Chester Rows are a set of structures in each of the four main streets of
Chester, in the United Kingdom, consisting of a series of covered walkways on the first floor behind which are entrances to shops and other premises. At street level is another set of shops and other premises, many of which are entered by going down a few steps.
Dating from the
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
era, the Rows may have been built on top of rubble remaining from the ruins of
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
buildings, but their origin is still subject to speculation. In some places the continuity of the Rows has been blocked by enclosure or by new buildings, but in others modern buildings have retained the Rows in their designs.
Undercroft
An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground (street-level) area which is relatively open ...
s or "
crypts" were constructed beneath the buildings in the Rows. The undercrofts are made from stone while most of the buildings in the Rows are timber.
Today about 20 of the stone undercrofts still exist, but at the level of the Rows very little medieval fabric remains. Many of the buildings containing portions of the Rows are
listed
Listed may refer to:
* Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm
* Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic
* Endangered species in biology
* Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...
and some are recorded in the
English Heritage Archive
The Historic England Archive is the public archive of Historic England, located in The Engine House on Fire Fly Avenue in Swindon, formerly part of the Swindon Works of the Great Western Railway.
It is a public archive of architectural and arch ...
. The premises on the street and Row levels are used for a variety of purposes; most are shops, but there are also offices, restaurants, cafés, and meeting rooms. Chester Rows are one of the city's main tourist attractions.
Description
At street level, the shops and other premises are similar to those found in other towns and cities, although many of the premises are entered by going down a few steps. On the first floor level are more shops and other premises, set back from the street, in front of which is a continuous walkway. The
storey above this overlaps the walkway, which makes it a covered walkway, and this constitutes what is known as the "Row".
On the street side of the walkways are railings and an area which was used as shelves or stalls for the display of goods. The floors above the level of the Rows are used for commercial or domestic purposes, or for storage.
The Rows are present, to a greater or lesser degree, in all the streets radiating from
Chester Cross, namely Watergate Street, Northgate Street, Eastgate Street and Upper Bridge Street. They are continuous on both sides of Upper Bridge Street, along most of Watergate and Eastgate Street, but only for a short stretch along the east side of Northgate Street. Originally there were also Rows in Lower Bridge Street, but these were blocked during the 17th and 18th centuries.
As the ground floor buildings are usually lower than the street level, they are sometime known as "crypts". However, as the architectural historian
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...
points out, this is not a strictly accurate description because the level of the floors of the buildings is a half-storey rather than a full-storey level below the street.
Origins
Rows were built in the four main streets leading from Chester Cross, each of which originated during the settlement's early development. In the Roman period the main street, now Watergate Street and Eastgate Street, lay on an east–west axis. It was joined at what is now Chester Cross by the main road from the south, present-day Bridge Street.
During the
Saxon period, a road to the north was added which is now called Northgate Street.
Dendrochronological evidence shows that the Rows go back as far as the 13th century,
[ but it is unlikely that they originated before 1200. The first record of the Rows appears in 1293, although it is uncertain whether it refers to a Row as it would be recognised today. The "earliest unambiguous instance" of the use of the term for an elevated walkway is in 1356.]
Because the Rows are unique and their precise origins are unknown, they have been the subject of speculation. Chester has suffered from a series of fires. In 1278 the fire was so severe that almost the entire town within the walls was destroyed. It has been suggested that following this fire, the owners were ordered to make their ground floors fireproof, leading to the stone-lined undercrofts. From this, the suggestion has been made that there was "a general undertaking by the citizens of Chester ... to improve the commercial potential of their property by providing two-level access for customers".[
Daniel Defoe, writing around 1724 in '']A tour thro' the whole island of Great Britain
''A Tour Thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain'' is an account of his travels by English author Daniel Defoe, first published in three volumes between 1724 and 1727. Other than ''Robinson Crusoe'', ''Tour'' was Defoe's most popular and financial ...
'', describes the Rows of Chester as “long galleries, up one pair of stairs, which run along the side of the streets, before all the houses, though joined to them, and is pretended, they are to keep the people dry in walking along. This they do effectually, but then they...make the shops themselves dark, and the way in them is dark, dirty, and uneven.”
The 19th-century writer George Borrow
George Henry Borrow (5 July 1803 – 26 July 1881) was an English writer of novels and of travel based on personal experiences in Europe. His travels gave him a close affinity with the Romani people of Europe, who figure strongly in his work. Hi ...
makes the following claim in his book ''Wild Wales
''Wild Wales: Its People, Language and Scenery'' is a travel book by the English Victorian gentleman writer George Borrow (1803–1881), first published in 1862.
The book recounts Borrow's personal experiences and insights while touring Wales ...
'', published in 1862: "All the best shops in Chester are to be found in the rows. These rows, which you ascend by stairs up narrow passages, were originally built for the security of the wares of the principal merchants against the Welsh. Should the mountaineers break into the town, as they frequently did, they might rifle some of the common shops, where their booty would be slight, but those which contained the most costly articles would be beyond their reach; for at the first alarm the doors of the passages, up which the stairs led, would be closed, and all access to the upper streets cut off, from the open arches of which missiles of all kinds, kept ready for such occasions, could be discharged upon the intruders, who would soon be glad to beat a retreat."
Another theory links the Rows with the debris
Debris (, ) is rubble, wreckage, ruins, litter and discarded garbage/refuse/trash, scattered remains of something destroyed, or, as in geology, large rock fragments left by a melting glacier, etc. Depending on context, ''debris'' can refer to ...
left from the Roman occupation of Chester.[ The rubble from the Roman buildings which had fallen into ruin was piled up alongside the streets. One theory suggests that in the medieval period buildings were constructed along the top of this debris.][ The buildings were set back from the street, a footpath passed in front of them, and wheeled vehicles passed along the street below. In time, the properties were improved and possibly during the 13th century, cellars or undercrofts were excavated in the debris beneath them.
When the buildings were further improved, upper storeys were built which overlapped the lower storey, providing a covered walkway. Stalls or shelves were added on the street side of the walkway for the display of goods, and so the system of Rows was developed. In a few places, for example at the corner of Eastgate Street and Northgate Street, another building was constructed between the walkway and the street.][ It is thought that, apart from a relatively small number of later buildings, the system of the Rows had reached its full extent by about 1350.][
]
Medieval period
During the medieval period, the Rows gave access to living accommodation. The doorway led into a hall, which was usually at right angles to the street. In some cases the front portion of the hall was used as a separate shop, and in other cases the whole hall was the shop. In the storey above the hall was the solar, a room providing private accommodation for the residents. In some cases, where the hall was larger, there were several shops on its frontage.
Below the Rows, at street level, were crypts or undercrofts. Many of these were stone-lined with ribbed vaults, and they were used for storage or for selling more valuable goods. Behind the hall, on the level of the Rows, was more domestic accommodation. Normally the kitchen was a separate building in the yard behind the house. The back yard was also used for cesspit
A cesspit (or cesspool or soak pit in some contexts) is a term with various meanings: it is used to describe either an underground holding tank (sealed at the bottom) or a soak pit (not sealed at the bottom). It can be used for the temporary co ...
s and for the disposal of rubbish.[
]
Subsequent development
Although many of the Rows are still continuous, in some areas they have been blocked. In Lower Bridge Street there was originally a continuous Row; the first building to break the sequence was at the north end of the street, the public house now known as The Falcon.
In the 17th century, this was the town house of the Grosvenor family
Duke of Westminster is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created by Queen Victoria in 1874 and bestowed upon Hugh Grosvenor, 3rd Marquess of Westminster. It is the most recent dukedom conferred on someone not related to the ...
. It was rebuilt in 1626, maintaining its section of the Row. However, in 1643, during the Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
siege of Chester, Sir Richard Grosvenor moved his family there from his country estate at Eaton Hall. In order to increase the size of the house he gained permission to enclose the Row. This set the fashion for other houses in Lower Bridge Street to enclose their sections of the Row. Later, completely new houses were constructed which did not incorporate the Row. One of these was Bridge House, built by Lady Calveley in 1676; it was the first house in Chester to be designed in neoclassical style.
In 1699 John Mather, a lawyer, gained permission to build a new house at 51 Lower Bridge Street, which also resulted in the loss of part of the Row. In 1728 Roger Ormes, rather than building a new house, enclosed the Row at his home, Tudor House, making it into an additional room.[
During the Georgian era, more sections of the Rows were blocked, especially by commercial development on the north side of Watergate Street. In 1808, Thomas Harrison designed the Commercial Coffee Room in Northgate Street in neoclassical style, with an ]arcade
Arcade most often refers to:
* Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine
** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware
** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board
* Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games
* ...
at the ground-floor level, rather than continuing the Row on the first floor.
In 1859–60, Chester Bank was built in Eastgate Street, again obliterating its part of the Row. However other architects continued the tradition of maintaining the Rows in their designs; examples include the Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
Booth Mansion of 1700 in Watergate Street, T. M. Penson's Gothic Revival Crypt Chambers of 1858 in Eastgate Street, and buildings in modern style constructed in Watergate Street in the 1960s.
Today
About 20 stone undercrofts still exist, some of them vaulted, dating from the 13th or early 14th century.[ One of the finest is Cowper House at No. 12 Bridge Street, with an undercroft of six bays built in ]sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...
rubble. It has plain rib-vaulting on plain corbels; the ribs are single- chamfered.
On the other side of Bridge Street, at No. 15, is another undercroft, this one having two double-chamfered arches. The Falcon, in Lower Bridge Street, has an undercroft which formerly had three bays but which has now been divided into two chambers. At No. 11 Watergate Street is a two-naved undercroft with four bays. Also in Watergate Street are undercrofts at Nos. 23[ and 37, the latter having 5½ bays. Crypt Chambers, at No. 28 Eastgate Street, has a four-bay undercroft.]
At the Row level, the medieval building was usually built in timber, and few examples remain. One which does remain is the building known as Three Old Arches
Three Old Arches is a building at 48 Bridge Street, Chester, Cheshire, England. Together with the adjacent building at No. 50, it is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. The ...
. Consisting of three arches, the frontage of this shop is stone and is probably the earliest identified shopfront in England. The building also retains its undercroft and hall, the latter also built in stone.[
According to the records in the English Heritage Archive, 14 buildings incorporate sections of Chester Rows. The records in the ''National Heritage List for England'' show that at least 95 of the buildings containing sections of the Rows are ]listed
Listed may refer to:
* Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm
* Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic
* Endangered species in biology
* Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...
; 9 of these are listed as Grade I, 20 as Grade II*, and 66 as Grade II. The ''National Heritage List for England'' records the uses made by the premises at street level and in the Rows. Most of these are shops, but other uses include offices, restaurants and cafés, and private dwellings. The building at No. 1 Bridge Street has shops at both street and Row levels.
A department store
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
occupies the street and Row levels (and the storey above) of Crypt Chambers.[ ]Bishop Lloyd's House
Bishop Lloyd's House (or Bishop Lloyd's Palace) is at 41 Watergate Street, and 51/53 Watergate Row, Chester, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. The ...
in Watergate Street has a shop at the street level and above this there are meeting rooms, and the office of Chester Civic Trust.
As of 2010, Booth Mansion, also in Watergate Street, contains a solicitors' office. The former St Michael's Church, which is now a heritage centre
A heritage centre, center, or museum is a public facility – typically a museum, monument, visitor centre, or park – that is primarily dedicated to the presentation of historical and cultural information about a place and its people, and often ...
, includes part of Bridge Street Row in the lowest stage of its tower. A remaining example of a section of a Row with a building between the walkway and the street is No. 22 Eastgate Street.
Since 1995 access to the Rows has been improved by a pedestrianisation scheme, which affects all the streets containing Rows. Most vehicles are prohibited from using the area between 08:00 and 18:00, although unloading is allowed until 10:30 and from 16:30.
Chester Rows are a major tourist attraction in the city because of their unique nature, their attractive appearance and the covered shopping they provide.
On 7 July 2010 it was announced that Chester Rows were being considered as an applicant for the new United Kingdom Tentative List for World Heritage status by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport
, type = Department
, logo = Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport logo.svg
, logo_width =
, logo_caption =
, seal =
, seal_width =
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, picture = Gove ...
. This was a campaign pledge by local MP Samantha Dixon in her campaign in the 2022 City of Chester by-election.
See also
*
*Loggia
In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...
: a similar Italian architectural element
References
Notes
Citations
Sources
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{{good article
Buildings and structures in Chester
History of Chester
Shopping arcades in England
Tourist attractions in Cheshire
Timber framed buildings in Cheshire
Retail formats