Listed Building: 23 AND 25, WHITE FRIARS (1376488)

CHESTER CITY (IM) SJ4066SW WHITE FRIARS 595-1/3/453 (South side) 10/01/72 Nos.23 AND 25 (Formerly Listed as: WHITEFRIARS No.23) (Formerly Listed as: WHITEFRIARS No.25) GV II Formerly 3 town houses, then 2, now an office. The gabled east part of No.23 is C17, altered; the west part of No.23 and all No.25 probably formed a pair of early C18 houses converted 1753 into one. The cellars are of medieval origin, truncated C18 or later. Brown brick of C17 irregular English garden wall bond and C18 Flemish bond; grey slate roofs, that to the C17 house having gable to street, the rest having ridge parallel with street. EXTERIOR: the C17 part has 2 storeys of one window, the C18 part 3 storeys of 5 windows. The C17 house, east, has rendered plinth, altered first storey with inserted recessed bow window; second storey floor-band; a tripartite nearly flush sash with no sill, a flattish basket-arched brick head; most glazing bars removed; parapet with plain stone coping to gable. The C18 houses, west, have a rendered plinth. No.23 has door of 4 fielded panels with plain overlight and a painted wedge lintel with cambered soffit; a replaced 4-pane recessed horned sash with boxes exposed. No.25 has replaced 6-panel door with plain overlight in an eared panelled timber doorcase with cornice and hood, and an inserted recessed bowed window. The upper storey windows are set higher west of the door to No.25; all windows have painted stone sills and wedge lintels with cambered soffits. Painted second storey floor band and replaced horned sashes, 2 recessed and 3 flush, the 2 to the west set higher. Painted third storey floor-band; 5 flush sashes, that to centre replaced and horned and the 2 to west set higher; central lead rainwater head and pipe inscribed R:GA:1753; painted stone cornice; west gable chimney in front of ridge. The rear is in irregular bond brickwork looking C17 and early C18; the C17 portion has a flattish basket-arched head to one broad window-opening in each storey; the C18 portion has no features of special interest visible. INTERIOR: a cellar to each house; the structure of that to No.23 was not accessible; that to No.25 was partly filled or blocked off C18 or later but shows part of the medieval sandstone rubble west and rear walls and has a wide stone stair. At the cellar entry to No.23, with door of 3 broad boards 16mm thick on gudgeons, indications of a former C17 panelled oak stair are visible. The first storey has a probable former inglenook in a front room of No.23, now with cast-iron beam; the rear wing has a corner fireplace and a back door of 6 fielded panels of early type; a cross-boarded door on old long hinges. In No.25 the hall has 2 basket archways and, in passage to No.23, two irregular archways, all with panelled pilasters; a back room has a panelled embrasure and plaster cornice. Renewed stair in No.23; the closed-string stair in No.25 has a narrow well, panelled string, newels, 3 column-on-vase balusters per step and a heavy moulded rail. The second storey has a door of 2 fielded panels and panelled embrasure in the east front room of No.25; the west front room has benches and side-panels in embrasures, 2-panel door with architrave and good plaster cornice; the back east room has door of 2 fielded panels to outer face and 4 fielded panels to inner face, wood fire-surround with carved pilasters and three carved frieze panels depicting a dairy farming scene between 2 swags; sub-panels to embrasure and a good plaster cornice. The third storey front east room in No.25 has a 5-panel door; the rear room has a mid C18 fireplace with eared architrave and a carved swag frieze. NOTE interior inspected non-sequentially. Listing NGR: SJ4044766076