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
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
VISITORS WELCOME
Saturday 31 October 2026, 2pm
Title: Eastham Pleasure Gardens: A Journey Back In Time
Speaker: David Mottram
Venue: St Columba’s Church Hall, Plas Newton Lane, Chester, CH2 1SA
Admission: Members free, Visitors £4, Student
Visitors £2
VISITORS WELCOME
Saturday 28 November 2026, 2pm
Title: To be confirmed
Speaker: To be confirmed
Venue: St Columba’s Church Hall, Plas Newton Lane, Chester, CH2 1SA
Admission: Members free, Visitors £4, Student
Visitors £2
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:
5,000-year-old solstice markers
The discovery of two post-holes aligning with the summer and winter solstices suggest that Wiltshire was the focus of ritual practices centuries 500 years before the completion of Stonehenge. Pits filled with flints, pottery, animal bones and charcoal have also been uncovered. Researchers from Wessex Archaeology, the team investigating the Bulford site, believe the structure associated with the post-holes may have served as a wooden prototype while Stonehenge was being built.
https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/this-was-a-pioneering-achievement-stone-age-people-put-up-posts-to-observe-the-solstices-near-stonehenge-long-before-the-stones-of-sacred-site-were-placed?utm_term=45CAB862-7568-43AB-A667-BD7298D261D3&lrh=84ce638986bc73b191ec0774c05a547009942838093c58c9450b62a0b824de21&utm_campaign=368B3745-DDE0-4A69-A2E8-62503D85375D&utm_medium=email&utm_content=B935EB28-0B86-43D8-8DC7-7F354362AB61&utm_source=SmartBrief
Sandbach’s historical landmarks
Photos and descriptions of the most notable historic sites in Sandbach.
https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/magazines/cheshire/26113265.exploring-historical-landmarks-sandbach-cheshire/?ref=eb&nid=2370&block=article_block_a&u=34c06549a3faa7a06a87ca649b5bb595&date=010726
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.