Boughton

From Chester Wiki

Image:No.JPG
Map

Information

1 Location
2 Data
3 History
4 Local facilities
5 Things to do
6 External Links

[edit] Location

[edit] Data

Boughton is largely residential with some light industry. However, the leadworks has now closed. Most of the warehousing along the Shropshire Union Canal has been converted for other uses.

[edit] History

Boughton's name is possibly derived from a boundary stone which stood hereabouts at or near a crossroads on the eastern side of Chester. St Giles Cemetery and the nearby Gallows Hill are relics of the darker side of Chester history. Other historical landmarks include the Watertower, Leadshot Tower and the Steam Mill. Boughton is described as follows in Thomas Pennant's "Journey from Chester to London" (1811).

Boughton, a suburb in the parish of St. Oswald, a little disjoined from this part of the city, had before the dissolution an hospital for poor lepers, as early as the beginning of Edward II. From an eminence, the retreat of the unfortunate brave, is a view of very uncommon beauty. It commands two fine reaches of the Dee, one bounded by meadows and hanging woods, the other terminated by part of the city, the ancient bridge, and over it a distant view of the Cambrian hills.

A history of Boughton

[edit] Waterworks

Boughton has always been an important as a source of much of the city's water - the waterworks is still here. In Roman times water from the springs at Boughton was carried into Chester along a series of clay, lead or elm pipes, the trees being hollowed out. Later, water was piped to a cistern at One Bridge Street by Chester Cross. Many rivers in industrial areas became too polluted by effluents to be usable for water supply, but the City of Chester provides a notable exception to this, having directly abstracted Dee water (at least) since the first Chester Waterworks Company was formed in 1826. This was possible because of the relatively few troublesome effluents in the Dee catchment upstream of Chester. Nowadays, water is still drawn from the River Dee and treated at the waterworks. The Dee has a complex regulation system to ensure that a continuous flow of water is provided. The balance of Chester's drinking water comes from a borehole at Plemstall: an artesian well, 350 foot deep with an 8 inch diameter pipe.

Dora worked at the waterworks for 24 years

One Bridge Street on Virtual Chester

[edit] Leadworks

In 1800 Walkers, Maltby & Co. set up a leadworks by the then 'Chester and Nantwich' canal. As the proprietors were not freemen of Chester, the concern was initially threatened by a reassertion of ancient restrictions relating to who could run a business in Chester. It was only able to avoid these as a few of the owners were freemen of the City of London. The works made white and red lead for paints and primers, and had a shot tower. In such a tower, molten lead is allowed to fall like rain and forms spherical drops which are solidified as they plunge into a vessel of water. This process was invented and patented by William Watts of Bristol, in 1782 after a dream of leaden rain. By 1812 a rolling mill for sheet lead and machines for drawing lead pipe had been added. The site was well-placed for manufacturing lead articles from ores mined, smelted, and refined in north Wales and Spain, and their onward distribution to the industrial Midlands and North-West. The lead shot produced in Chester was used extensively in the Napoleonic Wars. Because the lead was smelted elsewhere the toxic effects of a local lead smelter were greatly reduced. At 168 feet (41.2 m) the Leadshot Tower is possibly the tallest surviving structure of it's type in the world.

Heritage briefing on the lead shot works
More news on the shot tower

[edit] Steam Mill

The Steam Mill

[edit] Local facilities

Shops can be found on Boughton as the road that has the same name as the district leaves Chester city centre. Boughton retail centre comprises Maplin and a few household shops. There are a few more large stores (including a Do-It-All) just past the waterworks on Tarvin Road. An estate of superstores, including Sainsbury's, can be found on Caldy Valley Road. There are more shops just outside Boughton Heath on Christleton Road. Some of the more interesting shops include the cluster of antique and junk shops near the Chester end of Sandy Lane.

[edit] Things to do

Walk along the canal - photos of the canal and locks can be found here. The area has a rich heritage of industrial archaeology.
For the more adventurous, walk to the Cheshire Cat for lunch. The towpath continues to Egg Bridge at Waverton and beyond, but beware the scarce bus service if you don't want to walk back.
Visit St Giles Cemetery and Gallows Hill
Browse antique shops
Take the ferry to the meadows
Go to the pictures - the Steam Mill houses one of the screens of the Chester Film Society