Building record 10484/2 - Chester Rows: 47-49 Watergate Street Row

No 47-49 Watergate Street Row is a three storey town house, currently in use as a shop, of 18th century date with a 19th century facade. The facade consists of a modern shop front at Row level with upper floors of brick with rusticated quoins. The first floor level has tall, narrow sash windows while the second floor has smaller sashes above and narrow ashlar band. The roof was not surveyed as it sits behind a blind coped parapet. Although the upper floors were originally designed to be residential, with evidence of a saloon and servants quarters on the top floor, they have long since been converted into offices and few original features survive. The Row front consists of two central Doric columns and to end piers supporting the upper floors. 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.