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Castle Quarter, formerly known as Castle Mall and The Mall Norwich, is a shopping centre in Norwich, Norfolk, England. It opened on 23 September 1993. It is one of two shopping centres in Norwich city centre, the other being Chantry Place, a five-minute walk away.
The plans for the centre go back to 1977 when Michael Inns, an architect, came up with a plan for a shopping centre in Norwich city centre. He originally planned it to be at Timber Hill, but this was rejected by the local council because of concerns that some listed buildings would be affected by it. So instead, he chose it would be located by the old cattle market by Norwich Castle. He came up with the idea that the centre would be underground and would be connected with Norwich Market and Castle Meadow. However, despite his plans, it would be thirteen years before construction began.
Because of the centre being built on historical sites, an archaeological dig was set up around the area between 1987 and 1991, and it was one of the biggest in northern Europe. Construction finally began in March 1990 and ended in 1993. The first phase would be the demolition of the former Castle Hotel, a five-star hotel that closed in 1989. Several months after the hotel was demolished, the tunnel was excavated below Castle Meadow to make the tunnel and most of the place.
The centre finally opened as Castle Mall on 23 September 1993 at a cost of £145 million. The centre included an Argos, Disney Store, Virgin Megastore, Boots (which still remains in the centre to this day) and a food court and various other shops. In 1999, an unoccupied area of the centre was redeveloped to a cinema (which is currently owned by Vue). The centre was sold to The Mall Fund in the 2000s and was renamed to The Mall Norwich.
It is considered[ by whom? ] that 2005 was the beginning of the downfall of the centre following the opening of the Chapelfield shopping centre. Several stores, including The Disney Store and H&M, moved to Chapelfield from The Mall. Things became worse as the 2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession made more shops leave.
In 2012, the centre was sold yet again to InfraRed and was renamed back to Castle Mall. The centre got a new dining quarter in 2015, called the Timberhill Terrace.
In mid 2019, the centre was renamed to Castle Quarter. [1]
Castle Quarter contains stores, Flying Tiger, Boots, Select, TK Maxx, Poundland and more. The centre also has a Vue cinema and a Super Bowl bowling alley, as well as a food court which featuring Burger King, Chopstix, Southern Fried Chicken, and once had a Spudulike. There is also the Timberhill Terrace which contains restaurants.