Chester High Cross

Chester Cross is a junction of streets at the centre of the city of Chester, Cheshire, England (grid reference SJ405662). The streets meeting at the junction are Watergate Street, Eastgate Street, Bridge Street and Northgate Street. The junction consists of a staggered crossroads, with Watergate Street in continuity with Eastgate Street, and Bridge Street joining the junction to the west of Northgate Street. Watergate Street, Eastgate Street, Bridge Street were the main roads in Chester when it was a Roman fortress. To the north of the point where Bridge Street met the other streets was the Roman principia (headquarters building). It is thought that Northgate Street was driven through the ruins of the Roman buildings in the 10th century.The centrepiece of Chester Cross is the Grade II listed building Chester High Cross, a medieval cross which was damaged in the Civil War, then removed elsewhere, and reinstated in its original position in 1975. Immediately to the north of Chester Cross is St Peter's Church, a Grade I listed building. At the southeast corner of the junction is 1 Bridge Street, a Grade II* listed building. Today Chester Cross is a popular meeting point. During the summer months Chester's town crier makes a midday proclamation from the steps of the High Cross.

Chester Rows are a set of structures in each of the four main streets of Chester, in the United Kingdom, consisting of a series of covered walkways on 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.Dating from the medieval era, the Rows may have been built on top of rubble remaining from the ruins of Roman buildings, but their origin is still subject to speculation. In some places the continuity of the Rows has been blocked by enclosure or by new buildings, but in others modern buildings have retained the Rows in their designs. Undercrofts or "crypts" were constructed beneath the buildings in the Rows. The undercrofts are made from stone while most of the buildings in the Rows are timber. Today about 20 of the stone undercrofts still exist, but at the level of the Rows very little medieval fabric remains. Many of the buildings containing portions of the Rows are listed and some are recorded in the English Heritage Archive. The premises on the street and Row levels are used for a variety of purposes; most are shops, but there are also offices, restaurants, cafés, and meeting rooms. Chester Rows are one of the city's main tourist attractions.

1 Bridge Street, Chester, is located at the junction of Bridge Street and Eastgate Street at Chester Cross in the centre of the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. Its architecture is that of the black-and-white revival, it incorporates part of the Chester Rows, and is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. Because of its prominent position and its black-and-white architecture, the historian Simon Ward has described it as an "iconic" building.

St Peter's Church is in Eastgate Street in the centre of the city of Chester, Cheshire, England, immediately to the north of Chester Cross. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. It is an active Church of England parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Chester. The ancient walls mark the boundaries of the parish.

Chester City Club is at 1 Northgate Street, Chester, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

Cowper House is a former town house at 12 Bridge Street, Chester, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, and it incorporates a section of the Chester Rows.

Oddfellows' Hall, originally Bridge House is at 16–24 Lower Bridge Street, Chester, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.

The Dutch Houses are at 20, 22 and 24 Bridge Street Row, Chester, Cheshire, England. They are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

Quaintways was a nightclub and music venue located at Northgate Street in Chester, England. It was owned and operated by entrepreneur Gordon Vickers. During its heyday of the 1960s and 1970s it hosted bands such as Slade, Fleetwood Mac, Thin Lizzy, Status Quo, Dire Straits, Uriah Heep, Judas Priest and the Sex Pistols.

3–31 Northgate Street is a terrace of shops, offices and a public house on the west side of Northgate Street, Chester, Cheshire, England. All the buildings have a set-back ground floor with a covered walkway, are timber-framed in their upper storeys, and are listed buildings, being graded II* or II. The part of the terrace comprising numbers 5–31 is known as Shoemakers' Row, or Sadler's Row.

30 Bridge Street, Chester is a shop in Chester, Cheshire, England. It stands on a corner on the west side of the street and the south side of Commonhall Street, and contains a section of the Chester Rows. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

Browns was a department store in Chester established in 1780 by Susannah Brown. The store traded from its site on Chester's Eastgate Street from 1791 until 2021. Once regarded as the "Harrods of the North", the building interior contains many ornate features such as glass-domed roofs and elaborate plasterwork surrounding small chandeliers in the main entrance area. Some of the glass roof on the second floor has been concealed as it has been covered by the construction of the third-floor extension which contained the main café and Kalmora Spa. The oldest part of the store is housed in the Grade I listed Crypt Chambers, designed by T. M. Penson incorporating Georgian, Tudor and Gothic facades. Construction was completed in 1858. The building incorporates part of the Chester Rows. On the front of the tower at Row 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. The Gothic facade frontage is built over a medieval undercroft dating from the twelfth century. The undercroft most recently contained 'The Tea Press' tea room. Another extension to the building was completed in 1965 to link Browns to the nearby Grosvenor Shopping Centre. A new three-story extension was built in 2002 on the site formerly occupied by the offices of the Chester Chronicle. It was acquired by Debenhams in 1976. Browns was the only store in the group to retain its own trading name alongside the standard 'Debenhams' branding. Debenhams entered liquidation in early 2021 and all remaining stores closed during May that year. The building was owned by British Land. It was bought by Martin Property Group in 2022, along with the neighbouring Grosvenor Shopping Centre.