The Shambles Market, Stroud

The Shambles is a lane in Stroud leading from High Street, past the town hall to St Laurence's Church, where meat markets were and are still held. As it was the municipal and social heart of Stroud, Edwin Budding would certainly have frequented it.

The word "Shambles" means butchers stalls or a meat-market. There has been a market in Stroud for centuries in one form or another. The original market benches can still be seen against the wall on the left, near to the entrance to the Shambles. They benches were originally further down but have been moved to their current position to preserve them.