The Dorset town of Shaftesbury is beautifully sited on a hill overlooking the Blackmore Vale, on the edge of Cranborne Chase. The town grew up around its abbey, which was founded in c. 888 by King Alfred and became one of the richest religious establishments in the country, before being destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539. Next to the abbey site is Gold Hill, the steep cobbled street made famous in the 1970s as the setting for Ridley Scott’s television advertisement for Hovis bread.

With the help of the Gold Hill Museum archive, author Roger Guttridge takes a fascinating look at how Shaftesbury’s streets, buildings and enterprises have changed over the years, highlighting what they meant to its citizens. There is something here to engage and delight all readers, from the serious to the casual.