A w/e visit to Chester primarily for the Chester Cathedral Christmas concert but with time to explore this beautiful city.
December 10th 2011
Jenny Knaggs organised.
History of Cathedral in brief
''In 1092, the Norman Earl of Chester, Hugh Lupus (‘The Wolf’), the nephew of William the Conqueror, decided to found a great monastery in the heart of his administrative capital.
Reconstruction began in about 1260 at the east end starting with the Lady Chapel.
Work continued with the remodelling of the quire in 1290. The Crossing followed in about 1300, followed by the South Transept in 1350. The south side of the Nave was remodelled in 1360 but the north side of the Nave was not built until 1490 – this 130 year break in building was due to plague when not enough workers were on hand to continue the building.
The Nave
The west end was constructed about 1520 and the work then moved aloft to construct the upper windows and the stone ceilings.
In 1540, however, the monastery was dissolved; building ceased at this time and very plain wooden ceilings were erected to allow services to take place inside
By the nineteenth century, it was clear that the building needed restoration and some work was undertaken in the 1830s. However the major restoration took place 1868-76 by George Gilbert Scott, although further work continued into the early twentieth century; the external Bell Tower was opened in 1975, and the stone floor of the Nave dates from 1997 while the Song School was completed in 2005.
Each part of the building represents the work of different generations combining to make the Cathedral that we see today, but which remains one of the finest and most complete monastic complexes in the UK.
