2–18 St Werburgh Street, Chester

In the 1890s, the Chester City Council decided to widen St Werburgh Street, which leads from Eastgate Street to Chester Cathedral, and arranged for the demolition of a row of old shops on its east side. The council intended to sell the vacant land in separate lots, but Chester architect John Douglas bought the entire length of the east side of the street and planned to create a series of buildings in a unified architectural design. Douglas originally intended to construct the buildings in stone with brick diapering in Gothic style. However, he was persuaded by the Duke of Westminster to include black-and-white half-timbering in his design.

The terrace is constructed in three storeys, plus attics, with roofs of green Westmorland slate. There is one bay facing Eastgate Street and nine bays along St Werburgh Street. The ground floor of the bank is built in yellow sandstone on a granite plinth; the piers between the shops are in sandstone. The upper storeys are all half-timbered. The Eastgate Street face of the bank has a four-light mullioned and transomed window with a basket arch on the ground floor. On the first floor is a five-light oriel window, above this is a six-light window with casements and the whole is surmounted by a gable with a carved bargeboard. Set at an angle on the corner between the streets is the doorway with…