A retail worker has spent thousands of pounds recreating his hometown of Chester entirely out of Lego and turning it into a major free tourist attraction.
Richard Trotter, 41, has spent the last eight years and hundreds of hard hours building Chester’s most famous landmarks with Lego bricks, including the iconic Eastgate clock, the Roman amphitheater and the famous city walls.
The magnificent display, made of tens of thousands of bricks and featuring the participation of dozens of notable Chester councillors, retail workers and even Roman soldiers, is in Chester’s new market, which opened to the public last November and has received almost 500,000 visitors.
Taking pride of place in the center of the market, Richard’s custom creation attracts dozens of people every day and is currently rated on TripAdvisor as one of Chester’s most popular tourist attractions.
Richard Trotter, 41, has spent the last eight years and hundreds of hard hours building Chester’s most famous landmarks out of Lego bricks.
The magnificent display is made of tens of thousands of bricks and features dozens of notable Chester councillors, retail workers and even Roman soldiers.
Richard’s custom creation attracts dozens of people every day and is currently ranked on TripAdvisor as one of Chester’s most popular tourist attractions.
A view of one of the streets of the city, with a figure of Daniel Craig, born in Chester, as James Bond.
And thanks to a donation box located next to the exhibit, Richard also managed to raise around £3,000 for local charities in a bid to give back to the community.
Now, something that started in 2014 as a way for Richard to unwind after work has grown into something totally unique to the city, and it’s growing bigger and bigger with each passing week.
“At first the idea was to just make a few sections of the Rows for fun using some bricks, and a local art store put it on display,” says Richard.
So someone I knew who worked in the old Chester Market asked me if I’d like to do a bigger show there and they gave me a nice space for that.
“At the time, Chester Market wasn’t in a great place and needed to get out of the doldrums, so I tried to make the exhibit a focal point.
“It became quite popular and over the years I’ve added more and more to it and it’s become a Chester icon ever since.”
A huge fan of Lego since childhood, Richard became ‘addicted’ to building the city’s shops, buildings and landmarks, spending his own money on each brick and sometimes taking months to complete a new addition.
“The most difficult part was making the Steam Mill building, which required hundreds of bricks and took me months to complete,” he said.
The historic Chester Amphitheatre, made from lego and packed with lego gladiators and spectators
The new Chester Theatre, Storyhouse, is featured in the amazing exhibit, complete with lego figurines.
TV star Russ Abbot and famous Chester resident TV chef Ainsley Harriott appear on screen, or at least in lego form.
Richard Trotter’s creations are in the New Chester Market
Richard with his model of the Eastgate Clock in front of the actual clock
“But I find it a relaxing experience and I love taking what is effectively a bunch of bricks and making it familiar.
“When I see the finished piece, it’s a great feeling and even though I used all my money, I see it as a great investment for the future and I love that it’s now putting a good focus on the new market as well.
“What’s unique about the Chester on Lego exhibit is that I don’t think there’s anywhere else in the UK where you can see something like this for free.
‘Of course there is Legoland, but you have to pay for that. My display is great for tourists who love to see instantly recognizable landmarks.
Richard’s exhibit is completely free for people to visit, while Legoland costs tourists.
Chester’s new market opened to the public last November and has welcomed almost 500,000 visitors.
A lego James Bond, who was most recently played by Daniel Craig, who was born in Chester.
Chester FC home stadium, Deva Stadium, made entirely out of lego
Something that started in 2014 as a way for Richard to unwind after work has grown into something totally unique to the city.
Even chain stores like McDonalds appear in the urban landscape.
“I think people love to spend time looking at it and I enjoy reading what people are saying about it on TripAdvisor.
“I’m especially proud that I can also use it to help local charities,” he added.
Next on Richard’s agenda is tackling more Roman aspects, parts of Chester Zoo and some of Chester’s newer businesses to include in the exhibit.
It’s up to him to keep track of the latest openings and closings in town to keep his display up to date, and he also has to do a deep cleaning every couple of months, which can be challenging given how busy the market is. .
‘I suppose cleaning it up is the biggest challenge, but I don’t mind too much. It brings joy to people and I love doing it so I can’t really complain.
‘The Chester and Cheshire West community and Chester Council have been incredibly supportive of my project.
“It was built on an ad hoc basis, but it’s become something really special.”
