Parking for broomsticks, 31 Shambles, York
I suspect that few other town centres can boast a rack labelled "Parking for brooms" but York is still in the grip of Harry Potter mania. Several years ago "The shop that should not be named" opened in Shambles. It was so popular that people queued to get in. Since then it has expanded into the shop next door, 31 Shambles. I sketched the rear of it while Having lunch from one of the food stalls in Shambles Market. The market had been struggling for some time but seems revived by the modern trend of eating out, from pseudo food trucks, small kiosks and trailers tucked into a corner of the space. One of my favourites is Los Moros, which does north African inspired food, and great salads. Sketching 31 Shambles made me notice the early brick infilling the wall panels of the timber frame, set on edge to create a thin but cheaper wall. I was also able to incorporate the snicket through to Shambles, through the adjoining 30 Shambles, one of several alleyways left over when the market place was developed in the 1950s and 1960s, when several medieval streets were cleared as they had become slums. Hard to imagine that by 1963 most of Shambles, one of York's biggest tourist attractions, now home to at least three Harry Potter shops, was also threatened with demolition.
Parking for broomsticks, 31 Shambles, York
I suspect that few other town centres can boast a rack labelled "Parking for brooms" but York is still in the grip of Harry Potter mania. Several years ago "The shop that should not be named" opened in Shambles. It was so popular that people queued to get in. Since then it has expanded into the shop next door, 31 Shambles. I sketched the rear of it while Having lunch from one of the food stalls in Shambles Market. The market had been struggling for some time but seems revived by the modern trend of eating out, from pseudo food trucks, small kiosks and trailers tucked into a corner of the space. One of my favourites is Los Moros, which does north African inspired food, and great salads. Sketching 31 Shambles made me notice the early brick infilling the wall panels of the timber frame, set on edge to create a thin but cheaper wall. I was also able to incorporate the snicket through to Shambles, through the adjoining 30 Shambles, one of several alleyways left over when the market place was developed in the 1950s and 1960s, when several medieval streets were cleared as they had become slums. Hard to imagine that by 1963 most of Shambles, one of York's biggest tourist attractions, now home to at least three Harry Potter shops, was also threatened with demolition.