Building record 10561/2 - Chester Rows : 32 Bridge Street Row

No 32 Bridge Street Row is a three storey town house, currently in use as shops and offices, of a mid 18th century date. It is built of Flemish bond brown brick with a Welsh slate roof and right angles to the street and hipped to the front. Significant renovations were carried out in the late 20th century. The front facade is plain with a modern shop frontage with a 19th century door to the south and a 20 pane sash window occupying the remainder. The upper floors have two plain sash windows at each level with stone heads and sills. The house is five bays depth and a single bay in width. The interior is largely modern, dating to the 1987 renovations during which a survey was carried out recording few surviving original features. The Row front consists of a Row walk 2.47m wide and stallboard 1.87m wide. The upper floors are supported by painted brick end piers and a central Tuscan cast iron column. The Row front is bordered by plain iron balusters. 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.