The east side of the esplanade is appropriated to Barracks, which contain excellent and spacious accommodations. Behind the Barracks is the Provost, with an enclosed yard. It is no longer employed for this purpose, having been, some time since, converted into an armoury for pensioners, military library and reading-room, &c. This wing, and the opposite one on the west side of the esplanade, were built at the joint expense of the Crown and the County Palatine.
Proceeding through the gate at the east end, we come to
The Sessions House,
a neat and commodious edifice, with a tolerably spacious court, magistrates’ and grand jury rooms, and a robing room for counsel on the ground floor; and upstairs are the Clerk of the Peace’s record rooms and other offices.
Before leaving the Castle yard, the attention of the visitor will naturally be attracted by memorials of the Crimean war, in the form of two Russian guns, mounted on either side of the grand entrance, under a portico, enclosed with iron railings. On each of these formidable pieces of ordnance is inscribed the following historical memorandum:
THIS GUN
WAS CAPTURED BY THE ALLIED ARMIES OF
ENGLAND, FRANCE, TURKEY, AND SARDINIA,
AT SEVASTOPOL,
ON THE 8TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 1855,
AND PRESENTED BY
HER MAJESTY
TO THE CITIZENS OF CHESTER,
IN COMMEMORATION OF THAT ARDUOUS SIEGE.
VICTORIA REGINA.
Having completed our view of the Castle, we return to continue our walk, proceeding along the walls until we reach the boundary of the Castle, where the tourist will have a fine view of the
Grosvenor Bridge.
This noble work of art, which is unequalled in the history of bridge-building, crosses the Dee at the south-east angle of the Roodeye, and is approached by a new road from the centre of Bridge-street, which passes by the Castle esplanade, proceeds across the City Walls, and then, by an immense embankment, thrown over a deep valley, to the foot of the bridge. The bridge consists of one main stone arch, with a small dry arch or towing path on each side, by which the land communication is preserved on both sides of the river. The cost of erection was £36,000.
The great distinguishing feature of this edifice is the unparalleled width of the chord or span of the main arch, which is of greater extent than that of any other known to have been constructed. Of its dimensions the following is an accurate delineation:—The span of the arch, two hundred feet. [40] Height of the arch from the springing line, 40 feet. Dimensions of the main abutments, 48 feet wide by 40, with a dry arch as a towing path at each side, 20 feet wide, flanked with immense wing walls, to support the embankment. The whole length of the roadway, 340 feet. Width of the bridge from outside the parapet walls, 35 feet 6 inches, divided thus: carriage road, 24 feet; the two causeways, 9 feet; thickness of the parapet walls, 2 feet 6 inches. Altitude from the top of the parapet wall to the river at low-water mark, 66 feet 6 inches. The architectural plan of this bridge was furnished by the late Thomas Harrison, Esq.; contractor and builder, Mr. James Trubshaw, of Staffordshire; surveyor, Mr. Jesse Hartley, of Liverpool. The first stone was laid on the 1st October, 1827, by the late Marquis of Westminster, and a specimen of each of the current coins of the realm deposited therein; and was formally opened in October, 1832, by her Royal Highness the Princess Victoria (her present Most Gracious Majesty), on occasion of her visit, and that of her Royal mother, the Duchess of Kent, to Eaton Hall. As a compliment to her noble host, at the request of the commissioners, the bridge was named “Grosvenor Bridge,” by the young Princess. It was opened to the public in December, 1833.