Crypt Chambers
Encyclopedia
Crypt Chambers is at 28–34 Eastgate Street and 34–40 Eastgate Row, Chester
, Cheshire
, England. It has bee designated by English Heritage
as a Grade I listed building and incorporates a section of the Chester Rows
.
house whose undercroft
is still present. The present building was constructed in 1858 to a design by T. M. Penson
. It was built as a department store
for William and Charles Brown of the Browns of Chester family of draper
s.
with a roof of brown tiles. The façade
is asymmetrical, having a square stair turret
, with three bays to the east and one wider bay to the west. At the street level five steps at the base of the tower lead down to the undercroft and in the middle east bay eight steps lead up to the Row level. Between these are shop fronts. At the Row level are cast iron
railings behind which are stallboards and above them are moulded
arches. On the front of the tower at this level is a blank scroll, on the east face is a recessed panel containing the initials W. B. (for William Brown), on the west face the initials are C. B. (for Charles Brown) and on the rear face is a scroll inscribed AD 1858: CRYPT CHAMBERS. On each side of the entrance to the shop are the Chester City arms
. In each of the third and fourth storeys of the east bays are three pairs of arched, two-light windows with slender columns between each pair. In the west bay are four two-light arched windows in each storey. At this level on the tower is a two-storey oriel window
. Above these storeys, the central eastern bay has a gable
containing a traceried
window in a rounded triangle, on each side of which are three-light dormer
windows. The west bay also has a gable; this contains a small triangular oriel. The tower has a four-light window between shallow buttress
es. The top of the tower consists of a truncated
spire
with a gabled dormer on each face. At its summit is a cast iron rail.
ed rib-vaulting
; the masonry
is "of high quality". The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner
considered its undercroft to be "one of the best medieval crypts of Chester". Much of the structure above the undercroft has been changed or covered by modern materials.
, which maintains its traditional name of Browns of Chester. The undercroft is used as a restaurant.
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England. It has bee designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade I listed building and incorporates a section of the Chester Rows
Chester Rows
Chester Rows consist of covered walkways at the first floor behind which are entrances to shops and other premises. At street level is another set of shops and other premises, many of which are entered by going down a few steps...
.
History
Crypt Chambers is built on the site of a medievalMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
house whose undercroft
Undercroft
An undercroft is traditionally a cellar or storage room, often brick-lined and vaulted, and used for storage in buildings since medieval times. In modern usage, an undercroft is generally a ground area which is relatively open to the sides, but covered by the building above.- History :While some...
is still present. The present building was constructed in 1858 to a design by T. M. Penson
Thomas Mainwaring Penson
Thomas Mainwaring Penson was an English surveyor and architect who is credited with pioneering the revival of half-timbered architecture in Chester in the 1850s....
. It was built as a department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
for William and Charles Brown of the Browns of Chester family of draper
Draper
Draper is the now largely obsolete term for a wholesaler, or especially retailer, of cloth, mainly for clothing, or one who works in a draper's shop. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. The drapers were an important trade guild...
s.
Exterior
The building is in four storeys plus attics. It is constructed in red and yellow sandstoneSandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
with a roof of brown tiles. The façade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
is asymmetrical, having a square stair turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
, with three bays to the east and one wider bay to the west. At the street level five steps at the base of the tower lead down to the undercroft and in the middle east bay eight steps lead up to the Row level. Between these are shop fronts. At the Row level are cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
railings behind which are stallboards and above them are moulded
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
arches. On the front of the tower at this level is a blank scroll, on the east face is a recessed panel containing the initials W. B. (for William Brown), on the west face the initials are C. B. (for Charles Brown) and on the rear face is a scroll inscribed AD 1858: CRYPT CHAMBERS. On each side of the entrance to the shop are the Chester City arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
. In each of the third and fourth storeys of the east bays are three pairs of arched, two-light windows with slender columns between each pair. In the west bay are four two-light arched windows in each storey. At this level on the tower is a two-storey oriel window
Oriel window
Oriel windows are a form of bay window commonly found in Gothic architecture, which project from the main wall of the building but do not reach to the ground. Corbels or brackets are often used to support this kind of window. They are seen in combination with the Tudor arch. This type of window was...
. Above these storeys, the central eastern bay has a gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
containing a traceried
Tracery
In architecture, Tracery is the stonework elements that support the glass in a Gothic window. The term probably derives from the 'tracing floors' on which the complex patterns of late Gothic windows were laid out.-Plate tracery:...
window in a rounded triangle, on each side of which are three-light dormer
Dormer
A dormer is a structural element of a building that protrudes from the plane of a sloping roof surface. Dormers are used, either in original construction or as later additions, to create usable space in the roof of a building by adding headroom and usually also by enabling addition of windows.Often...
windows. The west bay also has a gable; this contains a small triangular oriel. The tower has a four-light window between shallow buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es. The top of the tower consists of a truncated
Truncation (geometry)
In geometry, a truncation is an operation in any dimension that cuts polytope vertices, creating a new facet in place of each vertex.- Uniform truncation :...
spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
with a gabled dormer on each face. At its summit is a cast iron rail.
Interior
The undercroft consists of four bays with chamferChamfer
A chamfer is a beveled edge connecting two surfaces. If the surfaces are at right angles, the chamfer will typically be symmetrical at 45 degrees. A fillet is the rounding off of an interior corner. A rounding of an exterior corner is called a "round" or a "radius"."Chamfer" is a term commonly...
ed rib-vaulting
Rib vault
The intersection of two or three barrel vaults produces a rib vault or ribbed vault when they are edged with an armature of piped masonry often carved in decorative patterns; compare groin vault, an older form of vault construction...
; the masonry
Masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...
is "of high quality". The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
considered its undercroft to be "one of the best medieval crypts of Chester". Much of the structure above the undercroft has been changed or covered by modern materials.
Present day
Crypt Chambers still contains a department store, DebenhamsDebenhams
Debenhams plc is a British retailer operating under a department store format in the UK, Ireland and Denmark, and franchise stores in other countries. The Company was founded in the eighteenth century as a single store in London and has now grown to around 160 shops...
, which maintains its traditional name of Browns of Chester. The undercroft is used as a restaurant.