Shambles, Shepton Mallet

The Shambles (/ʃˈæmbəlz/ ^ⓘ) is a Grade II listed monument located in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England. It is a twentieth-century reconstruction of butcher's market stalls that once lined the market place at Shepton Mallet. These stalls came to be known as "shambles", a term derived from the Middle English: fleshammels, lit. 'flesh shelves'. These shambles used curved roof timbers that have suggested a construction date of c. 1450. The same timbers were used in other roofs for that period, for example, the Tithe Barn at Doulting, Somerset.

The shambles came to be regarded as unhygienic, and consequently, calls were made for them to be removed. They fell gradually into disuse, and those on the south side of the market place were removed in 1863. In 1919, the town council removed the remaining shambles from the north side. In the same year, a trust was established to reconstruct three bays of shambles, and in October of that year, these bays were re‑erected in the market place. Despite later substantial reconstruction and replacement, the monument is believed to be the last example of a shambles that remains in England from the Middle Ages.