Building record 10533/2 - Chester Rows: 20 Eastgate Street Row

No 20 Eastgate Street Row is a three storey town house, currently in use as a shop and accommodation, largely rebuilt in the late 19th century. The front facade consists of plain red brick with a Flemish bond, the Row level shop is modern, probably 20th century with a door to the west of the centre. The upper floors are plain brick with two sash windows on each floor. The roof is Welsh slate on a north-south axis with hips to the front and rear. Although the interior has largely been stripped of original features, some early 19th century moulding was noted on the upper floors. The Row walkway consists of a stallboard some 1.95m wide and a covered Row walk approximately 2.45m wide. The upper floors are supported by cast iron Doric columns placed centrally to the plot with plain iron railings on the Row front. 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.