About Cobbleway

Cobbleway is an independent publication about historic British towns: how to walk them, how to read their streets and buildings, and how to follow a question into the records. It is written by the editors and by guest contributors. We are not part of any heritage body, council or tour company, and nothing here speaks for one.

What we try to do

Most old towns reward a slow look, but a lot of what gets repeated about them is guesswork that has hardened into fact. We would rather show you how to test a claim than hand you another one. So our articles say where a fact comes from, and they say so plainly when the evidence runs out.

How we check things

We link to the sources we relied on, and we read them first. We lean on bodies that hold the records or have studied the buildings, such as The National Archives, English Heritage, the Victoria County History, and conservation organisations like the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. Rules, opening details and dates can change, so check the source itself before you act on anything, and speak to a conservation officer or other professional before altering an old building.

If you spot a mistake, please write to [email protected]. We would much rather correct it.

Guest articles

We publish guest articles. Our write for us page sets out what we want and what we decline.

Image credits

Our photographs come from Wikimedia Commons and are used under the licences below. Each is also credited under the image where it appears.

• Gold Hill, Shaftesbury: Derek Harper, CC BY-SA 2.0.
• Church Green, Witney: Steve Daniels, CC BY-SA 2.0.
• Elm Hill, Norwich: Christopher Hilton, CC BY-SA 2.0.
• Windows in Brighton Street, Edinburgh: Kim Traynor, CC BY-SA 3.0.
• Blue plaque, Webber Street, London: Christine Matthews, CC BY-SA 2.0.
• Lavenham Guildhall: Keith Evans, CC BY-SA 2.0.
• Westbury tithe map, 1842: Cotterells & Cooper, Surveyors, Bath, Somerset, public domain.
• Barn Hill, Stamford: Richard Humphrey, CC BY-SA 2.0.
• Blue plaque, Gracechurch Street, London: David Hillas, CC BY-SA 2.0.
• Market Square and High Street, Witney: P L Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Diagrams and the logo were drawn for this site.