Building record 10498 - Chester Rows: 18-20 Northgate Street

No 18-20 Northgate Street consists of a 19th century town house certainly post 1816 and possibly as late as 1890. The building is 6.66m wide at the front and constructed of real and applied timber framing with some stonework, there is a small brick cellar of a 19th century date to the rear. The street level is recessed from the street with large bay posts at the north and south ends and false studwork on the sides of the recess. The shop front consists of a large display window and a door to the north. The interior is modern. The Row level town house is enclosed at Row level with a large central oriel window projecting from the facade surrounded by false studwork. The upper floors are jettied above the Row level with close studwork. The windows are supported by mild coving. The interior consists of office and stock rooms of a typical late 19th to 20th century date. No 20 Northgate Street has a south facade onto Smith’s Buildings passage of red brick of a late 19th to 20th century date. 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.