Heritage Chester

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Heritage Chester Festival celebrating Chester's history & heritage

The first Rowvember events are here! 🏛️This November, we’re celebrating Chester’s one-of-a-kind Rows with a month of tou...
17/10/2026

The first Rowvember events are here! 🏛️

This November, we’re celebrating Chester’s one-of-a-kind Rows with a month of tours, talks and tales - and the first part of the line-up is now live.

Just a few sneaky highlights for you...

🕯️ An Evening of Midwinter Gothic - 4 Nov
Ghostly tales, a forgotten Chester tragedy and the city’s darker past, in the cosy surroundings of Chapters Book Bar on Watergate Row.

🌙 Chester Rows at Night - 5 Nov
Join Conservation Officer James Dixon to discover what only appears on the Rows after dark.

🏗️ The Lockwood Legacy Tour - 7 Nov
An exclusive tour led by the architects who carry on the legacy of Victorian Rows pioneer Thomas M. Lockwood.

🎲 Murder on the Rows - 10 Nov
Solve strange Victorian murders and face Eldritch horrors in a tabletop roleplaying game beneath the Rows. No experience needed!

🎭 Mrs Mainwaring’s Masquerades - 14 Nov
Step into 1820s Chester and the glittering masquerades that had the whole town talking.

Many of these events have limited spaces, so we’d recommend booking early to avoid disappointment. And this is just the beginning - more events will be added in the weeks ahead!

👉 See the full line-up and book at https://buff.ly/VciIRg7

🔭 Bonewaldesthorne’s Tower opens tomorrow!Climb the spiral staircase to the darkened upper chamber and discover the fasc...
17/10/2026

🔭 Bonewaldesthorne’s Tower opens tomorrow!

Climb the spiral staircase to the darkened upper chamber and discover the fascinating camera obscura - an ingenious optical device that projects live images of the surrounding landscape onto a table below! Heritage Chester volunteers will be on hand to show you how it works.

📅 Sun 18th October, 11am - 1pm
📍 Bonewaldesthorne’s Tower, City Walls
🎟️ Free entry, no booking needed - just drop in!

⚠️ Due to the limited space inside the tower, you may need to queue during busy periods. Please note the tower is only accessible via a flight of steps.

One month to go until ROWVEMBER! 🏛️From 1 - 30 November, we're celebrating Chester's one-of-a-kind Rows - the galleried ...
01/10/2026

One month to go until ROWVEMBER! 🏛️

From 1 - 30 November, we're celebrating Chester's one-of-a-kind Rows - the galleried walkways you won't find anywhere else in the world.

Whether you stroll The Rows every day or you're seeing them for the very first time, ROWVEMBER is your chance to look up, look closer and discover something new about these extraordinary buildings.

Our full line-up is nearly ready... and we can't wait to share it with you. 👀

Keep an eye on our page - the big reveal is coming soon!
🔗 https://buff.ly/Ssxro3c

Image: stuartrobinson.photography

381 years ago, this ground shook 💥On 22 September 1645, Parliament's cannons tore a hole through Chester's city walls - ...
20/09/2026

381 years ago, this ground shook 💥

On 22 September 1645, Parliament's cannons tore a hole through Chester's city walls - and the breach they made still stands today.

Join us at Chester Roman Gardens on Tuesday 22 September, 2pm–6pm, and stand at the very spot where the fighting happened. We'll have weapons, equipment and objects on hand, and stories of the citizens who defended the city, the soldiers who attacked it, and what life was really like inside a besieged Chester.
This is history you can stand in, not just read about.

📍 Chester Roman Gardens, Pepper Street, Chester CH1 1QQ (look for the stretch tent on the grass)

Free, drop-in, everyone welcome - great for families!

🔗 Find out more: https://buff.ly/7I71iSu

Thank you for joining us this Heritage Open Days! 🩷Whatever you got up to - a tower you'd never been inside, a talk that...
20/09/2026

Thank you for joining us this Heritage Open Days! 🩷

Whatever you got up to - a tower you'd never been inside, a talk that taught you something new, or just a drop-in you stumbled across - we hope you found your own piece of Everyday History Heroes.

Heritage Chester events are run by volunteers, and we're a not-for-profit organisation - every event, every open door, happens because people give their time and passion to make it possible.

We'd love to know how we did. If you've got two minutes, please fill in our short feedback form - it really helps us plan next year and beyond.

📝 Share your thoughts: https://buff.ly/as2t2D0

Thank you for being part of it. See you next year. 🏛️

Grab your leg warmers - it's a totally rad celebration! 🕶️2026 marks 40 years since commercial salt production ended at ...
20/09/2026

Grab your leg warmers - it's a totally rad celebration! 🕶️

2026 marks 40 years since commercial salt production ended at the Lion Salt Works, and we're marking the anniversary with a free eighties-themed party for Heritage Open Days,

📆 Sunday 20 September, 11am–4pm.

🧂 New salt-making demo area opens, with live demonstrations
🎟️ Free museum entry + mini guided tours
🎞️ Archive film from the 1980s
🐴 The Nodding Donkey brine pump in action
👖 Best eighties outfit & best retro car competitions

Free, suitable for all ages, fully accessible, free parking.
📍 Lion Salt Works, Ollershaw Lane, Marston, Northwich CW9 6ES

🔗 Find out more: https://buff.ly/0EoNUYK

A tower that once stood in the river itself 🗼By popular demand, Chester's Water Tower opens its doors for Heritage Open ...
19/09/2026

A tower that once stood in the river itself 🗼

By popular demand, Chester's Water Tower opens its doors for Heritage Open Days on Sunday 20 September, 11am–3pm.

Built in the 14th century on the City Walls to defend the port of Chester - a port that's now landlocked - this remarkable tower once stood directly in the River Dee. Grosvenor Museum will be on hand with artefacts telling the story of Chester as a historic trading centre.

📍 Water Tower, City Walls, Chester
Free, drop-in, no booking required. At busy times you may be required to wait for a few minutes to enter the Water Tower.

🔗 Find out more: https://buff.ly/wpdWeD9

Saturday's line-up is a good one ✨Heritage Open Days continues Saturday 19 September, with a great mix of free, drop-in ...
19/09/2026

Saturday's line-up is a good one ✨

Heritage Open Days continues Saturday 19 September, with a great mix of free, drop-in events - no booking needed.

📸 Helsby Heritage Day: 9am-1pm
Discover the fascinating photograph collection of local resident Jim Lloyd.

🎨 Weaver Hall Museum Memory Boxes: 11am-4pm (Northwich)
Create a memory box celebrating someone's life with artist Nichola Burton.

🏚️ Weaver Hall Museum, free family entry: 2pm-4.30pm (Northwich)
Explore workhouse life, with games, crafts and talks for all ages.

🕊️ Chester Quaker Meeting House: 10am-4.30pm
Step inside this peaceful Meeting House, on a site dating back to 1703.

All part of this year's Everyday History Heroes theme.
🔗 See the full programme: https://buff.ly/00L9VqK

Last weekend - plenty still free and drop-in ✨Heritage Open Days closes out this weekend, 19 & 20 September, with a grea...
18/09/2026

Last weekend - plenty still free and drop-in ✨

Heritage Open Days closes out this weekend, 19 & 20 September, with a great final run of free, drop-in events - no booking needed.

Saturday 19 September:
📸 Helsby Heritage Day: 9am–1pm
Discover the fascinating photograph collection of local resident Jim Lloyd.

🎨 Weaver Hall Museum Memory Boxes: 11am–4pm (Northwich)
Create a memory box celebrating someone's life with artist Nichola Burton.

🏚️ Weaver Hall Museum, free family entry: 2pm–4.30pm (Northwich)
Explore workhouse life, with games, crafts and talks for all ages.

🕊️ Chester Quaker Meeting House: 10am–4.30pm
Step inside this peaceful Meeting House, on a site dating back to 1703.

Sunday 20 September:
🗼 Water Tower: 11am–3pm
By popular demand — a rare chance inside this 14th-century tower on the City Walls.

🧂 Lion Salt Works 1980s Celebration: 11am–4pm (Northwich)
Free entry, demos, archive film, and fancy dress competitions marking 40 years since production ended.

All free, all part of this year's Everyday History Heroes theme.

🔗 See the full programme: https://buff.ly/00L9VqK

⚔️ 22 September 1645 - The Breach That Shook Chester What really happened when Chester’s walls were battered by Parliame...
18/09/2026

⚔️ 22 September 1645 - The Breach That Shook Chester

What really happened when Chester’s walls were battered by Parliament’s cannons?

Come and see the breach for yourself and discover the weapons, equipment and stories behind the siege of Chester during the English Civil War.

📅 Tuesday 22 September, 2pm - 6pm
📍 Chester’s Civil War breach in Chester’s Roman Gardens
♿️ Fully Accessible
⚔️ FREE - Everyone Welcome

We’ll be bringing along weapons, equipment and objects and talking about the citizens who defended Chester, the soldiers who attacked it, and what life was like inside a besieged city. This is a chance to experience Chester’s Civil War history rather than simply read about it.

And standing here, where the fighting took place, you’ll be looking at one of the most important surviving reminders of the Siege of Chester.

381 years ago, this was the scene of an intense battle.

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