A painted reconstruction of the Roman fortress of Deva at dawn: red sandstone walls and tiled barracks on a ridge above the curving River Dee, with ships at the quay and the amphitheatre outside the walls.

Roman Chester: a visitor’s guide to Deva Victrix

Two thousand years ago the Twentieth Legion held a fortress on the River Dee. Its walls, its arena and a goddess carved in a quarry are still here in Chester, Cheshire, if you know where to look.

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Was Chester a Roman city?

Yes. Chester, in Cheshire, began as Deva, a Roman legionary fortress built in the mid-70s AD on a sandstone ridge above the River Dee. From the late 80s it was the base of the Twentieth Legion, Valeria Victrix, for around three centuries.

Deva was the largest fortress of its day in Britain, and its outline still shapes the city: the four main streets meet at the Cross, near the heart of the Roman plan, and the north and east walls follow the Roman line. The Roman name, the full story and a map of the fortress are all in this guide.

What you can see today

IThe Roman amphitheatreFree, daylight hours. Allow 30 to 45 minutes.
IIThe Roman north wall and the walls walkFree. The full two-mile circuit takes about an hour.
IIIThe Roman GardensFree. Columns, carved stone and a rebuilt hypocaust.
IVThe Grosvenor MuseumFree, suggested donation. Roman tombstones from the walls.
VMinerva's ShrineFree. A Roman goddess in a quarry face across the Dee.
VIThe Deva Roman ExperiencePaid. A rebuilt Roman street, good for children.

A fortress on the Dee

Painted reconstruction of a Roman merchant ship sailing up the misty Dee towards the fortress.

Why here

The Romans chose a low sandstone ridge where the Dee could be crossed and where ships could come up from the sea to a natural harbour. From here an army could watch north Wales and the roads to the north of England.

Painted reconstruction of legionaries building the fortress wall in red sandstone with a treadwheel crane.

Built in the mid-70s AD

The Second Legion, Adiutrix, began the fortress in the mid-70s AD. Lead water pipes stamped with the name of the emperor Vespasian help to date the first buildings.

The first defences were earth and timber. From around AD 100 the Twentieth Legion began rebuilding them in red sandstone, a job that took generations.

Painted reconstruction of the colonnaded courtyard of the legion's headquarters, with the eagle standard in its shrine.

Bigger than it needed to be

At around 25 hectares, Deva was the largest fortress built in Britain in the 70s, and one building inside it, the oval Elliptical Building, has no known parallel in the Roman empire. Some historians think Chester was meant to become a governor’s headquarters; others think the extra room was simply for a larger garrison. Nobody knows for sure.

Painted reconstruction of a column of legionaries marching out of the fortress gate at sunrise behind their standard.

Three centuries of the Twentieth

The Twentieth Legion, Valeria Victrix, arrived from Scotland in about AD 88, when the Second Adiutrix was sent to the Danube. Detachments went north to help build Hadrian’s Wall in the 120s, and the army had gone by about 410. To the Anglo-Saxons, Chester was the city of the legions.

Painted portrait of a weathered legionary of the Twentieth on the fortress wall in the rain.

The men on the walls

A legion of the period had around 5,000 heavily armed citizen soldiers. Their tombstones, built into the north wall centuries later and found again in the 1880s, are in the Grosvenor Museum today.

Meet the Twentieth Legion

A legionary’s kit, around AD 100

Ink sketch of a Roman legionary in segmented armour with shield and javelin. — Legionary

Ink sketch of a Roman legionary's iron helmet with cheek guards. — Helmet

Ink sketch of a Roman short sword beside its scabbard. — Gladius, the short sword

Ink sketch of a curved rectangular Roman shield with a bronze boss. — Scutum, the shield

Painted reconstruction of the packed stone amphitheatre with two gladiators in the arena.

Britain’s largest known Roman amphitheatre

Built just outside the fortress in the late 1st century, it may have held between 7,000 and 12,000 people. Soldiers trained here as well as watching the shows.

The excavated half of Chester Roman Amphitheatre today, with its stone walls and sand arena. — Chester Roman Amphitheatre. Left: artist’s reconstruction. Right: photo by Jeff Buck, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Reconstruction of the amphitheatre full of spectators. — Chester Roman Amphitheatre. Left: artist’s reconstruction. Right: photo by Jeff Buck, CC BY-SA 2.0.

About two-fifths of the oval is uncovered today; the rest lies under the buildings beside it. A small shrine to Nemesis, goddess of fate, opened off the arena itself, and it was rebuilt when the amphitheatre came back into use around AD 275.

It is free to walk round, every day in daylight, five minutes from the Eastgate clock.

Visiting the amphitheatre

Find the fortress under the city

The Roman fortress over today’s streets, with everything you can still see. Choose a marker to find out what is there.

Street map of central Chester showing the city walls, the River Dee and the canal.

Eastgate clockNorthgateKing Charles' TowerThe CrossTown HallCathedralWatergateWater TowerOld Dee BridgeRailway station

Roman, still visible · free

Roman amphitheatre

Built just outside the fortress's south-east corner in the late 1st century. About two-fifths of the oval is uncovered; the rest lies under the buildings and Dee House beside it. Free and open daily in daylight.

Read the guide to Roman amphitheatre

Roman, still visible
Roman finds on show
Under today's streets
Rebuilt from Roman stones
Roman fortress (approximate line)
Today’s city walls

Open the full map

Painted reconstruction of a sentry on the fortress wall at night beside a burning torch, the barracks below.

Are Chester’s walls Roman?

Partly. The north and east walls follow the line the Romans laid out, and near Northgate the Roman wall still stands close to its full height.

Between Northgate and King Charles’ Tower, two stretches of the Roman wall survive with up to 13 courses of Roman stone and a moulded cornice along the top. The best view is from the canal towpath below.

The rest of the two-mile circuit, the most complete in Britain, was extended by the Saxons and the Normans and repaired ever since.

What is Roman on the walls · Walking the full circuit

The Roman north wall of Chester today, its lower courses rising above the canal cutting. — The north wall above the canal. Left: artist’s reconstruction. Right: photo by Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Reconstruction of legionaries building the stone wall. — The north wall above the canal. Left: artist’s reconstruction. Right: photo by Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Life outside the gates

A town grew up around the fortress: shops along the roads, workshops, taverns and the houses of soldiers’ families and veterans who settled here.

Painted reconstruction of a busy market street outside the fortress gate. — The market streetShops lined the roads out of the fortress for about 300 metres, selling to soldiers and their families.

Painted reconstruction of ships unloading amphorae at the stone quay below the fortress wall. — The waterfrontThe Dee ran much closer to the walls. A massive Roman wall by the racecourse is traditionally read as a quay.

Painted reconstruction of the steamy hot room of the fortress baths. — The bathsOne estimate puts the fortress baths' water use at 850,000 litres a day, heated by three furnaces.

Painted reconstruction of a smith hammering glowing iron in the fortress workshop. — The workshopsA legion made and mended its own kit: armour, tools and weapons.

Painted reconstruction of soldiers and locals playing dice in a lamplit tavern. — Off dutyDice and board games were favourite pastimes across the Roman army.

Painted reconstruction of the fortress under snow, smoke rising from the roofs. — Winter on the DeeA long way from Italy: wool cloaks, socks and roaring furnaces.

Three ways to spend a Roman day

Two hours

The amphitheatre, the Roman Gardens next door, then up onto the walls at Newgate and round to the Roman stretch by Northgate.

Half a day

Add the Roman tombstones in the Grosvenor Museum and a walk over the Old Dee Bridge to Minerva's Shrine in Edgar's Field.

A full day

Add the Deva Roman Experience, the full two-mile walls circuit and, if it's running, a tour with a costumed Roman soldier.

The free self-guided walk Roman tours compared

Questions people ask

Was Chester a Roman city?

Yes. Chester began as Deva, a Roman legionary fortress founded in the mid-70s AD above the River Dee. The Twentieth Legion was based there for around three centuries, and the fortress plan still shapes the city centre.

What was Chester called in Roman times?

Deva, after the River Dee. The legionary fortress is often called Deva Victrix, the second word taken from the title of the Twentieth Legion, Valeria Victrix. The name Chester comes from the Latin castra, a fort.

Is the Roman amphitheatre in Chester free?

Yes. The amphitheatre on Little St John Street (CH1 1RE) is free to visit and open every day in daylight hours.

Are Chester's walls Roman?

Partly. The north and east walls follow the line of the Roman fortress, and stretches of Roman wall survive near Northgate. Most of the two-mile circuit you walk today is Saxon, medieval and later work.

How long do you need to see Roman Chester?

Two hours covers the amphitheatre, the Roman Gardens and the Roman stretch of the walls. A full day adds the Grosvenor Museum, Minerva's Shrine and the Deva Roman Experience.

Painted reconstruction of the River Dee at sunset, the fortress walls glowing beyond the water.

The Dee still runs below the walls.

Walk the Roman city