Municipal, Medical and Military Museums in Chester

In Brief.

Well known for its historic walls and cathedral, Chester also hosts several museums for rainy days. Located close together in the compact city centre, the Grosvenor Museum is a traditional museum that includes the story of Roman Chester, Sick to Death is a modern museum on disease and healthcare for those who are not hypochondriacs, and the Cheshire Military Museum provides extensive coverage of the long history of Cheshire regiments.

Reconstructed WWW1 trench in Cheshire Military Museum

What's Here?

The Grosvenor Museum is a municipal museum in a custom-built Victorian building named after the nobleman who contributed to the establishment of the museum. Much of the ground floor focuses on Roman Chester, including a collection of tombstones that were unearthed during excavations of the city walls; these are complemented by artefacts that support the description of life in a Roman garrison town. Other exhibition spaces are more focused on arts and crafts, including two art galleries with changing exhibitions and a silver collection. In addition, next door to the museum building is a townhouse where different floors present the lifestyles, decor and furniture of a wealthy family through time.

Roman tombstones in the Grosvenor Museum.

Sick to Death is a more recent historical exhibition in a former church building.  Marketed as the gory history of medicine, there is indeed a fair amount of off-putting stuff, while at the same time providing a decent amount of information.  This includes the history of the underlying science, where even the discovery of the role of bacteria in disease is as recent as the late 19th century, and various more directly medical topics such as anatomy, surgery and the impact of sanitation on health.

An exhibit on the plague in Sick to Death.

The Cheshire Military Museum, hosted in Chester Castle, reviews the extensive history of regiments in which soldiers from Cheshire have fought since the 17th Century.  This is a substantial museum, with timelines describing participation in many wars and overseas deployments, illustrated with medals, individual stories, uniforms, kit and weapons.  This museum plays a similar role to the Fusilier Museum for Lancashire.

There is also a blog in this series on Chester Zoo.

Practicalities.

Distance from Manchester Town Hall: 45 miles

Drive Time: 60 minutes

Price: Grosvenor Museum: free (donations requested); Sick to Death: $; Military Museum: $

Parking: There are many carparks; I parked at the race course which has a reasonable day rate and is just outside the city walls.

Food and Drink: There are many eateries in Chester. I had a better than average tea and cake in the food court at Chester Market, and for lunch went to the grand rectory at the cathedral for a slightly strange quiche.

Retail Therapy: There is also no shortage of shopping opportunities, with eclectic shops lining the sides of the four main streets in the centre, including at two levels in The Rows.

Child Friendly: Perhaps the town itself is primarily targeting an older demographic.  Sick to Death has echoes of horrible histories for younger people.

Toilets: Inside most of the sites, including the museums and the market.

Do it justice in: Grosvenor Museum: 1 hour; Sick to Death: 1 hour; Chester Military Museum: 90 minutes.

Inside-Outside: 100:0

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