Britain is home to the world’s shortest street at just six feet in length . . . but it has a sobering past.
Ebenezer Place holds the Guinness World Record for being the shortest street at 2.06m, which is even shorter than the tallest person on earth. Located in Wick, Caithness, Scotland, this tiny street only has one address, which is No. 1 Bistro, part of Mackays Hotel.
The history of Ebenezer Place dates back to 1883 when 1 Ebenezer Place was built. The owner of the building was told to put a name on the shortest side of the hotel.
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(Image: Mark Sutherland / SWNS)
It was officially recognised as a street in 1887. Murray Lamont, the current owner of Mackays Hotel, said: ”Every few minutes we see people standing in there taking a photo, all day and into the night. ”.
The world title was secured after Mr Lamont submitted documentation to prove the size and authenticity of the street. The editor-in-chief of the Guinness Book of World Records at the time reportedly travelled for 50 hours just to witness the street himself.
The hotel was constructed in 1883 by Alexander Sinclair, whose family owned land in Caithness. The council at that time considered the short edge of the hotel as a new street and instructed Mr Sinclair to name it.
(Image: Mark Sutherland / SWNS)
Ebenezer Place has been recorded in the town’s records since 1887. Mr Lamont mentioned that when visitors first see the name Ebenezer, they often think of the Charles Dickens character Ebenezer Scrooge from A Christmas Carol.
But Mr Lamont explained that Mr Sinclair was a man of faith, and Ebenezer is steeped in biblical history with Hebrew roots meaning “stone of the help”. “The word can mean kind, caring, and looking after you, which is what we like to do at Mackays,” he remarked.
The establishment has always been a hotel, though it’s gone through various names before settling on Mackays. It even went through a dry period when, thanks to the Temperance (Scotland) Act of 1913 a law passed by the UK parliament allowing Scottish locals to vote on alcohol prohibition in their districts the folks of Wick voted for sobriety.
From 1922, following the town’s vote, until 1947, Wick was officially a dry town, with no alcohol licences granted within its boundaries.
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