Building record 10574/2 - Chester Rows : 9 Bridge Street Row

No 9 Bridge Street Row is a four storey town house, of 17th century origin but with extensive alteration in the 19th and 20th centuries. The front facade is mainly 19th century with two sash windows on each floor and rendered brickwork. The interior is largely unremarkable with a 19th century rear window at Row level and several bridging posts of a 17th century date in the front display room at first floor level. The staircase appears to be 18th or 19th century in date. The Row walkway consists of a Row walk 2.03m wide and a stallboard 1.89m wide. The upper floors are supported by two brick end piers and two central iron columns with a cast iron railing across the front. 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.