher Ward stands on an elevated piece HISTORY. of ground, and is the only part of the old Castle now remaining. It is precipitous on the south and west sides; and the north side is defended by a large mound, apparently artificial. On the south side is a great Tower, described in page 258, beneath which is a Magazine for gunpowder. Further on, apartments for the Officers of the Garrison, opening on a narrow terrace, which commands a magnificent prospect. Adjoining these are the lodgings for the Judges of the Circuit † Court, of which a copyt is subjoined. In addition to the express stipulations of which, the body Corporate, give the Judges the loan of the City Plate, and present them with a certain quantity of Wine:- "George the Thirt, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith. To the Sheriff of the said City, Greeting. Forasmuch as we are given to understand that our Justices of Chester, on the thirty-first day of August instant, are to come to our Castle of Chester, there to dispatch our and our subjects' business, and that the beds, and other necessaries are wanting for their stay, in our service, as we have heard; we command you, that as well in Woollen as in Linen, you cause to be provided for our said Justices, Six Good Beds, and other necessaries, fit for such their stay, so that we may have them within our said Castle of Chester, on the Twenty-ninth day of August next coming, Summer Circuit, 1818. CHESTER 1807. non, ITINERARY OF THE COUNTY, &c. The west side is formed by a battery, for twelve canbut only four are mounted, two of which are brass six-pound field pieces, purchased for the Chester Volunteers, by subscription. Below this, in the Castle Ditch, is another Powder Magazine; such a situation * See plate. is considered by military men as an anomaly.*-On the west side is the Old Armory,† and the Store Keeper's House. The lofty battlements on this side, afford a delightful view over the Vale of Cheshire-of the Broxton and Peckforton Hills-and a large and romantic district of the Principality. A fine Walnut-tree, which occupied the centre of the square, was cut down in 1814, and another planted. The entrance to the Higher ward, is protected by strong Wooden Gates, placed there in 1817, previous to which it lay open to the Lower Yard, from the time when the two high round towers About were taken down-fronting which was a drawbridge and portcullice. Pennant describes the general appearance of the Old Castle, in a very accurate manner :— "It is composed of two parts, an Upper and a Lower, each with a strong gate, defended by a round bustion on each side, with a ditch, and formerly with drawbridges. Within the precincts of the Upper Balium, are to be seen some towers of Norman architecture, square, with square projections at each corner slightly salient. The handsomest is that called Julius Cæsar's. Its entrance is through a large Gothic door, probably of later workmanship. The lowest room has a vaulted roof, strengthened with ordinary square couples. The upper has been a Chapel, as appears by the Holy Waterpot, and some figures almost obsolete, painted on the walls. The arsenal, some batteries, and certain habitable buildings occupy the remaining part. On the side of the lower Court, stands the noble room called Hugh Lupus's Hall,§ in which the Courts of Justice for the County are held: the length is very near 99 feet, the breadth 45, the height very awful, and worthy the state apartment of a Great Baron. The roof supported by wood-work in a bold style, carved, and placed on the sides, resting on stout brackets. Adjoining to the end and this, under pain that shall fall thereon, in no wise omit. Witness ourself, at Chester, the Third day of August, in the Fifty-eighth year of our Reign. BLOUNT." † Built in the reign of William III. W. M. Henderson, Esq. holds this office. of this great hall, is the Court of Exchequer, or the Chancery of the County Palatine of Chester. This very building is said to have been the Parliament House of the little Kings of the Palatinate. It savors of antiquity in the Architecture, and within are a number of seats described by Gothic arches, and neat pillars. At the upper end are two, one for the Earl, the other for the Abbot. The eight others were allotted to his eight Barons, and occupy one side of the room."—In the room over the gateway of the lower ward, it is said the unfortunate Monarch, Richard 11. was confined by the imperious Bolingbroke, on his way to London from Flint. Howard, the Philanthropist, gives the following account of the Old Gaol :- The day confinement of the Prisoners, is in a little yard, surrounded on all sides by lofty buildings, impervious to the air excepting from above, and ever unvisitted by the purifying rays of the Sun. Their nocturnal apartments are in Cells, 7 feet by 3 feet, ranged on one side of a subterraneous dungeon, in each of which are often lodged three or four persons. The whole is rendered more (wholesomely) horrible by being pitched over three or four times in the year. The scanty air of their strait prison yard is to travel through three passages to arrive at them through the window of an adjoining room, through a grate in the floor of the said room into the dungeon, and finally through the dungeon, through a little grate above the door of each of their kennels."¶ ** HISTORY. At present the Lower Yard is thus occupied The Grand Entrance extending 100 feet in length, is the admiration of every stranger. It is in the Grecian Doric style of Architecture, consisting of three temples or pavilions, connected by short covered passages. The centre is a peristyle, formed of ten fluted columns, 18 feet high, and nearly 3 feet in diameter, with their anti or pilasters, the carriage entrance being through the middle intercolumniation, and on each side another for foot passengers. The entablature is crowned with a low attic, formed into pannels, aud over the centre of This Hall was nearly rebuilt in the time of Queen Elizabeth. ¶ Written in 1784.-The annexed plate affords a pretty correct view of the external appearance of the Old Castle, the point of sight taken from the south-west angle of the City Walls. ** Octavo History of Chester. |