Numbers 5 and 7 Street

Numbers 5 and 7 Street is a building in Chester, consisting of an undercroft and a town house, which has been converted into two undercroft shops, a double Row shop, and two vacant storeys. The structure dates from the 15th century or later and was largely rebuilt as a town house and shops in 1803 and subsequent years. It is constructed of sandstone and brown brick, topped with a grey slate roof that is not visible from the front.

The exterior features four storeys, including the street and Row levels, with two main bays. There are two modern shopfronts facing the street, and a shopfront of earlier 20th-century character with a door near the centre leading to the Row. The brick piers have plastered inner faces and are complemented by a painted octagonal column at the centre of each bay of the Row. A wooden rail supported by stick balusters runs along the Row. The upper storeys have four-panel doors, with one located to the left of No. 5 and another to the right of No. 7. No. 7 has a 16-pane sash window on the third storey, while No. 5 has a 4-pane sash window on its third storey and one sash window in each bay of the fourth storey. The third storey windows feature flat gauged brick heads, while the fourth storey windows have simple cambered heads. There is a plain brick gable chimney at each end of the building, along with a cast-iron rainwater head, pipe, and brackets, the upper bracket of which is dated 1803. The rear elevation is not visible.

Inside, the undercroft of No. 5 has late medieval rubble sandstone walling, with an inserted brick barrel-vault, likely from the 18th century. It features two chamfered oak beams, the first of which is approximately four feet behind the shopfront. There is a chimney breast on the right wall, behind the second beam, and two replaced beams further back. A blocked stair with stone treads and brick risers against the west wall once led to the Row storey. The structure of the undercroft in No. 7 is not visible, and there are no notable features at Row level. The upper storeys could not be inspected but are reported to have been gutted.