Monument record 10328 - Linen Hall

The ‘New Linen Hall’ was opened in 1778, built on land purchased from the Stanley family, between Watergate St. and what was then Breward St, which would soon be re-named Linenhall St. (1, 2, 3, 4). It comprised a rectangular courtyard around which were arranged 36 double shops to the east and west and 23 single shops to the north and south, all built in brick (3). All the shops were let in 1778, largely to Irish traders, but thereafter the number of tenants rapidly declined, and by the 1830s the Irish linen trade in Chester had declined (3).

The New Linen Hall survived as a cheese market until its closure in 1876, and it was ultimately replaced by the stabling for the Chester races (3). Remains of the Linen Hall were recorded during excavations in 2001 (ECH3896), in the form of brick and stone foundations, culverts and surfaces.

<1> CBA Northwest Project Summary Sheet, Linenhall Stables (Unpublished Report). SCH4564.

<2> Gifford and Partners, 2002, Report on an Archaeological Evaluation at Linenhall Stables, Stanley Street, Chester., R2408 (Client Report). SCH4237.

<3> Lewis C.P & Thacker A.T. (eds), 2005, Victoria County History - A History of the County of Chester: Volume Vii, The City of Chester - The City of Chester, Culture, Buildings, Institutions (Book). SCH6522.

<4> Gifford and Partners, 2009, Linenhall Stables Building Recording Chester, R3059 (Client Report). SCH5426.