Travellers to York in the North of England are greeted by a wealth of history - the city has been around since it was founded by the Romans in 71AD.
One place most people visit on a trip to York is the world famous Shambles, a narrow alleyway sitting between old wooden framed buildings.
The Shambles is a medieval shopping street in the city; most of the buildings date from between c1350 and 1475. It was once known as The Great Flesh Shambles, probably from the Anglo-Saxon word Fleshammels which literally means ‘flesh-shelves’, the word for the shelves that butchers used to display their meat. As recently as 1872 twenty-five butchers’ shops were located along the street, but now none remain.
In the the hugely popular Harry Potter films Diagon Alley is a narrow, cobbled street where witches and wizards go to buy supplies and The Shambles, with Its timber framed buildings and narrow cobbled street, is reminiscent of that fictional alley.
A couple of years ago some enterprising person decided to open a shop on the street selling Harry Potter merchandise - this proved to be so popular
that in summer months there would be a queue just to get in. Not long after, another Harry Potter themed shop opened… then another… and another… then other shops that weren’t Harry Potter related began selling items with a Potter theme - sweet shops sell Harry Potter sweets, clothes shops sell scarves with Hogwarts colours etc. So now The Shambles whose name you recall originally came from the fact 25 butchers were located there now has as many Harry Potter outlets!
It seems that York could hold out against the Romans, Vikings and Normans but not Harry Potter fans!
So this was the inspiration behind Diagon Alley. I was always wondering how they came up with the concept in the Harry Potter movies. Thank you so much for your post @RussKH , I wasn’t aware of this fascinating information. The other thing that I love about your publication is that it made me discover a new city, which probably I won’t find on my own. Right after I finished reading the post, I checked York on Google Maps and I was immediately blown away by it’s beauty. I’ve been to Cambridge and London several times, don’t get me wrong, it was a terrific experience, but York has something special that I didn’t encounter in the other places. It feels more relaxing and cozy, if that makes any sense. I can’t wait to check York Minster and walk around the city. I’m sure that I’ll fall in love with it.
Do you have any recommendations for me what to see and where to go? I’ll really appreciate if you could share some tips.
And thank you @VasT for the tag. You were right, I surely did enjoy the post.
Hi @VasT - Yes! you can buy wands in some of the shops along there, in fact a couple of them have replicas of Ollivander’s wand shop in store. Unfortunately though no matter how much you wave them around they don’t work!
It does look just like Diagon Alley! Right @OmerAli ? I still can’t believe how alike are both places. It’s definitely a paradise for Harry Potter fans. It’s a misfortune, though, that you were unable to visit The Shambles, but who knows probably it wasn’t the right time. I hope that you’ll have the chance soon.
P.S.: I also wanted to let you know that I removed the photo that you have shared from Wikipedia. You probably are not aware of this, but sharing someone else’s picture on Connect is not encouraged. Thank you so much for your understanding.
Thanks for the update @KlaudiyaG , my apologies for the copyrights, I thought we were allowed to share content under cc license with proper attribution .My bad, I will keep a note of it from now onwards
Hi @KlaudiyaG yes York has a historical uniqueness that sets it apart from other cities - apart from the Minister which you mention there is a castle, a hilltop fortification, city walls which can be walked around, ancient churches, the National Railway Museum, world famous Betty’s cafe, miles of cobbled streets with quirky shops and lovely parks and riverside walks. It’s well worth a visit if you are ever in that part of the world. Here are a few pictures I’ve taken over the years …York - Google Photos Album
Amazing photos @RussKH ! I loved the fact that you have collected some panoramic pictures as well. They made me feel like I’m actually there and not in front of my computer. All jokes aside, I appreciate a lot all your recommendations and I’m planning to check all of the places that you’ve suggested, especially the Railway Museum, as my nephew adores trains. He’ll be very excited to immerse himself in this incomparable collection of locomotives.
Thank you once again for everything.
No problem @OmerAli ! It could happen to anyone. If you want to learn more about how to follow the original content guidelines on Connect, feel free to check this post.
