county · British Isles
County Palatine of Chester
Origins
After crushing northern and Mercian resistance, William the Conqueror gave the earldom of Chester to Gerbod the Fleming and then, in 1071, to Hugh d'Avranches. Its purpose was to guard the northern Welsh border and push into Gwynedd.
Rule and society
The earls held nearly all of Cheshire, with their own courts, sheriff and barons, and royal writs did not normally run there, a status later called palatine. Hugh and his cousin Robert of Rhuddlan advanced along the north Welsh coast. Ranulf de Gernon and Ranulf de Blondeville were major figures in the wars of Stephen and John; Ranulf III built Beeston Castle.
Decline and legacy
When John the Scot, the last earl of the line, died childless in 1237, Henry III took the earldom into royal hands. From 1301 it was given to the heir to the throne, and Cheshire kept palatine institutions until 1830.
Lineage
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). County Palatine of Chester. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-palatine-of-chester
- MLA
- “County Palatine of Chester.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-palatine-of-chester. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “County Palatine of Chester.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-palatine-of-chester.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘County Palatine of Chester’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-palatine-of-chester (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻