Old Dee Bridge, Chester – Leonard Squirrel

Leonard Squirrel produced an evocative image for this vintage railway poster for the London, Midland and Scottish Railway company in 1938. His viewpoint from the Handbridge bank of the River Dee looks back towards the city, allowing him to include several of Chester’s most notable landmarks.

Dominating the scene is the magnificent sandstone bridge crossing the river. This is the Old Dee Bridge, the oldest bridge in Chester which comprises seven unequal arches. It was built around 1387.

Chester Castle suffered serious damage in the Civil War  and had been to run into a state of advanced decay by the eighteenth century. On the left of the poster stands much of Thomas Harrisson’s rebuild of 1785-1822 rebuild Thomas Harrison’s rebuild of 1785-1822, although the three-story, red sandstone tower next to it is Agricla’s Tower, a surviving part of the original medieval castle of the twelfth century, now known as Agricola’s Tower, the first stone gateway to Chester Castle.

At the far end of the bridge positioned at the bottom of Lower Bridge Street is Bridgegate and forms part of the city walls. Whilst the Romans built a gate on this site, to protect the city from the Welsh, the Bridgegate we see today was built in 1871.

The tallest building, in the centre of the poster, is the unmistakable outline of Chester Cathedral, which was founded as a Benedictine Abbey in 1092 but was subsequently rebuilt around 1250 taking 275 years to build.

Our posters are carefully and professionally created from vintage originals. Whilst great care is taken in the production of these posters, we also try to maintain a vintage feel, so there may be small imperfections, fold marks, scuffs, tears or marks that were part of the original poster master. If these do appear they should be visible on the larger views of the item on this listing. The originals of many of the posters we offer can cost many thousands of pounds, so whilst these posters look great, especially framed and mounted on a wall, they are intended as a fun, affordable reproductions and not intended fine art prints.

The 50x70cm version has been specially produced to be used in conjunction with Ikea’s 50x70cm Ribba picture frame which currently retails for around £12. So you can bag a bargain of print and frame for a great price.