Building record 10560/2 - Chester Rows : 30 Bridge Street Row

No 30 Bridge Street Row is an early 19th century three storey town house above a medieval undercroft currently used as a shop with offices above. The front facade consists of Flemish bond brickwork with a modern shop front at Row level consisting of a door to the south and a multi pane window in the north. The upper floors have two sash windows at each level with a painted sill band and stone heads. There is an early 19th century rainwater head and down pipe dated ‘1811’. The interior of the Row level town house is unremarkable with largely modern features, however, some 19th century features are preserved including an artificial stone fireplace at Row level, the staircase extending through all floors and several fireplaces in the upper floors. To the rear of the building there is a separate later 19th century building unrelated to the Row house. 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.