Chester Society for Landscape History
Upper storeys of Chester’s iconic Rows (Photograph: Vanessa Greatorex)
Forthcoming Events
MEMBERS ONLY
Field Trip to Mold, Flintshire
Date: Sunday 21 June 2026
Time: 1.30pm
Details: Please see our Field Trips page
ALL WELCOME
Chester Society for Landscape History at Chester Festival of Ideas
Date: Thursday 2 July 2026
Admission: Free, but booking advisable
Members of Chester Society for Landscape History will be giving the following talks:
11am: Cheshire as a Palatinate
Speaker: Professor Graeme J. White
Venue: Chester Picturehouse, Unit 10, Hunter Street, Chester, CH1 2AR
2pm: How Old Am I? Trying to Date Buildings in our Rural and Urban Landscapes
Speaker: Dr Sharon Varey
Venue: Chester Town Hall, 33 Northgate Street, Chester, CH1 2HQ
2pm: The Early Neston Collieries: Seven Reasons Why They Were Remarkable
Speaker: Dr Anthony Annakin-Smith
Venue: Chester Picturehouse, Unit 10, Hunter Street, Chester, CH1 2AR
For more details of talks and how to book, see https://festivalofideas.chester.ac.uk/
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:
Well Hopper
Photos, descriptions and potted histories of the ancient holy wells and healing wells of North Wales.
https://wellhopper.wales/
Why you shouldn’t take pebbles from a beach
Under the 1949 Coastal Protection Act it is illegal to remove natural materials from a beach. Removing pebbles upsets coastline ecology and damages habitats. Pebbles and sediments provide a natural barrier to flooding and erosion; the more there are on Britain’s beaches, the better equipped coastal areas are to cope with the changing seasonal force of waves.
https://theconversation.com/why-you-shouldnt-take-pebbles-from-the-beach-heres-the-science-230560?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20May%2022%202024%20-%202977630284&utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20May%2022%202024%20-%202977630284+CID_9e4d4119e60baee61c3f995c71d831e6&utm_source=campaign_monitor_uk&utm_term=Why%20you%20shouldnt%20take%20pebbles%20from%20the%20beach%20%20heres%20the%20science
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.