Building record 10505 - Chester Rows: 11-13 Northgate Street

No 11-13 Northgate Street consists of two contemporary three storey town houses rebuilt together in around 1900. They are currently in use as a single property. The total width of the facade is 9.38m. At street level the shop front itself is entirely modern stone and glass fronted with a single central doorway. There is an undercroft entirely below street level with traces of medieval sandstone walls and a medieval rear passage at No 11. The Row walkway consists of an arcade of two segmental arches supported on three ornately carved square pillars. The stone walk is higher than the street level by two steps. The upper floors are highly decorative consisting of real and false timber framing with large bow windows in each bay and continuous fenestration across the entire street frontage. The second floor consists of the gable ends of the two properties supported on a jettied front with ornate studwork, heavy barge boarding and finials. 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.