Number 52 Street

Number 52 Bridge Street and Number 2 Whitefriars, Chester

A Grade II listed building comprising a shop and office at ground level with residential accommodation above, occupying a pivotal site in Chester's medieval town plan. The building stands on the remains of a service bay belonging to a large medieval town house whose hall survives in Numbers 48 and 50 Bridge Street. The service wing at this location was demolished, and a Georgian town house was constructed above the undercroft level, probably around 1760. The building has undergone some 20th-century alterations.

The structure is built in brown brick laid in Flemish bond facing Bridge Street, with English garden wall bond to the Whitefriars elevation. The roof is covered in grey slate, set at right-angles to Bridge Street and hipped to the front.

The Bridge Street elevation is four storeys high. The ground floor shopfront is a late 20th-century insertion. The second storey has two nearly flush 12-pane sashes with painted stone sills, rusticated wedge lintels and fluted keystones, replacing the former Chester Row. The third storey contains two similar but taller sashes. The fourth storey has a central tripartite sash of 3:9:3 panes. A painted stone cornice runs across the facade below a low lead-covered parapet.

The long south elevation facing Whitefriars features cast-iron vents and a small-paned cellar window. The first storey includes a short return of the shopfront. The entrance to Number 2 Whitefriars comprises four stone steps rising to a five-panelled door set within a pedimented doorcase with fluted pilasters, topped by a looped radial-bar fanlight. A short internal stair leads to the stair-hall. The first storey windows are nearly flush sashes with painted stone sills and cambered brick heads: one 12-pane sash and three tripartite sashes of 4:12:4 panes, one notably taller than the others. The second storey has a 12-pane sash, a tall staircase sash with a 12-pane lower leaf and 15-pane upper leaf, a tripartite sash of 4:12:4 panes and a further 12-pane sash. The third storey contains a 4-pane sash and two 9-pane sashes. A lead rainwater pipe and head run down the facade. A stone-capped parapet crowns the elevation. Large lateral chimney stacks are positioned near the Bridge Street corner and set back near the rear.

The cellars and basements preserve evidence of both medieval and Georgian phases. The cellar beneath Number 52 Bridge Street is rock-cut and largely Georgian, with Flemish bond brickwork, but retains some medieval stonework in its rear wall. The basement of Number 2 Whitefriars, at the former undercroft level, is largely Georgian with brick barrel-vaults and brick-arched wine-bins featuring chamfered joists.

Number 2 Whitefriars occupies the full width of each storey above the former Row level. The second storey (formerly Row level) front room has a rehung broad five-panel door, panelled dado and embrasures, a Greek Doric fireplace and plaster cornice, though a 20th-century partition has been inserted. The adjoining room features a five-panel door, simple panelled dado, blocked corner firebreast and plaster cornice. The stair-hall is distinguished by a round archway with panelled pilasters and moulded arch-arrises opening to the front passage. The open-string stair has a narrow open well, open string, shaped brackets, fluted newels, two stick balusters per step and a swept rail. The dado, probably altered, has fluted pilasters. The room behind the stair contains a chimney-breast, rail (but no panels) to the dado, a fitted cupboard in the chimney-corner and two chamfered oak beams. The adjoining room has a painted chamfered beam.

The third storey front room features panelled window-embrasures and plaster cornice. The second room has a five-panelled door, corner fireplace, simple dado panelling and plaster cornice. The landing has an archway identical to that on the second storey. The room behind the stair contains a five-panel door, embrasures with panelled shutters, fireplace and plaster cornice. Two small back rooms have five-panel doors. The fourth storey front room is fitted with a five-panel door and a chamfered softwood beam hacked to provide a key for former plaster. The second room has a five-panel door, corner fireplace and two five-panel doors towards the stair. The room behind the stair contains a five-panel door and fitted cupboards in chimney-corners. The adjoining room has five-panel doors to the passage and back room. Two small back rooms have five-panel doors; the northern example features a cast-iron Gothic window with an inset four-pane opening light. Several HL hinges and old latches survive throughout.

The parallel-sided glazing bars and architectural features, including oak beams, suggest that parts of the building may date to the early 18th century, predating the main Georgian reconstruction. The building is documented in the Chester Rows Research Project archives.