The Commercial News Rooms...and Coffee Rooms

Commercial News Rooms...
and Coffee Rooms

When you walk down Northgate Street, it's nice to imagine, rather than experience, what goes on at the Commercial News Rooms. The title gives it away.

The Commercial Coffee Room and News Room, was designed by the Chester architect Thomas Harrison and built in 1808. What was it for?
The men behind it decided that Chester, Liverpool and Manchester deserved a place where gentlemen could read the newspapers and sample coffee in the comfort of a club.
Up the walkway, you'll find the Commercial Inn, built to Harrison's designs in the centre of a courtyard.

Just imagine it, on the cusp of the eighteenth century, a real coffee and news room. The architecture is quite different too; the building has an elegant two-storey, three-bay facade of sandstone ashlar.
Look up at the news room and you'll see it's supported with ionic half columns, which carry a pediment, providing light to the former news room. 
Now, instead of being managed by major merchants of the 19th century, in 2011 it's known as The City Club, and it's private.

Markman Ellis gives a good account of the Coffee House Culture in a collection under his editorship:
"Coffee-houses provided a forum for exchanging views and nurturing public opinion across the social spectrum...The distinct properties of of the coffee-house were recognised in the period by natural philosophers, antiquarians and historians...The coffee-room encouraged scientific culture and became a precursor of the laboratory: science became a public matter."


Editor: Markman Ellis

Eighteenth Century Coffee House Culture
4 Volume Set: 1840pp: 2006

Other information

John Champness 2005 Thomas Harrison Georgian Architect of Chester and Lancaster 1744 - 1829
(Occasional Papers Centre or North-West Regional Studies at the University of Lancaster)

On the street...

Spotted on Bridge Street, amazing 'fiddler' Ed...

Well-known among Chester shoppers, Ed always draws a crowd with his electronic violin music. (Link to follow...)

On the street...

Interesting people on the street this weekend...

Dr Ron Iphofen and his wife Carol, pictured outside Chester's brilliant Cheese Shop on Northgate Street. Ron edits a journal; 'Quality in Ageing and Older Adults', set up while he was Director of Post-graduate studies at Bangor University.

Carol trained as an Artist but now works as a researcher alongside her husband. Spotted as a 'Morgan' and French Boutique shopper, she always looks supremely stylish!

Why you should walk to the end of Watergate Row!

There is a certain point along Watergate Row; it's around mid-way, when you hesitate and ask yourself if there might be 'anything else' along here, and promptly tell yourself, actually, probably not.

But you would be wrong! 

At the very end of this row, sits Aliz Vintage, which you should take a peep at right this very minute...Chanel, Prada, Jean Muir, all there for you to try.

No theatre, no cinema, no culture?

London city of culture, Manchester city of culture, Chester - well, never mind.

Perhaps it was the Industrial Revolution's fault; Manchester was upended by it, giving rise to the European city with the charm and fire of life on the continent. Chester was untouched by it, a genteel place, the fishin' and shootin'and racin' come first.

And of course there is the city's size. With 120,000 souls it is tiny compared to Manchester. In fact you see all of it by foot, in a day!

In Chester there appears to be a confusion between culture and history. Unfortunately historic buildings have their own culture, and culture with a capital 'C' thrives anyway. There is nothing like an old building to send you into the past, whereas 'Culture' thrives in the present.

Of course, Cheshire West and Chester Council are hot on the case; apparently they are to make Chester home to a replica of the sixteenth cenury Rose Theatre. A press release says that the "British Shakespeare Company is looking for a Northern home for the theatre and we can think of no better destination than Chester."

We can hardly wait!

Tucked away...

Tucked away down a little side street off Watergate Street lives Wild, a most beautiful little florists shop.

It smells deliciously fresh and green, and stocks unusual branches and flowers, fresh in each morning. In autumn, you can find branches of Blackberries; currently there are tins and baskets of hyacinths...the best flower shop in all of Chester and quite as good as Manchester or London.

Mmmm...coffee

The wonder of coffee...part II

When work comes grinding to a halt, there’s time to fill. What can we do with the time? Cafe’s are a good start. Compare the cappuccino, the latte’s, the Americanos, a sit a while and watch. It is really relaxing, especially when there two shots in the cappuccino. It brings to mind Yeats poem when I have the first sip: The unpurged images of day recede...the coffee goes down - it is time to watch people.

Mmmm...coffee

Chester is brimming with cafes and restaurants...there are almost too many to list, although we probably will at some point!


Meanwhile, here are those that we consider to be particularly good.


There are five 'special' cafes in central Chester; Carluccio's, Caffe Nero and Olio & Farina on Bridge Street, Joseph Benjamin on Northgate Street and Watergate's Deli which is on Watergate Row. They are all good in their own way; Carluccio's has a wonderful buzzy atmosphere and is almost always busy; Joseph Benjamin is a smaller,friendly independent cafe/restaurant that has amazing Carrot cake, Olio's is part of a franchise but Belinda who runs it makes it a bit special; they do a great soup, Watergate's is also a smaller independent place (without a loo unless you ask) and Caffe Nero is pretty much as you would expect but has a very good atmosphere nevertheless.

Carluccio's Saturday

Joseph Benjamin

Day one...The view from The Cross



Watergate Row 



Any Chester Visitors Guide you care to glance through will take you along the city walls, down to the River and up to the Cathedral, all of which will no doubt give you a very pleasant day out.

What our new blog aims to do is show you the bits of Chester that the guides don't always mention; the odd little passageways that are worth taking a peep at; the cafes that have the most delicious coffee and cake along with a brilliant atmosphere; the pubs that don't smell horrible and have dirty carpets and the newest shops and restaurants that are worth checking out for yourself!

We're not planning to say a great deal, rather we will just show you what there is; point to some of the interesting events that happen, and occasionally,  mention some of the characters who live here.

This is the beginning of something good!!!