Bear and Billet
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| Bear and Billet | |
|---|---|
 Bear and Billet | |
| Location | 94 Lower Bridge Street, Chester, Cheshire, England |
| Coordinates | 53°11′11″N 2°53′23″W / 53.1863°N 2.8896°W |
| OS grid reference | SJ 406 658 |
| Built | 1664 |
| Built for | Earls of Shrewsbury |
Listed Building – Grade I | |
| Official name | No.94 Bear & Billet Public House |
| Designated | 28 July 1955 |
| Reference no. | 1376318 |
  Location in Cheshire | |
The Bear and Billet is a public house at 94 Lower Bridge Street, Chester, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.[1] The building has been described as "the finest 17th-century timber-framed town house in Chester"[2] and "one of the last of the great timber-framed town houses in England".[3] It stands on the west side of Lower Bridge Street to the north of the Bridgegate.[4]
The house was built in 1664 as the town house of the Earls of Shrewsbury who held control of the nearby Bridgegate.[3] It was also probably used as a grain warehouse because in the gable are double doors and a bracket for a hoist. The building became an inn in the 18th century, although it continued to be owned by the Shrewsbury family until 1867.[2] Its name is taken from the heraldic device of the Earls that consist of a bear tied to a billet (or stake).[5][dubious – discuss]
