The Falcon is a

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

in Chester, Cheshire, England. It stands on the west side of Lower Bridge Street at its junction with Grosvenor Road. The Falcon is recorded in the

National Heritage List for England The National Heritage List for England (NHLE) is England's official database of protected heritage assets. It includes details of all English listed buildings, scheduled monuments, register of historic parks and gardens, protected shipwrecks, a ...

as a designated Grade I

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 ...

. The building formerly incorporated part of

Chester Rows 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 ...

, but it was the first building to have its portion of the row enclosed in the 17th century.

History

The building originated as a house in about 1200 and was later extended to the south along Lower Bridge Street, with a great hall running parallel to the street. During the 13th century it was rebuilt to incorporate its portion of the row. It was rebuilt again during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. The house was bought in 1602 by Sir Richard Grosvenor who extensively altered it some 40 years later to make it his

town house A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...

. 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 ...

he moved his family here from his country home, Eaton Hall. In 1643 Sir Richard petitioned the City Assembly for leave to enlarge his house by enclosing the portion of the row which passed through his property. This was successful and it set a precedent for other residents of Lower Bridge Street to enclose their portion of the rows, or to build new structures which did not incorporate the rows. In the late 18th century the building ceased to be the town house of the Grosvenor family. It continued to be owned by them, and between 1778 and 1878 it was licensed as ''The Falcon Inn''. In about 1879 alterations were made by John Douglas. At this time it was known as ''The Falcon Cocoa House'' and it was re-opened as a temperance house. In 1886 Grayson and Ould carried out a restoration. By the 1970s the building had become virtually derelict. In 1979 the Falcon Trust was established, and the building was donated to the trust by the

Grosvenor Estate Grosvenor Group Limited is an internationally diversified property group, which traces its origins to 1677 and has its headquarters in London, England. It has a global reach, now in 62 international cities, with offices in 14 of them, operated on ...

. Between 1979 and 1982 the building was restored and in 1983 it won a

Europa Nostra Europa Nostra (Italian for "Our Europe") is a pan-European Federation for Cultural Heritage, representing citizens' organisations that work on safeguarding Europe's cultural and natural heritage. It is the voice of this movement to relevant inte ...

award. The building was donated to the Falcon Trust by the

, and was reopened by the

Duke of Westminster 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 ...

in May 1992.

Architecture

Exterior

The east face of The Falcon is on Lower Bridge Street and the north face on Grosvenor Road. The east face has two storeys on a

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 ...

plinth with two

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 ...

s. Most of the sandstone is rendered. To the left is a staircase of nine steps leading from the street to the lower storey, which is the level of the enclosed row. The lower storey has close timber studding and an eleven-light leaded window. Above this is a row of twelve quatrefoil panels which slope slightly outwards over which is a continuous 34-light leaded window. The two gables are carried on brackets which curve outwards, and have herringbone

strut A strut is a structural component commonly found in engineering, aeronautics, architecture and anatomy. Struts generally work by resisting longitudinal compression, but they may also serve in tension. Human anatomy Part of the functionality o ...

s, moulded

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 ...

s and shaped finials. The north face give the appearance of two buildings. The older part is to the left (east) and the newer right (west) part was possibly added by Sir Richard Grosvenor in 1626. The eastern portion is a continuation of the east front. The street level and the lower storey are in sandstone, partly rendered, some of which has been replaced by brick. The upper storey has a window of six lights, which are continuous with those on the east face and two quatrefoils above. To the right of these is timber framing and a window. Above is a grey slate roof and a lateral shaped chimney in brick. The western portion has a rendered

plinth A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...

with timber framing above. On the lower storey is a door and two windows, one with seven lights and the other with four. The upper storey has similar windows, plus a one-light window over the door.

Interior

The medieval undercroft is used as the beer cellar. It was originally a single three-bay chamber but has been divided by a

brick wall Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called ''courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by si ...

into a two-bay north chamber and a single-bay south chamber. In the cellar are two octagonal stone piers and a massive central east–west oak beam. On the level of the row is a room along the east side, which is the enclosed portion of the row, and two rooms behind, with a further room in the west wing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Falcon, Chester Grade I listed buildings in Chester Pubs in Chester Medieval architecture Timber framed buildings in Cheshire Timber framed pubs in England Grade I listed pubs in Cheshire

History

Architecture

Exterior

Interior

See also

References