Building record 10577/2 - Chester Rows : 17-19 Bridge Street Row

No 17-19 Bridge Street Row consists of a three storey town house of Flemish bond red brick, currently divided into two houses, of a probable 18th century date. The front facade consists of two modern shop fronts with plate glass windows and glass fronted doors. The upper floors consist of 18th century brick with two large sash windows at first floor level with stone sill bands and heads. There is a single large central window at second floor level. The slate roof runs east west and is partially obscured behind a low parapet. The interior of the town house is unremarkable, at Row level the shops are entirely modern clad while the upper floors contain some elements of late 18th and 19th century moulding. No evidence of earlier fabric is present. The Row walkway consists of a Row walk 2.1m wide and a stallboard 1.7m wide. The upper floors are supported on the brick end walls the depth of the stallboard and two central iron columns – one against the Row front and one at the inner line of the stallboard. The Row front is bordered by a cast iron decorative railing. 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.