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Climbing from the Thoroughfare, via the historically significant Ye Olde Bell and Steelyard with its black hook hanging ominously above the street, an Italian-style piazza opens out. Here cafés, boutiques and alehouses surround a market place, the centre occupied by the distinctive Shire Hall. Its worn steps offer tempting glimpses of the surrounding town and country, the ornamented tower of St Mary’s Church and a higgledy-piggledy mix of old and new architecture.