Discover Edgar's Field edgar's field A guide to the heritage in and around Edgar's Field, Handbridge, Chester Discover Edgar's Field edgar's field Introduction Edgar's Field is a public park in Chester's southern suburb of Handbridge. It lies immediately south of the River Dee near to the southern end of the Old Dee Bridge. The park occupies 2¼ acres (approx. 1 hectare) of land. It has a rich history and is home to a Roman shrine to the goddess Minerva. Part of the park is designated as a Regionally Important Geodiversity Site (RIGS). It is a place with spectacular views of some of Chester's key heritage features including the River Dee and its bridges. It is next to Greenway Street - the traditional home of the local fishing community. Fishing boats can still be seen in the river from the park. Edgar's Field is only a short distance from Chester city centre. It can be reached by crossing the river by the Old Dee Bridge, or alternatively the Queen's Park Suspension Bridge from The Groves or a more adventurous route via the Edgar's Field and the River Dee Grosvenor Bridge. Possible routes are shown on the attached map. Images courtesy of: Grosvenor Museum Chester Archaeology Chester C Chester City Council 2007 City Council Chester History & Heritage Stephen Player Fishing boats in the river Discover Edgar's Field Care & Friends edgar's field Wheelchair Access Consideration of Edgar's Field Edgar's Field contains There are two entrances into This information has been heritage features of regional, the park - via the Old Dee produced by Chester City national and international Bridge or Greenway Street. Council with the Friends of importance. We hope that The entrance from the Old Edgar's Field Park. This is you enjoy your visit. Dee Bridge is suitable for a group of local residents wheelchair users. Note: and other users of the park When visiting Edgar's Field there are wheelchair please: accessible parking bays in whose aims include the Little Roodee Car Park working with the Council Be safe - especially as which is reached via Castle to: there are steep drops Drive. from the rock outcrops promote the heritage, and the nearby river is Greenway Street has education, safe use and tidal and swift flowing cobbled surfaces and, enjoyment of the Park therefore, this entrance may for all users of all ages Leave property as you not be suitable for some find it and help protect wheelchair users. act as a voice for local the rich heritage of this people, residents and site The pathways in the park are visitors to the Park generally accessible. Geology and Roman shrine Keep dogs under close However, the area in front of regarding its upkeep control Minerva's Shrine is grass and its amenities with no pathway to the Put litter and other waste in monument and the nearby encourage and to help the appropriate bins path is sloped with a resource new facilities, provided, or take it home relatively steep gradient. activities and events, with you which are in keeping There is an alternative level with the Park's history Consider other people pathway near to the river that and traditions. using the park or in the may be more accessible for neighbouring properties. wheelchair users and others with limited mobility. Pathway along the river Routes to shropshire union canal Edgar's Field northgate st city road frodsham st Cathedral st martin's way i WC park st dee lane foregate st Chester love st railway The Cross Roman eastgate st st john st Amphitheatre union st Eastgate WC Grosvenor edgar's field bridge street St John's Park watergate st i Church vicars lane nicholas st park terrace grosvenor WC souters lane pepper st nuns rd Roman WC Gardens lower bridge st Queen's Park the groves Suspension Bridge grosvenor st Edgar's Field Park v i c roads The Roodee t o r ia Grosvenor cres footpaths Museum mill st Old steps on footpath Riverside Dee Promenade drive Bridge handbridge Chester city walls WC castle P Edgar's queen's park road i tourist information Little Roodee grosvenor rd Field greenw Grosvenor WC public toilets river dee ay Bridge st N P little roodee car and coach park wheelchair accessible parking bays lane Overleigh river overleigh road 1km Cemetery OS mapping base c Crown copyright. All rights reserved. Licence number 100023277 0.5 miles Designed and produced by Chester City Council 2007 Edgar's Field Duke, King and Goddess A Gift from a Duke Edgar's Field was laid out as a public park by the first Duke of Westminster, Hugh Lupus Grosvenor. He presented it to the City of Chester in 1892 as one of the family's many philanthropic activities. The long established name of the area was Kettle's Croft but this was changed to Edgar's Field. The Park and the River Dee Hugh Lupus Grosvenor Named after a King Tradition has it that the field was the site of King Edgar's palace. King Edgar, the great-grandson of Alfred the Great, was King of Wessex and all England. He was crowned in Bath in 973 although he had ascended the throne in 959. Shortly after his coronation he brought his fleet to Chester, then an important port. It is thought that he was rowed up the River Dee by eight British princes to attend a service in St John's Church. This act symbolised their recognition of Edgar as their overlord. It is unlikely that Edgar had a palace here but it may have been the spot from which he was rowed to St John's. King Edgar on the Dee Home to a Goddess In the Park is a Roman shrine to the goddess Minerva. She is the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess Athena. Minerva was the goddess of wisdom, arts and crafts, and (defensive) war. She is here because the site was once a Roman quarry and Minerva would have been the patron goddess of those working there. In the Roman world, Minerva was the daughter of Jupiter. One day Jupiter had a headache and his head was split open to relieve the pain. Out jumped Minerva as an adult in armour with her shield and spear. Minerva's Shrine in 1829 Edgar's Field Rocks and Romans From Sand to Sandstone Within the park are two large rock outcrops where sandstone is clearly exposed. These rocks were laid down as sandy sediments in the Triassic period (some 250 million years ago). Then 'Chester' was at the same latitude as the present day Sahara. The sequence is known as the Chester Pebble Beds, although in Edgar's Field Sandstone outcrop with Minerva pebbles are rare. The sandy material was deposited by a large 'Chester in the Triassic period' braided river (with numerous shifting channels) flowing through a desert landscape. It has since been compacted into the sedimentary rock sandstone - typically stained red by iron oxide. Over this immense span of time Chester's location has very slowly moved north through the process of continental drift. Roman Raw Material Edgar's Field was once a Roman quarry. The Romans founded Chester as the legionary fortressDeva around 70AD. It was to be c Stephen Player their largest fortress in Britain and was occupied by them until the Roman quarrymen at work end of the 4th century. The vast quantity of stone needed to build the fortress walls and buildings was quarried from sites such as Edgar's Field. Local stone was used to avoid the difficulties of transporting heavy and bulky material over longer distances. The Roman quarrymen would have used wooden wedges and hammers to extract the rock. Although Edgar's Field may also have been quarried in later times (such as the Middle Ages), its origins are unmistakeably Roman because of the presence of the carved shrine to the goddess Minerva. Deva's sandstone walls Edgar's Field A Riverside Setting The Dee Runs By The River Dee runs along the northern edge of the park. Between Handbridge and the city the river flows through a narrow gap cut into a sandstone ridge. This gap has been modified from Roman times because of quarrying (not just in Edgar's Field but at other places along the riverside) and in later years by embankments along Castle River Dee next to Edgar's Field Drive and The Groves. Edgar's Field c1911 A River of Natural Importance The Dee is of national and international importance being designated both as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a European Special Area of Conservation (SAC). It is notified as a SSSI because of its range of river types and as an ecosystem for migratory fish. The section next to Edgar's Field is tidal so that the water level changes throughout the day. High tides are able to pass over the nearby weir. One important aspect of both designations is the presence in the river of the Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar ). These fish migrate from the sea up the Dee to spawn (release their eggs and breed) in its upper tributaries in Wales. Salmon and other fish were the basis of the local fishing industry. Geography for a Fortress The course of the Dee and the presence of the sandstone ridge provided a good location for the Romans to build their legionary Deva and the river fortressDeva . This was named after the local Celtic name of the river which meant 'goddess' or 'holy one'.