Heart of the town remains untouched by development

This week therefore I thought we could take a look at this area of our town. Do you see just an open space providing entertainment facilities, or do you see or know of the history of the area?

There was a covenant laid down in the 1800s to ensure the view of the sea from East Row and Hothamton Place remained unhindered and a fine of 5,000 per acre could be imposed.

Sadly, the buildings of Sir Richard Hotham, which faced the square, have long since gone, but there is still a lot of history in the area.

Initially, the area was laid out and named Hothamton Field, and contained a number of fishermen's cottages.

On a plan in 1835, it was shown as Waterloo Row. However it clearly showed the '˜vacant ground' in the centre, which was not to be built on.

Daniel Wonham started building his developments in 1820. Houses were built around the field, displaying a typical style of the time with canopies and trelliswork.

By the 1870s, the population of the town had increased to 1,800 but the buildings were still principally private residents.

Many of these premises were eventually rented out during the summer months in the 1900s, at one time for 11 guineas per week. I wonder how much they would charge today?

For many years, there were sheep or cattle grazing on t he three-acre site itself and these could be seen on many of the early postcards or photographs.

It was also possible for a time to pick basketfuls of mushrooms on this field. One of the cottages was used to invite nobility to partake of home-brewed beer and by the 1870s these premises had been licensed and eventually became known as The Waterloo Inn, which is still there today.