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In 1791, Susannah Towsey, a draper and haberdasher, moved to ‘more commodious premises’ along Eastgate Street South Row from a shop overlooking the pillory on the Cross. The shops along the Rows then were small, in the form of lockups with shutters that were held open by hooks to the ceiling of the walkways. ThereContinue reading “A Potted History of ‘Browns of Chester’”

There’s a path heading towards the river.  It’s unlabelled.  Unofficial then, but I decide to take it.  Two tall metal-poled fences seem to bar the way, but no, there’s a deliberate gap and the path weaves through.  A man emerges from the wooded scrubland to the right.  I start back, pause for a moment, look around me for a wayContinue reading “River Lane, Saltney.”

Recently, I’ve been clearing out my mother’s house. Inside a cupboard made in a roof space, I found something I vaguely recognised seeing in Mamgu’s house in Cardigan, West Wales. I’m pretty sure it was a relic of my grandfather’s youth. I didn’t ever know my grandfather. He died when I was a year oldContinue reading “Seeing in 3-D”

Today my local region, called Cheshire West and Chester, was deemed to be Tier 2 at ‘High’ risk from Covid-19. We had planned to go higher up the coast, to that tongue of land between the estuaries of the Dee and Mersey called The Wirral, but that was at Tier 3 ‘Very High’ with governmentContinue reading “Parkgate: Tier 2”

I used to have a little blog called Keeper of the Snails, but it’s been such a long time since I updated it I thought I might as well start another. So, I thought I’d give this new blog a theme: ‘Bringing History to Life’, which is what I aim to do in life, andContinue reading “A Fresh Start.”