Winchester from Cathedral to Castle
Introduction
The photograph shows St Maurice's, a gothic revival church of 1841 with seating for 1147 and demolished in 1958. In 1975 it was agreed, after considerable discussion, to prohibit vehicular traffic between Market Street and St Thomas Street. A year later that part of High Street was paved, unfortunately with imitation stone slabs. The street lamps have been replaced with electric wall fixtures and it is a sign of the times that numerous sponsored litter bins are needed.
The Market House, cost £1200, was designed by William Coles, City Engineer in 1857 in Greek Doric revival style. It was known as the old green market and on Wednesdays and Saturdays sold poultry fruit and flowers. Later the building was used for second-hand furniture before being occupied by Dumpers Restaurant. Their new lease from the Corporations in 1925 was £300 per annum.
At that time, No. 25, across Market Street, was used by Collis Cobb and Spencer who had four home farms in Winchester. Their cafe used milk from the farms and there was music daily.
The publication by the Winchester Preservation Trust in 1976 of drawings of the High Street by Keith Walker together with historical notes by Mrs B. Carpenter Turner provides an essential introduction to this new booklet.
The main East West artery, the decumanus of the old roman town has retained its form and direction. It is difficult to visualise this medieval street with "quaint tottering houses having gay painted fronts, outside stairs and wooden galleries with an open sewer running down the hill". Some of the later Georgian houses are still here but such property has long since been gutted at street level for commercial use. Much of the south side belonged to the Church, the rich merchants were across the street and craftsmen in the alleys between the houses.
The lively quality of the architecture of the High Street is seen in the upper floors of the older property. Where the larger multiple stores such as Boots, Marks and Spencer and Woolworth have insisted on their usual plate glass frontage, this special character has inevitably suffered.