Tudor House
Picture: E Gardner Williams
About this image:
This photograph was taken in 1961.
The publication 2000 Years of building states:
This house only earns its 'Tudor' name by a hairsbreadth, for it probably dates from the year of Elizabeth 1sts death when James 1st became our 1st Stuart King. The plaque dated 1503 above the door, should read 1603. The timber framed house was extended to the rear in the mid 17th century and the front was rebuilt in 1728, when the Row walk through its second storey was enclosed. The location of the former Row and Stall (behind the three early 18th century sash windows) can still be seen from the position of the timbers embedded in its south side. The front door has a Tudor arched case, the third and forth storeys are jettied forward and have leaded mullioned and transomed casements.
Originally built for a wealthy Chester merchant, Tudor House, like many of its contemporaries has had a variety of uses in its time. The two undercrofts at street level are now united as a single shop but were once quite separate. One was a bakehouse while the other was the Britannia Inn with rooms above and, apparently in the neighbouring building (33 Lower Bridge street) when the two were linked together by a bridge which was a continuation of the Row walkway.
Image Description:
Tudor House This is a row of buildings on the east side of Lower Bridge Street. On the left is a brick building with a flat roof. There is small triangular shape and one chimney pot visible above the roof edge. Immediately below the roof are two squares of brick, which look like blind windows. Below these there is a pair of sash windows; the one of the left has the bottom half open, on the right only partially open at the bottom. Below is another set of sash windows and also another on the second storey. Below these windows is a band of wood or metal, which may be the front of a shop awning. Then a band of brick above a brown fascia. The ground level has a shop door, the top two thirds of which is glazed, set between two shop windows, the one on the left has been cut off by the camera. A cream fabric or paper covers the inside of the windows and the door and notices are fixed inside the door and the middle of the right-hand window. To the right of this is a timber-framed building with one gable and a grey slate roof. Set within the gable are rows of square black timbers on a white ground. The top row has a square with a triangle on each side; the triangles have diagonal lines while the square has a pattern with a diamond in the middle. The next row down has four white squares in the middle with a triangle of diagonal stripes on each site. The bottom row has six squares with the diamond pattern and diagonal stripes in the two sections at the edge of the gable.
Below this is a black beam which jetties out slightly over the wall below. Immediately below the beam, in the centre, is a window, which has three frames each with a number panes (about 16). The middle frame is open. Immediately to the right and left of the window is a narrow strip of white ground between two black uprights. Under the window is a row of white arches on a black background. To either side of the window there are black rectangles with wavy black lines of timber going across. This storey jetties out slightly above the one below, being separated from it by a black beam. On the third storey there are panels to either side made of the same wavy timbers. In the middle there is a pair of windows. Each has three smaller frames at the top and three longer rectangular frames underneath. Each frame contains several small square panels set in lead. On this storey there are four hanging signs. The one to the left of the windows is an irregular shape, the bottom being wider than the top. The one to the right of the windows matches this. To the right and slightly lower than these signs are two more. The one on the left is round; the one on the right has a Tudor Rose design on it. This storey is again separated from the one below by a black beam which jetties out slightly. On the second storey there are three sash windows set into a plain white background. Between the second and third window there is a small black square with some sort of motif on it. To the right of the building is an entrance, which extends down to the ground. On the ground floor there is a door at the left which is black with glass in the top half and the word OPEN on a card. The lower part of the door has two white panels in it. To the right of the door is a shop window with a black frame and the words in white along the top CATHERALLS OF CHESTER. There is a glazing bar in the middle and some goods can be seen inside. Below the window is a narrow strip of white wall. Then there is another door very similar to the first and another window with a black frame and the words ANTIQUES & FINE ARTS. To the left of the timber-framed building, where it joins its neighbour, there is a portion of the side wall visible at third and fourth storeys. It is white with some black timber-work. The next building to the right is brick with a gable and grey roof tile or slates. There are two chimneystacks on top each with three pots. The bargeboard of the gable is red. Within the gable there are two windows but the one on the left is blanked out in red. The sash window on the right is open top and bottom. On the third storey there is another pair of sash window both are open at the bottom. On the second storey there is also a pair of sash windows open and the bottom. At the ground level, next to the entry. There is a pillar of cream stones forming the corner. Then a doorway in bright red with a window to the right. Below the window is a panel of white and then there is another strip of cream stones. A woman is passing this window; she wears a yellow dress and caries a shopping bag. The buildings to the right of this are all cream in colour and have flat roofs. The first has a chimneystack above the roof and a single sash window on the fourth storey. Each storey is separated from the one below by a band of stone relief. At the third and second storey there is a pair of matching tall windows and at the ground floor a door and one window. The next building is double the width and has five windows on the top storey but the second and fourth is blind. On the third storey there are five sash windows but these have stone decorative features and the top and bottom. The third storey has two windows to the left and then a canopied stone porch supported on a pillar. This building is partly obscured by a lamp standard with a decorative metal bracket, a traffic sign in yellow and red and a parked vehicle. This is facing uphill and is white with a black fender at the front.
The pavement is light grey the road is of tarmac and there is a shadow on the road in the bottom right hand corner.