Market Square is the centre of the Old Town which until the coming of the railway in 1858 comprised a single street. The Market Charter was granted to Bishop Gandalf by King John in 1205. The market itself moved to Station Road in 1933, returning to the High Street and square in 2012 (as the Station Road place is part of Local Plan site 2)
The limits of the pre-railway town are still marked by existing buildings – Bromley College in the Upper High Street and Tweed Cottage (Tiger) in the Lower High Street.
Market Square, The Charter Market – Heritage Buildings
Market Square is the centre of the Old Town which, until the coming of the railway in 1858, comprised a single street (down the side of market square). It has been re-laid out, twice, in it’s history. The Market Charter, to hold a market every Tuesday (later changed to Thursday) was granted to Bishop Gandalf…
Market Square The Old New Townhall – Heritage Buildings
Neo-Gothic brick new ‘Town Hall’ built by the new Lord of the Manor in the 1863 at his own cost
Market Square Nos 20-25 Former Dunns Building
Dunns furnishers sold high-end stylish furniture from their market square shop. Rebuilt in Arts and Crafts shop after a fire in 1909 and again after it was bombed in WW2.
Market Square Nos 12-13 Cafe Rouge – Heritage Building
Cafe Rouge, formerly Herbert Collings Cafe Rouge occupies the first building displaying the transition from a small market town into a Victorian shopping centre. It was built in 1883 by local draper, Herbert Collings, well known for banishing the old system of credit in favour of the modern concept of cash only sales and introducing…
Market Square No. 6-8 Caters Supermarket now Lloyds & Bon Marche
Caters supermarket, Market Square, in the1960s The TSB and Bon Marche occupy the former ‘Caters’ store built in 1957, one of the first modern self-service shopping supermarkets in the country. The architecture has a ‘Festival of Britain’ feel. It occupies the site of the Old Bull Inn which was, in the 19th century, divided into…
Market Square No. 27, David Greig’s building – Heritage Building Profile
Built in 1912 for the David Greig chain of supermarkets. It has an orate stone frontage in Neo-Baroque style. It uses pre-fabricated decorative ceramic facings, in this case, terracotta, as used in buildings such as Dulwich College and the Royal Albert Hall. There’s also the monogram of Queen Victoria. Picture of David Greig’s shopfront in…
Market Square No. 20 – Town Pump & Darwin Mural
The town pump is in the corner of Market Square, with the Darwin mural behind it. It stands 25 yards from its original site beside the old Town Hall Chambers. The Mural is by artist Bruce Williams and replaced one celebrating the life of HG Wells in 2008. Above: current mural celebrating Charles Darwin. It…Market Square No. 1-3 – Maunders Bakery now McDonalds
MacDonalds occupies an 18th century shop which for generations until around 1971 was the Bakery of the Maunders family. Next door, Jessops also occupies a Georgian terrace of similar age and importance. Market Square, Maunder’s Bakery, in 1972, from the Stanley Hallworth collection. Imagine how much slower you would have to drive to read the…
Market square – Central block – Heritage Buildings
These lovely black and white buildings are from the 1933 re-layout of Market square. They exemplify the culmination of the Old English style of the Arts and Crafts movement.Market Sq No. 14-18 Georgian Terrace – Heritage Buildings
These buildings are the oldest buildings in Market Square. They were originally built as private houses, in the early 18th century. They were the scene of several fatal fires in the Victorian / Edwardian era, which included the collection of sheds and stables that were behind them.
High Street No. 180-184 High Street (HSBC Bank) – Heritage Building Profile
This classy building was erected in 1888 by the local butcher David Harris. It was designed by Walter Albert Williams and built in the Flemish style.High Street No. 162 Medhursts, now Primark – Heritage Building Profile
Primark occupies Fred Meadhurst’s Department store, the name being visible high above the central entrance. Medhurst’s was a drapery shop, first occupying numbers 49 and 50 in the High Street, which was started in 1879 by Fred Medhurst. The business was so successful that successive adjoining shops were bought as they became vacant, from 1879…
High Street No. 160, Victoria Chambers, now Primark’s Annex – Heritage Building Profile
This fine building is from the 1890s and built in the Arts & Crafts style with its characteristic Dutch influence. The blue plaque identifies it as the birthplace of the famous author HG Wells.
High Street No. 147-149 & 151-153 Demolished – The White Hart Inn
This much lamented ancient Inn dated from the medieval era and had been rebuilt as the commercial hub in the 1830s. Replaced by a space wasting concrete cuboid.
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