Building record 10485/1 - Chester Rows: 41 Watergate Street

No 41 Watergate Street and the above town house at 51-53 Watergate Street Row currently comprise a single property known as Bishop Lloyd’s Palace. Originally two plots with separate tenements of different construction, they were surveyed together during the Chester Rows Research Project. No 41 Watergate Street consists of a pair of stone undercrofts, currently in use as a shop, of probable medieval origin. As at other locations along this street, a later brick vault rests on earlier sandstone walls of a late medieval date. Although originally belonging to two tenements, the undercroft at No 41 has long since been considered as one. The eastern undercroft is entirely taken up by a flight of steps parallel to the street and leading up to Row level. The width of the facade is 5.9m and consists of timber framing with brick nogging. The western undercroft provides the entrance into the undercroft with a double leaf glazed door and two bow windows. The interior of the undercrofts consists of two parallel brick vaulted structures of a probable 18th century date resting on stone walls of a late medieval origin. The dividing wall between the two undercrofts has been breached towards its northern end to provide a passage between them. 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.