One topic which came up repeatedly in our discussion was the idea that Chester needs to do more to celebrate and promote its medieval heritage – in comparison with the huge emphasis it currently places on its Roman history.  As various members of our project team have commented in the past: every time we’re in Chester we bump into a Roman centurion! It would be great if the wonderful, rich medieval heritage of the city had more of a visible presence in the city’s culture and tourism programmes. It was certainly very encouraging to hear the enthusiasm of those present at the lecture for all things medieval Chester!

I (shamelessly) used my lecture as another opportunity to urge people to take photos of medieval locations in Chester today for our website. It’s very easy – you can find full details below in the post ‘Mapping Medieval Chester needs you!’. If you have a look at our maps, they’ll give you an idea of some of the sites you could photograph (including St Werburgh’s, St John’s, the walls and gates, the Rows etc etc) and we’re very keen to have several different perspectives on each location. After all, our project seeks to explore how different people represent the urban space around them differently.

Thank you to the Chester Archaeological Society for the invitation to speak, and to everyone who came along on Wednesday.