The Earldom of Chester () was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England, extending principally over the counties of

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

and

Flintshire Flintshire () is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, the Dee Estuary to the north-east, the English county of Cheshire to the east, Wrexham County Borough to the south, and Denbighshire to the west. ...

. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs apparent to the English throne, and after 1707 the British throne. From the late 14th century, it has been given only in conjunction with that of

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

Honour of Chester and County Palatinate

The County of Cheshire was held by the powerful Earls (or "Counts" from the Norman-French) of Chester from the late eleventh century, and they held land all over England, comprising "the

honour Honour (Commonwealth English) or honor (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is a quality of a person that is of both social teaching and personal ethos, that manifests itself ...

of Chester". By the late twelfth century (if not earlier) the earls had established a position of power as ''quasi''-princely rulers of Cheshire that led to the later establishment of the County Palatine of Chester and

Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

. Such was their power that ''

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter"), sometimes spelled Magna Charta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardin ...

'' set down by King John did not apply to Cheshire and the sixth earl was compelled to issue his own version.

County palatine

The earldom passed to the Crown by escheat in 1237 on the death of John the Scot, Earl of Huntingdon, seventh and last of the Earls. William III de Forz, 4th Earl of Albemarle, claimed the earldom as husband of Christina, the senior co-heir, but the king persuaded them to quitclaim their rights in 1241 in exchange for modest lands elsewhere. The other co-heiresses did likewise. It was annexed to the Crown in 1246. King Henry III then passed the Lordship of Chester, but not the title of Earl, to his son, the Lord Edward, in 1254; as King Edward I, this son in turn conferred the title and lands of the Earldom on his son, Edward, the first English

. By that time, the Earldom of Chester consisted of two counties:

and

. The establishment of royal control of the Earldom of Chester made possible King Edward I's conquest of

north Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

, and

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

played a vital part as a supply base during the Welsh Wars (1275–84), so the separate organisation of a county palatine was preserved. This continued until the time of King

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

. Since 1301, the Earldom of Chester has always been conferred on the Princes of Wales. Briefly promoted to a

principality A principality (or sometimes princedom) is a type of monarchy, monarchical state or feudalism, feudal territory ruled by a prince or princess. It can be either a sovereign state or a constituent part of a larger political entity. The term "prin ...

in 1398 by King Richard II, who titled himself "Prince of Chester", it was reduced to an earldom again in 1399 by King Henry IV. Whereas the Sovereign's eldest son is automatically Duke of Cornwall, he must be made or created Earl of Chester as well as Prince of Wales. The independent palatinate jurisdiction of Chester survived until the time of King Henry VIII (1536), when the earldom was brought more directly under the control of the Crown. The palatinate courts of Great Sessions and Exchequer survived until the reforms of 1830. The importance of the County Palatinate of Chester is shown by the survival of Chester Herald in the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

for some six hundred years. The office has anciently been nominally under the jurisdiction of Norroy King of Arms.

Revenues

In the year 1377, the revenues of the Earldom were recorded as follows:

County of Chester

:Fee-Farm of city of Chester – £22 2 4 1/2, : Escheated lands of said city – £0 7 0, :Rents of the Manor of Dracklow and Rudeheath – £26 2 6, :Farm of Medywick – £21 6 0, :Profits of Mara and Modren – £34 0 9, :Profits of Shotwick Manor and Park – £23 19 0, :Mills upon River Dee – £11 0 0, :Annual profits of Fordham Manor – £48 0 0, :Profits of Macklefield Hundred – £6 1 8, :Farm of Macklefield Borough – £16 1 3, :Profits of the forest of Macklefield £85 12 11 3/4, :Profits of escheater of Chester – £24 19 0, :Profits of the sheriff of said county – £43 12 3, :Profits of the Chamberlain of county – £55 14 0.

County of Flint

:Yearly value of Ellow – £20 8 0, :Farm of the town of

– £33 19 4, :Farm of Cayrouse – £7 2 4, :Castle of Ruthlam – £5 12 10, :Rents and profits of Mosten – £7 0 0, :Rents and profits of Colshil – £54 16 0, :Rents of Ruthlam town – £44 17 6, :Lands of Englefield (yearly) – £23 10 0, :Profits of Vayvol – £5 9 0, :Profits of the office of escheator – £6 11 9, :Mines of Cole and Wood within Manor of Mosten – £0 10 0, :Office of the sheriff in rents and casualties – £120 0 0, :Mines and profits of the Fairs of Northope – £3 9 2, :Casualties was lastly – £37 0 8. Total income was £418 1 2 3/4 from Cheshire and £181 6 0 from Flintshire.

List of the Earls of Chester

First Creation (1070)

*1070–1071 Gerbod the Fleming, 1st Earl of Chester

Second Creation (1071)

*1071–1101 Hugh d'Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester (c. 1047–1101) *1101–1120 Richard d'Avranches, 2nd Earl of Chester (1094–1120) *1120–1129 Ranulf le Meschin, 3rd Earl of Chester (1070–1129) *1129–1153 Ranulf de Gernon, 4th Earl of Chester (1099–1153) *1153–1181 Hugh de Kevelioc, 5th Earl of Chester (1147–1181) *1181–1232 Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester (1170–1232) *1232–1232 Matilda of Chester, Countess of Chester '' suo jure'' (1171–1233) (inherited October 1232 ''inter vivos'' gift to son November 1232) *1232–1237 John of Scotland, 7th Earl of Chester (c. 1207–1237)

Third Creation (1254)

* Edward, Lord of Chester, but without the title of Earl (1239–1307) (became King Edward I in 1272)

Fourth Creation (1264)

* Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, 1st Earl of Chester (1208–1265) (forfeit 1265) (There is no evidence that Alphonso, elder son of Edward I, was created Earl of Chester, although he was styled as such.)

Fifth Creation (1301)

* Edward of Caernarvon, Earl of Chester (1284–1327) (became King Edward II in 1307)

Sixth Creation (1312)

* Edward Plantagenet, Earl of Chester (1312–1377) (became King Edward III in 1327) ''Thereafter, the Earldom of Chester was created in conjunction with the Principality of Wales. See

for further earls of Chester.''

Other associations

* ''Earl of Chester'' was one of the GWR 3031 Class locomotives that were built for and ran on the Great Western Railway between 1891 and 1915.