Shambles

The Shambles is a building likely dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, with cottages from the 1890s above. It is constructed of rubble with stone dressings and has a slate roof. The structure has three storeys and six bays. The vaulted cellars feature three broad segmental-headed arches, each divided into two shops, with an open well in front of them. Access to the cellars is via steps on the left and right. In front of the well, there is a loggia with six round-headed arches supported by square shafts with plain impost blocks. Above this loggia, there is a similar row of arches at the same level as the facade, which have 20th-century shopfronts inserted. The shops, which have floors just above ground level, were originally accessed by steps at the left and right gable ends, but now have 20th-century steps leading over the well. Above the shops, there are six two-storey cottages that replaced single-storey cottages, thought to be from the 17th or 18th century, in the late 1890s. The cottages are arranged in pairs, each with an entrance and window on both storeys, plain surrounds, a half-dormer on the upper floor, and a ridge stack. Access to the cottages is via steps in the right-hand gable wall, leading to a balcony over the loggia.