Roman Chester Trail

“One of a series of friendly trails written and illustrated during lockdown by the team here at the Visitor Information Centre to give you a warm welcome to our much-loved City of Chester”

In common with many other places in Britain with the words chester, cester or caster in their name, the city we now call Chester was once home to a Roman castrum or military fort. For over 300 years the legionary fortress of Deva, the largest in Roman Britain, stood where Chester now stands. Its influence is still felt 1600 years after the Romans departed and this short guide will help you discover more about Deva and its continuing legacy.

The walk is around 2 miles (3km) and takes you to some of the key sites of Deva. From the Visitor Information Centre at the Town Hall, turn left and head up Northgate Street (or Via Decumana, as we are talking the Roman period). To the rear of the Town Hall, where the 1960s market hall now stands, was a building whose use remains a puzzle. Known simply as the 'Elliptical building' due to its oval shape, it is unique in the whole Roman Empire and is one of the key differences between Deva and the other legionary fortresses in Britain. Its unusual shape coupled with its size adds weight to the theory that Chester was at one time intended to be the capital of an enlarged Britannia. Was it designed as the headquarters of the province's Governor? Just to the north of the Town Hall are the relocated Roman column bases that now stand outside the Coach House inn.

DOWNOAD THE FULL TRAIL ROUTE HERE.