This interesting street ran from Maiden Street eastwards to East Street opposite its junction with Belle Vue. The photo looks east towards East Street.
It was so called after a house which once stood nearby called the Governors House, from the days when Colonel Francis Sydenham was the town’s Parliamentary Governor during the Civil War. It also marked the southern boundary of the Friary which was founded in 1418 and was dissolved in 1538 and occupied a site bounded by Upper St Alban Street, East Street and Maiden Street.
Leading off the north side of Governors Lane were two interesting courts, Stewards Court and Devenish Square. In 1958/9 the north side was demolished, being deemed unfit for human habitation. During demolition ancient walls, possibly those of the Friary were found in cellars and an old doorway was demolished in 1960.
After demolition had taken place, long debates at Council meetings followed on what to do with the site vacated. Serious consideration was given to its use as a site for a market.
However this came to nothing and it is still used as a car park, more than sixty years later.
