Chester was founded in 79 AD as a "castrum" or Roman fort with the name Deva Victrix during the reign of Emperor Vespasian.

Chester was one of the last cities in England to fall to the Normans, and William the Conqueror ordered the construction of a castle to dominate the town and the nearby Welsh border.

[6] The Industrial Revolution brought railways, canals, and new roads to the city, which saw substantial expansion and development; Chester Town Hall and the Grosvenor Museum are examples of Victorian architecture from this period.

[13] Central Chester's four main roads, Eastgate, Northgate, Watergate and Bridge Street, follow routes laid out at this time.

In 616, Æthelfrith of Northumbria defeated a Welsh army at the brutal and decisive Battle of Chester and probably established the Anglo-Saxon position in the area from then on.

The Anglo-Saxons extended and strengthened the walls of Chester to protect the city against the Danes, who occupied it for a short time until Alfred seized all the cattle and laid waste on the surrounding land to drive them out.

[29] Chester played a significant part in the Industrial Revolution, which began in the North West of England in the late 18th century.

Much of Chester's architecture dates from the Victorian era, many of the buildings being modelled on the Jacobean half-timbered style and designed by John Douglas, who was employed by the Duke as his principal architect.

In 1911, Douglas' protégé and city architect James Strong designed the then-active fire station on the west side of Northgate Street.

[citation needed] Towards the end of World War II, a lack of affordable housing meant many problems for Chester.

[2] Chester lies at the southern end of a 2-mile (3.2 km) Triassic sandstone ridge that rises to a height of 42 m within a natural S-bend in the River Dee (before the course was altered in the 18th century).

[49] Despite its proximity to the Irish Sea, the temperature regime is similar to areas further inland, owing to the shelter provided by the Pennines to the northeast and the Welsh Mountains to the southwest.

Given the correctly aligned breezy conditions, a föhn effect will operate, meaning local temperatures are somewhat higher than the surrounding area.

[59][60][61] Areas just outside the city include: Christleton, Eccleston, Guilden Sutton, Littleton, Mickle Trafford, Mollington, Saughall and Waverton.

[77] Other notable buildings include the preserved shot tower, the highest structure in Chester,[78] and St Thomas of Canterbury Church.

The current Bandstand Coordinator is Luke Moore, who was appointed in 2018 and has expanded the programme to include a mixture of visual art, theatre, poetry, and community events alongside a variety of musical performances.

Ensemble Deva regularly features soloists and section leaders from the country's leading symphony orchestras, including Liverpool Philharmonic, the Hallé and Manchester Camerata.

Later into the same decade, Mansun formed in the city after singer Paul Draper met guitarist Dominic Chad whilst working in the local former Fat Cat Bar.

Other bands that have gone on to achieve a degree of success outside of the city include The Suns, The Wayriders, Motion Empire, Casino and Face Of Christ and The Lovelies.

Many domestic and international tourists visit to view the city's landmarks and heritage, with a complementary benefit to hotels and restaurants.

They were to be replaced with a multi-storey car park, bus exchange, performing arts centre, library, homes, retail space and a department store which will be anchored by House of Fraser.

[121][122][123] The Northgate Project is now being led by the council and is due to include a new market hall, cinema, multi-storey car park and restaurant units on the site of the former bus exchange.

However, following a reorganisation of the local authorities effective 1 April 2009, the Conservative-led administration of the newly established Cheshire West and Chester council was not supportive, so comparatively little was actually achieved.

The port facilities at Crane Wharf, by Chester racecourse, made an important contribution to the commercial development of the North West region.

[citation needed] The original Chester Canal was constructed to run from the River Dee near Sealand Road to Nantwich in south Cheshire and opened in 1774.

The grain from Cheshire was stored in granaries on the banks of the canal at Newtown and Boughton, and salt for preserving food arrived from Northwich.

The original plan to complete the Ellesmere Canal was to connect Chester directly to the Wrexham coalfields by building a broad-gauge waterway with a branch to the River Dee at Holt.

The Llangollen Canal, although designed to be primarily a water source from the River Dee, became a cruising waterway despite its inherent narrow nature.

All that remains are small areas of uncovered track inside the former bus depot, and a few tram-wire supports attached to buildings on Eastgate/Foregate Street.

Chester electric tram number 4, built by G.F. Milnes & Co. in 1903, has been preserved by Hooton Park Trust and is currently undergoing restoration.