Building record 10614 - Chester Rows: 90-92 Lower Bridge Street The Three Kings

No 90-92 Lower Bridge Street, known as the Three Kings Studio, consists of two phases of timber framing, both probably of a 17th century date. The current brick facade is mid to late 19th century in date. The street level facade consists of a 6 panel door beneath a divided overlight to the left with the main shop front to the right consisting of a second 6 panel door and plate glass windows. A plain coped parapet conceals two gables to the street. The is evidence of extensive remodelling to the interior with a corridor to the south providing separate access to the first and second floor house. At ground level, the original plan appears to have been a four room arrangement around a central stack. Some framing is still visible. At first floor level, the front room contains a plaster frieze of early 17th century date, and while there has been some modernisation, traces of the original plan are still visible in the central part. The building appears to have been of two unequal bays divided by jowled posts. To the rear there are two further rooms – the kitchen and a bedroom both with evidence of early 17th century features. The second floor is completely different in character to the two below with a framing of much slighter material that does not relate to that below suggesting a later phase of construction for this floor. 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.