Monument record 9053 - Church of St Bridget the Virgin, Saxon Period

It is thought that the former Church of St Bridget the Virgin may have been a pre-conquest church, along with St Olave’s (CHER 9032) because of their Hiberno-Norse dedications (4). Built on the outer west side of the southern entrance to the former Roman fortress, opposite St Michael's in the angle between White Friars and Bridge Street) (1). The Church might have been dedicated at any time during the tenth or eleventh centuries and is generally thought to have probably been of Danish foundation. At this time, the northern limit of the parish of St Bridget was Commonhall St. to the north of the church, the eastern limit Bridge St., the western limit along the City Wall, while in the south it stretched down to the river and included large detached blocks of fields on the south bank (2). The former parish of St Bridget in Chester (established in 1224 (2)) included parts of the parishes of St Mary's and St Olave's, and it is assumed that the construction of the church pre-dated those foundations (3). The church functioned throughout the medieval and post-medieval periods until it was destroyed between 1932 – 1833 in order to clear the route in advance of the construction of Grosvenor St. (2).

<1> Richards R, 1947, Old Cheshire Churches, Richards R 1972 /117 (Book). SCH2309.

<2> Alldridge N.J, 1981, Aspects of the topography of early medieval Chester, Alldridge N J 1981 64/5-31 (Article in Journal). SCH5931.

<3> Harris, B.E. (ed), 1987, Victoria County History - A History of the County of Chester: Volume I, 1/258 Thacker A 1987 (Book). SCH3556.

<4> Mason, D. J. P., 2007, Chester AD 400-1066: From Roman Fortress to English Town (Book). SCH6530.