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Cyril Morris recognised for architectural preservation

LORD Mayor of Chester, Councillor Sherin Akhtar, and representatives from the Bluecoat Charity and Chester Civic Trust have recognised Cyril Morris for his lifelong services in the architectural preservation of the city of Chester.

Born within the city walls in 1927, Cestrian Cyril graduated in architecture and town planning before joining the Cheshire County Architect’s department shortly after the Second World War in 1949. Following the Blitz, many of the UK’s historical towns were in a sorry and neglected state with notable buildings of character and value damaged or destroyed. Chester was no exception.

In his role as director of technical services, Cyril led the post-war clean up and was actively engaged in the development and management of an innovative conservation programme dedicated to restoring and reviving the special architectural character and identity of the town.

Since retiring, Cyril has kindly donated some of his earliest architectural drawings, many of which were done by hand, to the Bluecoat Charity where they now hang proudly in the offices on Upper Northgate Street.

As a thank you, the Lord Mayor and representatives from Bluecoat presented Cyril with a beautiful drawing of his own, a pencil sketch of the historic Bluecoat building which now has pride of place alongside other mementoes in his bedroom at Grosvenor Manor.

Lord Mayor of Chester, Cllr Akhtar, was honoured to make the presentation to Cyril. She said: “It is thanks to the tireless work of Cyril in protecting and preserving Chester’s heritage that we have an architecturally significant city that we can be proud of, one that garners interest and visitors from around the World. On behalf of the city and all at Bluecoat, I’m delighted to make this presentation today. Thank you Cyril.”

Christine Russell added; “Cyril is a founder member and former Vice-President of Chester Civic Trust who we were honoured to see at our Garden Party in 2024. The drawing of the Bluecoat shows the building without the decorative railings that had been removed earlier in the 1940s for ‘the war effort’. The Civic Trust campaigned for the reinstatement of the railings, finally restored and unveiled by the former Duke of Westminster in 1987. Cyril Morris has been a lifelong champion for heritage and conservation. He is one of Chester’s unsung heroes.”

Cyril summarised; “Conservation is not about living in the past, it is the creation of an environment within which our architectural heritage can survive for future generations.”

LtoR: Chief executive officer at Chester Bluecoat Charity Mike Jenkins, Grosvenor Manor resident and architectural preservation hero Cyril Morris, chairman of Chester Civic Trust Christine Russell and Lord Mayor of Chester Cllr Sherin Akhtar.

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RHS Bridgewater Visit

Day Visit: Wednesday, July 8, 2026

Once the site of the Egerton mansion, Worsley New Hall, the RHS  began developing this derelict land in 2017. W. A. Nesfield had been the garden designer for the Egertons, and the remnants of his work are still encompassed in the modern design. The landscape artist, Tom Stuart Smith was chosen by the RHS to mastermind the scheme. It was opened in 2021.

We visited shortly after its opening when it was a work in progress. We are now going again to see how it is developing. Those of you who did not participate in this first visit are in for a gardening treat.

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Visit to Hooton Hangers

Day Visit: Tuesday, June 9th 
Our day begins at Hooton Hangars on the Wirral. Once a home of the Stanley family, it became an aviation centre in both World Wars. It was even Liverpool airport for a few years. The hangars are now a cornucopia of retired aeroplanes. There is a Second World War theme, because of its connection to the Airforce during this period. There is a collection of Victorian printing presses. We will have a guided tour. Cake and a hot drink on arrival.

The hangers are renown for their ‘Belfast Truss’ construction which allow this type of truss to span distances of up to 36 metres, a quality very useful for large open spaced buildings. More information here.

The day continues to Allerton Hall, Sudley House and St Michael’s-in-the-Hamlet, a cast iron church.

This visit is linked to, but independent of, David Mottram’s talk at the BLP on May 21st, 2026.

To book please follow this link: https://chestercivictrust.org.uk/hooton-belfast-hanger-visit/

Photo courtesy of Marketing PRojects.

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Summer Social and call for your views!

Monday, June 1st at 7pm. Chez Jules, Northgate St.
Following the 65th Celebration Dinner, we got together to once again focus on Chester’s Heritage. The Summer Social also gave us an insight on ‘Culture and Crowds’.

Both Sir Phil Redmond and Colin Potts spoke on how the two were linked.

Sir Phil discussed how important it was to involve communities of whatever make up of common interest, and the fact that over 70% of the time he spent on Capital of Culture was on involving Liverpool and its communities with the various initiatives to do this.

Colin spoke about Malta and his role there, and alerted us to the importance of getting involved in:

  1. The Chester Place Survey. This is part of the information gathering that will enable us to develop a place brand for Chester that will help give competitive edge to its investment, education and visitor work programmes. It will dictate how the city presents itself to the world. The deadline for taking part is Friday 12th June. 450 submissions were received in the first week!
  2. Chester Northgate 2. View are sought on the outline masterplan for the second phase of Northgate covering the old Forum shopping centre, Gateway Theatre and the area between there and the Crowne Plaza. The brief was that the plan should be mainly residential but thoughts are welcomed on the proposed layout, streetscape, access and particularly on a possible culture / heritage building that would front onto Town Hall Square. The scheme is working towards a planning application in Autumn this year but views on this stage are invited by 19th June.

Members and guests enjoyed the event over a splendid two course meal at Chez Jules.

Photos from the evening are below, Colin Potts speaking, left, and Sir Phil Redmond, right/below.
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May Lecture: Hooton Hall and Park

Thursday, May 21 2026, 2pm. at Bishop Lloyd’s Palace
Hooton Hall and Park – A Remarkable History – From Medieval Manor House to Vauxhall Motors
The Stanley family built manor houses at Hooton in 1488 and in 1788. By 1849, they had sold the Hall and estate to Richard Naylor, a Liverpool businessman. Naylor enjoyed horse racing and added a racecourse to the property. In 1914 the War Department requisitioned the Hall and Park. The Park was also turned into an airfield. It became a flourishing centre for aviation.

In the 1960s Shell Research used the runway for car fuel development and in 1962 Vauxhall Motors purchased the site. In recent years the Belfast Hangars have been restored and now host events run by the Hooton Park Trust.

David Mottram gave us a walk and talk last year on Eastham Ferry. He returns this year with a talk about Hooton Hall and Park. David’s talk will be followed by refreshments. The cost will be £7.

Please click this Link to book a place: https://chestercivictrust.org.uk/hooton/

You will only be notified, if you do not have a place at the event.

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April Lecture: Update on Chester’s One City Plan

Chester’s One City Plan (OCP) was first produced in 2012 and revised in 2022 through a large engagement process coordinated by Cheshire West and Chester Council. Its time period now covers 2022 to 2045 with its vision for Chester as a place ‘that is proud of its history and confident about its future’.

April’s crowded lecture from Andy Farrall provided an expert update on the 45 action areas to be delivered by 2045.  A link to his informative slides is here.

The plan is now in delivery mode, being achieved through 5 partnership delivery groups:

  • Making – development, regeneration, investment, heritage, the environment, green and blue networks, enterprise and skills, digital and the public realm.
  • Connecting – transport and mobility
  • Experiencing – culture and health
  • Visiting – the visitor economy and tourism
  • Being-in – safely, management and maintenance.

More information on the Chester OCP is here: Chester One City Plan – where you can also subscribe to the OCP newsletter.

Speaker Andy Farrall BA(Hons) MA PGDIP MRTPI chairs the ‘Making Group’ – the delivery partnership that is delivering the development, regeneration, economic growth, environment, heritage and investment stream of the Chester One City Plan.

Born in North Wales, Andy is a chartered town planner and urban designer of some 45 years-experience working in the private and public sectors. Starting in South Wales and in the city of Hull, Andy then led the planning and urban design team at London-based Tibbalds working on major commissions across the UK for major public and private sector clients.

Andy was Executive Director, Development and Regeneration at Chester City Council and then Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Director at Warrington Borough Council. He then become Managing Director for Marketing Cheshire and Deputy CEO at the Cheshire & Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership. He now leads his own firm, Andy Farrall Limited, providing consultancy advice for developers, investors, government agencies and local communities. Andy is also a trustee of the Chester Bluecoats Charity and serves on the board of Chester BID.

The talk took place at the Grosvenor Museum on Wednesday 15th April.

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