Crypt Chambers, Gothic Revival building in Chester, England
Crypt Chambers is a red and yellow sandstone building standing four stories tall with attics, rising along Eastgate Street with a square stair turret. Multiple ornate bay windows punctuate the facade, and beneath street level sits a medieval undercroft containing four bays of rib-vaulted chambers.
The building was constructed in 1858 by architect T. M. Penson for brothers William and Charles Brown on the site of an earlier medieval structure. The medieval undercroft beneath it survived this redevelopment and remains part of the building today.
The building displays the Chester City arms near its shop entrances alongside carved initials of the Brown family, who were prominent local cloth merchants. These marks shape how visitors experience the place today and connect it to the people who once owned it.
The building is accessible from street level, with eight steps leading up to the Row level shopping area and five steps descending to the medieval undercroft chambers. Visitors navigating both the upper stories and lower vaulted areas should be mindful of these different levels throughout their visit.
The medieval vaults beneath the building contain some of the finest examples of chamfered rib-vaulting in Chester, showcasing craft techniques that have survived for centuries. These underground chambers offer a glimpse into construction methods used long before the 1858 structure above was built.
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