The bus station is situated off Albion Street. On this street
are shops including a newsagent's. Albion Street leads into Church Street, which
does have a church (All Saints), one of two listed buildings in the town centre. Castleford was not a Viking village
so it
does not have the Viking streets names, such as Kirkgate for Church Street, that
some other northern towns have.
Leading off Albion Street is the main shopping street, Carlton
Street. Beyond its junction with Bank Street and Station Road are
well-known high street stores such as Superdrug, Woolworth's and Marks and
Spencer's as well as banks and building societies. There are also shops in
streets (such as Bank Street, Sagar Street and Bridge Street) that lead off
Carlton Street.
At the back of the Wilkinsons store
is a car
park and behind that a grassed area. This land covers the Roman bath
house that was excavated then recovered until, it is hoped, one day funding
can be found for it to be on show. The Heritage Trust erected a
plaque on the site, part of which is shown on the right. They have also
recently erected two interpretation boards.
A sculpture of the Castleford coat of arms can be seen above the corner of
the HSBC bank on the junction of Carlton Street and Bank Street.
On Carlton Street is the indoor market hall, a former
co-operative store.
Running alongside Carlton Street is the indoor shopping mall,
Carlton Lanes (entrance pictured above). In the lanes are well-known high street
stores such as Boots, Adams, Claire's Accessories and Thomas Cook.
Also on Carlton Street is the library, which includes a
museum room. The town does not have a
better museum, which is a pity given
that it is on the site of an important Roman settlement and played a major part
in the Industrial life of Britain. The people of the town are actively pursuing
a campaign for a heritage centre and new library, called the Forum, to be built
behind the library's facade. Channel 4's
'Time Team'
visited the town for one of their programmes and made it clear that they hope
the campaign will succeed.
The Cratehouse by Wolfgang Winter and
Berthold Hörbelt was a temporary art sculpture on Sagar Street. Being modern
art, it was very controversial. It has now moved to another location in the
country.
This plaque marks
the naming of the main square in Carlton Street as Henry Moore Square, in
honour of the world famous sculptor. This should not be confused with the
existing Henry Moore Square that exists at the sculptor's birthplace in
the Smawthorne area of Castleford. There is also a Moore Square at the
Junction 32 shopping village. So, Castleford has three squares named after
its famous son.
A walk through Tittle Cott underpass (video)
There are public houses in and about the town centre. A major appeal of the town centre is how flat it is, shoppers
do not have to struggle uphill. The police station is located in the town centre. The River Aire runs along the north of the town centre, alongside Aire
Street and Savile Road.
