Shambles

The Shambles features timber-framed buildings that lean toward each other so closely that the roof eaves nearly touch. Originally, these houses belonged to butchers, with their open-fronted stalls and shelves for displaying meat. In the fourteenth century, the butchers kept the area clean by throwing offal into the open drainage channel running down the center of the street. Today, the street retains its medieval character, showing how narrow, crowded urban passageways operated centuries before the introduction of modern sanitation systems.