Okay Class, pencils at the ready, it's time for a History lesson. I am your teacher for the next 600+ words, so eyes front and pay attention, we're taking you to a famous city with some great history.You may or may not know about a small city just off the North Wales border called Chester. Originally fortified by the Romans, further built on by the Normans and even further by the Victorians, the city has its fair share of history! One of the most memorable of its features, are the black and white buildings along the main shopping streets, known as The Rows.
Chester Rows - the Victorian two storey buildings are a popular sight!
Another notable feature which is synonymous with the city's name is the Eastgate Clock. Found on Eastgate Street outside the Chester Grosvenor Hotel, it appears in many articles about the city.
Eastgate Clock - Another tourist attraction of Chester!
But these notable features are fairly new in comparison to the Roman architecture of the city. The cities walls are the most complete city walls in the UK, it circles the city centre in a 2 mile circuit. Only one section of around 100m is no longer in tact. You'll also find the Roman Gardens, here every summer Chester holds an open air cinema. Just off the gardens, we see the amphitheatre. The amphitheatre was an ancient centre for entertainment, a section has been recovered and can be visited today.
But we're not here to talk about these great feats of engineering. Oh no, we are here for something far more important.
Chester Bathhouse - This is what is left standing of the original Roman bath house
What do you think this is? Anyone want to take a guess? If you said "Bath House" or "public toilets", you'd be correct! The Romans were the pioneers of plumbing, the designers of drainage and we owe a lot of our modern sewage network layouts to their original designs.
Chester is one of the few cities in the UK where you can find Roman bath houses such as these still in tact, another being Hadrian's Wall. We found a great reconstruction video showing how the bath house may have looked back then;
Access to fresh clean water was not heard of in Britain until the Roman's came to town. You'd often find people walking miles to find water from a well They introduces the first aqueduct style "drains" which our modern drains are based around. They circulated water around the city, using the nearby River Dee as a natural source for free flowing water. If a blockage was found, people would use whatever they could find (sticks etc.) to unblock them. With most of the drains being open to the elements, bad smells would be unavoidable if the weather heated up or there were issues such as a blocked drain.
But what about drainage in the 21st Century?
Thankfully technology and times have changed! Nowadays, we have more modern sewer systems. These allow more leeway with things such as blockages and bad smells by being subterranean with manhole coverings. But, with the population growth since the Roman times, issues can still occur due to the amount of waste the drains need to take.
This is where we at Metro Rod Deeside come in! You won't find any sticks being used for blockages in our vans, only the best High Pressure Water Jetting and professional rod equipment. These tools allow us to quickly and efficiently clear blocked drains. Not sure if a drain has a defect or if the blockage has been fully removed? We use specialist CCTV cameras to check inside the pipework for any defects which may have cause the blockage. It's also a great way to ensure our work has been carried out thoroughly.
These are just some of the services we can provide you with here at Metro Rod Deeside. If you want to take a look at our full list of services, you'll find them here!
That's all for today's lesson everyone, class dismissed!
Are you in need of a reliable and efficient drainage solution? Metro Rod Deeside can help you and your businesses or homes with our drainage and plumbing services! Check out our contact details below!
Call us on; 0808 250 9915
Visit our websites; North Wales Area
Email Us; deeside@metrorod.co.uk
Find Us On; Twitter or Facebook or LinkedIn
Or connect with Eleri, our Marketing Manager on LinkedIn too!
Metro Rod Deeside operate 24/7 and calls will always be answered directly by an experienced on call manager who can start diagnosing any drainage problems. Our on call manager will also assign you to an engineer who can be on site within a matter of hours. We operate throughout North Wales, including Anglesey, Chester and Wirral areas. We’re able to deal with problems such as;
- Blocked drains (internal or external)
- Sink, urinal and mainline drain blockages
- CCTV surveys of drainage systems
- Tanker Services
- Graffiti Removal
- Robotic Cutting
- Drain repairs – no dig or excavations
- Preventative maintenance
Talk to your local Metro Rod specialist
We are always happy to arrange a free site assessment and no obligation quotations for any work you might need. Alternatively, you can call our emergency hotline number on 0800 66 88 00
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