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The functions and fortunes of English small towns at the close of the middle ages: evidence from John Leland's Itinerary

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2010

JOHN S. LEE
JOHN S. LEE*
Affiliation:
Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York, King's Manor, York, YO1 7EP
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Abstract:

The descriptions of small towns in John Leland's Itinerary provide valuable evidence about their economic functions and fortunes in a period often categorized as one of urban decline. Leland described markets, ports, industries, buildings and transport links. He identified examples of small towns expanding, through new commercial and industrial opportunities, notably cloth manufacture, as well as others in decline, and suggested that investment by entrepreneurs and benefactors had enabled some small towns to prosper. These experiences reflected both the particular functions of individual towns and their role in wider regional economies.

Type
Research Article
Information
Urban History , Volume 37 , Issue 1 , May 2010 , pp. 3 - 25
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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References

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