Ancient row of shops, 56-61 Chester Street, Wrexham
This single-storey row, with attic dormer windows, has survived through centuries of change. Look around at the rest of Chester Street to see how plots in central business districts were usually reused for taller buildings.
It’s thought the row was built in the 17th century, probably as workshops. The absence of chimneys indicates that the units weren’t residential. Notice that the frontages aren’t in a straight line. This and other clues suggest the row was built in three stages.
A cobbled passageway between 58 and 60 led to extensive workshops behind the row. The passageway is now incorporated into 58.
The units have been shops since Victorian times. The current shop frontages date from c.1900, when the shop doors were set back from the frontage. If the shops are open as you visit, have a look at the decorative tiles in front of the original doorways.
Behind the frontages, which were updated in 1992, much of the original timber framing survives. The interiors are peppered with marks and alterations from centuries of changing uses.
In the 19th century the row was owned by plumbing business WD Jones, which had an office in 56. Tenants occupied the other units. In the 1890s gunmaker H Jones traded from 56 and 57, and coal merchants Bardon & Petter from 60. WD Jones continued to use the workshops until 1922, when another family member used them for a motor engineering business until the Second World War.
In the 1940s the shops were occupied by: Knowles, saddlery and sports outfits (56); Alf Jones, sweets (57); Joe Price, fruit and vegetables (58); Shone, bicycles (60); and Mawdsley, jewellery (61). Some of these names are visible in the 1952 photo, courtesy of the Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Wales.
In the early 20th century, no 61 was occupied by Bell’s Modern Cash Grocers, which sold groceries including tea, tinned foods and fresh meat. There was no refrigeration at the time, so the meat was hung from a rail above the front window. When Ruth and Martin Rees established their jewellery business there in 1985, some of the meat hooks were still in place!
With thanks to Ruth Rees
Postcode: LL13 8BA View Location Map
Copies of the 1952 photo and other images are available from the RCAHMW. Contact: nmr.wales@rcahmw.gov.uk