The Shambles is a historic street in York, England, featuring preserved medieval buildings, some dating back as far as the 14th century. The street is narrow, with many timber-framed buildings with jettied floors that overhang the street by several feet. It was once known as The Great Flesh Shambles, probably from the Anglo-Saxon Fleshammels (literally flesh-shelves), the word for the shelves that butchers used to display their meat. In 1885, thirty-one butchers' shops were located along the street, but now none remain. Etymology "Shambles" is an obsolete term for an open-air slaughterhouse and meat market. Streets of that name were so called from having been the sites on which butchers killed and dressed animals for consumption. (One source suggests that the term derives from "Shammel", an Anglo-Saxon word for shelves that stores used to display their wares, while another indicates that by AD 971 "shamble" meant a 'bench for the sale of goods' and by 1305, a 'stall for the sale of meat'.) The area around the Shambles was known as Marketshire into the 14th century and included the streets of the Shambles and Pavement. The Shambles itself had several names; by 1240 it was referred to as Haymongergate, and it was called Nedlergate in 1394, both thought to be references to other trades and crafts which took place in the street. In addition to these names, by 1426 it had become more commonly known as The Great Flesh Shambles, which was eventually shortened to its current name. There are streets named "The Shambles", or "Shambles Street", in other UK towns and cities, including Barnsley, Bradford on Avon, Chesterfield, Guildford, Swansea, Chippenham, Manchester, Sevenoaks, Whitby, Worcester and Armagh. There is also a Fishamble Street in Dublin, Ireland. History Although not named in the Domesday Book of 1086, it has been identified through an entry which lists two butchers' stalls near the church of St Crux () being in the ownership of the Count of Mortain. The naming of the street after butcher stalls has stuck since the 14th century because the association of the street with butchers has been a large part of its history and character. This was because of a continuous tradition of butchers occupying the street that was upheld for centuries. This is probably in large part due to the favourable architecture of the street towards butcher practices of centuries past. The rears of the shops were