Description

CHESTER CITY (IM)

SJ4066SW WHITE FRIARS
595-1/3/444 (North side (off))
28/07/55 The Friars

GV II*

Detached town house on site of part of Carmelite Friary, now
office. c1740 and late Georgian, altered C20. Brown brick in
Flemish bond to main faces, English garden wall bond
elsewhere; grey slate roofs.
EXTERIOR: 2 storeys plus attic.
The east front has the blank end of a projecting late Georgian
wing, south, with a projecting gable chimney and, at the
south-east corner, a wrought-iron lantern-bracket. The door of
2 short;2 long;2 long;2 short panels and a shouldered
architrave in a corner porch with a probably cast-iron Greek
Doric column. The windows have flat gauged brick arches but no
sills; a flush 12-pane sash with thick glazing bars of early
type and a shuttered nearly flush tripartite 4;12;4-pane sash
north of the door; a plain 3-course second-storey band; 4
flush 12-pane sashes with thick glazing bars; a third storey
floorband, of 2 courses oversailing one course; a date-plate
1742 and a Ship insurance plate; 4 flush 12-pane sashes, two
having thick glazing bars. The flat-roofed 2-storey strongroom
extension, north, is C20.
The late Georgian south face is symmetrical, of 3 windows with
slightly projecting central bay. Rendered sandstone plinth;
gauged brick window-heads but no sills; the west and central
bays have flush 2;12;2 pane tripartite sashes, the east sash
is now of 2;4;2 panes; second storey band; the west and
central bays have flush horned 2;4;2-pane sashes, the east bay
a flush 4;12;4 pane sash; the pedimental front gable has a
blocked Diocletian window; cornice to side-bays. The west
front has a blocked first storey sash, a flush 12-pane second
storey sash and a flush gable-chimney with soot door; the
one-storey west wing has a flush 12-pane sash with painted
stone sill. The north face west of the strongroom wing has a
dual flush sash of 12;8 panes formerly a tripartite 8;12;8
pane sash; the second storey has 2 flush 12-pane sashes with
painted stone sills; the attic has an inserted C20 casement; 2
gables, that to the west lower and later; the half-hipped
gable over the strongrooms is rendered, with stringcourse,
plain pilasters and moulded cornice. The windows to west and
north have simple cambered brick heads.
The brickwork suggests that the house may have been L-shaped
with the entrance opposite the east end of the south wing.

INTERIOR: the hall has the reset jamb of a medieval stone
doorway, a fragment of the former friary; panelled shutters to
embrasure, shouldered architrave to the north-east room and a
good timber archway to the stair hall. The south-east room has
5-panel doors; panelled and shuttered embrasure; an oak
cupboard with doors of 2;2;2 panels between Classical corner
pillars; an altered fireplace and a cornice. The central south
room has a probably C19 stone fireplace. The south-west room
has a panelled and shuttered embrasure and a simple fireplace;
5-panel doors. A narrow west room, now a strongroom, has a
hipped parabolic vault, difficult to date. The former kitchen,
north, has 2 stop-chamfered beams of C17 character and doors
of 6 fielded panels. The dogleg stair has open string, shaped
brackets, curtail step, covered steps, turned newels, 3 fine
spiral-moulded column-on-vase balusters per step and swept oak
rail.
A good timber basket-archway from landing to east passage has
a fluted keystone. The north-east room has a doorcase with
bolection architrave, raised panel above door of 2 long; 2
short; 2 long fielded panels and full entablature on consoles;
panelled and shuttered embrasures to 3 windows; a simple
fireplace; cornice. The south-east room has panelled doorcase,
door of 6 margined panels, C19 cast-iron grate in a marble
surround, a glazed door with overlight in oak surround and
ceiling with cornice, sloped side-panels and five roses. Room
south of stair has a corner fireplace in Adam manner, a
5-panel door and a cornice; the adjacent room has 5-panel
door, panelled embrasure, simple fireplace and cornice. The
other rooms have features including a timber Georgian pilaster
fireplace on a corner breast, a blocked corner chimney breast,
panelled embrasures, one altered, 5-panel doors and cornices.
The stair to the third storey has square softwood newels and
column-on-vase balusters.
(Grosvenor Museum Archaeological Excavation & Survey Reports:
Ward SW: The Lesser Medieval Religious Houses: Chester: 1990-:
PASSIM).

Listing NGR: SJ4039366143

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17552317

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  Worcestershire Revised Edition (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Care and Repair
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)