Nine Houses, Chester
History
The houses are the only surviving pre-19th-century almshouses in Chester. They were built in about 1650. By the 1960s the houses were in a dilapidated state and were in danger of collapse. There were campaigns to preserve them led by the Chester Civic Trust and the Chester Archaeological Society. A report was prepared by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, following which they were renovated and rebuilt by Chester City Council in 1968–69. The end wall had to be repaired in old brick, and the rear wall was completely rebuilt.
Architecture
The surviving row consists of six adjoined cottages in two storeys. Each cottage consists of a single bay. The lower storey is constructed in brick on a low sandstone plinth, with stone dressings around the entrance doorways that contain oak-boarded doors. The upper storey is timber-framed and jettied, and has a gable that is jettied further. In the lower storey of each cottage is a 12-pane, horizontally sliding sash window. Each upper storey contains a 16-pane, vertically sliding sash window.
See also
References
- ^ Historic England, "The Nine Houses (of which six remain), Chester (1376376)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 1 November 2011
- ^ Langtree, Stephen; Comyns, Alan, eds. (2001), 2000 Years of Building: Chester's Architectural Legacy, Chester: Chester Civic Trust, p. 103, ISBN 0-9540152-0-7