Dover: Lock and Key of the Kingdom

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.  The new street 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.