ST MARY STREET

Today, St Mary Street is very different from the way it looked in the past.   Most of the old buildings were demolished in the 1960's and 1970's as part of the re-development of the Town Centre.  They were replaced by modern shops around pedestrian precincts and two large car parks.

The street does have an interesting history - running parallel to the High Street which was previously called Front Street or Fore Street it was naturally called 'Back Street', although this name was also used in some periods for the street which we now know as Rock Street.

Whilst the High Street contained the 'showpiece' buildings such as the Market Hall, the Police Station, several hotels and inns and the smarter shops and houses of the town, the Back Street was mostly lined by 'service' buildings and lodging houses and cheaper houses for the working people, and stables for the animals.

For the purposes of this website, we have split St Mary Street into two sections.  The Top or South End covers the length of the street from the junction with Horseshoe Lane up to its junction with Chapel Street.  The Bottom or North End covers the length of the street from the junction with Horseshoe Lane down to its junction with The Plain and St John Street.  Click on each of the two links below or in he link bar on the left to access the history of individual buildings.

NORTH END                                                SOUTH END

This page was last updated: 29/07/2010