Watergate Street Row South

Walking and Audio Tour, Chester, Cheshire, CH1 1LE

Duration:10m - 30m

Glimpses of the past continue to reveal themselves along the road that once led to Chester’s port. Here you’ll find three of the city’s most treasured historic houses, see a Jacobean giant, and hear the tale of a secret visit to the city by Catherine of Aragon…

How to use this route

This route is available to listen to as you walk by using the player above or you can follow it using the written guide available below. On the map below you will see a trail made up of numbered points. From the starting point (Number 1), follow along the marked route, making sure to stop and view the points along the way. There are blue map pins indicating points of interest, you can tap or click on these to find out more. When you come to the end of the route, you will see a blue map pin – tap or click on this to reveal more information about the next leg of the tour, and click again to go to the next leg’s route.

Want to find out more?

To delve deeper into The Rows, browse the local history publications in the Visitor Information Centre and public reference library in Storyhouse, both on Northgate Street. Guided tours are available with the Guild of Chester Tour Guides (https://chestertours.org.uk) and Roman Tours (https://romantoursuk.com). For information about disabled access, see www.accessable.co.uk/cheshire-west-and-chester/access-guides/rows.

Directions

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Map & Directions

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Route Waypoints

Our journey through the Rows continues at Watergate Corner, overlooking The Cross, the junction of the old city’s four main streets. This is one of Chester’s architectural highlights, just like the magnificent black-and-white Eastgate Corner across the square.
Head west along Watergate Street – once the route to the port – to be treated to three of Chester’s finest timber-framed buildings. The first is God’s Providence House (no 9), its location revealed on the Row by a beamed ceiling. The building features an inscription ‘God’s providence is mine inheritance’. This was a thank you from the owner for being spared the plague, which ravaged Chester’s inhabitants in the late 17th century.
The next beamed ceiling along this Row announces the presence of Leche House (no 21), the first parts of which appeared on this street in the 1300s. Inside the first-floor shop, one of the house’s astonishing internal treasures is the remains of plasterwork frieze that some say carries a coded message about a secret visit to the city by Catherine of Aragon.
The third jewel of this stretch is Bishop Lloyd’s House (nos 51-53), two properties that became one in the 17th century and named after George Lloyd, Bishop of Chester from 1605 to 1615. The remodelled Row-front includes posts with brackets carved in Jacobean times with bearded giants and beasts
Continue along the Row to its end at the 17th-century Ye Olde Custom House Inn, then cross to the top of Trinity Street for the next part of our circular journey through the Chester Rows.