Victorian Chester

While the Victorian period marked a significant phase in the development of the ancient cathedral city of Chester, references to Victorian Chester have been notable for their absence from recent scholarship. Based on extensive local research, this volume of essays breaks new ground by examining some important aspects of the social history of Chester between 1830 and 1900. By combining detailed case studies of specific themes with wider discussion, these essays explore the ways in which Cestrian society reacted to the changing circumstances of the Victorian period and analyse local perceptions of, and responses to, a range of contemporary social problems. As such, this original study not only illuminates the social and cultural history of the period, but also illustrates both the complexity and diversity of Victorian cities. It includes the most comprehensive bibliography of Victorian Chester to date.

These volumes provide an essential comprehensive work of reference for the annual municipal elections that took place each November in the 83 County Boroughs of England and Wales between 1919 and 1938. They also provide an extensive and detailed analysis of municipal politics in the same period, both in terms of the individual boroughs and of aggregate patterns of political behaviour. Being annual, these local election results give the clearest and most authoritative record of how political opinion changed between general elections, especially useful for research into the longer gaps such as 1924 - 29 and 1935 - 45, or crisis periods such as 1929 - 31. They also illuminate the impact of fringe parties such as the Communist Party and the British Union of Fascists, and also such questions as the role of women in politics, the significance of religious and ethnic differentiation and the connection between occupational and class divisions and party allegiance. Analysis at the ward level is particularly useful for socio-spatial studies. 1919 - 1938 is indispensable for university libraries and local and national record offices. Each volume has approximately 700 pages.

Chester is one of Britain's great cities with a rich heritage drawn from 2000 years of history.

The Familiar Past surveys material culture from 1500 to the present day. Fourteen case studies, grouped under related topics, include discussion of issues such as: * the origins of modernity in urban contexts * the historical anthropology of food * the social and spatial construction of country houses * the social history of a workhouse site * changes in memorial forms and inscriptions * the archaeological treatment of gardens. The Familiar Past has been structured as a teaching text and will be useful to students of history and archaeology.

Consumption is well established as a key theme in the study of the eighteenth century. Spaces of Consumption brings a new dimension to this subject by looking at it spatially. Taking English towns as its scene, this inspiring study focuses on moments of consumption – selecting and purchasing goods, attending plays, promenading – and explores the ways in which these were related together through the spaces of the town: the shop, the theatre and the street. Using this fresh form of analysis, it has much to say about sociability, politeness and respectability in the eighteenth century.

Although there has been a University of Chester only since 2005, its predecessor, Chester College, dates back further than most UK universities, to 1839. This book celebrates the 175th anniversary of the foundation in 2014. The story is a remarkable one of survival and success. The early College was a pioneering venture with a unique approach to learning and the University still houses the first buildings in England specifically designed for the training of teachers. Three times, in the 1860s, the 1930s and the 1970s, Chester College came near to closure, only repeatedly to emerge intact and to become stronger than before. In the early twenty-first century, the University has a growing reputation within the higher education sector and can claim some of the highest rates of student satisfaction in the country. The book's title is taken from the College motto of the late-Victorian and Edwardian period: as appropriate today as when it was coined.

Explore Chester's military heritage, from Roman times to the present day, in this illustrated guide.

The perfect new gift from the bestselling author of Britain's 1000 Best Churches It is the scene for our hopeful beginnings and our intended ends, and the timeless experiences of coming and going, meeting, greeting and parting. It is an institution with its own rituals and priests, and a long-neglected aspect of Britain's architecture. And yet so little do we look at the railway station. Simon Jenkins has travelled the length and breadth of Great Britain, from Waterloo to Wemyss Bay, Betws-y-Coed to Beverley, to select his hundred best. Blending his usual insight and authority with his personal reflections and experiences - including his founding the Railway Heritage Trust - the foremost expert on our national heritage deftly reveals the history, geography, design and significance of each of these glories. Beautifully illustrated with colour photographs throughout, this joyous exploration of our social history shows the station's role in the national imagination; champions the engineers, architects and rival companies that made them possible; and tells the story behind the triumphs and follies of these very British creations. These are the marvellous, often undersung places that link our nation, celebrated like never before.