Interesting facts

[robbo176]

That last photo is not Heyworth Street surely

I took the photo in Everton Park close to Prince Edwin St

[George]

That last photo is not Heyworth Street surely

Yup it is...all that greenery is were the extensive slum clearence was and beyond,by the looks of it that photie was taken near McGregor Street?

[Paddy]

Looks like a Devonshire Hamlet

[lindylou]

Never heard of that one. Not showing the time to the Welsh.

There's a Yo member called 'Knowhow' I think it may have been him that said it. If he pops in he might confirm this story.

[pablo42]

There's a Yo member called 'Knowhow' I think it may have been him that said it. If he pops in he might confirm this story.

Sure his name wasn't know all

[knowhowe]

I've heard something similar about the clock tower in Chester which doesn't have a clock face looking towards Wales - something about not wanting the Welsh to see the time !!
I've probaly got that all wrong ! Does anyone know of this tale ?
I'm sure someone posted on Yo about it.

That's the Town Hall. It is indeed curious to note that only three clock faces look out from the four-sided tower- the west side, facing towards neighbouring Wales, has none, giving rise to a cynical local saying that "Chester people wouldn't give the time of day to the Welsh"!

Read more about it here-

http://www.chesterwalls.info/northgate2.html

[knowhowe]

Even stranger, the clock (and hence, the nonsense about Chester's attitude to its Welsh neighbours) is quite modern.

When the building was planned, the question of adding a clock arose and a fine example actually considered, which had originally been intended for Woolwich Arsenal. The mighty mechanism was described as "more powerful than Big Ben" but would require one hour's winding each and every day. In the face of the new Town Hall's rapidly over-running budget, the costs of purchase, installation and maintainance of the clock were considered extravagences too many and the idea was scrapped. Space for a future installation was, however, provided in the Town Hall's 160 foot tower and the clock we see today was commissioned as recently as 1979 and installed in 1980 to commemorate Chester's 1900th anniversary.

[lindylou]

Thanks for info Knowhow. It is an amusing tale about the clock regarding the Welsh .. but probably nonsense

[taffy]

That's the Town Hall. It is indeed curious to note that only three clock faces look out from the four-sided tower- the west side, facing towards neighbouring Wales, has none, giving rise to a cynical local saying that "Chester people wouldn't give the time of day to the Welsh"!

Read more about it here-

http://www.chesterwalls.info/northgate2.html

No doubt the Chester people are not so discerning as not to take the money spent by the Welsh in their shops !!!

[Oudeis]

Tsk, tsk Taffy, do not rise to the bait.

That you too seek to infiltrate Chester in the guise of shoppers is too much information for them, they may simply seek to add a surcharge. Keep your powder dry.

[taffy]

Tsk, tsk Taffy, do not rise to the bait.

That you too seek to infiltrate Chester in the guise of shoppers is too much information for them, they may simply seek to add a surcharge. Keep your powder dry.

Chester was of course a Welsh town before the Anglo Saxons so brutally captured it in the early 7th C. ( remember the 600 slaughtered monks ) .They didn't stay too long as the Vikings rather fancied the place too.

[knowhowe]

Chester was of course a Welsh town before the Anglo Saxons so brutally captured it in the early 7th C. ( remember the 600 slaughtered monks ) .They didn't stay too long as the Vikings rather fancied the place too.

Hmm. Somewhat more complex than that but that's another story..

To redress the balance, here's a small extract from The Sword, a stirring epic by the masterful 15th century poet Lewis Glyn Cothi...

"I will shave, by Saint Non's hand,
All of the lads of Chester.
On every churl I'll whet it,
Rib of steel, if I come there.
Not one leaves, till Saint Dwyn's Feast,
The hot town head unbroken.
I'll carve, if I come near them,
Twenty thousand naked curs.
That day, after drinking wine,
I'll wield the blade of Cyffin,
I'll deal with my hands a hurt
To that two-faced town yonder.
From the towns of Rhos at dawn,
By nightfall to dark Chester:
Let me kill, if my day arrives,
With Dafydd's sword two thousand!"

"That two faced town yonder".. Wonderful- and still true!

Tour guides here are fond of telling our visitors that the ancient law that permitted the killing of a Welshman if he was found within the City Walls after dark has never been repealed. Which is hardly surprising if you thought you were going to bump into the likes of Cothi in the dead of night!

But we're all the best of friends now (except for Chester-Wrexham Derbies of course).