@The_Joe_Smoe

For everyone who has followed me over the last few years on Twitter, here’s this year’s sunflower offering, it’s by not my tallest as only being 4 m, but the heads are still growing 👍🏻👍🏻

The Swan Hotel, Foregate Street, Chester The Swan Hotel, a historic establishment on Foregate Street in Chester, has a rich history dating back to the mid-16th century. Its journey reflects the evolution of English inns and public houses.…

The Swan Hotel, Foregate Street, Chester thejoesmoechester.wordpress.com/2025/07/19/t...

The Ermine, Hoole Road, Chester The Ermine, a Roman road segment, played a crucial role in an ancient transit route from Deva (Roman Chester) to Warrington and beyond. From the 14th century, it evolved into a coaching route calle…

The Ermine, Hoole Road, Chester thejoesmoechester.wordpress.com/2025/07/12/t...

The Olde Queens Head, Foregate Street, Chester The pub boasts Tudor-style black-and-white façades, a hallmark of Chester’s 16th and 17th-century buildings. The current building dates back to 1503, showcasing its deep heritage and a significant …

The Olde Queens Head, Foregate Street, Chester thejoesmoechester.wordpress.com/2025/07/11/t...

Executions In Chester, Cheshire – Between 1658 to 1829 In the early part of the 19th century, the Chester historian Hemingway made a record of some of the executions that had taken place at Chester between 1554 and 1829. The following list has bee…

Executions In Chester, Cheshire - Between 1658 to 1829 thejoesmoechester.wordpress.com/2025/07/10/e...

List of Air Raid Shelters in Chester During WWII From Chester Observer – 1940, with Enhanced Images, I have created AIR RAID – CHESTER PUBLIC SHELTERS In the event of air raids it is imperative that the public should co-operate with t…

List of Air Raid Shelters in Chester During WWII thejoesmoechester.wordpress.com/2025/07/10/l...

The Highfield, Blacon, Chester The Highfield, a large estate pub in Blacon, Chester, served the predominantly council-built suburb developed in the 1950s and 60s. It became a key social hub, alongside pubs like the Waggon & …

The Highfield, Blacon, Chester thejoesmoechester.wordpress.com/2025/07/09/t...

Cow Lane Bridge, Frodsham Street, Chester Cow Lane Bridge, designated as Bridge No. 123E on the Shropshire Union Canal, was originally part of the older Chester Canal, which opened in 1779. It was later incorporated into Thomas Telford’s U…

Cow Lane Bridge, Frodsham Street, Chester thejoesmoechester.wordpress.com/2025/07/09/c...

The Red Lion Inn, Handbridge, Chester The Red Lion Inn in Handbridge, Chester, has a long history. A 15th-century record mentions an “ale hous” on the site, suggesting its early existence. In 1441, a notable brawl led to fines and a wo…

The Red Lion Inn, Handbridge, Chester thejoesmoechester.wordpress.com/2025/07/09/t...

The Red Lion, High Street, Tarvin The Red Lion, a Grade II listed pub, likely dates from the 18th century. Originally an inn, it evolved into an L-shaped pub with three storeys, rendered brick, and a Welsh slate roof. It served as …

The Red Lion, High Street, Tarvin thejoesmoechester.wordpress.com/2025/07/09/t...

The Universal Inn, Victor Street, Boughton, Chester The Universal Inn, a Bent’s Brewery-owned pub known as “Bent’s house”, was located at 71 Boughton, on the corner of Victor Street. It stood at one end of a terrace that also included its neighbour,…

The Universal Inn, Victor Street, Boughton, Chester thejoesmoechester.wordpress.com/2025/07/08/t...

The Old Militia Building, Nuns Road, Chester The Militia Buildings, erected in 1861, stand as a striking testament to the city’s rich heritage. Originally designed in a ‘castellated’ style, the complex features towers, turrets, and a portcull…

The Old Militia Building, Chester thejoesmoechester.wordpress.com/2025/06/30/t...

The Boot Inn, Eastgate Row Built in the early-mid 17th century, the Boot Inn first opened as a public house in 1643. It sits within Chester’s iconic Rows—medieval elevated walkways—above a stone undercroft on street level an…

The Boot Inn, Eastgate Row, Chester thejoesmoechester.wordpress.com/2025/07/08/t...

Queens Head, Seller Street, Chester The Queen’s Head on Seller Street in Chester was a traditional English inn with deep local roots. Located near Chester’s historic canal, it has served locals, travellers, and workers from the surro…

Queens Head, Seller Street, Chester thejoesmoechester.wordpress.com/2025/07/08/q...

The Red Lion Hotel, Christleton, Chester The current building on Village Road, founded in 1810, replaced an earlier alehouse called the Red Lion. It was licensed as “The Red Lion” until around 1970, when it adopted the Ring O’ Bells name.…

The Red Lion Hotel, Christleton, Chester thejoesmoechester.wordpress.com/2025/07/08/t...

The Station Hotel, Moldsworth The Station Hotel, opened around 1882, was conveniently located opposite Mouldsworth Railway Station. Passenger service started in June 1870, making it popular with rail workers and travellers. It …

The Station Hotel, Moldsworth thejoesmoechester.wordpress.com/2025/07/07/t...

Ring o Bells, Foregate Street, Chester The pub, located at the end of Foregate Street next to the Grosvenor Park Hotel, was famously part of Chester’s local humour. A famous joke went, “What’s the shortest distance between two pints? Th…

Ring o Bells, Foregate Street, Chester thejoesmoechester.wordpress.com/2025/07/07/r...

The Angel Hotel, Brook Street, Chester The Angel Hotel, nestled on Brook Street in Chester, held a deep place in the city’s working-class and commercial heritage. Located just outside Chester’s historic city walls, Brook Street was trad…

The Angel Hotel, Brook Street, Chester thejoesmoechester.wordpress.com/2025/07/07/t...

The Olde Cottage Inn, Brook Street, Chester The Olde Cottage, a pub dating back to the late 19th century, originally part of Chester’s mock-Tudor architecture, showcases half-timbered upper storeys over a red brick base. Historically linked …

The Olde Cottage Inn, Brook Street, Chester thejoesmoechester.wordpress.com/2025/07/07/t...

Christleton Bridge, Chester Christleton Bridge, a historic and architectural gem, was built around 1776 by Samuel Weston for the original Chester Canal Company. Enhanced Image – Christleton Bridge and the A41 The bridge…

Christleton Bridge, Chester thejoesmoechester.wordpress.com/2025/07/06/c...

Horton Vaults, Foregate Street, Chester Horton Vaults, a traditional public house located at 66 Foregate Street, Chester, operated for over a century before its closure. The premises are believed to date back to the mid-to-late 19th cent…

Horton Vaults, Foregate Street, Chester thejoesmoechester.wordpress.com/2025/07/06/h...

The Stanley Arms, Brook Street, Chester The Stanley Arms, named after the prominent Stanley family, the Earls of Derby and former Lords of Chester, who held significant land in the area, pays homage to local heritage. The name echoes oth…

The Stanley Arms, Brook Street, Chester thejoesmoechester.wordpress.com/2025/07/06/t...

The Feathers Hotel, Bridge Street, Chester The Feathers Hotel, also known as the Feathers Inn or “The Plume of Feathers,” stood at 33 Bridge Street in Chester for over two centuries. It was a major coaching inn during this period, strategic…

The Feathers Hotel, Bridge Street, Chester thejoesmoechester.wordpress.com/2025/07/06/t...

The Chester Assay Office, Goss Street, Chester The Chester Assay Office, established in 1701 on Goss Street in the city centre, played a crucial role in Chester’s commercial and manufacturing history. It was one of the few regional assay office…

The Chester Assay Office, Goss Street, Chester thejoesmoechester.wordpress.com/2025/07/06/t...

Shotwick Park, Saughall, Chester Shotwick Park, with its rich history, has evolved from a Norman motte-and-bailey castle to a grand Victorian country estate. Originating in the medieval era, Shotwick Castle, built around 1093 by H…

Shotwick Park, Saughall, Chester thejoesmoechester.wordpress.com/2025/07/06/s...

The Faulkner Arms, Faulkner Street, Hoole, Chester The Faulkner Arms, the first public house on Faulkner Street, Chester, opened in 1855. Initially a tied house for Wilderspool Ales, it later became a Greenall Whitley establishment. Gatehouse Brewe…

The Faulkner Arms, Faulkner Street, Hoole, Chester thejoesmoechester.wordpress.com/2025/07/06/3...

The Roman Bridges, Tarvin, Chester The location sits on what was once a Roman road that ran from Deva (Chester) to Condate (Northwich), passing just north of present-day Tarvin. This road crossed the River Gowy (formerly known as th…

The Roman Bridges, Tarvin, Chester thejoesmoechester.wordpress.com/2025/07/05/t...

The Wolfgate, Chester The Wolfgate, the oldest remaining gate in the city, was built in 1760 with the battlements being added in 1890. Its name is believed to be derived from the wolf’s head, part of the coat of arms be…

The Wolfgate, Chester thejoesmoechester.wordpress.com/2025/07/05/t...

Hoole Lane, Hoole, Chester Hoole Lane, originally a sunken medieval track feeding into Chester, has a rich history. Its name derives from Old English hol, meaning ‘hollow’. Records show its presence in the Abbey of Saint Wer…

Hoole Lane, Hoole, Chester thejoesmoechester.wordpress.com/2025/06/28/h...

Northgate Brewery, Chester The brewery, established in 1760 within the Golden Falcon Inn on Northgate Street, Chester’s principal coaching inn, underwent a formal transformation in the 1850s under owner Peter Eaton. Incorpor…

Northgate Brewery, Chester thejoesmoechester.wordpress.com/2025/07/05/n...