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The present name of
the square dates from the Napoleonic Wars when troops of the Duke of
Wellington's army were quartered here. The Armoury, a large house in the
same square, owes its present name to the same period as does the house
also in Castle Street called Magazine. In the garden of Little Manor next
to The Armoury there is a large excavated area that is reputed to have
been a bear pit. This square was formerly called Bear Square and in the
18th century The Armoury was the Bear Inn.
However, the building was
originally built in 1764 by the English Linen Company as a "manufactory"
of cambric and lawns at Winchelsea. The buildings were erected for the
weavers, who were superintended by a Frenchman named Mariteau. Over
£20,000 was spent on buildings and 160 spinners, winders and weavers were
employed together with 26 apprentices. It had 86 looms at
work. |