Chester Society for Landscape History
Upper storeys of Chester’s iconic Rows (Photograph: Vanessa Greatorex)
Forthcoming Events
Saturday 25 April 2026, 2pm:
Lecture (VISITORS WELCOME): Roman Chester
Speaker: Julian Baum
Venue: St Columba’s Church Hall, Plas Newton Lane, Chester, CH2 1SA
Admission: Members free, Visitors £4,
Student Visitors £2
NB: Free car park; for directions see:
https://sscolumbaandtheresa.co.uk/about/st-columbas-church/directions-and-location/
Saturday 30 May 2026, 2pm
Lecture (VISITORS WELCOME): Industrial Archaeology
Speaker: Dr Michael Nevell, Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust; Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society
Venue: St Columba’s Church Hall, Plas Newton Lane, Chester, CH2 1SA
Admission: Members free, Visitors £4, Student Visitors £2
NB: Free car park; for directions see:
https://sscolumbaandtheresa.co.uk/about/st-columbas-church/directions-and-location/
What is Landscape History?
Landscape History is the study of how people have altered the landscape through time.
It seeks to explain the historical significance of the buildings, earthworks, flora and other physical features which are our common heritage. It embraces aspects of history, archaeology, architecture, geography, geology, botany and other disciplines.
“The English landscape itself, to those who know how to read it aright, is the richest historical record we possess.” – W.G. Hoskins, The Making of the English Landscape (1955).
Picks of the Week
Here are some links to online landscape history resources recently recommended by our Information Officer:
Fort Perch Rock, New Brighton
New Brighton owes its creation to the construction of Fort Perch Rock, now a museum but originally equipped with 18 guns to defend Mersey shipping. Though initially proposed by Liverpool merchants worried about the possibility of French invasion during the Napoleonic wars, construction of the fort didn’t actually began until 31 March 1826 – almost 11 years after Napoleon’s defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815.
https://www.chesterstandard.co.uk/news/25983173.200th-anniversary-fort-perch-rock-new-brighton/?ref=ebln&nid=1543&block=article_block_a&u=d4c9d445a11ca3b4d5080d09710dae3e&date=050426
Drystone barns and walls in northern England
A photographic celebration of drystone barns and walls in Yorkshire, the Lake District, the Peak District, and Lancashire, with brief descriptions, directions and maps.
https://northwestnatureandhistory.co.uk/2025/03/02/admiring-the-barns-and-walls-of-the-northwest-of-england/
Click on the blue text at the end of this sentence for links to previously recommended Online Resources or for links to specific topics, including: Directories/Databases/Aerial Photographs, Geology, Ecosystems, Prehistory, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Viking, Medieval, Tudor and Stuart, Castles, Churches/Cathedrals/Shrines, Industrial, Cheshire, Wales, Other Locations.