For many hundreds of years, Lisburn's strategic location on the River Lagan made it an important economic hub linking Belfast and Dublin. The area now known as the Historic Quarter was first laid out in the 17th Century. It falls within a designated Conservation Area, which includes Market Square, Castle Street and Bridge Street. A great fire destroyed this area in 1707, but an attractive 18th Century streetscape was rebuilt on the original layout and this has remained largely unchanged to the present day.