Adults

The uniqueness of Chester's Rows lies first in the imaginative adaptation of a common medieval building form to the city's hilly site. However, they would not have seemed so unusual had comparable buildings elsewhere survived better. The talk will look at parallels for the building type, how it was adapted to the landscape, and the historical circumstances that prompted it.

Leprosy and smallpox are two of the world’s oldest and most stigmatising illnesses. Both conditions bring shame from the fear of contagious disease and disfigured bodies and Chester’s history offers an authentic approach to their identification and treatment. From the founding of St Giles’s Leprosy Hospital in the early twelfth century, to the formation of the Smallpox Society of Chester in 1778, find out how the city's inhabitants managed the challenges of these devastating diseases.