Kings Buildings

Description

This information is taken from the statutory List as it was in 2001 and may not be up to date.

CHESTER CITY (IM)

SJ4066NW KING STREET 595-1/1/215 (South side) 28/07/55 Nos.1-6 (consec) Kings Buildings (Formerly Listed as: KING STREET (South side) Nos 1,3 & 6 King's Buildings & Nos 2, 4 & 5 King's Buildings)

GV II*

Terrace of 6 town houses, now houses, offices and flats. Dated 1775. Brown brick in Flemish bond to front and west end and in English garden wall bond to east end and rear; roof of grey slates, in diminishing courses to front with very large slates at eaves. EXTERIOR: cellars and 3 storeys. Painted stone plinth with moulded cap. Stone steps to doors in pedimented cases: Nos 1 & 2 have 6 fielded panels, Nos 4 & 6 have 6 octagonal fielded panels, Nos 3 & 5 have 4 fielded panels above 2 flush panels.

Roman Doric doorcases of stone, that to No.1 containing a fanlight with a vase-shaped pane above 2 semicircles, that to No.2 a 2-pane overlight, to No.3 a radial-bar fanlight and a 3-pane sidelight, to No.4 a radial-bar fanlight and 2-pane sidelights, to No.5 a radial-bar fanlight and 4-pane sidelights and to No.6 a narrower doorcase with fluted pilasters and a looped radial-bar fanlight. The first and second storeys have 12-pane sashes, flush to Nos 1, 2, 5 & 6 and recessed to Nos 3 & 4: three sashes to the first storey of No.1, two to west of door to each of Nos 2, 3, 4 & 5 and double-fronted to No.6. Three sashes to the second storey of each house: No.1 has a replaced casement between two 12-pane sashes in the third storey; the other houses have three 9-pane sashes. All houses have painted stone sills; Nos 1, 5 & 6 have a second storey floor-band; Nos 1, 2 & 3 have rusticated wedge lintels with dropped keystones, Nos 4 & 6 flush wedge lintels and No.5 painted gauged brick flat arches. Modillion cornices, with slight variation between houses, stepping down between Nos 2 & 3 and Nos 4 & 5. The west end has a canted brick bay with cellar opening, 3 flush 4-pane sashes to the first storey, 3 wrought-iron balconies to the second storey with French windows of 4, 3 and 6 panes, flush 9-pane sashes to the third storey, one with glazing bars removed; painted stone sills and wedge lintels; the brickwork behind the canted bay is largely renewed. The east end is plain.



The rear has no concerted design, but individual features of interest. No.1 has a replaced door, a 20-pane flush sash and a replaced 12-pane window to the first storey, a Venetian window of 4;12;4 panes and fan to the first landing, 2 flush 12-pane sashes to the second storey and to the third storey; the return of No.2 has a 12-pane sash to the first storey and an 8-pane sash to each upper storey. No.2 has a full-width rear gable with a single-storey brick bow having a pair of 6-pane French windows with an 8-pane overlight, a pair of flush 8-pane sashes in a camber-arched opening and a 2-panel door with 3-pane overlight under a cambered head to the first storey; 2 flush 12-pane sashes to each upper storey. No.3 has a 2-panel door, a flush Venetian window of 8;12;8 panes and fan to first and second storeys and of 4;12;4 panes and fan to the first landing, a flush 12-pane sash to the second landing, a 4;12;4 pane tripartite sash to the third storey and a 9-pane sash to the attic. No.5 has, in the rear of the main block, a 5;10;5 panes tripartite sash to the first storey, one of 4;12;4 panes to the second storey and a flush 12-pane sash to the third storey. No.6 has a 6-panel door and dual 12-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 12 and 4 panes to the second storey and replaced windows to the third storey. INTERIORS: comprehensive internal inspection was not possible.

Features viewed include: No.1 is an office. The hall has an archway to the stair, with pilasters. The west front room has a 6-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 6-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, 3 slender turned balusters per step, turned newels, swept rail probably of oak and painted, 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 6-panel door, painted panelled dado, window shutters, cast-iron grate in marble fireplace and ceiling cornice; the east front room has a 6-panel door from side of landing and a probably inserted 2-panel door from front of landing, panelled dado, window shutters and ceiling cornice; the west back room has a 6-panel door, but all internal features stripped; two 6-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 4-panel doors. The closed-string attic stair has a turned newel and 2 stick balusters per step. The attic has a roughly finished square purlin. No.2 is flats; only the first storey and the stair could be inspected. The east and west front rooms have doors of 6 fielded panels and ceiling cornices and the main back room has a door of 6 fielded panels, window shutters and a ceiling cornice. The open-string stair has a narrow open well, patterned brackets, a double curtail, 3 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. No.3 is flats; only 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 door and stair is a pilastered basket archway. The open-string stair has a narrow open well, patterned brackets, curtail, plinthed fluted newels, 3 plinthed square balusters per step, swept handrail and panelled swept dado; the stair, 3 flights per storey, continues with similar detail to the third storey. The fine full-width, well restored front room, has skirting, dado, broad pilastered fireplace with side-panels, large moulded plaster panels with festoons and recessed corners, ceiling cornice. The back room has a skirting, blocked fireplace, panelled embrasure to Venetian window and ceiling cornice; kitchen with cornice. No.4, now flats, has a stair similar to those described, but probably simpler; the rooms could not be inspected. No.5 is offices. The rooms, some of which are sub-divided, are stated to retain pre-conversion features; between hall and stair a basket arch on pilasters; the open-well open-string stair has patterned brackets, curtail, 3 plinthed square balusters per step, some damaged, and fluted square newels; a door of 5 fielded panels; upper doors are covered. No.6, partly used as doctors' surgeries in 1990, has full cellars of brick, that to the rear being barrel vaulted, with stone steps. Hall with probably Edwardian pair of glazed inner doors, tiled floor, doors of 6 fielded panels to front rooms and rear west room, modillion cornice and round archway with fluted pilasters to open-well open-string stair with patterned brackets, curtail, 3 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 6 fielded panels;



the front west room has partitions, not affecting the structure, 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 above the lower stair, is similarly but more simply detailed. The third storey has cornice to stair-well, 6 doors of 6 fielded panels, basket archway with pilasters and double keystone to the front suite and architraves to embrasures. Small loft with simple stair; simple roof-structure with purlins.







Listing NGR: SJ4027466568

Content

This is part of the Series: IOE01/1777 IOE Records taken by Peter Sargeant; within the Collection: IOE01 Images Of England

Rights

© Mr Peter Sargeant. Source: Historic England Archive

This photograph was taken for the Images of England project