Castle Arcade

Castle Arcade is an entrance block designed in the Dutch Renaissance style, built over three storeys plus an attic, featuring a painted front with a shaped gable and pinnacles. The attic has two casement windows, while the four-window front is enhanced by pilasters and casement windows with elliptical heads. On the ground floor, beneath the fascia, there is an entrance to the arcade flanked by shops, with the numbering of the arcade shops starting at High Street.

The roof is a single span with glazed infill and a wooden framework that has scalloped edges. The structure includes two and three storeys with galleried wooden arcades, and the second floor overhangs. An L-shaped east-west wing extends from High Street, containing numbers 2-18 (even) on the north side and numbers 1-25 (odd) on the south side. This is connected to a north-south wing that runs into Castle Street, with numbers 20 to 44 (even) on the east side and numbers 25 to 49 (odd) on the west side. The east-west wing and the north-south wing to the south of number 35 are three storeys high, featuring second storey windows of varying widths, with the upper parts of the lights being round-headed and flanked by pilasters.

The second floor overhangs, supported by wooden brackets, while the ground floor projects forward and is topped by a wooden balustrade and shop fronts. The east-west wing includes two footbridges at the first floor level, adorned with ironwork balustrades featuring an ivy leaf motif. The east end of the arcade is distinguished by a tall rectangular panel with glazing bars set within a round-headed arch. In the north-south wing, level with number 35, there is another footbridge. North of number 35, the arcade features only two storeys, with wooden oriel windows on the first floor (six on the west side and seven on the east). The north wall of the arcade has two sash windows with glazing bars on the first floor and a round-headed sash window just below the apex of the roof.