Listed buildings in Lancaster, Lancashire century. The town stands at the lowest crossing of the River Lune, and received its first borough charter in 1193. In addition to being a market town, it became the judicial centre of the county of Lancashire, the castle being converted to serve this purpose in the 18th century. Also in the 18th century, in order to trade with the Americas, St George's Quay, with its warehouses and houses, was developed. Towards the end of that century the Lancaster Canal was built, linking the town with Preston. And in the 19th century railways came to the town, including what is
Touws River (town) to go." And that is the way it did go." In 1875, the engineers of the Cape Government Railways arrived to survey the region and found that, at the exact spot indicated, there was indeed a viable route through the formidable Hex River Mountains, starting from Worcester and descending on the other side, to a spot where the town of Touws River now stands. On 7 November 1877, the Worcester–Matjiesfontein section of the Cape Government Railways' Cape Town–Kimberley main line was opened to traffic. The line included a station, originally named "Montagu Road", where the line bridged the Touws River.