Monument record 11310 - Glovers Stone (Road)

Glover's stone road was a former roadway near the castle, named after the area known as Gloverstone (1). The area of Gloverstone was a type of politically distinct area that was under the jurisdiction of neither the City or the County. In Norman times the area was a large piece of ground extending on the north to White Friars, on the west to the walls, and on the east to part of Lower Bridge St. The Norman earls held it, but after they ceased to rule and the Palatinate was attached to the crown, the area gradually decreased.

Traders other than freemen of the were allowed to trade in booths or tents. Houses were erected in the hamlet in the late-sixteenth century. In 1625 houses were said to be standing on the site of the Shire Hall but these were taken down in 1581. The limit of this territory was reputed to have been marked by an upstanding stone, the Gloverstone (CHER 10892) (1). The county authorities bought Gloverstone in 1790.

The boundaries of Gloverstone were eliminated by the early nineteenth century alterations at the castle (3). The glovers and skinners were important craftsmen in medieval Chester, and this may be the reason for the curious place-name Gloverstone.

<1> Dodgson J McN, 1970-2, 1981, The Place-Names of Cheshire, vol.V(i) (Book). SCH3228.

<2> Mapping Medieval Chester Project, 2011, Digital Archive of Mapping Medieval Chester website (Digital Archive). SCH6761.

<3> Haswell, George. W, 1907, Notes on Chester Street-names past and present (Northern Section) (Article in Journal). SCH5548.

<4> Brown, W, 1907, Notes on Chester Street-names past and present (Article in Journal). SCH5549.

<5> de Lavaux, A, 1745, Plan of the City and Castle of Chester (Maps and Plans). SCH5255.