Step through the black timber doorway on St Werburgh Street, a few doors down from Chester Cathedral, and you are straight into the racks. Up North Records fills a single bright room with paper lanterns strung across the ceiling, dark boarded walls and the week’s new releases lit up face out along one side.
Background / History
The business was established in 2017 and has traded from number 19 ever since, a family run shop on one of the busiest walking routes in the city. The Cathedral is a few steps away and the Rows and the Eastgate Clock are minutes in the other direction, so a fair share of customers arrive because they were passing. What brings them back is the independence. This is a shop that carries what the chains skip and orders in whatever is asked for, rather than stocking to a template set somewhere else. It takes part in Record Store Day each year, and leftover exclusives stay on the shelves afterwards for anyone who missed the queue.
What You’ll Find
Stock is predominantly new vinyl, and the range covers more ground than the size of the room suggests. Indie, rock, metal, reggae, pop and classical all have their own space, with a classic rock and metal section that rewards a slow look and a northern soul selection that regulars head for first. Coloured pressings and limited editions are a genuine focus. Main racks are filed alphabetically by artist, from Mitski and Olivia Rodrigo through to Pink Floyd, Prince and The Rolling Stones, with crates marked Recent Releases and Classics beside the counter. Record players are sold alongside the records, which makes this a sensible first stop if you are setting up at home rather than adding to a collection. Band t-shirts, music books and gift vouchers fill out the rest, and anything not on the shelves can be ordered in.
Experience / Atmosphere
Warm bulbs and paper lanterns run the length of the ceiling and the floor is pale wood, so the room glows even on a grey Chester afternoon. It is compact enough to work through properly in one visit and busy enough overhead to keep pulling your eye up from the crates. Conversation at the counter comes easily, and a request for a hard to find pressing is treated as something to chase rather than a nuisance. Regulars in for the new releases share the aisle with visitors who spotted the window on the way to the Cathedral.
Why Visit
- A few steps from Chester Cathedral, in the heart of the timber framed centre
- New vinyl across indie, rock, metal, reggae, pop and classical
- Coloured pressings and limited editions kept in stock
- Northern soul and classic rock sections that reward regular checking
- Record players sold alongside the records
- Special orders taken by phone, email or a message
- A Record Store Day shop, with exclusives on the day and leftovers afterwards
Summary
Chester rewards wandering, and Up North Records is one of the better reasons to slow down on St Werburgh Street. Small, independent and stocked with care, it has enough turnover on the new release wall to make return visits worthwhile and enough willingness to track things down to make a first visit count. Whether you are after a limited pressing, a northern soul single or your first turntable, this is a shop that gives you a proper answer rather than a shrug.
