Building record 10599 - Chester Rows: 15a Lower Bridge Street

No 15a Lower Bridge Street consists of a three storey town house with incorporated passage to the right that formerly provided access to the Row level with an external width of 6.38m. There is limited evidence for dating of the building although there is an 18th century barrel vaulted extension to the rear of a stone undercroft of possible medieval origin. The town house itself appears to be early 19th century. The street level undercroft consists of a 20th century shop front with steps to Unity Passage to the right. The town house is two storeys with a rendered facade and accessed via Unity Passage. The first floor has two four pane sash windows with two smaller windows on the second floor. The roof is masked by a parapet with a central round headed blind panel and squat balusters to either side. 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.