CHARACTERS FROM CHESTER - STARTING "N"

BY PHILLIP E JONES

[Nathaniel Kindersley], [Nicholas Byfield], [Nicholas Byron], [Nocholas Stratford]

Nathaniel Kindersley

A founding member of the River Dee Company who surveyed the course of the river and put forward the idea of a new “canalised” water system, which it was hoped would restore the economic fortune of the city.

Kindersley’s “New Cut” scheme was adopted in around 1737 and saw the River Dee moved southward from its original course, to run along the southern bank, through a manmade channel. Ultimately, the scheme saw hundreds of acres of land recovered on the northern side of the river but virtually all of this land remained in the hands of speculators, who sold it for agriculture. Today, much of this reclaimed land constitutes the Sealand Road area of the city which is mainly farmland and industrial estates.

The long term purpose of the scheme was never achieved though, as the management of the River Dee Company failed to implement a clear shipping route through to Chester. Inevitably perhaps, the matter reverted to the lawyers and the legal system, which was where it remained for the next hundred and odd years. Needless to say, during this legal impasse, the situation degenerated even further, so that today, little if any of the channel is productively used.  

Nicholas Byfield

Byfield was a Rector and Preacher at St Peter’s church in Chester between 1608 and 1615.

Nicholas Byron

Appointed at the outbreak of hostilities as Military Governor of Cheshire by King Charles I, Byron was captured by Parliamentary forces in March 1644 and was later replaced as the Military Governor by his relative Lord Byron.

Nicholas Stratford

Dr Nicholas Stratford was Bishop of Chester between 1689 and 1707 and was involved with the founding of the city’s “Bluecoat” School. He also helped to found the Infirmary at Chester in around 1755, which was rebuilt and enlarged in 1761

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