Chester Society for Landscape History
Top: Upper storeys of Chester’s iconic Rows. Middle: Dating from around 1600, the Red Lion in Northgate Street is one of Chester’s oldest pubs. Bottom: Souter’s Lane was the location of many of Chester’s shoemakers in the Middle Ages.
(Photographs: Vanessa Greatorex)
Forthcoming Events
MEMBERS ONLY
Field Trip: Rock Park, Birkenhead
Date: Saturday 10 August 2026
Time: 10.30am
What to expect: A 2-hour tour of Rock Park led by local resident Su Thompson. The site was created after a joint stock company formed in 1836-37 bought land to create ‘country residences for gentlemen’ in a landscaped park. An esplanade, a hotel, a cricket ground, bowling greens and the Royal Mersey Yacht Club complemented the dwellings. Depending on interest, there is an option of ending the tour at the original refreshment room for the cross Mersey ferry in the 1880s (since refurbished and still serving refreshments).
How to book: Via contact details supplied on Rock Park flier emailed to members on Sunday 12 July 2026.
MEMBERS ONLY
Saturday 26 September 2026, 10am-4.30pm (doors open 9.30am):
Celebrating 40 years of Chester Society for Landscape History:
Exhibition, bookstall, refreshments, talks.
Venue: St Columba’s Church Hall, Plas Newton Lane, Chester, CH2 1SA
Provisional programme:
10am: Welcome from Chair (Diane Johnson) and brief history of Chester Society for Landscape History (Professor Graeme White)
10.20 am: Discovering the Huxley Hoard of Viking Silver (William Hargreaves, Lune Valley Metal Detecting Society)
11.00 am: Coffee/tea break
11.30 am: Sutton Weaver Swing Bridge (Malcolm Verity, CLSH)
11.50am: Markets of Medieval Cheshire (Dr Alan Crosby, British Association for Local History)
12.45pm: Lunch
1.40pm: Historic Towns Map of Chester (Dr Tom Pickles & Professor Katherine Wilson, University of Chester/Historic Towns Trust)
2.30pm: Comfort break
2.40pm: West Park, Macclesfield: A Victorian People’s Park (Dr Sarah Griffiths, University of Chester Press & CSLH)
3.00pm: 1066 and All That: A Hoard of Silver Pennies Minted during the Reign of Harold II (Harold Gaskell & William Hargreaves, Lune Valley Metal Detecting Club)
3.45pm: Talk (title tbc) and closing remarks (Diane Johnson, Chair, CSLH)
4.00pm: Tea
Events open to non-members resume in October. Please see our Lectures page for details.
What is Landscape History?
Landscape History is the study of how people have altered the landscape through time.
It seeks to explain the historical significance of the buildings, earthworks, flora and other physical features which are our common heritage. It embraces aspects of history, archaeology, architecture, geography, geology, botany and other disciplines.
“The English landscape itself, to those who know how to read it aright, is the richest historical record we possess.” – W.G. Hoskins, The Making of the English Landscape (1955).
Picks of the Week
Here are some links to online landscape history resources recently recommended by our Information Officer and other members:
The survival tactics of trees
Excessive heat and lack of water can be dangerous for trees, but super-sized plants have a variety of ways to prevent their demise.
https://theconversation.com/heatwaves-why-british-trees-are-shedding-branches-and-dying-286701?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20July%2010%202026%20-%203861139320&utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20July%2010%202026%20-%203861139320+CID_7a7bea341e111411750be6b9e1dce1be&utm_source=campaign_monitor_uk&utm_term=Heatwaves%20why%20British%20trees%20are%20shedding%20branches%20and%20dying
The restoration of a timber-framed town house
The Old Judges’ House at 26 Westgate in Gloucester is the largest surviving historic timber-framed townhouse in England. Although the surviving structure dates from from the 16th and 17th centuries, it has the typical footprint of a medieval burgage plot: long, lofty rooms behind a narrow street front. With the help of Historic England, it was transformed from dereliction to a structurally sound antique centre using traditional techniques. 7-minute video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06BsUZ7Gd4Q
Click on the blue text at the end of this sentence for links to previously recommended Online Resources or for links to specific topics, including: Directories/Databases/Aerial Photographs, Geology, Ecosystems, Prehistory, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Viking, Medieval, Tudor and Stuart, Castles, Churches/Cathedrals/Shrines, Industrial, Cheshire, Wales, Other Locations.