At the heart of York lies one of the best preserved medieval streets in England: the Shambles, a collection of ancient buildings hanging over the cobblestones, some so close to one another that neighbours could share a pint over the street. Once a bustling street lined with butchers’ shops, it is now home to boutique shops and markets trading out of a living bit of history.
A Rich History
If you are interested in, well, pretty much any period of history, York has something for you. The presence of humans dates back thousands of years, but York begins its ‘modern’ history as Eboracum, a massive Roman stronghold that developed into a prosperous northern trading city. There are still ruins of the Roman wall, baths and a column that held up the basilica in which Constantine was crowned emperor.
Skip forward a little bit, and York becomes the Viking stronghold of Jórvík, something you can learn all about at one of my favourite places in York; Jorvic Viking centre, an underground museum in a real-life excavation site with an added replica Viking village. Be warned, some genius decided to replicate the smell as well.
Skip forward a little more, and you get to 867, when the amazingly named “Great Heathen Army” is defeated by the Anglo-Saxons, who take the city. In 1066–a date anyone educated in England knows off by heart–King Harold II defeats a Viking invasion attempt at Stamford Bridge near York before losing to William the Conqueror at the battle of Hastings.
The Shambles
The narrow cobbles that make up the Shambles aren’t particularly different from other old lanes in York, just narrower, quainter, more symbolic and more, well, shambolic. Once lined with butcher’s shops, with meat hanging from hooks and gutters designed to wash away the blood, it was the bustling heart of medieval trade.
Today, the hooks are gone, replaced with shopfronts selling sweets, trinkets, and wizard-themed souvenirs, but the crooked timber buildings still lean precariously over the street, as if gossiping with their neighbours across the way. It’s a place where history hasn’t just survived—it lingers in the air, making the Shambles one of York’s most enchanting and unforgettable corners.
York Minster
If you go to the end of the Shambles and wind down Petergate, you will come across the massive cathedral, or minster as it’s called in York. In a city with no high-rises, York Minster dominates the skyline, a masterpiece of Gothic architecture that has stood for centuries as both a place of worship and a symbol of the city’s importance.
Be sure to poke your head inside to check out the old altars, candles, soaring arches, intricate stonework, and stained-glass windows that create the kind of colourful light only found in old churches. Beneath the floor lie Roman and Norman remains, while above, if you can manage the climb, the central tower rewards you with sweeping views of York and the surrounding countryside.
