Building record 10538/1 - Chester Rows: 28 Eastgate Street

No 28 Eastgate Street is a stone undercroft, currently in use as a shop, of a probable medieval date although the facade is modern, being built by T.M. Penson in around 1858. The facade includes a doorway to the east set in a square tower that rises up for the entire height of the undercroft and Row town house. The tower contains a spiral staircase and also serves the adjacent property. The western part of the facade consists of two large square windows. The interior consists of a four bay quadripartite sandstone pointed rib vaulted medieval undercroft. The north end of the undercroft contains the highest level of survival of medieval fabric with only limited replacement of stonework in the late 19th century. The central doorway to the street frontage is plain with head lintels and lancets to either side suggesting that the steps originally projected outwards into the street under the present stallboard. As with other properties along the Eastgate Street frontage, the interior floor level is substantially below that of the street level requiring 6 steps down. 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.