Monument record 10112 - Medieval Pentice Row (Northgate Street)

A medieval galleried row was established to the east of St Peters Church. The Row comprised at least seven shops at ground level in the mid 15th century when the rows were levelled to the foundations and rebuilt, and as many as nine in the early 16th century – four or which were on Watergate Street facing the High Cross and five on Northgate Street. This appears to have been an ancient arrangement with documentary references to shops abutting the church dating to as early as the 1230s. The Northgate pentice row apparently remained in its medieval form and was used to store city records until 1781 when it was demolished in order to widen the south end of Northgate Street. (1)

<1> Lewis C.P & Thacker A.T. (eds), 2005, Victoria County History - A History of the County of Chester: Volume Vii, The City of Chester - The City of Chester, Culture, Buildings, Institutions (Book). SCH6522.

<2> Lawson, P H and J T Smith, 1958, The Rows of Chester: Two Interpretations, p28 (Article in Journal). SCH5750.