A children’s author has brought some of Chester’s iconic and hidden landmarks to life to create a mythical world within the city walls.

Bev Cowperthwaite - who goes by the pen name Evelyn Winters - created a magical land where the Cathedral’s gargoyles come to life, cats talk and a village is filled with poison, in her debut novel about a time travelling school girl.

But now the West Cheshire College IT teacher has written a mythical short story which she hopes will spark children’s imaginations and get them interested in learning about the real history behind the city’s famous and hidden landmarks.

The Handbridge author’s latest creation, tells the tale of the creation of the Eastgate Clock – but in a imaginative twist the four-sided-clock is magic and a gypsy bewitches its talented maker Egan Bagley.

Available on kindle, The Little Big Clockmaker, sees the tiny clock maker set to become one of the richest men in Chester, has already inspired families to visit the iconic landmark and is receiving rave reviews on Amazon.

And the author, who is already writing another adventure focused around the hypocaust in the basement of Spud U Like, is asking children and their parents to travel to the city and take a SELFIE with the Roman solider and the clock – to show the world that the Eastgate Clock is one of the most photographed timepieces in the country,

“People like the fact that the stories are based on something real,” said Beverly, who has lived in Handbridge for around 25 years and has been dreaming up ideas for her stories since the idea for her novel, Mary Draper Dreams of Castles in the Sky, sprung into her head in 2006.

“Sometimes I think because I live in the city I do not always appreciate where I live. It has made me look at everything in Chester in a different way.

“No one has written about it in this way, I thought I would be the first.”

The 44-year-old grandmother, who has spent years studying the hidden gems of Chester, including the Wishing Steps, the Cathedral’s imp and the camera obscura, kept in Bonewaldesthorne’s Tower on the City Walls, has already starting writing a story based on the jacket potato shop in Bridge Street, where Roman soldiers fight giants which invade the city.

‘A Very Giant Tale’ draws on the ancient law allowing a person is permitted to shoot a Welshman with a bow and arrow, and the Chester Giants – but don’t worry it all turns out well in the end.

“Tourists used to steal the hands off the Eastgate Clock because it had no glass on its faces,” said Beverly, whose debut novel is yet to be published.

“I want to encourage more people to visit with their children and for the children want to learn about the history,”

Owner of Spud U like Dave Thornhill said: “At the moment between 100-150 visit every week, most are Americans.

“It is surprising how many local people don’t know about it until they come in.”

“I think it’s a really great idea,” he said.

Beverley, who worked with author of the Myrddin’s Heir series Robin Chambers, and illustrator Rizal Nugroho on the story based on the Eastgate Clock, hoped to publish her debut novel in 2012, but is now focusing on her short stories.

You can read the Little Big Clockmaker on Kindle

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