For nearly 900 years, Chester’s Cathedral has stood contentedly in the shadow of the city, its importance and magnificence so self-clear that it does not feel the need to trumpet itself. Even now, its architecture and history are so subtly all-encompassing that it takes some while to appreciate just what a treasure it is.
You walk across the great open square that is the threshold of the city, leave through one of its many gate entrances and then turn immediately left as you reach the point where the urban fabric melts away. The building is not immediately imposing and first-time visitors might be forgiven for wondering for a moment or two if it is worth the entry fee. But five minutes is all it takes before you begin to appreciate just what a gem this cathedral is, both inside and out. For visiting, consider a Chester luxury Hotel like https://rowtonhallhotel.co.uk/
Begin inside and you will see some fine examples of nave and choir, of choir stalls, of the finest misericords (the corbels at the ends of the stalls that support the kneeler) that Britain has from the fourteenth century, done in beautiful wood and woodcarving. The craftsmen who did this work are unknown but their talent leaps out from the stone: they were trained artists and, even at a distance, their carvings take on an air of the sublime, imbued as they are with an imagination and wit that are needed characteristics of the greatest artists.
Outside, the building’s façade is as open to scrutiny, its face a testament to the numerous changes that it has endured throughout its long history. There are Norman arches, Gothic additions and Victorian restoration, each as honest about its presence as the others, as if together they are saying, ‘We have been here for nine centuries, used in countless ways and endlessly altered and this is how we have ended up.’
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