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Chester Castle (Agricola Tower)

Chester Castle was founded by William the Conqueror in 1070, in the southwest of the city, and a year later he gave it to his nephew Hugh d'Avranches, first Earl of Chester. Ranulf de Blondeville, the sixth earl, rebuilt the defences in stone from 1189. From that period the Agricola Tower survives, built around 1200, the oldest stone gateway of the complex; its name refers to the Roman general Agricola, although it was also called Caesar's Tower. On the first floor is the Chapel of St Mary de Castro, with wall paintings from around 1240 showing miracles of the Virgin and of Edward the Confessor, and scenes from the childhood of Jesus on the ceiling. From the wall walk you can see the rooftops of the city. The rest of the complex, with the monumental entrance gate, is the work of the architect Thomas Harrison, who won the competition for the new prison, completed in 1793.

Things to do at Chester Castle (Agricola Tower): 3 missions

• Walk the wall-walk and look at the cityClimb the stairs near the wall-walk of the castle wall and walk to a point from which you can see the rooftops of Chester.
• Look for the paintings in St Mary's ChapelGo up to the first floor of the Agricola Tower and find the wall paintings from around 1240. Look at the parts painted to imitate marble and at the scenes on the ceiling.
• Admire Harrison's monumental gatewayGo up to the great gateway into the complex, designed by Thomas Harrison, and take in its classical-style monumentality before entering the courtyard.

Near Chester Castle (Agricola Tower)

Source: Web oficial - English Heritage, Chester Castle