England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Chester St Peter

The Parish

The city of Chester is one of the ancient places of England, supposedly pre-Roman in origin it was developed as a Roman settlement to hold the northwest and as a base for expeditions into northern Wales. The city is located in the west of the county of Cheshire and it forms part of the county border with neighbouring Flintshire. Chester sits at the junction of several major roads, it is roughly 17 miles south of the port of Liverpool and 36 miles southwest of the industrial city of Manchester. Chester is one of England's walled cities and those walls are still a feature of the city and a tourist attraction in themselves. Chester is the county capital of Cheshire and grew as a port and market centre for the region, it is sited at the end of navigation of the River Dee which flows through its heart, although problems of silting lent the necessity to canalise and the Ellesmere canal connects Chester with the Mersey and Liverpool. Chester is divided into 10 parishes of which St Peter was the largest of the city's smaller parishes most populous supporting a population of around 850 parishioners. St Peter sits at the centre of the city by "The Cross" which marks the city's centre and the population would have been amongst the more prosperous of the city, the parish was really rather small covering only a couple of blocks in either direction. Today Chester is a bustling city and a tourist attraction for its history and architecture, the galleried rows being a major attraction. In Domesday times the city was shared between the Bishop of Chester, Earl Hugh of Chester and the King himself, whilst the book does not identify the individual assets this was a wealthy and prosperous place even then.

The Church

St Peter's church sits at the geography centre of the city of Chester at The Cross which marks the junction of Bridge Street and Eastgate Street. The church is very much an urban building sitting flush with the pavements and abutted by commercial premises. The church has its origins during the Decorated period of architectural style, a period that spanned roughly the early 14th century, to this core a later, and Perpendicular, northern aisle was added. The church has received many alterations and restorations during the centuries, Pevsner notes the latter in 17th, 18th & 19th centuries separately, all modifying the building considerably. The church sits in a largely pedestrianised area with no physical boundary to the street. The building is constricted from both west and north by properties which severely limit the angles available for photography.