Building record 10504 - Chester Rows: 5-9 Northgate Street

No 5-9 Northgate Street consists of three contemporary town houses rebuilt together in around 1900 in the Vernacular revival style. The front facade has a total width of 15m and a Row walkway that slowly rises from south to north. The walkway consists of a six bay arcade with seven posts of multiple shaft appearance resting on stone bases. Four-centred arches with floral decoration in spandrels unite the bay posts. The street level facade to all three properties are largely modern glass fronted, below street level there is an undercroft of porbable medieval origin at No 9 Northgate Street. At first floor level, each of the six bays are represented by a 10 pane oriel window supported on four brackets with ornately carved surrounds. Three carved figures are set in niches in the centre of each property – that at No 5 has a women in robes, No 7 has a man with a staff and a bag and No 9 has a knight. The second floor level consists of three gable ends each of two bays width supported on a jettied front with ornate studwork, heavy barge boarding and finials on No 5 & 7, No 9 has a finial base only. 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.