Phoenix Tower, Chester

Phoenix Tower stands at the northeast corner of Chester’s medieval city walls. Built of red sandstone, it rises about 21 metres in four stages, two of them below the wall walk. The semicircular plan and battlemented parapet give it a fortified look from outside. Inside, the lower chamber is an octagon with five narrow windows and a diameter of roughly nine metres. An ornate weathervane turns above the lead roofs. The tower’s past is tied to Chester’s guilds and the Civil War. In 1613 the Painters and Stationers, and the Barbers and Chandlers, restored it and added a plaque showing a phoenix. During the 1645 siege it held guns on every floor and King Charles I is said to have watched the battle from here. Historians debate whether he stood on this tower or at the cathedral. Visitors climb an external stair to the upper storey. The round-headed doorway on the wall walk leads into the third stage. Above it the 1613 plaque remains, and four leaded windows light the top chamber. From the parapet there are views along the walls and over the city rooftops. The stonework and weathervane are still in place after centuries of use.