Christmas Steps - with seating for the weary

Originally, the River Frome came almost to the bottom of the steep hill and, until the 17th Century, barrels were rolled down the muddy hill to be loaded onto ships. A stone plaque commemorates how the street was 'steppered done and finished in September 1669', to create the cobbled slopes and steps which remain today.

Being so close to the water, it is suspected that most of the buildings on the street at one time housed bars and brothels but now only one pub remains - The Three Sugar Loaves - at the base of the steps. Brothels are not in sight!

Christmas Steps boasts several unique traders: including a clock-maker, a wedding and posh gown designer, a shoe-maker, a bow-making establishment, a stamp collector and dealer and a brass and woodwind shop. At the very bottom of the steps lies a building thought to date back to the 13th Century, which has housed a fish and chip shop for well over 100 years. One of the first ever 'chippies' to open in England, this shop won a Best in Britain award whilst under the management of the inimitable Grace and Robert.
BIGGER STEPS! taken with my phone