Guildhall, Chester

The Guildhall in Chester stands in Watergate Street, a short walk from the city’s medieval walls. It began as Holy Trinity Church, a red sandstone building with a slate roof, first raised in the late 12th century. The east end was rebuilt in 1678 and the spire added in the 1770s before being removed in 1811 for safety. James Harrison designed the present church between 1865 and 1869, though he died before its completion. Kelly and Edwards of Chester finished the work, giving the church its final form. The building became the Guildhall in 1960 after deconsecration. The Freemen and Guilds of the City of Chester converted it into two halls for secular events. The Major Hall and Lower Hall host conferences, concerts and banquets, with a members’ bar opening in 2019. The Freemen retained access for important functions after handing the building back to the council in 2011. A memorial to John Whitmore from 1374 lies beneath the floor, and a Kempe stained glass window of 1885 depicts biblical figures. Visitors find a tower with three stages, a lancet window and clock faces on the second stage. The third stage has bell-openings, buttresses and a recessed octagonal spire with lucarnes. The east window by Kempe shows God and Old Testament figures, while the former chancel screen and reredos remain hidden beneath modern flooring. The burial vault under the building dates from the church’s earliest years.