Princess Street

Princess Street extends west from Northgate Street opposite the Abbey Gates towards Linenhall Street. It is first mentioned in around 1208 as "venella contra portam abbatie" later called "Personeslone" by 1249



In 1914 most working-class Cestrians lived in 19thcentury terraced housing with tiny back sculleries, outside lavatories, small back yards, and front doors opening on to the street. In the city centre, conditions in the courts of Princess Street, Goss Street, and Crook Street remained below that standard into the 1930s. In Princess Street (which the Town Hall stood on the corner of) there were 224 houses, of which 140 were damp and 120 verminous; 103 shared lavatories, 118 had no suitable washing accommodation, and 108 lacked a sink or internal water supply. The clearance was undertaken in several major phases, in 1939 immediately to the rear of the Town Hall and again in the 1960s over the remaining area as far west as St Martin’s Way.