Building record 10568/2 - Chester Rows : 48-50 Bridge Street Row

No 48-50 Bridge Street consists of two town houses with a complicated history; in the early to mid 14th century date it formed the northern two thirds of a single property with the southern part being the service wing at No 52 Bridge Street. In the 20th century, however, it formed the southern part of a single property with No 44-46 Bridge Street (the Owen Owen department store). It has since become two separate properties. At Row level there are three stone round headed arches forming a balanced arcade to the Row at o 48 and although the building beyond is of a 14th century date, the Row front facade is believed to date to c.1200 and is in the late vernacular Romanesque style. The Row walkway has 19th century plain iron railings inserted between the arches. The facade of No 50 was enclosed at Row level in the 1990s, however it has since been altered. The front and north walls of the former enclosed front room have been removed so that the upper floors now rest on the brick end walls. The front facade of No 48 consists of a 19th century shop front with a door to the south and a plain sash window to the north. The chief area of interest is the partial survival of the medieval hall running parallel to the street approximately 12.40m long and 8.88m wide, both the east and north walls survive relatively intact with only minimal alteration in the 1970s. There is a heavily moulded mantel in the north wall of a 16th century date along with a 19th century fireplace although its position in the centre of the hall suggests it may be a later replacement of the original medieval fireplace. At first floor level the medieval east wall continues up to the top of this level and the north wall to the base, the rest is 20th century. At second floor level the features are entirely 19th and 20th century. 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.