Building record 10526/2 - Chester Rows: 2 Eastgate Street Row

No 2 Eastgate Street Row is a four storey town house, now in use as shops and offices. It was built in 1888 by T.M. Lockwood in the vernacular revival style using timber framing and plaster panels. The Row level town house is a timber framed structure with a jettied second floor level that also bears the date of construction. The windows are mullion and transom oriel windows on both the upper floors. The interior of the building has largely been stripped out however some late 19th features were noted including some moulding on the second floor and later 19th century purlin roof features. The Row walkway has red sandstone end piers supporting the upper floors with timber Row front railing and a sloped boarded stallboard 1.65m and a boarded Row walk. 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.