York history

Market forces, bull markets, bear markets, online markets, and now the Wuhan wet market: it's all a bit of a shambles really. The original Shambles were just that, wet markets in numerous English market towns where butchers gathered to slaughter and sell their produce. These were narrow streets with a gutter down the middle for the blood and guts. The most famous Shambles is in York, where even in the 19th century 25 butchers still plied their trade side by side. When Old Mother Hubbard went out to get the...