historic street on the site of Churchill Square
Comparison map: Historic streets alongside 2019 layout of Churchill Square
James Gray: As their names indicate, these two streets were built shortly after the Battle of Waterloo, about 1820. Being close to the beach, they were the homes of generations of fishermen, two of which are seen at work in Wellington Place [see jgc_29_100 on the Wellington Place page]. In 1938, the whole of Wellington Place and almost all of Blucher Place was demolished to make an open space for a car park. A few houses at the Russell Street end of Blucher Place are still in existence. jgc_29_101
2019: Originally running parallel to Wellington Place, the site of Blucher Place corresponds to the north-east quarter of the shopping mall. This is the view today, looking towards West Street. (Photographer: Suzanne Hinton)
James Gray: Most of the houses in this old street were cleared away in 1938 [see jgc_29_101 above]. By 1954, only eight houses were left of the original 34, and the cleared area was used as a car park. Gradually, one by one, the remaining houses were acquired by the Corporation and demolished, until just this one remained, No 21. When the question of compensation is finally settled, it too will be removed. The small size of the adjoining cottages can be gauged by the wall design. Date of the photograph – 4 February 1960.