History of The Bluecoat building

From Religious Priory to Civil War Demolition

The Bluecoat dates back to 1190 when The Hospital of St John the Baptist was founded on the site. Originally it was an ecclesiastical priory housing those living under religious rule. In 1241 permission was granted for a chapel to be built alongside it. The use of the building evolved and in the middle of the 14th Century, the hospital kept thirteen beds readily available for the city’s poor.

In the early 1600s, timber framed almshouses were built behind The Bluecoat to home six poor widows and their children.

The Bluecoat and the almshouses were completely demolished in 1644 during The Siege of Chester to prevent it from providing cover for the Parliamentary forces that were attacking the city as part of the wider First English Civil War. Nothing remains of these original buildings.

Foundation of The Bluecoat Hospital School: A Pioneer in Charity Education

In 1717, work began on The Bluecoat Hospital School, one of the first charity schools outside of London. The school, owned by The Chester Corporation, would house up to forty boarding boys at any one time who dressed in a distinctive blue uniform. Originally ‘L’ shaped, the main wing contained a school room and dormitories and the South Wing a chapel.

In 1733, The Bluecoat footprint became what we have today when a North Wing was added to the building for extra school capacity. The building’s use continued to expand and it became home to The Chester Infirmary between 1755 to 1761, with patients treated on the first floor.

Evolution of The Bluecoat: From Trusteeship to Education and Historical Landmarks

In 1762, the ownership of the land on which the school stood transferred to The Bluecoat Trustees whilst The St John’s Hospital Trust kept the ownership of the chapel and the land at the back where almshouses stood.

In 1787, the number of boarders was reduced from forty to twenty-five to make space at The Bluecoat for The Green Cap School, a day school for sixty boys, with both giving preference to orphans and sons of widows.

Transformation and Legacy: The Bluecoat’s Architectural Enhancements and Educational Role

In 1793, The Bridge of Sighs was built on the South side of the building, connecting The Northgate Gaol to The Bluecoat across the newly built canal. The condemned prisoners needing their last rites read were walked over the escapeless bridge to receive it in The Bluecoat chapel.

In 1818, The Bluecoat saw the first girls attend, with the opening of The Consolidated School for Girls.

In 1854, the main body of The Bluecoat was widened when a new frontage was built. This included the addition of The Bluecoat Boy statue sculpted by Edward Richardson and modelled on pupil John Coppack, the son of a widowed shoemaker. A year later, the clock on the bell tower was added.

The building continued to house schools until 1949 when The Bluecoat School shut, following The Green Cap School’s earlier closure in 1901.

Honouring Heroes: The Galeka Bell and The Bluecoat’s WWI Commemoration

In 1919, the Galeka Bell was mounted on top of The Bluecoat. The bell had come from the SS Galeka, built in 1889 as a cargo ship, it was recommissioned for the World War One war effort as a hospital ship but hit a mine in 1916 and sunk. Sir Owen Phillips, the chairman of the ship’s company and MP for Chester, insisted the bell be rescued and mounted atop of The Bluecoat to commemorate pupils of the school who had fought in the war.

Since 1949, The Bluecoat has had various uses, including an adult education centre, youth club and county council offices. In 1996, it became home to The University of Chester’s history department.

After several years of lying empty, The Chester Municipal Charites, as The Chester Bluecoat Charity was then known, opened the newly renovated building in 2015 as a centre for charities and voluntary organisations. You can read more about this here.