Chester Cathedral boasts the most complete medieval monastic complex in the UK and records of a church on the current site date back to the early 10th century. Visitors can admire the medieval wood-carved choir stalls.
Chester Cathedral was originally built by Saxon canons in the name of the lady Saint Werburgh. The second church on the site was built by Hugh "Lupus" (the Wolf), Earl of Chester, in 1092, perhaps as expiation for his worldly excesses. Anselm of Bec, later Archbishop of Canterbury, helped found Hugh's monastic settlement at Chester. A third church was begun in 1250, this time in Norman Gothic style, built over the top of the old church, which they dismantled from the inside.
The church was raised to cathedral status by Henry VIII. At the shrine to St Werburgh you can see the niches where medieval sufferers rested their heads while spending the night in a prayer for healing.
The cathedral also hosts an ongoing concert programme.