Chester Amphitheatre is a Roman amphitheatre in Chester, Cheshire. The site is managed by English Heritage; it is designated as a Grade I listed building, and a scheduled monument.
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The Roman Amphitheatre and Roman Gardens of Chester are fantastic examples of the influences of Rome on this ancient walled city which is rightfully famous for its Roman roots.
It was found during excavations in 1999 to be the largest such Roman site to have been discovered in Britain and dates from the 1st century when the Roman fort of Deva Victrix was established. Under the management, English Heritage, the site is listed as a Grade I listing.
This roman training facility, as well as cockfights, bull-baiting, combat sports such as wrestling and boxing, and gladiator games, was in constant use during the Roman occupation until it was abandoned around 350 AD.
My mind ran riot thinking about the Roman history involved with this site. I have been to Rome and loved the historic sites there and this Roman site in Chester is just so good and well maintained.
The site is free and open to the public. Check out the board for more information. Perfect for combining with a walk along the walls.
Standing in the middle and using your imagination allows you to experience a very atmospheric place. It takes a lot of imagination to make sense of the ruins that remain.
If you're planning to travel to Chester, it's certainly worth checking out.
Chester is a place steeped in history, so it's well worth seeing.
The area is free to wander around, but as far as I can see, there isn't...
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People associate Chester with the Romans I feel – the city certainly makes much of it’s links. The Roman Empire is certainly very interesting, although Britain really was a bit of a backwater in the wider sense of the Roman Empire.
The Romans arrived in the early first century and built a large fort here – this small amphitheatre was just outside.
The ruins aren’t particularly intact, so this is no Colosseum, but you can get some sense of scale from what is left. A few information boards.
You can walk down on to what would have been the arena floor and there is a tethering stone there, for the tethering of beasts no doubt.
I would suggest allow no more than 20 minutes to visit the amphitheatre – it won’t take longer than that - there is a nice park nearby, and it is very close to the...
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Hidden gem of a historical find. We came to Chester to see the Tudor style buildings and found this quite by accident. Apparently, at one point the Romans wanted Chester to be the capitol of Britannia, rather than Londinium. However, those pesky Scots (my ancestors) to the north were a quarrelsome bunch that took issue with being conquered, so the Romans decided to alter their plans. But not before they had constructed this huge coliseum. They do like their spectacles after all. Luckily for us, after the Romans abandoned the area, the arena was filled in by erosion and trash, which actually managed to preserve much of the structure, up until 1929. Then it was rediscovered and preserved for future...
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