Building record 10592/2 - Chester Rows : 63 Bridge Street Row

No 63 Bridge Street Row consists of a three storey town house, currently in use as a shop with offices above, with a 17th century timber frame core largely rebuilt in the early 19th century. The present facade is largely 19th century with a modern shop front at Row level. The interior is largely 19th or 20th century in date with a few surviving fragments of the original 17th century timber frame at Row level. The Row walkway consists of a Row walk 2.23m wide and a stallboard 2.21m wide. The upper floors are supported on posts to the north and south with a single cast iron column between. 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.