Pemberton's Parlour, Chester

Pemberton's Parlour is a structure on the northern part of the Chester city walls, and it was formerly known as the Goblin Tower. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.

The structure originated as a circular tower straddling the city walls. During the reign of Queen Anne it was rebuilt as a semicircular tower. It was reconstructed in 1894. It is now described as a gazebo, and is said to be named after John Pemburton, the mayor of Chester, who stood on it to supervise the work taking place on his nearby ropewalk.

The structure is built in red sandstone. On the south side, facing the walkway of the walls, is an arch leading to a semicircular chamber. Above this are three panels, the lateral ones containing the royal arms, and the arms of Chester in relief. Between these is another panel in yellow sandstone with an inscription relating to the repair of the walls in the 18th century. The parapet is crenellated and inscribed with "GOBLIN TOWER: REBUILT 1894".

Image Courtesy of Wikimedia and John S Turner.

Sight description based on Wikipedia.

Want to visit this sight? Check out these Self-Guided Walking Tours in Chester. Alternatively, you can download the mobile app "GPSmyCity: Walks in 1K+ Cities" from Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The app turns your mobile device to a personal tour guide and it works offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.

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Create Your Own Self-Guided Walk to Visit This Sight

Sight Name: Pemberton's Parlour
Sight Location: Chester, England (See walking tours in Chester)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:

Chester's City Walls

Walking Tours in Chester, England

Create Your Own Walk in Chester

Creating your own self-guided walk in Chester is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.

Chester's City Walls

Chester City Walls are the oldest, longest and most complete (missing only just about 100 meters) historic defensive structure in Britain. Walking the full circuit of this ancient fortification provides wondrous views, wherever you choose to go, down into the city, and offers a fantastic insight into Chester's rich history.

First built by the Romans almost 2,000 years ago, the Walls were... view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.3 Km or 1.4 Miles

Chester Introduction Walking Tour

Chester is a walled city in Cheshire. It was originally founded in 79 AD as a Roman fort with the name Deva Victrix. It was garrisoned until the 4th century when it was abandoned by the Romans. It is thought that the area was settled by Anglo-Saxons during medieval times. It was also briefly occupied by the Danes.

Chester was very important during the Industrial Revolution. This is largely due... view more

Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.4 Km or 1.5 Miles

Chester's Black-and-white Architecture Tour

While the origins of Chester date back to Roman Times, much of the city center, and by far the greatest part of it, looks medieval. Indeed, if you visit the city, the first thing you notice is the magnificent black-and-white architecture. Despite their appearance, however, the majority of these buildings are Victorian by the time of construction.

The Black-and-White Revival was an architectural... view more

Tour Duration: 1 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 1.0 Km or 0.6 Miles