Welcome to the Roman Gardens

Welcome to the Roman Gardens. . The gardens were first laid out in 1949 to display the many Roman building fragments that had been discovered in Chester during the previous century. None of the fragments originate from this site Many of them come from the site of the fortress baths, on the east side of Bridge Street; others were found embedded in the northern stretch of the City Walls., In 2000 the gardens were extended to provide a route to the river., Architecture , The easy availability of free-cutting sandstone at Chester meant that the Romans could indulge in traditional ornamentation, derived from Greek architecture., Many of the stones in front of you were among those found in the City Walls during repairs came out in 1887. They had been taken from a variety of to repair the fortress walls in late Roman or Anglo Saxon times., The cornice and achieve blocks that are displayed here came from the entablature that adorned the tops of walls and spanned spaces between columns. The bracketed cornices were associated with Corinthian columns (terminating in capitals decorated with acanthus leaves). They may have been plundered from a monumental tomb in the form of a house of temple., The use of classical architectural decoration came into fashion again in western Europe during the Renaissance and survived until the middle of the 20th century. You can find examples of it on the many Georgian brick buildings in Chester., "Beauty will be assured when the appearance of the work is pleasing and in good taste, and when its members are in due proportion according to correct principles of ratio." , -- Vitruvius On Architecture III, iii, 2 (1st century BC)