The charming town of Shaftesbury is one of the oldest high-altitude villages in England, and one of its streets is one of the most recognizable in the UK.

Shaftesbury is situated approximately 200 meters above sea level on the slope of a chalk hill belonging to the Cranborn Chase. The town was founded in the 10th century during Saxon times and was initially heavily fortified (the second part of the name, -bury, comes from the Saxon word burgh, meaning fort).

In 1035, Canute the Great, the English king who reigned for 20 years from 1016, died in Shaftesbury. It also appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a form of land register prepared at the request of William the Conqueror in the England he conquered.

In the Middle Ages, Shaftesbury was a trading town and in the 18th and 19th centuries the town’s main industry was button making.

Shaftesbury is home to one of the most famous places in Great Britain – Gold Hill. This steep, cobbled street was made famous in the 1970s when it was used as a filming location for a TV commercial for Hovis bread, directed by Ridley Scott. For many British people it is an iconic place.