Number 11 Row Number 11 Street

Number 11 Bridge Street and 11 Bridge Street Row East comprises a medieval stone undercroft below a Row shop and townhouse dating to the 17th century. The 17th-century timber frame partially survives, though the upper part of the façade was rebuilt as a replica of the earlier building in the 20th century. The Row shop was purchased in 1804 by Lowe and Sons, Gold and Silversmiths, who had previously occupied premises in The Pentice, an extension to St Peters Church at The Cross. They relocated to number 11 Bridge Street Row when The Pentice was demolished for road widening and have remained in continuous occupation since. The company traces its origins back to at least 1770 and maintains a long-standing relationship with the city's dignitaries whilst producing cups and trophies for the racecourse and silverware for the Royal family. The upper storeys now include a museum dedicated to the Lowe Company's history. In 2022, the undercroft shop remained in retail use. The building is constructed of sandstone and brick.

The building comprises four storeys including the undercroft and Row level. The undercroft features a shopfront to the street with a recessed central doorway flanked by single-pane wing-lights and single-pane front windows in early 20th-century manner. To the south, ten sandstone steps, repaired in concrete, lead up to the Row. Sandstone end-piers extend through the undercroft and Row storeys.

The Row level has a plain timber rail on simply moulded balusters to the front opening and the return to the steps, with two cast-iron intermediate columns. The Row contains a sloped boarded stallboard measuring 2.0 metres from front to back and a terrazzo-paved walkway. The shopfront, probably of early 19th-century date but altered, features grooved pilasters, panelled wood stall-risers and a recessed central modern glazed door. To each side are single-pane wing lights and single-pane front windows with moulded slender frames. A small fascia crowns the shopfront. To the south is a door to a back passage with four flush panels. Above the Row is a plaster ceiling with exposed timbers. A shop fascia sign covers the Row-top front bressumer.

The front elevation to the third and fourth storeys has been rebuilt in 20th-century brick but follows approximately the 17th to 18th-century form. Windows feature stone sills and wedge lintels. The third storey contains three nearly flush sash windows, now fitted with two-over-two panes. The fourth storey has two recessed casement windows of two eight-pane lights without mullions. A stone-coped front gable is fitted with cast-iron rainwater pipes and heads to each side.

Internally, an 18th-century brick cross-wall divides the front and back parts of the medieval undercroft. The front part, now a small shop, contains a central oak chamfered Samson post 0.37 metres square with chamfers stopped at the top but not at the bottom. This supports a heavy oak pad carrying a beam 0.45 metres wide by 0.21 metres high, running from front to back. The walls are lined. In the rear part of the undercroft, accessed by 18th-century stone steps from the Row shop, the beam has been cut off. However, the medieval sandstone side-walls, patched rear wall with a corbel that formerly carried the beam, and a sole-plate in the north wall level with the former beam remain visible. An 18th-century brick chimney breast and steps stand against the south wall.

The Row shop retains a fine Edwardian hardwood interior with a stair leading to an arcaded gallery at third storey level. The arcade features tapered square posts with entasis, round arches, triple keys and a chamfered oak beam, probably of 17th-century date, spanning across the shop and rear passage.

The chamber above the Row contains a 17th-century beam morticed for a former stud partition. To the east, the rear wing displays Georgian brickwork and a Georgian window. A narrow stair ascends to the altered fourth storey, which retains some oak studding, wattle-and-daub and a 17th-century trenched-purlin trussed roof. The listing grade is primarily for the medieval undercroft; the intact interior of the Edwardian Row shop represents the best example of its period in Chester.