The Shambles, Settle: The row of shops which are this Yorkshire town's most historic buildings
York’s most famous street is The Shambles, which dates from the 14th century and is said to boast some of the best-preserved medieval buildings in Europe.
It is not the only UK street to bear that name, however.
There is another much-photographed The Shambles in Worcester, a Shambles Square in Manchester, and this parade of shops in the Yorkshire Dales market town of Settle.
The name they share has a common source.
“Shambles” comes from the Old English word for a butcher’s stall, sceamol, and streets in towns and cities known as The Shambles were the locations of slaughterhouses and butchers.
Records show that in 1885 there were 31 such shops in York’s The Shambles.
The one in Settle is regarded as among the town’s most historic buildings.
As elsewhere, this was where local butchers originally had their businesses but, like York, that is no longer the case.
Settle was granted a market charter by Henry III in 1249 and still hosts an open-air market each Tuesday.
The Shambles dominates the north side of the market place, which remains the town’s central hub.
There is dispute as to when the row of six shops which constitute The Shambles was built, one source putting it around the late 1600s while Historic England’s official listing of Grade II status says the construction was “probably” between the 17th and 18th centuries.
The builder is said to have been Robert Charnley, better known for constructing bridges, and the six round-headed arches on The Shambles are certainly reminiscent of a bridge.
What is known with certainty is that the buildings were renovated in the 1880s, and in 1898 an upper floor was added.
The shops were originally accessed by steps at the left and right gable ends but new entrances at the front were provided in the 20th century.