Falcon Inn

The Falcon Inn is a Grade I town house, now operating as a public house, located on the west side of Lower Bridge Street in Chester. It represents one of the finest surviving examples of Chester's medieval commercial architecture, with construction beginning around 1180 and successive modifications continuing through the later Middle Ages, 16th century, 1626, and the 20th century.

The building is constructed of coursed rubble sandstone with timber framing, plaster panels, some wattle and daub, and brick, with grey slate roofs. It originally extended across two bays to Lower Bridge Street and two spans to Grosvenor Street, though the eastern span has been substantially altered.

Much of the stonework and timbers from the former east span of the roof now survive reused in the cellar ceiling, dating from around 1180. The timber framing itself belongs to later medieval phases of alteration. The front elevation to Lower Bridge Street displays a coursed red sandstone undercroft, now largely rendered, above which sits the historic Chester Row. This Row level contains close studding with a striking 11-light leaded window featuring a moulded oak beam and ovolo mullions and transoms. Nine stone steps lead south from the pavement to the former Row, providing access to the bar. Medieval stone sidewalls flank a low 2-centred arch entrance, with walls repaired in brick. A replaced oak door with massive frame and moulded arrises occupies this opening.

The structural framing displays characteristic medieval features: a dragon-beam on a shaped bracket marks the north-east corner, while square oak beams carry a jetty-bressumer with carved fascia. The north-east corner itself is canted. The second storey features a row of 12 quatrefoil panels sloped slightly outward, positioned beneath a continuous 34-light leaded window that returns with a further 6 lights to the north face. This window has hollow-chamfered mullions and transom, a moulded corner-post and head-beam jointed at centre, with the window itself sloped outward. A pair of gables rest on 3 shaped brackets, featuring moulded ties, herringbone struts, replaced moulded bargeboards and shaped finials. The timber framing to this façade dates from the late 16th century and was restored by architect John Douglas in the late 19th century.

The Grosvenor Street elevation reveals two distinct phases. The higher, older east portion contains sandstone to the undercroft and Row storey, partly replaced in brick, with a leaded cross-window. A moulded jetty-beam sits on round-ended beams carrying a small-framed second storey with one intermediate rail, two diagonal braces to the face and one to the west return. This storey also carries the return of the continuous Lower Bridge Street window and a leaded cross-window. A shaped lateral chimney of brown brick rises from this section. The lower 2-storey west wing dates from around 1626 and was probably built for Sir Richard Grosvenor. It has a rendered plinth and large framing, with a 7-light mullioned and transomed window and another 4-light example of similar character. The second storey contains large framing with 2 adjacent angled braces and 2 mullioned and transomed casements plus a 1-light transomed window to the east. The rendered full-width rear gable-end displays nearly-flush 12-pane sashes: one to the first storey and three to the second storey.

The medieval undercroft, now the beer cellar, survives as the building's most significant interior feature. Originally a single 3-bay chamber, it is now divided into a 2-bay north chamber and a parallel 1-bay south chamber. The north cellar contains a massive oak central east-west beam supported on 3 Samson posts with arched braces (one now removed), set on sandstone bases. Two octagonal stone piers originally divided the chambers; these are now joined by a modern brick wall. Both cellars have outer walls of coursed rubble sandstone, repaired and altered in brick. The north cellar retains a blocked stone stair to the street in its east wall, with a replaced stair to the west, stone corbels in the north wall, and medieval joists over the eastern portion. The south cellar preserves a medieval window-jamb in its east wall, opening through a depressed arch of two stones into a recess containing remains of a spiral stair in the west wall. A cupboard recess occupies the south wall, with stone corbels and repositioned medieval joists visible. The main timbers in both cellars, dated to around 1180, are reused material from a former scissor-braced truss that once spanned the east portion of this early medieval town house.

The Row storey contains front and centre rooms. The front room retains 2 (possibly formerly 4) sandstone Row piers, a chimney breast of stone and brick to the north, a dragon-beam and joists. The centre room to the north has a corner fireplace with a breast shared with the front room, framed partitions with one intermediate rail separating it from the south room. The south room has a south wall partly of sandstone. The west wing contains a timber-framed south wall and a north wall partly of stone. The timber-framed second storey room to the front displays dado panelling and a fluted square cast-iron central column, while the centre rooms show some timber framing.

The building represents a continuous sequence of modification reflecting Chester's commercial prosperity, from the prosperous early medieval period through to later improvements, representing a palimpsest of construction techniques and architectural styles spanning nearly nine centuries.