If you ever felt a bit guilty about going to a fantastic city like York or Chester, famed for their architecture and history, but spent most of the time doing a little retail therapy then the Shambles in York might have the answer.
Voted recently the most picturesque street in Britain, the Shambles is also often regarded as the best preserved Medieval street in Europe with it’s narrow cobbled street and buildings that almost seem to lean over you.
Actually many of the original buildings do lean, sometimes rather alarmingly in towards the street from the upper floors, but this design from the 15th Century seems to have weathered both nature and history plus a few conflicts to stand the test of time. The street was even mentioned in the Doomsday book, so we know it was in existence around the end of the 1080’s.
The name Shambles signifies that the street was once the home of many butchers with the name being a corruption of the Medieval word “Shamel” meaning flesh. Records show in 1872 there were 27 butchers on this one street alone!
Today there are a wide range of shops to browse from general shops to tourist attractions and restaurants, so there’s sure to be something to suit all kinds of retail therapy….then you can sit down with a cup of tea to admire the historic nature of the area. There are also plenty of other shops around as the Shambles is right in the heart of the city.
More links to York:
York things to do
Hotels in York
Holiday cottages in York
