Listed Building: NUMBERS 44 AND 46 STREET (1376440)

CHESTER CITY (IM) SJ4066SW WATERGATE STREET AND ROW 595-1/3/413 (North side) 10/01/72 Nos.44 & 46 Street (Formerly Listed as: WATERGATE STREET Nos.44 AND 46) GV II Undercroft and town house, now shop and offices at undercroft and Row levels and 2 storeys above, vacant in October 1991. The Row was enclosed and the building largely reconstructed early C18. Brick with grey slate roof. EXTERIOR: 4 storeys. The rendered front to the former undercroft has 2 simple 1-pane shop windows east of a modern glazed shop door. At the west a flight of 11 steps in a recessed porch leads to a 6-panel door at former Row level, which has a flush tripartite sash of 4;12;4 panes with bars removed from the central lower sash. The third storey has a similar sash with all glazing bars, and the fourth storey has two 9-pane unequal sashes; the former Row bressumer level has a moulded stringcourse; the corner to Crook Street, east, has flush painted stone quoins; painted stone sills; gauged brick arch to third storey sash; slightly cambered arches to fourth storey windows; stone-coped gable to street. The east side to Crook Street has a boarded opening to the former undercroft, a 4-pane sash and a 9-pane stair window to the Row storey, a band of 3 brick courses at third storey floor, raised over the stair window, a blocked opening and a small inserted window in the third storey; a blocked brick arch right of the stair window; 2 large lateral windows. The rear has a high-walled yard, 2 flush 12-pane sashes to third storey, a stringcourse on brick corbels carried also across Nos 48 & 50 Street (qv), a 9-pane unequal sash and a 16-pane flush sash to the fourth storey; the window openings have cambered heads, on blocking courses to the third storey; a gable to the rear. INTERIOR: the front room of the undercroft has a chamfered oak beam and a plastered beam; the stair bay has some rough timber framing in the west wall and a newel stair with 2 barleysugar-on-vase balusters per step and a heavy moulded rail, all painted; a large damaged oak beam across the front of the stairwell; the rear room has an open fireplace against the east wall and 2 large, re-used oak beams spanning front to back, with exposed joists; a 2-panel door from stair to Row storey. At the former Row level the front room has a door of 4 fielded panels, a ceiling of 3 panels between moulded beams spanning from front to back and a carved fire-surround of wood, painted; the window embrasure to Crook Street has panelled shutters. The east rear room has a wide fireplace-opening in breast on east wall; the west rear room has some altered small-panelling of oak. The stair, broader than that below from the undercroft and in good condition, rises to the third and fourth storeys. The front third storey room has early C18 bolection moulded panelling with one row of panels below the dado rail and a tall row above; the overmantel has a large panel above a pair of small panels; 2 stop-chamfered plastered beams; a moulded cornice; the door is replaced. The 2 rear rooms have embrasures with window shutters. The fourth storey has no visible features of interest. (Chester Rows Research Project: Brown AN & Grenville JC & Turner RC: Watergate Street: Chester: 1988-: 33). Listing NGR: SJ4039666259