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Setts
- square blocks, usually of granite
or whin but sometimes of hardwood for silence, forming
a street surface. Setts were set on edge, close together, and they tapered slightly towards the
bottom. Sides were never quite smooth, and laying them to achieve a tight joint, is a very skillful
business, if not laid properly, like cobbles, they wobble. Traditionally they were laid on sand and
might be sealed with pitch, nowadays they are usually bedded in cement to conceal the lack of
available skills.
Wooden setts were quite often used where the clatter of iron-bound wheels were too
intrusive eg outside public buildings.