Visiting the UK - Chester's Historic Tudor Rows
Medieval Buildings & Raised Walkways Make Chester Unique
Jul 19, 2008
Chester is an historic county town in the north west of England that boasts many architectural gems dating from Roman times. Its ancient heritage is most apparent in the substantial Roman walls that surround the old town and in the ampitheatre remains.
The Tudor Rows of Chester
The town is also rightly proud of its medieval and Tudor history which has resulted in an abundance of black and white timbered buildings that line the streets. However it is the Tudor Rows that are Chester’s unique claim to fame. The Rows constitute a second row of shops above the ground floor level; a sort of medieval shopping mall.
Accessed by stairways from the street to the first floor level, The Rows are timbered walk ways with open balconies that look out over the streets below. They shelter the shopper from inclement weather and are simply a pleasure to use, steeped as they are in history and atmosphere.
How Did Chester's Rows Come to Exist
There is some debate over the reason for this unique architecture. One theory is that it started out as a fortified structure, built by the Romans to defend the inhabitants of the town from the marauding Welsh. Possibly soldiers were employed to build them between campaigns as a way of staving off the dangers of inactivity and boredom.
Another theory is that it was a clever way of doubling the rents that could be achieved from expensive real estate in the town centre, simultaneously doubling the amount of trade that could be done. Chester, to this day, is well known as an "up-market" shopping experience.
Chester's Rows - The Original Shopping Mall Concept
There is some evidence that the rows were initially open fronted shops, rather like market stalls, that could be closed up at night by the use of wooden shutters. However over the years it became more convenient to enclose the shops with glazed windows.
Some of the rows were absorbed into dwellings in order to provide living accommodation (e.g. God’s Providence House). Thankfully, most of the rows survived this trend and they are now Listed and protected in perpetuity.
Chester - Built Over the Roman Fortress
Deva, fortress of the Roman 20th Legion, was abandoned in the year 410 AD. Archaeological studies have proven that the main streets of the town do coincide with the old fortress; Bridge Street overlies the Via Praetoria and Upper Northgate Streets sits over the Via Decumana. It is thought that the rows may have developed out of Roman structures.
Certainly the dressed stone they left behind would have been scavenged and reused and this may explain the quality of stonework in many of the buildings standing today.
References
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