Chester

St Johns Church situated on top of a sandstone cliff that overlooks the River Dee and The Groves in Chester is undergoing renovation.

It is the oldest Christian site in Chester and one of the oldest in the country. It has had a chequered history from being briefly the cathedral of Mercians to housing a parliamentarian gun emplacement in it's grounds during the seige of Chester in the Civil War.

More information about the early church can be found on the Chester Cathedral page

It has always suffered from finacial problems and has experienced many collapses during it's life. Both the central and western towers fell twice, the last time being the final fall of the western tower, whilst being repaired, in 1881. The church was the subject of extensive renovation in the latter part of the 19th century and the church as it stands today is a much reduced building. Internally however a lot of the original norman architecture remains. It reflects an early. less elaborate style of building.

Today further renovation is being undertaken around the church and a lot of the dense foliage has been removed so that once again you can see down from the church grounds and see the river Dee along which King Edgar was rowed to have his second coronation within the church.

Click on an image for a slide show of photographs

Link:

• The Parish of Chester