CHARACTERS FROM CHESTER - STARTING "J"

BY PHILLIP E JONES

[James Broadhurst], [James Harrison], [James Hunter], [James Jolley], [James Lothian], [James St George], [James Stanley], [James Strong], [John Aldersey], [John Armourer], [John Arneway], [John Bird], [John Bradshaw], [John Coppack], [John de Helpstone], [John de Warenne], [John Douglas], [John Ewloe], [John Fletcher], [John Hall], [John Lambert], [John Leche], [John McAfferty], [John McGahey], [John Pemberton], [John Plessington], [John Radcliffe], [John Rennie], [John Savage], [John Spicer], [John Stanley], [John Scot], [John Taylor], [John Tollemache], [John Tyrer], [John Vanbrugh], [John Wesley], [John Whitmore], [John Williams], [John Woodhouse], [John Wynn], [Joseph Hemingway], [Joseph Turner], [Julius Agricola]

James Broadhurst

Broadhurst was the Mayor of Chester in 1776 who attempted to ban the city’s annual Bull and Bear baiting contests, much to the annoyance of its citizens and visitors.

Supporters of the spectacle were reported to have forced the terrified Bull up onto the city’s famous shopping rows, close to where the historic Feathers Inn used to stand and where the unpopular Mayor had a house. The angry crowd were then said to have tethered the unfortunate animal to the door knocker of Broadhurst’s property before goading the Bull into an even more delirious state of action. Needless to say, the Bull along with the knocker soon fled along the city rows, anxious to escape its rowdy tormentors, pursued by its even more irate owner.

As for James Broadhurst himself, he was reported to have fled the city in order to save himself both from the Bull and the even angrier mob.

James Harrison

Harrison was a local architect responsible for numerous projects throughout the city, including Gods Providence House, the Customs House, Holy Trinity Church (the Guild Hall) between 1865 and 1869 and St Mary on the hill between 1861/2. Harrison also designed the building which housed the Chester Savings Bank which faces Chester Castle. The clock which sits atop the bank building was the work of a Mr Joyce of Whitchurch. He was also the man in charge of rebuilding St Michael’s in the city, now the Chester Heritage Centre, as well as the Music Hall in Northgate Street, which was in earlier times the location of St Nicholas’ Chapel.

James Hunter

Hunter was a local Chester artist who owned a town house close to the market square and gave his name to Hunter St in the city.

James Jolley

Jolley was reported to have served as Provost Marshall of Lancashire under the command of the Parliamentary General Sir Thomas Fairfax and was said to have been involved in the Siege of Chester during the Civil War.

Prior to his role in the English Civil War, Jolley was said to have been employed as a Clothier in Manchester and around 1625 had married his sweetheart Elizabeth Hall.

On the outbreak of hostilities between the king and Parliament, Jolley had enlisted into the army of Parliament as a common soldier, but rose quickly, acquiring rank and distinction as he did so. By around 1652 he was commonly known as Major Jolley and at the Restoration of Charles II was reported to be living in the city of Chester. The modern day George and Dragon Public House in the Liverpool Road area of Chester, was at one time known as Jolley’s Hall, but whether this was his family home is uncertain.

Despite the Restoration of the Monarchy and the diminishing of the Parliamentary light, Jolley was thought to have retained his Puritanical zeal and ideals. When an illegal meeting was raided in the city around 1655, the former Parliamentary Major was reported to have been one of those in attendance.

When he died in the city in 1666, Jolley’s remains were recorded as having been interred at St Michael’s church in Chester which now serves as the city’s Heritage Centre.    

James Lothian

He was a Major in the Parliamentary force which was besieging the city during 1645 and was reported to have been part of the Roundhead forces that finally overran the Royalist’s eastern earthworks and brought the siege to the city’s gates.

James St George (Master)

St George was reported to be the architect and designer of Rhuddlan castle, which was rebuilt on the orders of Edward I.

James Stanley

James was the youngest son of Sir Thomas Stanley, the 1^st Lord Derby, who was destined for a career in the church and which he later achieved with the support of his step-mother, Margaret of Richmond and her son Henry VII.

He eventually rose to the dizzy heights of the Bishopric of Ely and saw his illegitimate son, Sir James Stanley of Harford, attend the Battle of Flodden, where he distinguished himself, along with his uncle Edward Stanley.

Sir James Stanley

In common with most noble family’s, Sir James Stanley the 7^th Earl of Derby was a faithful subject of Charles I at the time of the Civil War and following this monarch’s execution actively supported and campaigned for his son’s claim to the English throne. He is often referred to as the “Great Stanley”.  

It was reported that around 1651, Stanley along with a force of 300 supporters left the Isle of Man to meet with the exiled Charles II at Worcester. Along the way he was said to have recruited additional men from both the counties of Cheshire and Lancashire and with this force attacked the town of Wigan. There he was met by a large force of Parliamentary Dragoons and battle ensued between the two forces. Despite being hit several times by enemy fire and having his mount shot from underneath him, Stanley managed to escape the field. 

Together with his remaining force Stanley was reported to have made their way back into Cheshire, but were unexpectedly intercepted by another Parliamentary force and subsequently forced to surrender their arms.

Tried by a Parliamentary court for Treason, the Lord Stanley and his supporters were found guilty of their crime and condemned to die. While being held at Chester’s castle, the Earl almost escaped his fate after supporters managed to get a rope into the prison. Having successfully scaled the walls of the castle and reached the river where a boat was waiting for him, the escape was discovered and following a search he was taken back into custody.

Rather than risk any further attempts to free Stanley, the Parliamentary authorities decided to move him to his home town of Bolton the following day. A short time later, Sir James Stanley, the Earl of Derby was said to have been beheaded by the Royal executioner in the marketplace in Bolton. It was a similar fate to that which befell his ally Sir Timothy Featherstonehaugh, who had been similarly executed at Chester’s marketplace, outside of the Abbey’s gateway, a day or so earlier. 

James Strong

Strong was a local architect who was responsible for the construction of the half timbered fire station which was located in Northgate St. He was also involved in the design and development of the Lache housing estate during the 1920’s.

John Aldersey

A member of one of Chester’s leading families, John was an Alderman in 1603 and Mayor of Chester in 1604. Records suggest however that he fell victim to an outbreak of plague in the city in 1605.

John Armourer

Although a Manx man by birth, Armourer made Chester his home and found his fortune in the city. He was said to have held the office of Mayor seven times between 1385 and 1395. On his death in 1396, he was said to have been interred at Holy Trinity church (Guild Hall) in Watergate Street, Chester.

John Arneway

An early Mayor of Chester that was said to have held the office for more than ten years. At the time of his death in 1278, he was reported to have left lands in the city, as well as at Blacon and Crabwall to the Abbey at St Werburgh, in return for his burial within the religious precincts.

John Bird

Bird was the first Bishop of Chester, following the Dissolution of the Monasteries initiated by Henry VII and the rededication of the city’s Norman Abbey to that of the Cathedral of Christ and the Blessed Virgin.

Described as a “one-eyed rogue”, he was reported to have started his religious career as a Carmelite Friar in Coventry. He was said to have been part of the group that was involved in arranging the marriage between the monarch Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves and was an avid apologist for the bigamous behaviour of the king.

Because of his open and enthusiastic support for Henry, Bird was thought to have been rewarded with the Bishopric of Chester, ahead of better qualified and more deserving candidates. However, during the later reign of the staunchly Roman Catholic Queen Mary, Bird was dismissed from his post for being married. Despite his assertions that he had been tricked into the marriage and he had thrown his wife out, it availed him nothing with the new Queen and he remained rejected.

John Bradshaw

John Bradshaw was reportedly born at Wibbersley Hall in Malpas, Cheshire in December 1602; although some records suggest that his birthplace was “Peace Farm” in Stockport, Cheshire. He was the youngest son of one Henry Bradshaw, a member of a minor county family and his wife Catherine Winnington, daughter of Ralph Winnington.

His parents had six children, although their first born son, William, died within a few months of his birth in 1597. John’s remaining siblings were Dorothy born in 1598, Anne born in 1599, Henry born in 1601 and Francis who was born in 1604. Sadly, their mother died while delivering Francis and Henry was left to bring up the 5 children alone.

His early education was undertaken at the local grammar schools at Bunbury and later at Macclesfield. He then studied under a local attorney in Congleton, having developed an interest in the legal profession. John later studied at Grays Inn from 1622 and was called to the Bar in 1627, at the age of 25. He then practiced as a fairly successful lawyer for a 10 year period, before being appointed as Attorney General for Cheshire and Flintshire in 1637, the same year he was elected as Mayor of Congleton in Cheshire.

Three years later he had moved to London and was appointed as a Judge in the Sheriff’s Court at the city’s Guildhall. It was at this time that a number of high profile legal cases brought him public recognition. He acted for the prosecution against the Irish Rebel Lords, McGuire and McMahon, which led to their executions in 1644. He then acted as the defence barrister for John Lilburne in his appeal against the sentence which had been imposed on him by the Star Chamber, eight years earlier.

In 1645 he was appointed as Junior Counsel for Parliament and the following year was nominated as the Commissioner of the Great Seal, although this nomination was later blocked by his political opponents. Shortly afterwards Bradshaw was appointed as Chief Justice of Cheshire and Flintshire in 1647. The same year he was involved in the prosecution of Judge Jenkins, who was tried by Parliament for High Treason.

During the English Civil War itself, Bradshaw was not directly involved in the military conflict, but carried on his legal duties, dispensing justice to one and all. In 1648 he was appointed as Sergeant at Law by the Rump Parliament that made the decision to try the king Charles I for High Treason. The army of Cromwell, under an officer called Pride, had prevented MP’s with Royalist sympathies from entering Westminster, guaranteeing the fate of the ill-fated monarch.

In 1649 Bradshaw was offered the post of President of the High Court of Justice, which many of his contemporaries had chosen to refuse. Despite his best efforts to avoid the appointment he reluctantly accepted the post, determined that justice should be done, regardless of the accused persons status or role.

Inevitably, he was required to preside over the Parliamentary Commission that would try Charles I and which would consider the evidence that was brought against the monarch. It was a task that Bradshaw undertook in a diligent and thoughtful manner. When the commission finally reached its almost pre-determined decision, it fell to Bradshaw to publicly announce its verdict, that the king had been found of treason and that the sentence was death. His final onerous task in respect of the monarch was to sign the Death Warrant, which he was the first member of the commission to do.

Following the kings execution, Bradshaw was rewarded with the first presidency of the Council of State in 1649 and was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Cornwall. He was also re-appointed as Chief Justice of Cheshire and was granted large sums by Parliament to support and manage his great public offices. It was also Bradshaw’s fate to preside over the trials of the Royalist leaders of the second Civil War, which saw him judge and condemn to death Hamilton, Capel and Holland. 

Seemingly, a highly principled individual later in his career, he came into direct conflict with Oliver Cromwell, particularly with the Protector’s decision to close Parliament by force of arms, which Bradshaw publicly condemned. His public admonishment of Cromwell was never forgiven by his former ally and in later years Bradshaw found his position constantly undermined by the Protector and his supporters. Despite Cromwell’s opposition to him, Bradshaw was elected to Parliament as Member for Chester and sat in the Protectorate Parliaments throughout the 1650’s.

In Cheshire, Bradshaw’s religious and political radicalism made him extremely unpopular with a number of the county’s leading family’s and was thought to have been a contributing factor in George Booth’s uprising in 1659.

Bradshaw’s failing health at the beginning of 1659 forced him to surrender many of his heavy and onerous duties. But as his life drew to a close he was unrepentant regarding the role he had played in the late monarch’s death. He also remained scathing about Cromwell and the Lord Protectors decision to suppress Parliament and his singular, unopposed rule of the country.

Bradshaw died in October 1659, aged 57 and was interred at Westminster Abbey. However, following the restoration of Charles II his remains, along with those of Cromwell and Ireton were hung in chains on the Gibbet at Tyburn. In an act of political spite their heads were removed and publicly displayed as “Regicides” in Westminster Hall, supposedly for a period of more than 20 years. The rest of their remains were burned and the ashes buried beneath the gallows.

John Coppack

He was the model for the figure of a “Bluecoat” pupil which stands above the central entrance to the building. He was 14 years old at the time of the modelling and after leaving school went on to work for the Shropshire Union Canal Company. He settled down in the city and was said to have fathered 14 children.

John de Helpeston

He was a stonemason in the city who was responsible for the construction of the Water Tower in 1322 and which at the time guarded Chester’s ancient port. The new structure was added to the much older “Boneswaldthorne’s” Tower and joined by a length of castellated wall. Helpstone charged £100 for the building, a high price for the time, when most workmen were only paid 1 penny a day for their labour.

John de Warenne (Earl of Surrey)

The military commander of Edward I who was based at Chester during the Kings third campaign against the Welsh in 1294

John Douglas (1830-1911)

Douglas was one of Chester’s leading local architects who was largely employed by the Grosvenor family in the city. Responsible for the Jacobean, half timbered style of building that has become synonymous with Chester’s civic look, a particular trademark of Douglas was the use of twisted chimney stacks.

In 1869, Douglas designed a temporary arch for City Road in Chester, which was erected to celebrate the visit of the Prince of Wales, who was in Chester to open the city’s then new Town Hall which had just been completed. Elements of this arch were later incorporated into the city’s Eastgate, when Chester celebrated Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897.

One of his largest projects was the redevelopment of the eastern side of St Werburgh’s Street between 1895 and 1899. He designed the Grosvenor Hotel building that sits below the city’s famous Eastgate clock.

Another of Douglas’ projects was Parker Buildings in Foregate Street, Chester. A three storey range of workers flats, they were built for Grosvenor employees on the site of a former brewery around 1890. Close by he also designed the city’s Public Baths which lie close to the city’s Grosvenor Park.

John Ewloe

He held the office of Mayor between 1406 and 1416 and was extremely active in local politics. In the same year that he died, he and his son Edmund, along with their supporters were reported to have physically attacked their political opponents in the streets of Chester.

John Fletcher

Fletcher was reported as the proprietor of the “Chester Chronicle” in 1810, although the newspaper itself was thought to have been founded as early as 1775. The former site of the chapel dedicated to St Thomas Beckett, which lay outside of the city’s Northgate was later known as the home of a Mr Fletcher and was said to have been topped with a lantern shaped observatory. Today, this site is occupied by the “George and Dragon” Public House. 

John Hall

Hall was reported to be a merchant in Chester who was imprisoned at the city’s castle by Sir Piers Dutton for his part in the “Pilgrimage of Grace”. This largely northern based demonstration against the Dissolution of the Monasteries, which had been enacted by Henry VIII represented a serious threat to the monarch and in northeast England saw the king opposed by an army of over 30,000 outraged citizens, who were led by leading nobles and clerics.

John Lambert

Lambert was a Parliamentary Colonel who took control of Chester following Sir George Booth’s abortive rebellion in the city.

John Leche

Reported to have been the surgeon or “leech” to King Edward III, the Leche family from Carden were the owners of Leche House in Chester, a 16^th Century building that is located in modern day Watergate Street.

John McAfferty

He was the reputed leader of a plot by Irish Republicans to seize arms from Chester castle in 1867. McAfftery was a former Captain who had served during the American Civil War and who chose to employ his military experience in the Republican cause.

The plot was foiled when an informer called Corydon warned the authorities in advance of the raid, allowing them to mobilise local police and army forces to meet the threat.

John McGahey

McGahey was a local artist and lithographer during the 19^th Century who produced an aerial picture of the city, which was later produced as a watercolour. It has been speculated that this particular picture was a representation of a view seen by McGahey from a hot air balloon sailing above the city, although there is little definitive evidence to support this. (My thanks to David Overett for this info on the artist) 

John Pemberton

Pemberton was a rope-maker in Chester, who was reported to have used the tower that bears his name, to watch his workmen that were working below the walls. This tower in earlier times was known to have been called “Dille’s Tower” and the “Goblin Tower”.

He was also thought to have constructed a rope-walk, stretching from Barn Lane, later King Street, to the tower where he worked. The purpose of the rope-walk itself is unclear, but possibly it was erected for Pemberton’s own convenience, rather than for any other practical reasons.

John Plessington

Plessington was a practicing Catholic priest who was accused of involvement in a Jesuit plot to assassinate the monarch James II. Despite his vehement denials he was found guilty by the court and was subsequently hung, drawn and quartered on Gallows Hill in Boughton on 19^th July 1679.

In 1980, nearly three hundred years after his death, Plessington’s name was added to the memorial dedicated to another of the city’s religious martyr’s, George Marsh who had been burnt at the stake in 1556.

John Radcliffe

Mayor of Chester in 1602 and 1611, Radcliffe was a member of the Puritan congregation who attended services at St Peter’s church led by Nicholas Byfield. He was elected as MP for Chester in 1661. During his first term as Mayor, he ordered the restoration of the city’s Midsummer Giants, a feature of Chester’s fairs which had been ordered to be destroyed by his predecessor, Henry Hardware.

John Rennie

Rennie proposed a second river channel on the western flank of the Wirral peninsula which might help restore Chester’s port status. The new channel was planned to be 20 feet deep and able to handle a limited amount of shipping. Unfortunately these plans came to nothing and the scheme was not adopted in 1857 

John Savage

The Mayor of Chester around 1572 and one generation of the local family that were all involved in the civic administration of Chester and all bearing the same name. This John Savage was thought to have been cited by the English Privy Council for allowing performances of the city’s famous “Mystery Plays”, following the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII. The King and his Council tried to suppress these “religious interludes”, because of their close association with the Abbey’s and Monasteries, whose lands and assets had been plundered and seized by Henry some 30 years earlier. After the intervention of the Privy Council, civic leaders in Chester were said to have ordered the Plays to be discontinued and it was only during the Festival of Britain in 1951 that they were once again revived.      

John Spicer

Spicer was reported to be a friar at one of Chester’s religious houses who was inducted into St James’ hermitage at Handbridge around 1363. He was thought to have been granted lands and rights in the city by Edward, the Prince of Wales in 1368. Some 70 years later the hermitage was said to have been the subject of an inquiry, which looked into both its purpose and holdings.

John Stanley

Succeeded his father, Sir John Stanley, in 1413 and was reported to have spent much of his life consolidating the fortune and titles amassed by his father. He in turn was followed by his own son Thomas Stanley.

John Scot (John the Scot)

Because of his uncle’s lack of a legitimate heir, the Earldom of Chester was automatically granted to John, the son of Blundeville’s oldest sister Maud and her husband David of Huntington. Although he inherited much of the late Ranulph’s estates in and around Cheshire itself, large parts of the late Earl’s holdings outside of the county were thought to have been divided up between his surviving relatives. Initially content with their individual legacies, unfortunately it wasn’t too long before certain beneficiaries and their agents began to challenge their level of entitlement, causing the matter to become embroiled in a mass of legal wrangling and extensive litigation.

As for Earl John himself, there appears to be little to singularly identify him as being either notable or remarkable during his tenure at Chester, but rather he seems to have been a fairly insignificant figure, when compared to his better known and often nationally renowned ancestors. It has been said that John was the last Norman Earl to carry the “Curtana” or “Sword of Mercy” at the marriage of King Henry III to his future Queen, Eleanor. He also benefited from the earlier peace agreements that had been made between the English king, Henry III and the Welsh ruler Llewellyn ap Iorwerth which saw the turbulent border region settled and peaceful. It was only in the same year that Scot died, that the Welsh ruler himself was reported to have suffered a stroke and then been succeeded by his two sons Dafydd and Gruffudd who would later reignite the conflict between the two countries, leading to further destruction and bloodshed.

His marriage to Helen, the daughter of the Welsh ruler Llewellyn which had been arranged by his uncle Ranulph in 1222, is thought to have been purely political and as a result was not a happy relationship for either. It has even been suggested that Earl John’s death in 1237 was as a direct result of him being poisoned by his unhappy spouse, although there is no definitive evidence to substantiate these allegations.

Shortly before his unexpected death in 1237, Scot was reported to have been summoned to appear at court in Northampton in order to settle a further dispute over property which had been brought by another member of the family. When he died, it brought to an end over 160 years of his extended family’s tenure at Chester and heralded the beginning of royal rule in the city, which since 1253 has seen the eldest son of the English monarch granted the Earldom of the city.

In the years following John’s death at Chester, the Earldom was reported to have been administered by a number of royal officials, headed by Stephen de Segrave, who controlled the estate until such time as a final decision was made regarding its future. The monarch’s intentions for the city seemed to be implicit though, given that in 1246 he was thought to have instructed his Chief Justice, John de Grey to replace Chester Castle’s wooden palisade with a stone and lime mortar wall, substantially strengthening the structure for future use. Finally, in 1247 Henry III began to make preparations to officially take Chester into royal hands and by 1253 had announced that the whole of Cheshire, its lands and castles would be granted to his first born son and heir, the Prince Edward, later to be King Edward I. Although it was some time before the new Earl would visit his new estates, on 17^th July 1256 the Prince Edward was reported to have visited Chester to receive the fealty and homage of his new subjects, including the men of North Wales who in later years would oppose him militarily.

John Stanley

Thought to be a descendant of William Stanley who married into the Barnville family from Storeton on the Wirral, John was a faithful servant to the English monarchy, particularly to Richard II and as a result greatly enhanced the family’s influence and wealth.

He married Isabel, the daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas de Latham and consequently acquired lands at Knowsley and Latham. He was also appointed as Lord Deputy of Ireland by the erratic and often unpopular Richard II.

Following Richard’s deposition by his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, Stanley retained his close links with the monarchy and was appointed as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland by the new king Henry IV. The aftermath of the rebellion led by Henry “Hotspur” Percy and the resulting Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403, saw Stanley acquire the Isle of Man, which had been previously held by the Percy family. The title to these lands granted Stanley almost sovereign-like powers within the island and in order to fully exploit these new concessions he was said to have built a new and impressive property in Liverpool, which fronted onto the Mersey.

This grandiose town house was said to have survived through to the early 19^th Century, having served as the Stanley’s town house, a city Assembly Rooms and finally as a city Jail. As for Sir John Stanley himself, he was reported to have died in 1414.

John Taylor

Taylor was the Keeper of Chester Castle, who killed a prisoner called Hockenhall who was being held for “Recusancy”, a failure to attend church services. Tried and convicted of the crime, Taylor was himself executed sometime around 1589.

John Tollemache

Tollemache was one of Cheshire’s largest landowners and the man thought to have developed the Peckforton Estate and was known to have owned Beeston castle and much of the manor of Tarporley.

John Tyrer

Tyrer was reported to have been a lay clerk at Chester cathedral who erected a water tower at the city’s Bridgegate in 1600 which pumped water from the river and distributed it via pipes to water troughs around the city.

In 1622, Tyrer built a waterworks on the site of Roman springs just outside the city at Boughton. His Water Tower was finally demolished in 1780, having been seriously damaged during the siege of Chester in the mid 1640’s.

He was reported to have laid the floor in the nave of Chester cathedral and was thought to have died around 1634.

John Vanbrugh

Vanbrugh was a Dramatist, Designer and Architect who moved to Chester as a 3 year old and was subsequently educated in the city. He was the architect of Blenheim Palace and was involved with the design of Eaton Hall, the home of the Grosvenor family.

John Wesley

Wesley was the founding father of Methodism who was said to have preached in the city in 1752 and to have taken refuge at the Castle when his sermonizing led to violence in the city.  

John Whitmore

He was a member of the Whitmore family from Thurstaston during the reign of Edward III and was descended from an ancient line. His defaced effigy is featured in the former church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in Watergate Street, which now serves as the city’s Guildhall.

John Williams

He was the son of Sir William Williams, Recorder of Chester between 1667 and 1684 and responsible for the construction of Bridge House, later the Oddfellow’s Hall, to the north of Lower Bridge St.

John Woodhouse

The Dean of St John’s around 1393 who was credited with founding of the guild of St Anne within the city.

John Wynn

Wynn was a wealthy Welsh landowner from Leeswood near Mold, whose fortune came from Lead mining. However, by the time of his death much of his wealth had disappeared and the family were largely impoverished. Pennant writing in 1778 described Leeswood Hall as “A monument to past magnificence”

Richard Wilson was a local artist sponsored by the wealthy landowner and is regarded by some as the “father of English landscape painting”. Wilson spent his final years in the local area and upon his death was interred near to the Vestry door at Mold Parish Church.

Joseph Hemingway

He was a local historian and former editor of both Chester newspapers

Joseph Turner

Turner was a local architect in Chester who was responsible for the design of two of the city’s main gateways. In 1782 he designed the Bridgegate and in 1789 he designed the city’s Watergate. He was also responsible for the construction of the relatively unnoticed Bridge of Sighs which spans the canal gorge outside the Northgate.

Julius Agricola

Thought to have been born in Southern France around AD 40, Agricola was the son of a local Roman administrator and the daughter of a minor aristocratic family. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he chose to pursue a military career and around the age of 20 was said to have been made a Tribune under the command of Suetonius Paulinus while he was in Britain. He was reported to have been actively involved in the suppression of the Iceni people, following the revolt of their Queen, Boudicca.

A decade or so later, during the bitter civil war which erupted between the rival factions which supported competing candidates for the Imperial throne, Agricola openly declared for Vespasian, the man who subsequently became Emperor. Legend suggests that his mother had been killed by forces loyal to Vitellius, the alternative candidate to Vespasian and that this event alone had ultimately decided Agricola’s choice.

Perhaps as a reward for his support of the new Caesar, he was soon appointed as commander of the highly experienced 20^th Legion in Britain, under the Governorship of Petilius Cerialis. Almost immediately, Agricola was employed in military campaigns against the native tribes of North Wales and Northern Britain, including the Ordovices and Brigantes.

His resulting military successes saw him transferred to both Aquitania and Rome and adding to his already growing reputation as a leading military commander of his day. It was also around this time that his daughter married the noted writer and historian Tacitus.

Around AD 78 Agricola was appointed as the military Governor of Britain and it was during the next 6 years that he was thought to have planned and implemented the final defeat of the troublesome British tribes and ordered the construction of numerous bases and forts. In North Wales he set about conquering the Ordovices tribe, including their religious and military centres on the isle of Anglesey.

It was during these campaigns that Agricola was thought to have ordered that the earlier military base at Chester be more fully developed and enlarged, to act as a gateway between the lands of North Wales and Northern Britain. It has also been suggested that during the winter months, the Chester fortress was used as Agricola’s permanent military headquarters.

Having substantially subdued most of Northwest Britain, Agricola now moved further north and into the Scottish border region. He managed to advance the Roman Empire to the very banks of the River Tay and consolidated the line between the Forth and the Clyde by constructing a series of manned military bases to protect his gains. Initially, the 20^th Legion, Agricola’s former command was to have been a part of these plans, but events elsewhere in the Empire prevented their use. The strategic withdrawal of the 2^nd Legion Adiutrix from their base at Chester left the relatively new fortress on the Dee without a legionary force, so Agricola was reported to have assigned his former comrade-in-arms that particular task.

Around AD 84, Agricola was reported to have fought a decisive battle against the Caledonian tribes of Scotland at Mons Graupius, where he crushed the Scottish forces. This success, along with his many other victories, brought him to the attention of the Emperor, Domitian, who jealous of his Governor’s fame, ordered Agricola to return to Rome.

Although Agricola was accorded a great welcome by the Emperor, Senate and the people of Rome, his return effectively marked an end to his glorious military career. Forced into early retirement by the Emperor, he lived the rest of his life in relative obscurity on his family estates until his death in AD 93, at the still relatively young age of 53.

Agricola’s son-in-law, Tacitus, recorded the rise of the Roman Empire and in doing so immortalised his father-in-law for future generations. Whether or not Agricola deserved the plaudits accorded to him is unclear, but there is little doubt that he was a remarkable and skilled militarist who helped to consolidate the Roman province of Britain.

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