Life and Times: King's Square, Gloucester, in pictures
TODAY few people would guess that King's Square, Gloucester, has ever been anything but a large open space.
All the evidence suggests that it was laid out in the late 1960s and early 70s as part of a wide-ranging scheme to develop the city centre.
But records show this was the second major development scheme in this area. In the late 1920s the city council started a massive improvement programme in the centre of Gloucester and as part of this many of the buildings in the area between Northgate Street and Clarence Street were demolished.
The names King's Square and King's Walk commemorate the vanished King Street which ran from St Aldate Street to Eastgate Street.
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The original Bon Marche (now Debenhams) was opened in 1889 and by the late 1920s it stretched along Northgate Street. The St Aldate Garage stood in the space later used for the 1960s extension to the Bon Marche.
The Post Office was opened in 1934 and the city council passed the plans for the Regal Cinema (now Wetherspoons) in 1939 although the War delayed its completion so it didn't actually open until 1956. The rest of the area was used as a car park and a bus station.
Comments
by Quasi2010
Saturday, March 02 2013, 10:28AM
“And now, because a complete lack of imagination and foresight, Kings Square is about to be turned into another high rise residential site along the lines of the docks. Complete with empty shop units. All these urban councils can seem to come up with is ideas of building shops and flats (Cheltenham council is another prime example with the North Street development.) when the surrounding area is already littered with similar, empty, units. As it stands, Kings Square is a valuable city centre open space, they (the council) should be made to come up with ideas to utilise it as such and not just sell it off as building land.”