1. : General
The City Centre has been defined, in general terms,
as the area within the old City Walls.
The City Gates were all demolished in the period
1793 to 1808; and the same fate befell much of
the remainder.
Often the stones were re-cycled into new structures.
Of course, prior to 1793, there had always been
some pubs built close to the walls/gates; not all
of them on the inside.
Especially near the gates, there had been a need for pubs
on the outside - to act as refuges for people getting back
too late, after the gates were closed.
In the early years of the 19th Century the ditches,
running along the outside of the wall-lines, were
progressively filled-in (probably utilising the rubble)
and eventually built upon.
A Contemporary Note confirms that :-
When the walls were destroyed,
the outer ditches were filled-in.
It goes on to explain :-"Houses built upon them [the ditches] are
considered to be within the ambit of the City,
though on the outside of the walls".
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2. : New Pubs
It follows that, when several other pubs 'sprang up'
outside the wall-lines, they qualified at once to be
considered as being within the City; hence
within the modern definition of Central Area.
But, in any particular case, it does depend somewhat on
the pub's proximity to the Wall itself; and how/where,
exactly, modern roads have developed - in relation to
the former ditches.
This "hit-or-miss" aspect can hardly be helped; although
it does suggest an unusual (if lengthy, and thirsty) idea
for a circular pub-crawl !!
It seems that the City Council, reasonably enough,
claimed ownership of the land upon which the
walls and ditches had rested.
More surprisingly, judging by the detailed records of
several pubs along the outside of the walls, the
ownership of the buildings themselves has always
- even up to recent times - rested with the Council.
This may have been an attempt to preserve
what little of the walls remain.
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