Details
CHESTER CITY (IM)
SJ4066SE LOWER BRIDGE STREET
595-1/4/230 (West side)
28/07/55 No.6
Falcon Inn
(Formerly Listed as:
LOWER BRIDGE STREET
(West side)
No 6 & Nos 8 & 10)
GV I
Town house, now a public house. c1180 altered later Middle
Ages, C16, 1626 and C20. Coursed rubble sandstone, timber
frame with plaster panels, some wattle and daub, and brick;
grey slate roofs.
EXTERIOR: cellar and 2 storeys of 2 bays to Lower Bridge
Street and formerly of 2 spans to Grosvenor Street. Much of
the stonework and the timbers from the former east span of the
roof, now reused in the cellar ceiling, date from 1180; the
timber framing dates from later alterations.
The front to Lower Bridge Street has undercroft of coursed red
sandstone, mostly now rendered; the storey above containing
the now enclosed Row, has close studding with a wide 11-light
leaded windows having moulded oak beam and ovolo mullions and
transoms. 9 renewed steps to south from pavement to former Row
giving access to the bar; repaired medieval stone sidewalls,
low 2-centre arch and walls repaired in brick in the porch; a
replaced framed and boarded oak door,with massive oak frame,
arrises moulded. Dragon-beam on shaped bracket at north-east
corner; square oak beams carrying jetty-bressumer with carved
fascia; the north-east corner is canted. The second main
storey has a row of 12 quatrefoil panels, sloped slightly
outward, beneath a continuous 34-light leaded window, returned
with a further 6 lights to north face, with hollow-chamfered
mullions and transom, moulded corner-post and head-beam
jointed at centre; the window is sloped outward. A pair of
gables on 3 shaped brackets have moulded ties, herringbone
struts, replaced moulded bargeboards and shaped finials. The
timber frame is late C16, restored by John Douglas late C19.
The face to Grosvenor Street has a higher and older east
portion and a lower 2-storey west wing, probably 1626 for Sir
Richard Grosvenor. The east portion has sandstone wall to
undercroft and Row storey, partly replaced in brick, and a
leaded cross-window. A moulded jetty-beam on round-ended beams
to the small-framed second storey, with one intermediate rail,
two diagonal braces to face and one to the west return, the
return of the continuous window to Lower Bridge Street and a
leaded cross window. A shaped lateral chimney of brown brick.
The west portion has a rendered plinth, large framing, a
leaded 7-light mullioned and transomed window and a similar
window of 4 lights. The second storey has large framing, 2
adjacent angled braces and 2 mullioned and transomed casements
plus a 1-light transomed window, east. The rendered full-width
rear gable-end has nearly-flush 12-pane sashes, one to the
first storey and 3 to the second storey.
INTERIOR: the medieval undercroft, now beer cellar, has a
2-bay north chamber and a parallel one-bay south chamber,
formerly a single 3-bay undercroft. The north cellar has a
massive oak central east-west beam on 3 samson posts with
arched braces, one removed, on sandstone bases. 2 octagonal
stone piers now joined by modern brick wall between north and
south cellars; both cellars have outer walls of coursed rubble
sandstone, repaired and altered in brick; the north cellar has
blocked stone stair to street in east wall and replaced stair
west; stone corbels in north wall and medieval joists over
east part. The south cellar has medieval window-jamb in east
wall, opening with depressed arch of 2 stones to recess with
remains of spiral stair in west wall, a cupboard recess in
south wall, stone corbels and repositioned medieval joists.
Main timbers in the cellars dated c1180 are reused, from a
former scissor-braced truss over the east portion of the early
medieval town house.
The Row storey front room has 2, of possibly formerly 4,
sandstone Row piers, chimney breast of stone and brick, north,
dragon-beam and joists. The centre room north has corner
fireplace, breast shared with front room, framed partitions
with one intermediate rail, shared with the south room which
has a south wall partly of sandstone. The west wing has a
timber-framed south wall and north wall partly of stone. The
timber-framed front second storey room has dado panelling and
a fluted square cast-iron central column. The centre rooms
show some timber framing.
(Chester Rows Research Project: Grenville J: Lower Bridge
Street West: 1988-).
Listing NGR: SJ4056066060
