The choir stalls and misericords
Forty-eight carvings of jokes and monsters from about 1380, hidden under the monks' seats; ask a volunteer to lift one.
Stephen Hamilton — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Burkhard Mücke — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Burkhard Mücke — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Burkhard Mücke — CC BY-SA 4.0
In a city known for its Roman walls and timber-fronted shopping galleries, the cathedral is one continuous lump of red sandstone, and on a wet Cheshire afternoon it seems to glow like a coal that refuses to go out. It began as a Benedictine abbey founded in 1092 around the relics of St Werburgh, and the monks kept building, pulling down and adding for the best part of four and a half centuries, so the finished thing is a rare sampler of every phase of English medieval architecture: heavy Norman arches in the north transept, delicate Gothic in the choir, wide late windows by the entrance. When Henry VIII shut the monasteries the building survived by becoming a cathedral in 1541; its south-west tower was never finished and still is not. The pleasure inside is in the detail, not the scale. Under the choir stalls of about 1380 sit 48 small carvings called misericords, a parade of grotesques and rude jokes that specialists rank among the finest sets in England, so ask a volunteer to lift a seat for you. In the Lady Chapel, at the east end beyond the choir, stands the stone shrine of St Werburgh, smashed in the sixteenth century and pieced back together from fragments found during Victorian restoration. The cloisters, the planted garth and the old monks' refectory, now Café 1092 and named for the founding year, are among the most complete monastic survivals in England and unexpectedly quiet after the crush on Eastgate Street. Entry is free for most of the year with a donation asked for, but the cathedral does charge a small fee during the summer holidays and the Christmas season, which is exactly when most Gulf families are in Britain; children of five and under go free. Doors open at 09:30 Monday to Saturday and at 10:00 on Sunday, with last entry at 17:30. The paid Tower Tour usually leaves at 11:00, with a second slot early in the afternoon on some days; it climbs 216 narrow stone steps over roughly an hour and ends 125 feet up, with the whole city below and the Welsh hills beyond the river. Book it on the cathedral website a day or two ahead in summer, and leave behind anyone who dislikes heights or spiral stairs. The guided Discovery Tour, at 11:00 and 14:00 on most days, is plenty for the non-specialist and is booked through the same site. For families: the nave and cloisters take a pushchair, staff will help at the few steps if you ask, but the Lady Chapel and the chapter house are up steps. It is a working church with services every day, and parts can close at short notice for a concert or a university graduation, so check the closures page on the morning you visit. An hour to ninety minutes is enough; the station is about fifteen minutes on foot, and the Delamere Street and Northgate car parks, the latter by Chester Market, are the nearest if you are driving.
Forty-eight carvings of jokes and monsters from about 1380, hidden under the monks' seats; ask a volunteer to lift one.
One of the most complete Benedictine cloisters left in England, quiet, shaded and fine with a pushchair.
After 216 steps, 125 feet up, you get Chester's Roman walls, the river and the Welsh hills in a single view.
St Werburgh Street, Chester CH1 2DY
Eastgate ClockIt is said to be the most photographed clock in England after Big Ben, and the c2 minutes walk4.7
Chester CrossThe four streets that meet here were laid out by Roman soldiers roughly two thou2 minutes walk4.4
Chester Roman AmphitheatreThe largest Roman amphitheatre yet found in Britain sits just outside the south-5 minutes walk4.4
Grosvenor MuseumWhen Victorian workmen opened up a stretch of Chester's north wall in the late n7 minutes walk4.3
Grosvenor ParkThree medieval stone archways stand on the lawns here with no walls attached to 8 minutes walk4.6With small children or anyone who struggles with stairs, stick to the interior and cloisters: they are the best part and need no booking. If you are adults with a spare hour, the top of the tower gives the finest view over all of Chester; book a day ahead in summer, since there is usually one departure a day and places are limited.
Yes, but visitor hours start at 10:00, parts close during services and guided tours are not normally scheduled on Sundays. Come after lunch or pick another day if you want the choir without waiting.