Kings Buildings

A terrace of six town houses, dated 1775, now converted to a mixture of residential and office use. The terrace stands on the south side of King Street in Chester and exemplifies the refined Georgian architecture of provincial towns in the late 18th century.

Exterior

The terrace is built of brown brick laid in Flemish bond to the front and west end, with English garden wall bond used at the east end and rear. The roof is covered in grey slates laid in diminishing courses to the front, with very large slates at the eaves. The buildings rise from cellars through three storeys above a painted stone plinth with moulded cap.

Stone steps lead to the front doors, which vary in detail between the houses. Numbers 1 and 2 have six fielded panels, Numbers 4 and 6 have six octagonal fielded panels, and Numbers 3 and 5 have four fielded panels above two flush panels. Each doorway is framed by a Roman Doric doorcase of stone. Number 1 has a fanlight with a vase-shaped pane above two semicircles; Number 2 has a two-pane overlight; Number 3 has a radial-bar fanlight and a three-pane sidelight; Number 4 has a radial-bar fanlight and two-pane sidelights; Number 5 has a radial-bar fanlight and four-pane sidelights; and Number 6 has a narrower doorcase with fluted pilasters and a looped radial-bar fanlight.

The first and second storeys are lit by twelve-pane sash windows, set flush in Numbers 1, 2, 5 and 6, and recessed in Numbers 3 and 4. Number 1 has three sashes to its first storey, Numbers 2, 3, 4 and 5 each have two sashes to the west of the door, and Number 6 is double-fronted. The second storey of each house has three sashes. The third storey of Number 1 has a replaced casement between two twelve-pane sashes; the other houses have three nine-pane sashes.

All houses have painted stone sills. Numbers 1, 5 and 6 have a second-storey floor-band. Numbers 1, 2 and 3 have rusticated wedge lintels with dropped keystones, Numbers 4 and 6 have flush wedge lintels, and Number 5 has painted gauged brick flat arches. Modillion cornices run along the terrace, with slight variations between houses, stepping down between Numbers 2 and 3 and Numbers 4 and 5.

The west end of the terrace features a canted brick bay with a cellar opening, three flush four-pane sashes to the first storey, three wrought-iron balconies to the second storey with French windows of four, three and six panes, and flush nine-pane sashes to the third storey, one with its glazing bars removed. The windows have painted stone sills and wedge lintels. The brickwork behind the canted bay is largely renewed. The east end is plain.

The rear elevations show no concerted design but contain individual features of interest. Number 1 has a replaced door, a twenty-pane flush sash and a replaced twelve-pane window to the first storey, a Venetian window of 4;12;4 panes with a fan to the first landing, two flush twelve-pane sashes to the second storey and to the third storey. The return of Number 2 has a twelve-pane sash to the first storey and an eight-pane sash to each upper storey.

Number 2 has a full-width rear gable with a single-storey brick bow containing a pair of six-pane French windows with an eight-pane overlight, a pair of flush eight-pane sashes in a camber-arched opening, and a two-panel door with a three-pane overlight under a cambered head to the first storey. It has two flush twelve-pane sashes to each upper storey.

Number 3 has a two-panel door, a flush Venetian window of 8;12;8 panes and fan to the first and second storeys and of 4;12;4 panes and fan to the first landing, a flush twelve-pane sash to the second landing, a 4;12;4 pane tripartite sash to the third storey, and a nine-pane sash to the attic. Number 5 has, in the rear of the main block, a 5;10;5 pane tripartite sash to the first storey, one of 4;12;4 panes to the second storey, and a flush twelve-pane sash to the third storey.

Number 6 has a six-panel door and dual twelve-pane flush sashes to the first storey, a flush Venetian window of 4;12;4 panes and fan to the first landing, flush sashes of twelve and four panes to the second storey, and replaced windows to the third storey.

Interiors

Comprehensive internal inspection was not possible, but features viewed include:

Number 1, now an office, has a hall with an archway to the stair supported by pilasters. The west front room has a six-panel door, painted panelled dado, panelled wooden fire-surround with moulded mantel, window shutters and ceiling cornice. The east front room, stripped of other features, has a six-panel door and window shutters. The west back room, otherwise stripped, has a chamfered cross-beam. The east back room is sub-divided. The open-string stair has a narrow open well, patterned brackets, curtail, three slender turned balusters per step, turned newels, a swept rail probably of oak and painted, and a swept dado. The Venetian window to the first half-landing has columns, pilasters and entablatures to its sidelights. In the second storey, the west front room has a six-panel door, painted panelled dado, window shutters, a cast-iron grate in a marble fireplace, and ceiling cornice. The east front room has a six-panel door from the side of the landing and a probably inserted two-panel door from the front of landing, panelled dado, window shutters and ceiling cornice. The west back room has a six-panel door, but all internal features have been stripped. There are two six-panel doors to lavatories. The stair to the third storey is partly covered but has a plain newel and some turned balusters and moulded rail exposed. The third-storey rooms have four-panel doors. The closed-string attic stair has a turned newel and two stick balusters per step. The attic has a roughly finished square purlin.

Number 2 is now flats; only the first storey and the stair could be inspected. The east and west front rooms have doors of six fielded panels and ceiling cornices, and the main back room has a door of six fielded panels, window shutters and a ceiling cornice. The open-string stair has a narrow open well, patterned brackets, a double curtail, three turned balusters per step, swept rails and swept panelled dado, probably all of mahogany. The stair to the third storey, with square newels, stick balusters and swept dado, is probably remade.

Number 3 is now flats; only the hall, stair and second storey were inspected. The hall has a wide doorway to the stair. The door is glazed above paired panels, with margined overlights and side-panels. Between the door and stair is a pilastered basket archway. The open-string stair has a narrow open well, patterned brackets, curtail, plinthed fluted newels, three plinthed square balusters per step, swept handrail and panelled swept dado. The stair, with three flights per storey, continues with similar detail to the third storey. The fine full-width, well-restored front room has skirting, dado, a broad pilastered fireplace with side-panels, large moulded plaster panels with festoons and recessed corners, and ceiling cornice. The back room has skirting, a blocked fireplace, panelled embrasure to the Venetian window and ceiling cornice. The kitchen has a cornice.

Number 4, now flats, has a stair similar to those described but probably simpler. The rooms could not be inspected.

Number 5 is now offices. The rooms, some of which are sub-divided, are stated to retain pre-conversion features. Between the hall and stair is a basket arch on pilasters. The open-well open-string stair has patterned brackets, curtail, three plinthed square balusters per step (some damaged), and fluted square newels. There is a door of five fielded panels; upper doors are covered.

Number 6, partly used as doctors' surgeries in 1990, has full cellars of brick, with the rear cellar barrel-vaulted and served by stone steps. The hall has a probably Edwardian pair of glazed inner doors, tiled floor, doors of six fielded panels to the front rooms and rear west room, modillion cornice and a round archway with fluted pilasters leading to the open-well open-string stair with patterned brackets, curtail, three plinthed turned balusters per step, turned newels, swept rail and swept panelled dado, all of oak. The first-storey front west room has skirting, panelled embrasures and ceiling cornice. The front east room has panelled embrasure and cornice. The rear rooms have no features. The Venetian window to the first landing has pilasters. The second storey has doors of six fielded panels. The front west room has partitions, not affecting the structure, a probably original fireplace with mantel on consoles and carved seashell on a shield, sub-panels and panelled shutters to embrasures, and modillion cornice. The back west room, not inspected, is stated to be unaltered. The front east room has a simple marble fireplace, panelled embrasure and cornice. The stair to the third storey, not directly above the lower stair, is similarly but more simply detailed. The third storey has cornice to the stair-well, six doors of six fielded panels, a basket archway with pilasters and double keystone to the front suite, and architraves to embrasures. A small loft with a simple stair has a simple roof-structure with purlins.