In 1829 a group of local businessmen and dignitaries
started pushing for a new road to connect the
Market
Square with Castle Hill, which had been constructed
in 1797 as a military road.
Castle Street was mostly constructed between 1830 and
1835 but there was a dispute with the owner of the Antwerp
Hotel’s stables and yard which stood in the way of the
connection with the Market Square. It was only after
and Act of Parliament was obtained in 1836 and the developers
paid compensation to Mr Huntley, the owner of the stables,
that the road was completed. Castle Street was formally
opened into the Market Square on 17 March 1837.
The opening of Castle Street created an new direct way
to Charlton Back Road, which developed into
Maison
Dieu Road. It also provided a much more direct route
between the town centre and the Deal Road than the old
route via
St James’s Street.
The street has escaped relatively unscathed over the
years, and traffic calming measures in the 1990s resulted
in the roadway being narrowed and wide, stone flagged,
pavements being laid.
