Building record 10583/2 - Chester Rows : 37-39 Bridge Street Row

No 37-39 Bridge Street Row form a single phase structure forming the entrance to St Michael’s Row. It has since become part of the Grosvenor Shopping Centre. The whole was built between 1910-1911 by T.M. Lockwood in the Vernacular Revival style and replaced an earlier 19th century structure. The Row shop facade consists of a symmetrical arrangement, to the north this consists of a wide Row shop with large plate windows each the width of a single bay and a door at 45 degrees to St Michael’s arcade. The upper floors are heavily decorated in the Vernacular style with both real and applied studwork in a pseudo 17th century style. At first and second floor level the facade has oriel windows the width of the entire bay to the north and south and in the centre. The windows are large 8 light mullion and transom window to each of the seven bays. The third floor has flat four light mullion and transom windows to the north, south and central bays as projecting gable ends. To either side of the central bay there is a single gable end of two bays width with a central 6 light oriel window. The Row walkway consists of a Row walk 2.38m wide and a stallboard 1.64m wide. The upper floors are supported by eight wide timber posts with brackets carrying a jettied forward bressumer. There are brick walls at the extreme north and south of the section. The Row front has a timber balustrade. 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.