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came into the possession of the city council. Although it was recognised that the tower was not suitable as a museum, there was at the time nowhere else to show all the exhibits. The tower closed as a museum in 1901–02 while the city walls were rebuilt, and re-opened in 1903, attracting 12,000 visitors that season. The towers were closed to the public in 1916 and in the 1920s they were let for non-museum use. In 1954 they were bought by the
321:
182:
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The
Chester Mechanics' Institution was founded in 1835. The Institution wished to open a museum to show its artifacts and the city council leased the Water Tower and Bonewaldesthorne's Tower at a nominal rent for this purpose. The museum opened in 1838. The Institution closed in 1876 and the exhibits
247:
in North Wales. Its prime purpose was to defend the port of
Chester, and it was also used to monitor the movements of shipping and to ensure that the custom dues were paid. The cost of the tower and the spur wall was £100 (equivalent to £90,000 as of 2023). By the end of the 16th century the
296:
crenellation on the city walls. The tower is circular at its base with a square turret above, in two stages containing octagonal chambers, one above the other. A pointed archway leads from the wall into the lower chamber. In the angle between the tower and the wall was a small
288:. The tower is about 75 feet (23 m) high, and the wall is 97 feet (30 m) long, just over 11 feet (3 m) wide and about 24 feet (7 m) high. An archway in the city walls leads to 44 stone steps on the way down to the tower. The wall is
268:
which reopened them to the public in 1962. The tower is now some 200 yards (183 m) inland from the river, and is probably the least-altered of
Chester's medieval towers. The Water Tower and the adjacent
305:, but these have been blocked and are only visible from the exterior. A circular staircase of 23 steps leads to the upper chamber, which has four embrasures in its walls. Above this is a raised
231:. The original name of the tower was New Tower but in the 17th century it became known as the Water Tower, although the City Assembly tried to insist on the usage of its correct name.
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301:. Five stone steps lead down from the archway through the wall (about 12 feet (4 m) thick) to the lower chamber. Formerly in its walls were
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243:. It is attached to Bonewaldesthorne's Tower by a spur wall. The architect was John (de) Helpston who had also designed castles for
260:
the tower was attacked and damaged. From 1671 it was leased as a storehouse but in 1728 it was described as "useless and neglected".
511:
575:, A History of the County of Chester: The City of Chester: Culture, Buildings, Institutions, vol. 5, Part 2, pp. 294–297
406:, A History of the County of Chester: The City of Chester: Culture, Buildings, Institutions, vol. 5, Part 2, pp. 213–225
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up and the tower was landlocked. In 1639 the tower was renovated at the city's expense and during the following decade
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Can you stomach it?! Gruesome new visitor attraction 'Sick to Death' opens its doors to the public
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have housed a museum of the history of medicine, 'Sick to Death', since August 2016.
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480:"The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)"
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overlooking the entrance to the tower. The top of the tower is crenellated.
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The tower was built between 1322 and 1325, at which time it stood in the
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335:
List of sections of
Chester city walls and associated structures
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223:. The tower, together with its spur wall, is recorded in the
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509:
705:
Sections of
Chester city walls and associated structures
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in the spur wall were made into gun ports. During the
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Grade I listed buildings in
Cheshire West and Chester
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364:
522:, The Buildings of England, New Haven and London:
949:
215:, England, which is attached by a spur wall to
370:"Spur Wall and Water Tower, Chester (1376129)"
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569:Thacker, A. T.; Lewis, C. P. (eds.) (2005),
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400:Thacker, A. T.; Lewis, C. P. (eds.) (2005),
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292:; this may be the only surviving example of
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958:Buildings and structures completed in 1325
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668:
476:inflation figures are based on data from
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612:
950:
689:
453:, Chichester: Phillimore, p. 38,
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505:
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403:Major buildings: City walls and gates
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393:
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281:The tower and spur wall are built in
963:Towers completed in the 14th century
448:
35:Spur wall leading to the Water Tower
973:Grade I listed buildings in Chester
968:Buildings and structures in Chester
13:
730:Pemberton's Parlour (Goblin Tower)
617:, Dover: Alan Sutton, p. 48,
498:
388:
375:National Heritage List for England
225:National Heritage List for England
18:Historic site in Cheshire, England
14:
994:
644:Cheshire West and Chester Council
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698:Chester city walls and buildings
510:Hartwell, Clare; Hyde, Matthew;
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180:
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932:Town walls in England and Wales
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630:
606:
562:
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833:Ancient Roman defensive walls
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227:as a designated Grade I
207:) is a 14th-century tower in
572:Leisure and culture: Museums
7:
892:Listed buildings in Chester
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10:
999:
867:Chester Roman Amphitheatre
234:
825:
814:
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613:Morriss, Richard (1993),
203:(originally known as the
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140:Spur wall and Water Tower
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715:Bonewaldesthorne's Tower
615:The Buildings of Chester
271:Bonewaldesthorne's Tower
217:Bonewaldesthorne's Tower
762:and other related gates
478:Clark, Gregory (2017),
922:Shropshire Union Canal
551:, Chester City Council
978:Grade I listed towers
524:Yale University Press
788:other related gates
526:, pp. 253–254,
449:Ward, Simon (2009),
189:Location in Cheshire
245:King Edward II
73: /
983:Towers in Cheshire
897:History of Chester
691:Chester city walls
598:has generic name (
474:Retail Price Index
451:Chester: A History
429:has generic name (
153:Reference no.
77:53.1926°N 2.8995°W
945:
944:
850:Chester Cathedral
812:
811:
745:Thimbleby's Tower
533:978-0-300-17043-6
516:Pevsner, Nikolaus
460:978-1-86077-499-7
307:fighting platform
197:
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94:OS grid reference
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927:Siege of Chester
907:Minerva's Shrine
826:Related articles
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740:Recorder's Steps
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902:List of walls
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797:Kaleyard Gate
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735:Phoenix Tower
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137:Official name
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118:John Helpston
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887:Deva Victrix
877:Chester Weir
872:Chester Rows
842:
749:
648:, retrieved
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577:, retrieved
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553:, retrieved
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489:, retrieved
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408:, retrieved
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379:, retrieved
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277:Architecture
262:
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204:
200:
198:
148:28 July 1955
15:
912:Nine Houses
750:Water Tower
548:Water Tower
290:crenellated
201:Water Tower
80: /
56:Coordinates
24:Water Tower
952:Categories
937:Via Devana
779:Bridgegate
760:City gates
346:References
303:embrasures
254:embrasures
248:river had
221:city walls
145:Designated
100:SJ 399 665
65:53°11′33″N
882:River Dee
784:Watergate
769:Northgate
579:11 August
518:(2011) ,
410:11 August
283:sandstone
258:Civil War
241:River Dee
205:New Tower
131:– Grade I
115:Architect
68:2°53′58″W
51:, England
802:Shipgate
774:Eastgate
650:6 August
588:citation
555:9 August
520:Cheshire
419:citation
313:See also
294:medieval
213:Cheshire
49:Cheshire
41:Location
792:Newgate
381:15 July
299:latrine
235:History
219:on the
209:Chester
156:1376129
45:Chester
844:Castra
621:
530:
457:
286:rubble
250:silted
491:7 May
107:Built
652:2016
619:ISBN
600:help
581:2009
557:2009
528:ISBN
493:2024
455:ISBN
431:help
412:2009
383:2012
199:The
110:1325
472:UK
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
