Building record 10547 - Chester Rows : 2 Bridge Street & 2 Bridge Street Row

No 2 Bridge Street and No 2 Bridge Street Row is part of a single structure comprising Nos. 2-8 Bridge Street and is wholly built in 1892 by T.M. Lockwood. There is no evidence to suggest the undercroft is earlier than this date. The width of the facade is 3.48m. At street, or undercroft, level the front facade and interior is modern consisting of a display window incorporating a door with a facia board above. North of this the facade turns 45 degrees giving a facetted corner facing the Cross and a doorway leading up to Row level. The Row level town house is a three storey town house of red brick with a Dutch gable on Bridge Street and a high parapet. 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.