Based In Churton
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churton.bsky.social
Based In Churton
@churton.bsky.social
Londoner living in Churton, exploring the area and blogging about heritage, visits, walks, food and anything else that makes me smile.
A Roman altar, that was shifted in the past from Boughton to Eaton Hall. The gardens at Eaton Hall are open for charity only a few days a year, so it's one of the less visited of Chester's Roman features, now in an open-fronted structure, and flanked by two Roman columns. Details at wp.me/pcZwQK-8Ei
A Roman altar from Boughton, Chester, in the grounds of Eaton Hall
xx Eaton Hall is part of the Duke of Westminster’s estate 4.2miles / 6.7km to the south of Chester.  It was very common for wealthy families to feature ancient Egyptian and Roman objects on their e…
wp.me
February 1, 2026 at 11:31 PM
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That's my weekend reading sorted...a packed edition with five Welsh hillfort excavation reports & a great introductory piece by @drtobydriver.bsky.social, among other treats 😃
Nice cover photo of the Dinas Dinlle Romano-British roundhouse 😍#Cambrians #Wales #hillforts #archaeology #Ancientbluesky🏺
January 31, 2026 at 1:12 PM
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The remains of the tower at the SE corner of the Roman legionary fort at #Chester / Deva, with a section of the mediaeval wall behind it. Built in the late first century, it originally had a ditch in front, filled in long ago. #RomanFortThursday #RomanBritain
📷 my own, from 2024
January 29, 2026 at 8:21 AM
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It was all brilliant! :)
January 30, 2026 at 8:43 PM
The gorgeous Mold Cape seems huge in the mind's eye but is rather smaller in real life, raising questions about who might have fitted into its narrow confines. See it at the Mus of Liverpool til 29/03 with many splendid finds from the northwest in "Treasure: History Unearthed" tinyurl.com/2h79zzvs
January 30, 2026 at 8:52 PM
The magnificent Grade 1 listed Parish Church of St Giles in Wrexham seems stranded out of its time, with only faint hints of the original medieval town, but it has a vibrant voice of its own with fabulous features and makes for a terrific visit. Information and photos on the blog: wp.me/pcZwQK-8hW
January 18, 2026 at 11:25 AM
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Two possible Viking-era lead gaming pieces from Puddington, #Cheshire: LVPL-ED1490, LVPL-CA9F88 (finds.org.uk/database/art... and finds.org.uk/database/art...).
January 18, 2026 at 9:52 AM
Gearing up for the Big Garden Birdwatch on 23rd- 26th Jan, I have put up lots of bird feeders and am enjoying the chaos of small birds darting to and fro across the patio. The Birdwatch has been going since 1979, an invaluable measure of change. More pics and links on my blog at wp.me/pcZwQK-4KG
January 15, 2026 at 2:40 PM
January 15, 2026 at 2:26 PM
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Thousands of slides catalogued by Cheshire Archives staff
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Thousands of slides catalogued for Cheshire's new archive centres
Two new archive centres are set to open later this year in Cheshire - one in Hoole and one in Crewe.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 5, 2026 at 3:48 PM
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We are pleased to say that we have just delivered free copies of our latest journal to Cheshire Libraries HQ for distribution to major branches across the county.
January 13, 2026 at 12:44 PM
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The tiny hillfort of Caer Bach, on a rounded hillock situated near the village of Rowen; in Conwy County, Wales; courtesy of Llywelyn2000. #Cymru #HillfortsWednesday
January 14, 2026 at 12:16 PM
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Sneak peek at PhD student Lydia Barrett’s Prehistory map series for NE Wales (funded by the wonderful @cambriansarch.bsky.social) Objective is to plot all PAS/HER data for the region, to help us better understand the back story to Penycloddiau Hillfort (as inspired by Bill Varley and Lily Chitty).
January 13, 2026 at 7:16 AM
If you are in the Wrexham area before 24th January, the Ty Pawb gallery in Wrexham has the final weeks of its annual exhibition of prints, a light, bright antidote to grey winter clouds and rain. Imaginative and very varied. Well worth a visit. More on my blog at wp.me/pcZwQK-8RR
January 11, 2026 at 5:48 PM
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More on the stunning Iron Age carnyx found in #Norfolk with boar standard and shield bosses

👇👇👇

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Found by PreConstruct Archaeology and featuring in episode 2 of the new series of #DiggingForBritain with @profaliceroberts.bsky.social on BBC2

Wowzers 🤩
January 7, 2026 at 9:31 AM
Snow is always a bit of a novelty, and looks stunning against a blue sky, so today I went for a brisk circular walk starting from Churton's White Horse to Aldford's Grosvenor pub and back, both villages south of Chester, snapping pics as I went. Many more pics and a map on the blog: wp.me/pcZwQK-8Qr
January 5, 2026 at 8:33 PM
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Keith Vaughan was as much a painter of landscapes as he was of the figure, this 1951 painting of a Welsh industrial landscape demonstrates his early work very well. Still under the influence of Graham Sutherland, nethertheless he makes the subject his own.
January 2, 2026 at 8:46 PM
A visit to the Williamson Art Gallery and Museum, Birkenhead, in December was full of surprises. It opened in 1928 and combines permanent and temporary displays, all on one floor, mainly a mixture of 18th-19th/early 20th century work and contemporary arts. More with pics on my blog: wp.me/pcZwQK-8NV
January 3, 2026 at 10:31 PM
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We are delighted to publish our December 2025 newsletter, reviewing the Society's Autumn activities and looking forward to next year.
chesterarchaeolsoc.org.uk/wp-content/u...
December 14, 2025 at 11:39 AM
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Plan of the nunnery by Simon Ward, showing how the site was adapted to form the town house of the Brereton family. The arches shown in the Buck view are highlighted in red.
December 16, 2025 at 2:33 PM
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Engraving by Buck of the surviving arches of the nunnery in 1727.
December 16, 2025 at 2:32 PM
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For Christmas it is worth recalling the 15th-cent Carol of the Nuns of St Mary's, Chester, 'Qui Creavit Coelum' ('He who made Heaven') (archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/ar...) with a modern performance at Chester Cathedral google.com/search?q=son....
December 16, 2025 at 2:30 PM
St Winefride's Well in Holywell is a surprising duplex. The sublime fan-vaulted lower chapel with sculpted ceiling bosses contains the well and is like a tiny corner of a fine cathedral. The upper chapel is more conventional but with very fine features. My visit last week with pics: wp.me/pcZwQK-8H4
December 14, 2025 at 2:23 PM
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If you'd like to learn more about the history and architecture of the church, then please follow this link to our website:
friendsoffriendlesschurches.org.uk/church/st-de...
St Deiniol's, Worthenbury, Wrexham
With its finely-jointed brickwork, sandstone dressings and Classical proportions, St Deiniol's is a picture of stately elegance. The interior is sumptuous arrangement of decorative plasterwork,…
friendsoffriendlesschurches.org.uk
December 8, 2025 at 5:06 PM
A fascinating object history from St Deiniol's Church in Worthenbury. I went to see it with my dad in Jan 2023, with thanks to Catherine Starkey for opening it for us at at time when it was hoping that Friends of Friendless Churches would take it on. Some photos etc on my blog at wp.me/pcZwQK-3pf
December 12, 2025 at 9:24 PM