The legends of Chester city are not about supernatural events, but about the city’s supposed history. It was sometimes claimed, for instance, that the wild game of crowd football which used to be played in its streets every Shrove Tuesday (abolished long ago) originated when the men of Chester captured a Danish Viking, killed him, and played football with his head.
A curious legend, which can be traced back to Giraldus Cambrensis and other medieval writers, claims that King Harold was not in fact killed at the Battle of Hastings but rescued and secretly nursed back to health. He then left England as a pilgrim and remained abroad for many years; returning, he lived unrecognized as a hermit in various places—first near Dover, then in Wales, and finally in Chester, where he died. He revealed his identity on his deathbed. Later versions credit him with a fantastic life span of 150 years or more, saying he was still alive in the reign of Henry II. One or two nineteenth-century informants added the idea that one day Harold will return to lead pure-blooded Englishmen in warfare to drive out those of Norman descent.
Another Chester tradition concerns the Grosvenor family whose seat was Eaton Hall, beside the Dee. They have a red hand in their coat of arms, a feature which commonly inspires legends—frequently tales of crime, but here a tale of heroism. There were once two claimants to the Eaton Hall estates, and they agreed to settle the matter by a contest. They stood on the far side of the River Dee and agreed that the one whose hand first touched the disputed land would own it. One jumped into the river and began swimming. The other remained on the further bank, but drew his sword and cut his own left hand off, throwing it across the river. He was judged to have won.