The Change of Handbridge After 1800

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The Change of Handbridge After 1800

Handbridge is a suburb of Chester. Every day Handbridge changes. I

have already been on a site visit around Handbridge, and have looked

at several aspects that I will be evaluating in this course work

including housing, the industrial side of Handbridge and local shops.

From 1800 to 2003 several major differences are noticeable including

the extinction of the river Dee mills. I know there used to be mills

all along the river by looking at names of streets for example "Mill

Lane" and what fish were in the river e.g. "Salmon Leap". Also there

are still several remains of unused mills that today are beyond

repair. As we walked down by the river the remains of an old water

wheel (in the millrace) can still be seen. The snuff mills were burnt

down in the early 1950's and were rebuilt to be 'state of the art'

apartments. They were so sort after that celebrities bought homes

here, including Ian Rush. Today people now see the 'once' flash

apartments, to be an eyesore. This shows the differences in taste from

then to now.

During the 1800's many about thirteen local houses lined Handbridge

this could be because of the big demand of drink from workers who were

once employed by the millers. Now there is only five remaining

including 'The Ship' and 'Grosvenor Arms'. This could be due to the

loss of the Handbridge mills and also be because of the increase of

bars in Chester City Centre, a haven for young people (just up the

road).

The first hydroelectric power station in Europe was built in Chester

in the 20th century (1930). It was built on the site of the old

flourmills along the River Dee, the most obvious sign of continuity in

Handbridge is the River Dee itself we know this because from then to

now it has always powered what ever has been put along side it e.g.

the mills.

During our visit around Handbridge I noticed a decline in small and

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