The below information is to be found on the Church boards telling the history of the Church of St John the Baptist in Chester.
It is a Grade One Listed & Scheduled Ancient Monument that was founded in 689 AD by Aethelred King of Mercia. It was enlarged by the Aethelfleda, the daughter of King Alfred the Great and her husband in AD 907. It was to St John's that King Edgar cane in 973 to receive the homage of the sub-kings of England, Scotland and Wales. Partially rebuilt in AD 1075 by Bishop Peter of Mercia, it was raised at Cathedral status which it retained until it became a Collegiate Church in the 13th Century. Following the Reformation in the 16th Century it became a Parish Church.
What it used to look like
The Great Saxon Minster of West Mercia and Cathedral Church of the Holy Cross and St John until 1541.
What it is like today.
The next set of photos show the old Celtic tower that collapsed in 1581, as well as images of what looks like a newer church, part of the old Celtic church is still incorporated into the one you can see below. It began much smaller and ended up been a Parish Chruch.
The Main Entrance that is used today
More ruins of the much larger Cathedral that once stood here.
Some of the Cathedral is Norman most is still original especially inside which are the photos that are to follow below. There were some wonderful finds inside the church including a skeleton covered in a shroud and also mason marks of those who built it.
Down the centre aisle of the cathedral, look at those pillars !
Some Celtic headstone remains, mainly Celtic crosses
How did they build this........it is incredible to think how they got the stone up, how the stone was shaped and put together over a 1000 years ago.
I thought this was unusual, none of the other pillars had painting on them.
The organ, well one of them, I am not sure if all the others I saw were part of the same or not.
The last supper
A Skeletal Memorial for a lady called Diane Warburton.
This is the bottom of the memorial
This is the top part.........I thought it very weird memorial for such a good woman.
As you can read, the memorial was done by a student of Sir Christopher Wren who build St Pauls Cathedral in London.
This is a stunning stain glass window showing the history of St John's from when it was founded to about Queen Victoria's era.
The next part shows you the Mason Marks that can be found in St John's. in fact I actually went hunting for a few afterward, and of course found some, once again they are ancient yet still they are visible in the sandstone.
These next three photos show different areas of St John's and tells you the history of what happened over the centuries.
The next set of photos are from inside the cathedral telling you about the different parts of the building.
Of course I have to finish off with some wild life, namely the river and a squirrel .......... :-)
The River Dee is situated behind St John's Parish Church and the Cathedral ruins
Taken from further along.
Ok so they are a pest, however I think he was cute and have added these photos for my children.
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