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The records behind the questions

How we check the facts

Older only means something when the rule is clear. A site founded in 1092 can hold fabric from the 1090s and a tower from the 1500s. So every question names its rule, and two places are only compared on the same rule.

Where history is honest about uncertainty, so are we. Some dates are decades or ranges, like the city walls begun in the AD 70s to 80s. A question is only asked when the two dates cannot overlap.

Walking distances are routed on foot from Enjoy the Pause at Steele Street, never measured in a straight line. Routes were calculated with OSRM, an open-source routing engine, over map data from the OpenStreetMap project, and checked on 11 July 2026. Walking routes use OpenStreetMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Near-ties inside 150 metres are never asked.

Dates and distances were checked in July 2026. The question set is a dated snapshot, refreshed deliberately rather than left to drift.

Every place in the games, with the official records its dates come from. Places listed without a record appear only in the walking questions, which follow the routed method above.

Photography credits

Photography credits

14 places appear in our own photographs. The rest are by the generous photographers of Wikimedia Commons, used under their Creative Commons licences and resized only.

  • Bear and Billet · photo by Paula Revill-Jones · our own photograph · All rights reserved. Owned by PAUSEUK LIMITED; no third-party licence applies.
  • The Blue Bell (Nos. 63 & 65 Northgate Street) · photo by Tilman2007 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
  • Bluecoat School (and former chapel of St John the Baptist) · photo by Jeff Buck · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
  • Bridgegate · photo by Jeff Buck · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
  • Chester Castle and the Agricola Tower · photo by Jeff Buck · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
  • Chester Market · photo by Stephen McKay · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
  • Chester Roman Gardens · photo by Carole Raddato from FRANKFURT, Germany · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
  • Chester Town Hall · photo by Worm That Turned · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
  • Chester Weir and the Dee Mills site · photo by Rept0n1x · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
  • Falcon Inn · photo by Paula Revill-Jones · our own photograph · All rights reserved. Owned by PAUSEUK LIMITED; no third-party licence applies.
  • Grosvenor Shopping Centre · photo by Rept0n1x · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
  • Kaleyard Gate · photo by Jeff Buck · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
  • Minerva's Shrine, Edgar's Field · photo by Paula Revill-Jones · our own photograph · All rights reserved. Owned by PAUSEUK LIMITED; no third-party licence applies.
  • Northgate · photo by Michael Dibb · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
  • Oddfellows Hall (Lower Bridge Street) · photo by Tilman2007 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
  • Old Dee Bridge · photo by Paula Revill-Jones · our own photograph · All rights reserved. Owned by PAUSEUK LIMITED; no third-party licence applies.
  • The Old King's Head (Lower Bridge Street) · photo by Paula Revill-Jones · our own photograph · All rights reserved. Owned by PAUSEUK LIMITED; no third-party licence applies.
  • Stanley Palace · photo by Tilman2007 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
  • The Hermitage (The Groves) · photo by Jeff Buck · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
  • The Old Palace (The Groves) · photo by Dave.Dunford · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
  • Three Old Arches (48 Bridge Street) · photo by Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net). · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
  • Water Tower and Bonewaldesthorne's Tower · photo by Jeff Buck · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source

Keep exploring

Chester Cathedral seen from the gardens in autumn colourExplore Chester on the interactive map Follow real routed walks from the front doorStone archway and steps on Chester's Roman city wallsWalk through historic Chester A photo-true miniature journey from the front doorBlue armchairs and coffee table in the bright loungeSee the home inside the walls The quiet base all of this surrounds