on wet, slippery London cobblestones in 1823 During the
medieval period, cobblestone streets became common in many European towns and cities. Cobblestones were readily available, as they were often naturally occurring stones found in riverbeds and fields. Their rounded shape made them easy to lay, and their durability was well-suited to the needs of growing urban centers. Cobblestones are typically either set in sand or similar material, or are bound together with
mortar. Paving with cobblestones allows a road to be heavily used all year long. It prevents the build-up of
ruts often found in
dirt roads. It has the additional advantage of immediately draining water, and not getting muddy in wet weather or dusty in dry weather. Shod horses are also able to get better traction on stone cobbles, pitches or setts than tarmac or asphalt. Cobblestones set in sand have the environmental advantage of being
permeable paving, and of moving rather than cracking with movements in the ground. The fact that
carriage wheels,
horse hooves and even modern automobiles make a lot of noise when rolling over cobblestone paving might be thought a disadvantage, but it has the advantage of warning pedestrians of their approach. In England, the custom was to strew straw over the cobbles outside the house of a sick or dying person to damp the sound. In rural areas, cobblestones were sometimes used to pave important roads, particularly those leading to and from major cities.. Cobblestones such as these are designed for horses to get a good grip.In England, it has been commonplace since ancient times for flat stones with a flat narrow edge to be set on edge to provide an even paved surface. This was known as a 'pitched' surface and was common all over Britain, as it did not require rounded pebbles. Pitched surfaces predate the use of regularly-sized granite setts by more than a thousand years. Such pitched paving is quite distinct from that formed from rounded stones, although both forms are commonly referred to as 'cobbled' surfaces. Most surviving genuinely old 'cobbled' areas are in reality pitched surfaces. A cobbled area is known as a "causey", "cassay" or "cassie" in
Scots (probably from
causeway). In the
early modern period, cities like Paris, London, and Amsterdam began to pave their streets with cobblestones to manage the increased traffic from carts, carriages, and pedestrians. , Greece Cobblestones were largely replaced by quarried granite
setts (also known as Belgian block) in the nineteenth century. Cobblestoned and "setted" streets gradually gave way to
macadam roads and later to
tarmac, and finally to
asphalt concrete at the beginning of the 20th century. However, cobblestones are often retained in historic areas, even for streets with modern vehicular traffic. Many older villages and cities in
Europe are still paved with cobblestones or pitched.
Use today With the advent of asphalt and concrete in the 20th century, the use of cobblestones declined. These newer materials were cheaper and easier to install, leading to the replacement of many cobblestone streets. However, cobblestone streets have been preserved in many historic districts around the world, valued for their historical significance and aesthetic charm. In recent decades, cobblestones have become a popular material for paving newly
pedestrianised streets in Europe. In this case, the noisy nature of the surface is an advantage as pedestrians can hear approaching vehicles. The visual cues of the cobblestones also clarify that the area is more than just a normal street. The use of cobblestones and setts is also considered to be a more "upmarket" roadway solution, having been described as "unique and artistic" compared to the normal asphalt road environment. In older U.S. cities such as
Philadelphia;
Chicago;
San Francisco;
New Castle;
Portland, Maine;
Baltimore;
Charleston; and
New Orleans, many of the older streets are paved in cobblestones and setts (mostly setts); however, many such streets have been paved over with asphalt, which can crack and erode away due to heavy traffic, thus revealing the original stone pavement. In some places such as
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan,
Canada, as late as the 1990s some busy intersections still showed cobblestones through worn down sections of pavement. In Toronto streets, setts were used by streetcar routes and disappeared by the 1980s, but are still found in the
Distillery District. Many cities in Latin America, such as
Buenos Aires,
Argentina;
Zacatecas and
Guanajuato, in
Mexico;
Old San Juan,
Puerto Rico;
Vigan,
Philippines; and
Montevideo,
Uruguay, are well known for their many cobblestone streets, which are still operational and in good condition. They are still maintained and repaired in the traditional manner, by placing and arranging granite stones by hand. In the
Czech Republic, there are old cobblestone paths with colored
marbles and
limestones. The design with three colors (red/limestone, black/limestone, white/marble) has a long tradition in
Bohemia. The cubes of the old ways are handmade. ==Use in architecture==