Chester in the Great War

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By Susan Chambers. Pbk. 160 pages. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Books 2015. ISBN 9781783463534. £12.99 plus £4.00 p&p.

This book tells the story of the city and its people throughout the long years of the First World War, from the carefree days of Spring 1914, to the solemn tones of the first Remembrance Day in November 1919. At the outbreak of war, Chester was transformed from a county market town with pleasant shops and day-trippers to a bustling, frantically busy military centre. As its men departed, the city settled down to the hard work of dealing with their absence in so many vital jobs a challenge eventually tackled by many of the city’s women.

Although it soon became clear that many men would never return, life in the city went on and everyone played their part; the cinemas and theatres stayed open, as did the pubs (though with reduced hours). Concerts kept the public entertained and raised vital funds, while news films kept people up-to-date with the latest from the Front.

As well as life on the Home Front, the book also looks at the men of the various sections of the Cheshire Regiment, including the 1st Battalion, who played a vital role in the Battle of Mons.

Illustrated with over eighty period photographs, this book will appeal to military and social historians alike.

Available from the publishers at www.pen-and-sword.co.uk or call 01226 734222.

On Chester On: A History of Chester College and the University of Chester

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By Prof Emeritus Graeme J White. Pbk. xiv + 353 pages. Chester: University of Chester Press 2014. ISBN 9781908258199. £14.99.

Although there has only been a University of Chester since 2005, its predecessor, Chester College, dates back further than most UK universities, having been founded in 1839. This books celebrates its 175th anniversary in 2014. Its story is a remarkable one of survival and success. The early college was a pioneering venture and it still houses the first buildings in England specifically designed for the training of teachers. However, it came near to closure three times, only to emerge intact and stronger than before.

This fascinating book tells the little known story of one of Chester’s major institutions. For information on how to order see http://www.chester.ac.uk/node/25540. 

Landscape History, September 2011

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Edited by S M Varey and G J White. Pbk. xvii + 272 pages. University of Chester Press 2012. ISBN 9781908256007.  £12.99

This collection of research papers offers new insights  into residential buildings, settlement patterns, the names and boundaries of fields and the legacy of developments in transport and industrialisation.

See the University of Chester website for more information.

Tradition and Transformation in Anglo-Saxon England: Archaeology, Common Rights and Landscape

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By Susan Oosthuizen. London: Bloomsbury 2013. ISBN 9781472507273. £45.00.

Current explanations for the origins of Anglo-Saxon England are generally based on the premise that older forms of social organisation did not survive on any scale into the post-Roman period. Common pastures are thought to have originated during the 5th and 6th centuries, and open fields are believed to have first appeared around the mid-9th century.

The argument presented here suggests a new paradigm. It proposes that some elements of the old Romano-British ? perhaps even prehistoric ? forms of collective social organisation persisted into post-Roman centuries, and goes on to argue that the impact of dynamic interaction between middle Anglo-Saxon lordly innovation and traditional social relations persisted not only in the medieval landscape but also in  English culture more generally. 

Preservation and Progress: the Story of Chester Since 1960

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By Peter de Figuereido & Cyril Morris, edited by Stephen Langtree. Chester Civic Trust 2012

Available at the special price of £15 when purchased from the Chester Civic Trust Office, Bishop Lloyds Palace, 51/53 Watergate Row, Chester (open Monday to Thursday from 12.00 to 14.00); also available by post (extra charge) from the Treasurer, Martin Meredith.

Interesting and nostalgic for long-term residents of the city, informative for newcomers.

Preservation and Progress: the Story of Chester Since 1960

 

Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture X: The Western Midlands

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By Richard Bryant. 620 pages. Oxford University Press/British Academy 2012. ISBN 978 0 19 726515 4.

Gorse Stacks – 2000 Years of Quarrying and Waste Disposal in Chester

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By Richard Cuttler, Sam Hepburn, Chris Hewitson and Kristina Krawiec.  iii+197 pages. Oxford: Archaeopress. (BAR Brit Ser 563)  2012. ISBN 9781407310015. ISBN 978140731001538.00.
The site of Delamere Street lies just outside the north gate of  Roman and medieval Chester and in recent years has been subject to intensive investigation as part of the Gorse Stacks development. This publication represents the culmination of the investigations carried out by Birmingham Archaeology during 2006 and 2008.
The excavation produced evidence for another probable Roman legionary, G(aius)
V[al(erius] | Pud[ens] | Maceia (tribu), who inscribed his name on the base of  an orange ware jar (from Holt?) before it was fired in the late first or early second century. delamerestreet_r_graffito_g4_web

The nomen Valerius is frequent in Italy and southern Gaul and is typical of legionaries in the early empire, including Roman Inscriptions of Britain 1,  478?80, 539, 541 and 542 from Chester. The cognomen Pudens is also common, again including L(ucius) Valerius Pud[ens] from Chester (RIB 1, 542).  (After R Tomlin, pages 65?6).

Roman Nantwich: a Salt-Making Settlement. Excavations at Kingsley Fields 2002

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By Peter Arrowsmith and David Power.  iii+197 pages. Oxford: Archaeopress. (BAR Brit Ser 557)  2012. ISBN 9781407309590. £35.00.
In 2002 the fullest evidence so far recovered for the Roman settlement at Nantwich was revealed by an excavation carried out at Kingsley Fields, on the west side of the town, ahead of a housing development. This uncovered a previously unknown Roman road, linking the settlement at Nantwich to the main road network, and, positioned along this, evidence for the collection and storage of brine and the production of salt, together with buildings, enclosures, a well and a small number of cremation burials. Waterlogged conditions meant that organic remains, including structural timbers, were well preserved on the site. These included the two finest examples of timber-built brine tanks excavated from Roman Britain. This volume presents the wide-ranging finds of these investigations.  

Excavations at Chester, The Western and Other Investigations

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By Simon W Ward and others. xvi+446 pages. Oxford: Archaeopress. (BAR Brit Ser 553) 2012. ISBN 9781407309316. £55.00.
This is the first detailed, wide-ranging report to be published on excavations in the extramural settlement of the Roman legionary fortress at Chester, specifically those around the western side of the fortress. This publication concentrates on ten interventions carried out over twenty-five years in the area to the west and south of the fortress and attempts to summarise in more detail than has been done hitherto discoveries elsewhere around its perimeter. Discussions attempt to characterise the townscape, its development and population, and also to explore the role of the Chester extramural settlement generally.
To order, go to the Archaeopress website: http://www.archaeopress.com/ArchaeopressShop/Public/
defaultAll.asp?Series=British+Archaeological+Reports&PublishedDateGT=13+Jan+2012.

Towards a Better Understanding: New Research on Old Mines

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(Welsh Mines and Mining 2), ed D J Linton. Pbk. 150pp. Welsh Mines Society 2012. ISBN 9780956137715. £10.00.
This volume contains two papers by our Secretary, Alan Williams. The first, ‘ Hidden bullion: silver production in north-east Wales’ reviews the history and profitability of silver extraction from the lead ore mined in north-east Wales from Roman times to the earlier 19th century. The second,  ‘Rediscovering the lead and zinc production of north-east Wales’, written jointly with C J Williams, focusses on production in the 17th and 18th centuries. You can preview both papers and download an order form for the volume here.

Download an order form here.