The Shambles, York
Potentially the most famous street in England, The Shambles in York dates all the way back to the 14th century. Of course it is so famous because of the medieval buildings from various eras still being so well preserved and in use.
The Great Flesh Shambles as it was once more gruesomely known, holds many a quirky shop and pub and lures in tourists from all over the world. Most notably of which has to be the York Ghost Merchants who allow you to adopt your own ghost from this very street. However, it also has a few Harry Potter related shops as rumour has it that The Shambles inspired Diagon Alley so that means this street is in direct competition for that title alongside Victoria Street in Edinburgh, even though the author denies this.
Regardless of what it may or may not have inspired, The Shambles started out as a humble butcher's street which is what inspired the name as Shambles is loosely translated from an Old English word that basically meant meat market. It was commonplace for the butcher's stalls to influence the naming on the streets they worked on, and it was usually fairly gruesome as obviously back then they'd do their work out in the open so the street would run with blood and guts etc. This street in particular was ideal for this line of work, especially as it evolved. The slaughter houses were at the rear of the shops and the tall, overhanging buildings created a shade in the street below allowing for the meat in the window to stay fresher for longer. Not to mention the slight incline for those who simply had stalls so the blood could run down the street via runnels and the rain would wash it away. Now there hasn't been a butchers on the street for a very long time, but the meat hooks can still be seen outside of some of the shops!
Now just off of The Shambles is a big open space now occupied by the Shambles Market. This never used to be the case. In fact there was once a Little Shambles, but in the 1950s a bunch of houses and shops were demolished and thus the space. There are five Snickelways that used to be convenient little alleys leading off The Shambles to the buildings behind but now they all pretty much lead to the market which was originally known as Newgate Market but got renamed in 2015.
Haunted? Well aside from the ghosts within the Merchants, we'd say yes. Do you remember our post on Margaret Clitherow? Well she lived on the Shambles before she was executed, and considering she hid many a man who was due to die thanks to his faith, the blood shed on this street wasn't just animal let us say that! We have no doubt that The Shambles is home to more than a few spirits, in fact you can almost feel them in the air when visiting. No matter what the weather, the street always seems a bit damp and foreboding, you can't say more than that!
We love visiting here and it is a must for anyone visiting this neck of the woods!
DISCLAIMER: Now for the official bit. This blog does not receive any paid promotions from the places mentioned above. We have not been approached to promote or act as spokespersons for any attraction mentioned within this post and this is simply a post intended to act as a day in the life of a couple on a cute date. All photos included are taken by ourselves and as such the rights for these images are ours, no links, brands, or companies mentioned otherwise belong or are associated with Phantom Adventures UK. We are responsible only for this blog. Opinions are our own and not influenced by any third party source..
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