Building record 10477/1 - Chester Rows: 15 Watergate Street

No 15 Watergate Street is a stone undercroft, currently in use as a shop, of a probable medieval origin but largely rebuilt in the 17th century. The street frontage contains a flight of stone steps within the depth of the stallboard leading up to the Row level. The interior floor level is four steps below that of the exterior street level. Both party walls are made of coursed sandstone rubble stepping in towards the rear of the east wall. The rear half of the east wall also contains a line of simple quarter round corbels although no evidence of their purpose now survives. The traditional arrangement on the Rows consisted of a single storey stone undercroft at street level and a Row level building over it. Above the undercroft, the Row level building was more often timber built and consisted of a 'Row' level storey incorporating the Row walkway or stallboard extending over the frontage of the undercroft (this allowed extra head room for the undercroft and additional space for traders on the stallboards). The Row walkway was approximately 4-6m in width and incorporated the path and the stallboards themselves. The Row level storey formed the medieval shop opening onto the Row walkway. Due to differences in ground level between the front and back of the plots, the undercroft is at street level at the front and the Row level storey at ground level to the rear. The Row building also often included at least one further storey above it that extended forward again over the Row walkway. The upper floors were private, domestic quarters. The Rows are believed to be of medieval origin, dating at least to the 13th century followed by a gradual evolution of built form over a period of perhaps 100 years to create the present elements of undercroft, Row walkway and Row building. Survival of the built form of the Rows varies considerably and different elements of a single building can vary enormously in date from the 13th century through to the 20th century.