CHARACTERS FROM CHESTER - STARTING "G"

BY PHILLIP E JONES

[George Booth], [George Borrow], [George Cotes], [George Cuitt], [George Gilbert Scott], [George Jeffrey's], [George Lloyd], [George Marsh], [George Ormerod], [George Pace], [George Webb], [Giles Gilbert Scott], [Gruffudd ap Cynan], [Gruffudd ap Llewellyn]

George Booth

George Borrow

Borrow was the author of “Wild Wales”, written in the 18^th Century who visited and wrote about Chester and its people.

George Cotes

Cotes was the successor to John Bird and held the office of Bishop of Chester from 1554 to 1555. He was said to be the man who finally condemned George Marsh to burn at the stake for his “heretical” beliefs.

George Cuitt

Cuitt was a Yorkshire man, born around 1779, who has a close association with Chester. He was employed as a Drawing Master, illustrator and artist who had several hundred of his works auctioned at a Public Sale in 1821.

George Gilbert Scott

George Jeffrey’s

Jeffrey’s was Lord Chief Justice of Chester, but is best remembered for his part in England’s “Bloody Assizes”. He was reported to have been born at Acton Park near Wrexham.

George Lloyd

He was Bishop of Chester between 1604 and 1615 and had been Bishop of the Sodor of Man in 1599. Reported to have been the owner of Bishop Lloyds Palace which is located in modern day Watergate Street, the building is thought to post-date his death, so his actual ownership is highly questionable. His brother David was Mayor of Chester from 1593-4 and his eldest daughter was married to Thomas Yale, a descendant of the American University’s founder.

George Marsh

Marsh was a Preacher from Lancashire who publicly criticised the Bishop of Chester of Blasphemous Idolatory, Holy Water Casting, Procession Gadding, Matins Mumbling, Mass Hearing and such Heathenism’s forbidden by God. The English Privy Council on hearing of his preaching, instructed the Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire to take action against Marsh, but rather than seeing the issue as a secular one, he declared that Marsh’s remarks were the concern of the church and passed the case to the Bishop of Chester.

Marsh was arrested and transported to Chester and held for several months at the Bishop’s Palace in the city, while the Bishop, Arch Deacon and other learned men tried to convince him of his errors. His constant refusal to recant his beliefs, finally forced the church to bring Marsh to trial on the charges laid against him.

He was brought to trial in the Cathedral’s Lady Chapel, appearing before the Bishop, Mayor of Chester and the Chancellor, all of whom hoped to persuade him from his erroneous beliefs. Unfortunately, Marsh could not be persuaded to recant his preaching and left his judges with little option but to condemn him.

Even as the Bishop read out the judgement against him, the Mayor and Chancellor both tried to find a solution that would release him, but Marsh was not to be moved from his view. Having finished reading the decision of the court, the Bishop in frustration remarked “Now I will no pray for thee, than I would for a dog”.      

Tried and found guilty of “Heresy” by a religious court in 1555, Marsh was burnt at the stake in 1556. Prior to the wood being lit beneath him he was once again offered a conditional pardon by the vice chancellor, Mr Vawdrey, but Marsh refused it, simply remarking “Not under these circumstances”.

George Ormerod

Born in 1785, Ormerod was a Manchester born writer and historian who was educated at the Kings School in Chester. He later wrote the publication “History of the County Palatine and the City of Chester”

George Pace

Designer of Chester’s Bell Tower, which stands close to the Cheshire Regiments Memorial Garden, within the cathedral grounds. The tower was completed in 1974 and is clad with Bethesda Slate.

George Webb

Webb was recorded at Chester’s Spring Assizes in 1833 as having been tried and convicted of a Burglary at Rudheath in Cheshire. He was sentenced to death for his crime and was presumably executed in the city at the County Jail which stood on City Walls Road

Giles Gilbert Scott

Gruffudd ap Cynan

The Welsh Prince was thought to have succeeded to the throne of North Wales in 1081 following the death of Trahaern ap Caradog in that year, but Gruffudd was unable to accept his inheritance, as he was captured and imprisoned by Robert of Rhuddlan, a lieutenant of the second Earl of Chester, Hugh D’Avranches. It has been supposed that the capture of Gruffudd was a deliberate act by the Norman authorities who hoped to exploit the power vacuum that his absence would cause.

Legend suggests that Gruffudd was held captive for a period of at least 10 years by Hugh Lupus who regarded the Prince as a potentially dangerous opponent to Norman rule in the Welsh borders. It has often been proposed, that during his long and arduous captivity Gruffudd was held in chains at Chester’s castle and regarded as little more than an object of entertainment for D’Avranches and his guests.

Finally, around 1097 Gruffudd was reported to have engineered his escape from the castle at Chester and rejoined his fellow countrymen who were still in open rebellion against the occupying French forces of William the Conqueror.

In conjunction with another Welsh leader, Cadwgan ap Bleddyn, who had been organising local resistance to the Normans since 1094, Gruffudd finally assumed his place as ruler of his own lands. Together, the two Princes were thought to have planned and implemented Welsh opposition to William’s representatives in the region, including the Earls of Chester and Shrewsbury and their numerous knights and retainers.

By 1098 however, the two Welsh Princes were said to have been forced back into northwest Wales and were being inexorably driven towards the Isle of Anglesey, by a large Anglo Norman army which had been mustered by Earl Hugh of Chester and his ally Earl Hugh of Shrewsbury. Having been forced to retreat to the island, Cadwgan and Gruffudd quickly realised that their military situation was largely untenable and that their only option was to flee across the sea to Ireland.

By the following year though, the two Princes were reported to have returned to North Wales to reclaim their native lands, following the death of the Norman Earl, Hugh of Shrewsbury, who had been killed during a battle with the Norwegian king Magnus Barefoot shortly after Cadwgan and Gruffudd had been forced to flee the province. Hugh D’Avranches, the Earl of Chester had been forced to retire to his castle at Chester following the battle with Barefoot and effectively leaving much of North Wales to be recovered by the two native Princes. By the end of 1099, all parties were thought to have agreed a peace treaty that they could all live with. Cadwgan was thought to have received parts of both the former kingdoms of Powys and Ceredigion, whilst Gruffudd retained his rights to parts of North Wales as well as the Island of Anglesey.

Gruffudd was thought to have consolidated his newly acquired lands and titles in North Wales through well thought out political unions. He was reported to have married Angharad, the daughter of Owain ab Edwin, who was a major landowner within the border region around the city of Chester. He also arranged for his own daughter Gwenllian to marry his former military comrade Cadwgan ap Bleddyn, who now ruled parts of both Powys and Ceredigion, a union which no doubt helped to guarantee and maintain their shared borders and security.       

Gruyffudd ap Llewellyn

Llewellyn was the self styled ruler of Wales around the time of the Battle of Hastings, who had driven the Anglo Saxons out of a number of Welsh areas including Wrexham, Oswestry, Montgomery and Radnor

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