Building record 10531/2 - Chester Rows: 14 Eastgate Street Row

No 14 Eastgate Street Row is a late 19th century three storey town house, currently in use as shops and accommodation, and built in the Vernacular revival style with heavy false timber framing in the front facade. The front facade of the Row level shop is modern false timber, the first floor above has close vertical studwork with two 10 light mullion and transom windows with coving beneath and a central wrought iron projecting sign. The second floor level has a continuation of the two oriel windows with five light mullion casements and herringbone studwork and brackets for the jettied beam of the third floor attic level. The interior of the building is entirely modern with false 19th century features. The Row walkway consists of a covered sloping stallboard approximately 1.8m wide and a boarded Row walk. The Row front has stone end piers that are both plastered and painted supporting the upper storeys of the Row house with balusters and railings. 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.