Both the town of Newcastle-under-Lyme and its name almost certainly owe their existence to the building of a 'new' castle there in the mid-twelfth century. The town's importance gradually grew from the twelfth to the eighteenth century by which time Newcastle was the place to go for markets, fairs, doctors, banks and lawyers and it has been referred to elsewhere as the 'Capital of North Staffordshire' during that period.Throughout the last century, 'progress' has wrought huge changes on th...