The Shambles, Monmouth

People can be forgiven for thinking that the name, The Shambles, is given to a picturesque hodge-podge of old buildings. Looking at it today that is what The Shambles in York, the most famous English example, appears to be. However, this name was given to buildings that were slaughterhouses and places where butchers congregated to sell their meat and offal. The Shambles in Monmouth is hidden away on a bank above the River Monnow and consists of 24 arches and rooms built of sandstone with brick-vaulted roofs. It was built in 1837 and serves the double purpose of supporting a road above and giving space for the slaughter and butchery of animals. A number of the rooms still have the pulleys and meat hooks associated with their original purpose. Such is its location, it must be overlooked by the vast majority of visitors to the town, and is probably unknown to more than a few residents.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Moonlit market place, Settle

A few days in the North Yorkshire market town of Settle, the place of my upbringing, produced a couple of night-time photographs. A small settlement such as this isn't the obvious place to look for night-time shots - cities are much more popular - but the combination of street and property lights with a bright moon drew my eye. The Shambles, the arched building on the left is not only a combination of of the work of seventeenth century and Victorian builders, but also, it seems, a place of traditional filament and modern LED lighting. The building on the right is the town hall.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100