Based In Churton

Fingers crossed we shall be offering a walking tour of the Rows as part of #Rowvember that explains the Rows as a system and looks at the development of some individual buildings, eg 38 Watergate St ('Katie's Tea Rooms).

Watch this space!

People submit Welsh placenames to protect linguistic heritage Entries include Welsh language names for fields and hills in move to ensure preservation of stories and legends

Folklore conservation in action! Absolutely loved learning about this campaign!

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

For those who missed it and those who want to hear it again, we are delighted to say that the recording of Glynn Davis's talk on the Colchester Vase is now available on our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TRX....

The design at the bottom is lovely. The Grosvenor's guide says that the final :S:E (he is laid), a short version of H:S:E (he is laid here), meaning that the body was lost to the sea, so it is a memorial rather than a gravestone. The word for a shipwrecked man, naufrago, remains the same in Spanish.

The medieval St Chad’s Church in Farndon was largely rebuilt in 1658 due to Civil War war damage. It is probably best known for its small window showing the main Royalist participants at the Siege of Chester and some of their equipment but has lots more to see too. More on my blog: wp.me/pcZwQK-8hl

Some incredible drone shots from our Borras Quarry excavations and the perfect time to share a reminder on responsible drone flight. The leaflets below highlight safe practice and you can read up on Cadw's drone policy here: cadw.gov.wales/visit/venue-....

Morville Church Font - Download Free 3D model by Mark Walters (@markwalters) Early Norman period baptismal font circa 1118 inside Morville Church, Shropshire. Carved from limestone probably derived from Wenlock Edge 📍 Bridgnorth, England - Morville Church Font - Download Free...

Popped into Morville Church, Shropshire on the way back from Bridgnorth for a dose of some early Norman architecture and to see the fab font with its ‘green man’ style heads. I did a quick #lidar scan with the phone so you can give it a twirl & have a look… skfb.ly/pBBoP

The "Gladiators of Britain" exhibition, a collaboration between three museums, is on til Jan 2026 at the Grosvenor Museum, Chester. It's a great, object-rich and informative approach to the gladiatorial experience during Rome's occupation of Britain. Overview and pics on my blog at wp.me/pcZwQK-8bS

A lovely sunny walk yesterday along the Wirral estuary from Burton to Parkgate, about an hour each way, plus a welcome stop at The Harp. Lovely autumnal colours and berries, with splendid, sweeping views across the estuary towards Wales. Lots of photos and visiting info on the blog: wp.me/pcZwQK-8cn

My final Open Heritage Day visit last week was a super walking tour of John Douglas buildings in Chester by discerning art historian Chantal Bradburn. I knew of some of his work but until the walk had no idea of the full scope of his imagination and creativity. More on the blog at wp.me/pcZwQK-89m

“Cheshire’s Archives: A Story Shared.” Great to learn about the new Cheshire Archives, opening next year On Wednesday 17th September, as part of Heritage Open Day, Paul Newman from the Cheshire Archives and Tim Brown from the architectural firm Ellis Williams, explained to a well-attended audience at …

A well-attended Grosvenor Mus talk "Cheshire's Archives: A Story Shared" by Paul Newman (Cheshire Archives) and Tim Brown (architect) explained the project to build 2 new archive hubs, as well as what to expect when the new Chester and Crewe archives open in 2026. More on the blog: wp.me/pcZwQK-89h

Do go and see the excellent 'Gladiators of Britain' touring exhibition, which has just opened at theGrosvenor Museum, #Chester!

1) Shackles from #Colchester. Make you wonder if those found at Hunter Street, Chester, were possibly associated with the arena in some way.

A great talk last week by Chantal Bradburn at the former 1937-8 Western Command, Chester (now the Churchill Building). I had no idea that it was a military building of such strategic importance in WW2. Many insights into the building, its role and later history. More on the blog wp.me/pcZwQK-893

An excellent afternoon on 16th August at Penmaenmawr with @helenus3.bsky.social to attend the talks on "The Landscape of Neolithic Axes" as part of the Carneddau Landscape Partnership project. It was hugely informative and very enjoyable. My notes at wp.me/pcZwQK-84t with thanks to everyone involved

Open Day of the CRAG excavations at Bryneglwys, Llantisilio Mountain Many thanks to the Clwydian Range Archaeology Group (CRAG) for organizing an Open Day to the Bryneglwys excavations on 9th August 2025, and to Dr Ian Brooks of Engineering Archaeological Services (…

It was great to visit the Bryneglwys excavation Open Day last weekend, on the lower slopes of Llantysilio mountain just before they closed for the season, with thanks to all. Loads to see on the ground, and a table of finds to explore too. Much more on my blog, with photos, at wp.me/pcZwQK-7Zo

Four people visiting an ancient tower, which is made of sandstone and surrounded by trees. Inside, a high ceiling is surrounded by strong walls painted white, with a central fireplace.

This week, some of the Heritage Chester team visited the Water Tower, which will be fully open as part of Heritage Open Days #HODs from 11am to 3pm on Sunday 14 September. It's free to come and see inside this fascinating building. #Chester

A lovely spur-of-the-moment decision to go and visit the RSPB nature reserved at Burton Mere on the Wirral estuary yesterday was splendidly rewarded with super wetland habitat walks and dozens of stunning water birds. More about what's there, pics and visiting details on my blog: wp.me/pcZwQK-7QS

Exhilarating morning up a hill above Bryneglwys, Corwen, #NorthWales at Clwyd Range Archaeology Group's dig, with Dr. Ian Brooks, Frances Lynch Llewellyn, @churton.bsky.social & others.
Site of #BronzeAge ring cairn & other features, with finds of cremated bone, pottery and worked stone & flint🏺

Experiencing the divine? Museum presentations of religion in Roman Britain | Antiquity | Cambridge Core Religious practice in the Roman world involved diverse rituals and knowledge. The author analyses 23 UK museum displays to assess how religion in Roman Britain is presented and discusses how museums might use research on ‘lived ancient religion’ to offer more varied and engaging narratives of religious practices that challenge visitors’ perceptions of the period.

Want to learn more? Read the original research article 🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...

Experiencing the divine? Museum presentations of religion in Roman Britain - Antony Lee
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A month ago I knew almost nothing about the National Eisteddfod or Gorsedd circles, but what a fascinating learning curve to do the research on the stone circle at Plas Newydd, Llangollen. It looks prehistoric but was built in 1907 for the 1908 Eisteddfod. More details on the blog: wp.me/pcZwQK-7Lm

I'm really looking forward to going back. You should come with me next time 👟👟

Yesterday's sun-and-rain walk along the Sustrans cycle and pedestrian lane and boardwalk along the Dee estuary was super. I was rained off a little early, but plan to walk the whole thing now that I have seen the fantastic wetlands and amazing views. Full details on the blog at wp.me/pcZwQK-7PR

Julian Baum’s fascinating Festival of Ideas presentation about the geology and archaeology of the Dee Many thanks to professional visual effects and 3-D graphics modeller and independent researcher Julian Baum for a really fascinating presentation about new research into the River Dee. The talk foc…

Some compelling new proposals on the archaeology of Roman Chester were introduced by Julian Baum at the Festival of Ideas, focusing on the weir and the Roodee, as the basis for future research, receiving a very positive response from the audience. More at wp.me/pcZwQK-7OT

Wasn't it idyllic? A real treat.

Claire Chatterton on the first 100 years of the Cheshire Lunatic Asylum at the Festival of Ideas Having spent a lot of time reading and writing about 18th and 19th century lunatic asylums in general and Chester’s public lunatic asylum in particular, it was a sincere pleasure for me to go…

Prof Claire Chatterton's lecture about the Chester/Deva lunatic asylum during the Festival of Ideas was excellent, covering the 1st 100 years from 1829. A good crowd and some great questions. Looking forward to reading her future research. More on my blog: wp.me/pcZwQK-7Oj

Peter Carrington’s excellent guided walk of Roman Chester during the Festival of Ideas Dr Peter Carrington, an experienced archaeologist specializing in Roman history, author of the English Heritage book Chester, and editor of the Journal of the Chester Archaeological Society always …

Many thanks to Dr Peter Carrington for introducing a large group of us to so many remains of Roman Chester that I had no idea existed on guided a walk during the Festival of Ideas. It brought the Roman town and all its changes to life. More on my blog at wp.me/pcZwQK-7OD

Castell Dinas Brân, Castle of Crows above Llangollen – Medieval ruins and stunning views I have been visiting Dinas Brân on and off for decades, but have never got around to writing it up.  It was one of my favourite walks with the family dog in the 1980s when my parents lived hereabou…

At long last I got around to writing up a walk from Llangollen to Castell Dinas Bran, which was nowhere near as strenuous as it might seem from the photos. The ruins are great, the geology fascinating and views glorious, all best on a clear dry day. Details of the walk and history: wp.me/pcZwQK-Zp

Objects from my garden: A sherd of pottery from Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch It is a very long time since I dug anything out of the garden worth posting about, but here’s a fun one from the other day.  It’s a very small piece, just 6cm long, but its provenance i…

I haven't dug anything interesting out of the garden for an absolute age, but thought this worth a mention just for fun. Unlike the gollywog sherd, which took me a moment to work out, it was perfectly obvious that this was a souvenir from Llanfair PG! wp.me/pcZwQK-7LN

A year ago I first did a super circular along the south bank of the Dee in Chester, crossing on the lovely 1923 suspension bridge and returning via the Grosvenor park and the Chester river promenade. After re-walking it, I've just got around to writing it up with all the key sights: wp.me/pcZwQK-7BG

A visit to Birkenhead Priory includes the ruins of the 1822 St Mary's Church with its cast iron windows. The tower has fabulous views from the top, and serves as a memorial to the 101 who died in the submarine HMS Thetis, which sank off the north Wales coast. More on the blog at wp.me/pcZwQK-5oE