Cobbled streets

[Glenn A]

I've just put up a drive through video of the wonderful seaside town of Silloth in Cumbria, with some of the widest and longest cobbled streets I've driven on in the UK.

Its here: https://youtu.be/m1GGo6bDIDY

I know Silloth well and nearly all the town centre is cobbled, some of the signage is pre war and there are still a few 1960s street lights with meat pie lanterns. Take the modern cars away and at times, it's like being in the seventies or earlier. Also the drive along the coast from Maryport and onwards to Bowness on Solway is one of the best in good weather.

It is a fantastic area for being in..... and the roads... well Wow! ..... I'm a sucker for roman roads, in Great Britain or abroad....but From Ravenglass up to Bowness & Carlisle most of the countryside roads were laid by the Romans...its brilliant.

Do you think that Silloths' Cobbles are really Setts though?

I think the technical term is setts, but whatever name you use, as soon as you cross the old railway bridge into the town centre, it's cobbles/ setts all the way to the church on Eden St. However, Carlisle still has several residential streets like this in the inner west end, particularly Denton Holme and Shaddongate. Always wonder if there is some kind of preservation order on the setts/cobbles as these are Victorian streets where the houses do resemble those in a certain soap opera.

[Conekicker]

This street in Sheffield. Some of it is cobbled, other bits are blacktop, some of it possibly overlaying the old paving.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.39505 ... &entry=ttu

Considering it's in the area where the steelworks were, it's in remarkably good condition.

The adjacent Atlas Street has an interesting bit of maintenance that's been done to it at some time:

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.39590 ... &entry=ttu

[Owain]

Chepstow - Hocker Hill Street

Lancaster - Castle Hill

Frome - Catherine Hill

Wells - Vicar's Close

Worcester - Fish Street

Hereford - Palace Yard

Salisbury - High Street

Lichfield - Bore Street

Lincoln - Minster Yard

Leeds - The Calls

Barf - Quite Famous

[trickstat]

Chepstow - Hocker Hill Street

Lancaster - Castle Hill

Frome - Catherine Hill

Wells - Vicar's Close

Worcester - Fish Street

Hereford - Palace Yard

Salisbury - High Street

Lichfield - Bore Street

Lincoln - Minster Yard

Leeds - The Calls

Barf - Quite Famous

This suggests that they might be more common in cities than non-cities.

I suspect the last one may be subject to a very clear prohibition on it ever being tarmaced.

[wallmeerkat]

Hill Street Belfast - https://www.google.com/maps/@54.6021632 ... ?entry=ttu

meant to be no through traffic

[wallmeerkat]

Market Street St Andrews - https://www.google.com/maps/@56.3404334 ... ?entry=ttu

[Owain]

Chepstow - Hocker Hill Street

Lancaster - Castle Hill

Frome - Catherine Hill

Wells - Vicar's Close

Worcester - Fish Street

Hereford - Palace Yard

Salisbury - High Street

Lichfield - Bore Street

Lincoln - Minster Yard

Leeds - The Calls

Barf - Quite Famous

This suggests that they might be more common in cities than non-cities.

I suspect the last one may be subject to a very clear prohibition on it ever being tarmaced.

I suspect that (as somebody suggested up-thread) many of these are deliberately preserved for conservation reasons. It wouldn't surprise me if all of those located near cathedrals are protected in a similar way to the Royal Cresent.

Chepstow and Frome are of course not cities, but as historic market towns the councils will likely want to preserve something of their character. Catherine Hill in Frome is designed part of quite a large conservation area; somebody told me that there is a higher concentration of Grade II-listed cottages in that part of the town than anywhere else in the country. I wouldn't know if any specific protective regulations apply to the Chepstow example, but I have been down it in a car!

For some cobbles that are unlikely to be in a conservation area - unless the purpose is perhaps to protect some epic architectural vandalism - see here.

[trickstat]

Chepstow - Hocker Hill Street

Lancaster - Castle Hill

Frome - Catherine Hill

Wells - Vicar's Close

Worcester - Fish Street

Hereford - Palace Yard

Salisbury - High Street

Lichfield - Bore Street

Lincoln - Minster Yard

Leeds - The Calls

Barf - Quite Famous

This suggests that they might be more common in cities than non-cities.

I suspect the last one may be subject to a very clear prohibition on it ever being tarmaced.

I suspect that (as somebody suggested up-thread) many of these are deliberately preserved for conservation reasons. It wouldn't surprise me if all of those located near cathedrals are protected in a similar way to the Royal Cresent.

Chepstow and Frome are of course not cities, but as historic market towns the councils will likely want to preserve something of their character. Catherine Hill in Frome is designed part of quite a large conservation area; somebody told me that there is a higher concentration of Grade II-listed cottages in that part of the town than anywhere else in the country. I wouldn't know if any specific protective regulations apply to the Chepstow example, but I have been down it in a car!

For some cobbles that are unlikely to be in a conservation area - unless the purpose is perhaps to protect some epic architectural vandalism - see here.

The Beech Hotel beer garden just around the corner from there is a corker.

[Owain]

For some cobbles that are unlikely to be in a conservation area - unless the purpose is perhaps to protect some epic architectural vandalism - see here.

The Beech Hotel beer garden just around the corner from there is a corker.

That building itself is very interesting. It took me a while to notice it, because everything that must have once stood around it presumably got demolished, and replaced by the various structures that are there now. I think there's a good case to make for doing the same thing again; demolishing everything except the Beech Hotel, and starting again.

[wallmeerkat]

For some cobbles that are unlikely to be in a conservation area - unless the purpose is perhaps to protect some epic architectural vandalism - see here.

The Beech Hotel beer garden just around the corner from there is a corker.

That building itself is very interesting. It took me a while to notice it, because everything that must have once stood around it presumably got demolished, and replaced by the various structures that are there now. I think there's a good case to make for doing the same thing again; demolishing everything except the Beech Hotel, and starting again.

The gentleman in the grey top agrees that 1 building should be left standing.

[FleetlinePhil]

Plenty in the Upper Calder Valley, of varying ages and appeal:
New (2023) and aimed to appeal to tourists
New and less touristy, part of the same scheme as above but these resemble block paving - weird.
Original and uncovered during utilities works in the late 1980s, but retained at the request of the residents. Very unpleasant in the wet when driving a bus (the setts, not the residents!).
Original and presumably have never been overlaid.

[wallmeerkat]

Hill Street Belfast - https://www.google.com/maps/@54.6021632 ... ?entry=ttu

meant to be no through traffic

Market Street St Andrews - https://www.google.com/maps/@56.3404334 ... ?entry=ttu

Apologies these are setts rather than cobbles

[Owain]

I walked up here this morning, having never particularly noticed the surface before.

Then I noticed this peculiar feature this afternoon. There's also this parking area nearby.

[Big Nick]

I walked up here this morning, having never particularly noticed the surface before.

Then I noticed this peculiar feature this afternoon. There's also this parking area nearby.

Could be a historical thing despite many of the original houses having been demolished for being back-to-backs.

[chaseracer]

I unfortunately am "that guy" who will rip to shreds a bad design regardless of who did it. I got a serious reprimand in Blackburn for going to the Head of Service with an alternative design for a signal junction because the one they were going to approve lacked any safe pedestrian routes and would've killed drivers as well.

The engineers who'd done the original design were very put out when told to adapt their drawings to meet my alternative and dragged me over the coals for it but at least I was vindicated.

My loyalty is to the safety of the travelling public, not the ego of line management or principal engineers with more letters than ability.

I see no issue with this approach...

[wallmeerkat]

Cobbles and Setts in an industrial area of East Belfast

https://www.google.com/maps/@54.5997323 ... ?entry=ttu

[KeithW]

I think the technical term is setts, but whatever name you use, as soon as you cross the old railway bridge into the town centre, it's cobbles/ setts all the way to the church on Eden St. However, Carlisle still has several residential streets like this in the inner west end, particularly Denton Holme and Shaddongate. Always wonder if there is some kind of preservation order on the setts/cobbles as these are Victorian streets where the houses do resemble those in a certain soap opera.

Indeed cobblestones are rounded and essentially just what you could find in nature and are round because they get rolled around in the surf while setts have a flat surface to reduce noise.


I believe when horse drawn traffic was the in thing they did tend to use cobbles especially on an incline as the horse could make better way. In the late 1950's and 1960's there were some streets in old Middlesbrough which which had setts, in some cases they just got a tarmac dressing, in the back lanes they are still there.

Back lane Aske Road
https://www.google.com/maps/@54.5709022 ... &entry=ttu

Wood Street 1950's