3–31 Northgate Street is a

terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk an ...

of shops, offices and a public house on the west side of

Northgate Street Northgate Street is a street in the City of Gloucester, so named because its northern end was originally the location of the north gate in the city's walls. The street runs from the crossroads of Northgate, Eastgate Street, Eastgate, Southgate ...

, Chester, Cheshire, England. All the buildings have a set-back ground floor with a covered walkway, are

timber-framed Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large woode ...

in their upper storeys, and are

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

s, being graded II* or II. The part of the terrace comprising numbers 5–31 is known as Shoemakers' Row, or Sadler's Row.

3 Northgate Street

This consists of a shop on the ground floor over which is the dining room of Chester City Club. It was designed by H. W. Beswick and built between 1898 and 1899 for Charles Brown. Above the shop the building is externally expressed as two storeys, each of which is

jettied Jettying (jetty, jutty, from Old French ''getee, jette'') is a building technique used in medieval timber-frame buildings in which an upper floor projects beyond the dimensions of the floor below. This has the advantage of increasing the avail ...

. The lower of these storeys has a full-length

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

ed and transomed window and the storey above has a three-light window. Above this is a

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

with an ornate

bargeboard Bargeboard (probably from Medieval Latin ''bargus'', or ''barcus'', a scaffold, and not from the now obsolete synonym "vergeboard") or rake fascia is a board fastened to each projecting gable of a roof to give it strength and protection, and to ...

and a finial. It is a Grade II listed building.

5–9 Northgate Street

The site was owned by the local architect John Douglas who designed the building which was constructed in 1900. Number 9 was rebuilt after a fire in 1914. The whole has two storeys and six bays. On the ground floor modern shop fronts are behind 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 * ...

that is raised by two steps above the street. Above this is a carved

bressumer A bressummer, breastsummer, summer beam (somier, sommier, sommer, somer, cross-somer, summer, summier, summer-tree, or dorman, dormant tree) is a load-bearing beam in a timber-framed building. The word ''summer'' derived from sumpter or French ...

which includes the date 1900. The upper storey includes three pairs of canted five-light oriel windows; between each pair of windows is a carved figure. Above all are three gables with carved bargeboards and finials. The building is listed Grade II*.

11–13 Northgate Street

Listed Grade II, this building consists of a shop built in 1900 for J. F. Denson and Sons and designed by John Douglas. On the ground floor there is a modern shop front behind an arcade. In the upper storey are decorated panels above which are two seven-light bowed oriel windows, each with further windows on each side, forming a row of continuous glazing. The gable is jettied and contains two rows of quatrefoil panels and a carved bargeboard. Internally the cellars consist of

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

15–17 Northgate Street

Number 17 was originally the Cross Keys Inn. The two properties are now joined to form one shop which was built about 1909 and designed by James Strong. The ground floor has a modern shop front behind an arcade. The first storey has three bays and is

close studded Close studding is a form of timber work used in timber-framed buildings in which vertical timbers ( studs) are set close together, dividing the wall into narrow panels. Rather than being a structural feature, the primary aim of close studding is to ...

. Each side bay has a five-light oriel window, and in the central bay is a three-bay casement window. The third storey is jettied and close studded with three hipped half- dormers, each of three lights. The cellar probably consists of the paired undercroft of one medieval house. The building is listed Grade II.

19 Northgate Street

A Grade II listed building, this shop contains some medieval masonry and was rebuilt about 1900, the architect probably being John Douglas. The shop has three storeys and three bays. The middle storey contains a six-light oriel window, the central two lights of which project to form a

bow window A bow window or compass window is a curved bay window. Bow windows are designed to create space by projecting beyond the exterior wall of a building, and to provide a wider view of the garden or street outside and typically combine four or more w ...

; on each side of the oriel is another single-light window. The top storey is jettied and contains two canted five-light oriel windows and braced panels. Above these are two gables containing quatrefoil panels.

21–23 Northgate Street

This is a shop and a café standing on the site of one or two medieval buildings. It was built in 1897 and designed by H. J. Beswick for Charles Brown. In the middle storey is a continuous mullioned and transomed window; this consists of a pair of three-light casement windows in the centre, and a four-light canted oriel window on each side. The top storey is jettied and contains a six-light casement window. Under the window are four pargetted panels that include the date "1897", and the initials "CB". At the side of the window are curved struts, and over it are ornate panels within the gable, which is topped by a carved finial. The building is listed Grade II*. In the cellar of number 23 are the remains of columns from the '' principia'' of the

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 ...

fort that previously stood on the site.

25 Northgate Street

Formerly the Woolpack Inn, this is now a shop and restaurant. It was rebuilt, probably by John Douglas, in about 1903, and modified in about 1914 to a design of 1909 by James Strong. It consists of a cellar over which are three storeys. The middle storey is jettied and contains three three-light casement windows over decorated panels. The top storey contains a six-light casement window with decorated panels beneath and to the sides. Over this the gable is jettied and includes quatrefoil panels. The cellar is mainly a medieval undercroft which possibly contains

stonework. The building is listed Grade II*.

27–31 Northgate Street

This Grade II* listed building is more complex than the others, consisting of shops, offices and a public house, and with one face overlooking Northgate Street and the other overlooking Town Hall Square. The public house dates probably from the early 19th century, and the rest of the building was re-fronted by John Douglas in 1902. The building as a whole is constructed in three storeys with a small attic and cellars. The Northgate Street face has a three-bay arcade on the street level. In the niches above the capitals of the columns supporting the arcade are carvings of figures; those facing the street are in Elizabethan costume playing instruments, while the two figures at the corner of the two faces are carrying scrolls. The middle storey of the face is jettied. It has a two-light mullioned and transomed casement window in number 29, and a four-light oriel window in number 31. At the corner of the building is a half-size painted effigy of

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

. The top storey is complex. Number 27 has a two-light casement window; number 28 also has a two-light casement window, above which is a jettied, gabled attic containing a five-light casement window and surmounted by a carved finial; number 31 has a four-light casement window over which is a jettied gable with a shaped bargeboard and a finial. Behind the gable of number 31 is a

flèche Flèche or Fleche may refer to: *Flèche (architecture), a type of church spire *Flèche (cycling), a team cycling competition *Flèche (fencing) The flèche is an aggressive offensive fencing technique used with foil and épée. Background ...

with a finial and a gilt

weather vane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...

. The face overlooking Town Hall Square has two storeys and five bays. The two east (left) bays are a continuation of the building overlooking Northgate Street, while the three west bays constitute the Dublin Packet public house. The first bay has a three-light canted oriel window with side-lights in the middle storey, over which is a jetty-beam inscribed with the Chester City motto in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

. The jettied top storey has a five-light casement window over which is a tie-beam inscribed 1902. Above this are quatrefoil panels, a gable with a shaped bargeboard, and a final. The second bay has a modern shop front at ground level, and a jettied middle storey containing a three-light casement window. The top floor has a gable simpler and smaller than that in the first bay which contains a three-light casement window. The ground floor of the public house is rendered and has a recessed porch; the upper stories are timber-framed. In the middle storey are three four-pane sash windows and in the top storey are three half-dormers, each containing a two-light casement window.

References

Citations Sources * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:3-31 Northgate Street, Chester John Douglas buildings Buildings and structures in Chester Timber framed buildings in Cheshire Grade II* listed buildings in Chester Grade II listed buildings in Chester