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Chester
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Chester Cheshire
Approximate Population: 77,040
A considerable amount of land in Chester is owned by the Duke of Westminster who owns an estate – Eaton Hall – near the village of Eccleston. He also has vast London properties in Mayfair. Indeed, the clock tower which houses Big Ben was copied on the Duke’s estate home of Eaton Hall and can be seen from the road from Aldford to Chester today.
Grosvenor is the Duke’s family name, which explains such features in the City such as the Grosvenor Bridge, the Grosvenor Hotel, and Grosvenor Park. Much of Chester’s architecture dates from the Victorian era, many of the buildings being modelled on the Jacobean half-timbered style and designed by John Douglas, who was employed by the Duke as his principal architect. He had a trademark of twisted chimney stacks, many of which can be seen on the buildings in the city centre.
Douglas designed amongst other buildings the Grosvenor Hotel and the City Baths. In 1911, Douglas’ protégé and city architect James Strong designed the then active fire station on the west side of Northgate Street. Another feature of all buildings belonging to the estate of Westminster is the ‘Grey Diamonds’ – a weaving pattern of grey bricks in the red brickwork laid out in a diamond formation.
