The Church of St John the Baptist was the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of this City of Chester from 1075 until the Reformation in 1541 when the College was dissolved and the Bishops Seat (Cathedra) first set up here after the Reformation was transferred to the dissolved Abbey of St Werburgh, which was in better condition and had not suffered quite the same rigorous attention of the King’s Commissioners.
It lies outside Chester City Walls, on a cliff above the north bank of the River Dee.
The church is built in sandstone. At the west end is the ruined first stage of the northwest tower. The plan of the body of the church consists of a four-bay nave with a clerestory, north and south aisles and a north porch, a crossing with north and south transepts each of one bay, a five-bay chancel with aisles, and chapels at the north and south. The north chapel lies beneath the 1886 belfry tower and is now used as a vestry; the south chapel is the Lady Chapel. To the south of the Lady Chapel is a room known as the Chapter House.
Address
The Parish Church of St John The Baptist Chester, Vicar’s Lane/Little St John Street, Chester, CH1 1SN
