Civic Life
Text: Chester City CouncilTHE EARLS OF CHESTER Following the Norman Conquest in 1066, William the Conquerer crushed Chester and the North West and created a powerful Norman earldom at Chester. Under Norman rule, Chester developed as the most important town in north-west England, strategically, administratively and commercially. The Norman earls ruled until 1237, when the Earldom of Chester was annexed to the Crown. Cheshire was administered as an independent unit, which by the end of the 13th century was known as a county palatine.
SHERIFFS AND MAYORS Until the 13th century, local government in Chester was largely through the appointed officials of the Earls of Chester. Their principal representative was the Sheriff, first mentioned in the 1120s. He accounted the city's revenues and presided over the city's prinicpal court, called the Portemote. By 1244 Chester has two sheriffs. However, after the annexation of the Earldon to the Crown in 1237, power gradually passed from the Sheriffs to the Mayor, who was chosen by the leading citizens. The earliest know Mayor was William the Clerk, who was first named mayor in c1240, although he seems to have held some form of office for some time before this.
The early mayors were powerful and influential men. They had no fixed term of ofice, but stayed in power as long as they were judged capable and influential. The Mayor and Corporation (also known as the Assembly) had rights to regulate trade, collect tolls and try minor offences. These rights were confirmed in Chester's first charter, granted in 1300 by Edward I.
CITY BOUNDARIES The extent of mayoral authority was first defined in a charter granted by Edward, the Black Prince in 1354. Chester's boundaries extended well beyond the walled city and included the settlements of Handbridge, Boughton and Lache. The Castle and its surroundings and the Abbey precincts were exempt from mayoral authority. This charter also granted the Mayor and Citizens admiralty rights over the river Dee. The Lord Mayor today is still the Admiral of the Dee and carries the Admiralty oar as a symbol of his authority.
THE GREAT CHARTER In his 'Great Charter' of 1506, Henry VII made Chester a city a county in its own right, fully exempt from County control. The rights, privileges and procedures of the Mayor and Corporation were ratified. The Corporation comprised a Mayor, 24 aldermen and 40 common councilmen. There were 2 sheriffs, 2 coroners and 2 muringers (officials who were responsible for collecting special murage taxes for the repair of the City Wall). The Corporation had the right to hold courts and to control trade, buildings and social conditions. They also maintained a gaol in the Nortgate.
CIVIC MEETING PLACES The first civic meeting place was the Moot Hall or Common Hall, which lay in Commonhall Street. This was abandoned in the early 16th century and became the chapel for St. Ursula's Hospital, founded in 1510. The City Assembly re-built the old St. Nicholas Chapel, which had been used for a time as the parish church of St. Oswald. The New common Hall was used for both civic and commercial business and for some years housed the butchers' shambles. By 1687, the Common Hall was "ruinous and ready to fall downe" (although the building was to have a long and illustrious career as a theatre, music hall, cinema - and is still in full retail use today). In 1692, the Assembly resolved to build a new Common Hall of Pleas and the Exchange in Northgate Street was built between 1695 and 1698.
Chester's other civic building was the Pentice, a two storey timber building extending along the south wall of St. Peter's Church at The Cross, the civic centre of Chester. The upper floor contained the civic offices, with shops below. The Pentice Court, presided over by the two Sheriffs was held there until the 1570s, when it moved to the Common Hall. Civic celebrations took place in the Pentice, and distinguished guests were entertained there by the Corporation: James I was feasted there in 1617 and Charles I in 1642. The Mystery Plays, performed on carriages which moved around the city, always stopped at the Pentice, where each play in turn was watched by the mayor and Aldermen. The Pentice was reclad in brick and stone in 1704, when it was still used to house "the ancient records of the city". It was finally demolished in 1803.
EXHANGE AND TOWN HALL Between 1698 and 1862, the centre of Chester's civic life was the Exhange or New Common Hall, built in Northgate Street on a site slightly to the north of the present Town Hall. This was an elegant classical brick and stone structure, originaly built on colonnades. A gilded statue of Queen Anne was erected on the south front in 1702. In 1756, the west side of the building started to collapse and the pillars were removed and replaced by shops. The principal rooms were an assembly room, a court of justice and the council room. Public balls and winter assemblies were held in the assembly room, as well as lavish civic banquets, which included the Mayor's annual venison feast, held on the first Sunday after his election.
On the evening of 30 December 1862, the Exchange was destroyed by fire. The failure of the fire service to save the bulding, led to the formation of the Earl of Chester's Volunteer Fire Brigade. A competition was held to design a new Town Hall and the winning entry, by W H Lynne of Belfast, was erected between 1865 and 1869. The building housed a grand Assembly Room, Council Chamber, Mayor and Mayoress' Parlours and a Court Room. This was used for the Chester Quarter Sessions until 1971 and then became the Magistrate's Court until new premises opened in 1991. The basement of the Town Hall was used as Police station until 1967 and part has now been returned to police use.
MUNICIPLE REFORM The Municiple Reform Act of 1835, established the system of councillors being elected by ratepayers and the councillors themselves electing the mayor and aldermen. Specific responsibilites were allocated to council committees and full time paid officials were appointed to carry out the decisions of the elected representatives. A Watch Committee was establisd in 1836 and the police force also served as firemen until 1863. A City Surveyor was apponted in 1845 and a Medical Officer of Health was appointed following the Public Health Act of 1872. By the Local government Act of 1888, Chester was made a county borough: thus confirming the independence from county control ithad enjyed since 1506. This continued until 1974, when county boroughs such as Chester lost their independant status, and the county of Cheshire was divided into eight districts (currently reduced to six), each with its own district council.