Building record 10486/2 - Chester Rows: 55-59 Watergate Street Row

No 55-59 Watergate Street Row consists of two town houses surveyed together during the Chester Rows Project as they formed a single shop unit at the time of the survey. No 55-57 Watergate Street Row consists of a replica 17th century town house above No 49 at street level and completely rebuilt from the Row level up in the 1970s with a rather poor imitation facade. There is consequently little of interest in this property. No 59 Watergate Street Row consists of a three storey town house of a mid 18th century date. The front facade at Row level is late Georgian in style with a brown brick in Flemish bond facade above. There are two evenly spaced sash windows on each of the upper floors with a gable end parapet above. The interior shows several phases of reconstruction; at Row level the shop is largely 20th century in character with the exception of a cupboard in the north east corner of re-used 17th century panelling and 17th-18th century hinges. At first floor level the detail is largely 19th century, however, there are earlier traces including an elliptical relieving arch in the east wall with evidence of a removed bay post in front that appears to be a surviving remnant of the original 17th century street frontage. There are few details of interest in the second floor level with a trenched purlin roof and some associated studwork of an 18th century date towards the front while the rear section is entirely modern. 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.