Kellys Directory

The Town Hall , on the west side of Northgate Street was erected in 1869 ( to replace the old Town Hall burnt in 1862 ) is a building of Red sandstone in the Gothic style . The Principal front is about 120 feet, in length with a tower rising to a height of 160 feet and at each Corner of the facade are turrets intended to contain statues. The interior Comprises a Sessions court, an assembly room holding 500 persons, mayor's parlour, committee rooms and a small ante-room leading to the council chamber. The basement is chiefly occupied by the police offices. There is a bronze tablet framed in oak, the gift of Sir John Meadows Frost kt. in the entrance, commemorating the men of the city and district, including his own son, Who fell in the Great War,1914-18.

The Police Station is in the Town Hall.

The municipal insignia consist of a great mace, a sword of state, mayor's chain and badge, sheriff' chain two staves and silver oar.The great mace, of silver.gilt,4 feet 31/2 inches in length ; the staff, finely chased with spirals of roses and thistles, is divided into three portions by large knops, the top knop bearing the arms of Stanley, the Isle of Man and the City of Chester, and the latter coat is repeated on the flat plate at the bottom the head of the mace is surrounded by foliaged figures alternating with the national badges crowned, and is surmounted by a circlet from which spring the arches of the crown; on the flat top of the head are the royal arms of the Stuarts, and it also bears an inscription showing that it was given to the town in 1668 by Charles, 8th Earl of Derby, lord of Man and the isles, and who was also then mayor. The sword, 4 feet 2 inches long, has a double edged steel blade of 39 inches, bearing traces of engraved shields of arms the guards ,which curl upwards and the pommel, are of silver gilt; the scabbard is covered with red velvet, enclasped at intervals by ten silver gilt belts and plates, with arms and names of mayors and others from 1668 to 1781. The sword has been reputed to be that presented to the city in 1394 by Richard II, but its shape and ornamentation do not accord with so early a date, and it is most probable that it is the sword given to the city by Henry VII and mentioned in his first charter dated 6th April 1506 .

The mayor's chain and badge of gold were presented in -1851 during the mayoralty of John Williams esq. the chain is formed of plain links; the badge, a circular medallion displaying the city arms, within a laurel wreath, depends from an earl's coronet; the sheriff's chain, of silver-gilt, is similar in design, and was the gift, in 1869, of Alderman F. Butt

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The mayor's porter's staff is a silver headed cane,6 feet 3 inches long, and was given in 1721 by Thomas Edwards, mayor; the sheriff's staff, presented in 1867 by Thomas Bowers9 then sheriff, is of polished lancewood, 6 feet 8 inches long, and has a silver head bearing the city arms. The silver oar, so called, is of wood cased with silver; it is 14 inches in length and has the Chester hall-mark for 1719-20 and various inscriptions, arms and badges. The common seal, of silver, is 2 7/8 inches in diameter and was made in the 17th century, in imitation of the earlier 14th century seal, now lost; the mayor's seal, else of silver, is smaller and has also been copied from a much older one.; in addition to these, the city also possesses one of the original statue merchant seals, dating from 1283.

The mayor and aldermen wear robes of scarlet cloth and sables, and the sheriff one of purple cloth with black velvet facings. The Corporation are very rich in silver plate, though it is mostly of late date, the old plate having been sold during the Civil War to provide for the defence of the city and the payment of its debts; the earliest piece now held by the Corporation is a tankard of 1688-9 given to the city by Alderman Ralph Whitley, who died 5th October 1679 .

THE TOWN HALL

The imposing pile on the west side of the Market Square, which is now the municipal headquarters, was opened in 1869 by King Edward VII (then Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester). The Exchange, which had served as the seat of municipal government since 1701, was situated in the centre of the Market Square and was destroyed by fire in 1862. The portions of the Town Hall which are open to the public, when not otherwise in use, include the Assembly Room, containing portraits of the Grosvenor family, whose present representative is the Duke of Westminster; the Council Chamber, with portraits of Mayors; and No.1 Committee Room, containing a list of the Mayors of Chester since 1257

The Muniment Room, although it is not shown to the general public, contains a large number of historical manuscripts and illuminated charters of absorbing interest, which can be inspected by students and antiquarians on making application in the prescribed form to the Town Clerk. It also contains, amongst other treasures, a small but valuable collection of civic plate, all that escaped the melting-pot when so much of the magnificent old silver was sacrificed in the cause of Charles I. An object of great interest, which appears in civic processions, is the fifteenth-century State Sword which, by the Great Charter of Henry VII, was allowed to be carried before the Right Worshipful the Mayor in the presence of the King's nobles, with point erect, and which, owing to a happy accident, was carried in the Royal Procession by Earl Beauchamp before His Majesty King George V at the Investiture of the Prince of Wales in Caernarvon Castle, 13th July, 1911.