Building record 10582/2 - Chester Rows : 35 Bridge Street Row

No 35 Bridge Street Row consists of a 19th century three storey town house, currently in use as a Row shop and offices above. The front facade is of Flemish bond red brick with a cast iron frame. The Row level shop front is modern 20th century with a central recessed door. The upper floors have two large evenly spaced sash windows with shutters and an projecting ironwork sign at first floor level. The interior is entirely modern clad with no visible pre 20th century features. The Row walkway consists of a Row walk 2.22m wide and stallboard 1.78m wide with modern full height display cabinets to the north and south. The upper floors are supported on brick end piers and two central iron columns between carrying a bressumer with a dentil cornice. The Row front has an iron decorative railing with a diamond pattern. 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.