Nine Houses
Text: Chester City Council
These tiny timber-framed cottages in Park Street are the only pre-19th century almshouses in Chester. They date from c1650 and provided accommodation for poor and needy people over the age of 65, who had to promise not to indulge in either alcohol or tobacco to qualify for residency. Only six of the original terrace of nine houses survive.
The Nine Houses are rare examples of small 17th century dwellings. The ground floor is built of brick on a low sandstone plinth, while the timber-framed upper story, infilled with early brick, has a jettied dormer gable to each cottage. By modern standards the oak-boarded front doors are tiny. A plaque on the front marks the boundary between St. Michael's and St. Bridget's parishes and is similar to other parish boudary markers on buildings around the city.
The three northern cottages were probably demolished in the late 19th century. A late Victorian black and white house by W H Kelly stands on the site of two of the original cottages. Its elaborately decorated frontage, with the inscription THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE is an excellent example of Chester's Victorian vernacular revival.
By the late 1950s, the cottages had become very dilapidated and were deemed unsuitable for occupancy. By 1962 all the residents had been moved elsewhere. Despite campaigns to save them, The Nine Houses deteriorated rapidly and by 1966 they were in danger of collapse.
Finally, Chester City Council acquired grants to embark on a major restoration and modernisation programme during 1968-69. This was one of the Council's first projects under what was to become an internationally acclaimed conservation programme. Even so, parts of the structure were so decayed that the back wall of the properties had to be completely rebuilt.