106-603: 52°42′29″N 2°45′14″W / 52.708°N 2.754°W / 52.708; -2.754 Shrewsbury ( / ˈ ʃ r oʊ z b ər i / SHROHZ -bər-ee , also / ˈ ʃ r uː z -/ SHROOZ - ) is a market town , civil parish and the county town of Shropshire , England. It is sited on the River Severn , 33 miles (53 km) northwest of Wolverhampton , 15 miles (24 km) west of Telford , 31 miles (50 km) southeast of Wrexham and 53 miles (85 km) north of Hereford . At
212-600: A mint in the town, using dies supplied by the royal government. In 914, Æthelflæd , daughter of Alfred the Great and known as the Lady of the Mercians, fortified Shrewsbury, along with Hereford and two other fortresses, at Scergeat (a currently unknown location) and Weardbyrig (thought to be Whitchurch , which would make sense given the strategic importance of the Roman Road link via
318-489: A charter, but were accorded market town status through custom and practice if they had been in existence prior to 1199. From an early stage, kings and administrators understood that a successful market town attracted people, generated revenue and would pay for the town's defences. In around the 12th century, European kings began granting charters to villages allowing them to hold markets on specific days. Framlingham in Suffolk
424-440: A community space on the upper floor. The oldest surviving structures date from the mid-17th century. In Scotland, borough markets were held weekly from an early stage. A King's market was held at Roxburgh on a specific day from about the year 1171; a Thursday market was held at Glasgow , a Saturday market at Arbroath , and a Sunday market at Brechin . In Scotland, market towns were often distinguished by their mercat cross :
530-508: A crossing-place on the River Thames up-river from Runnymede , where it formed an oxbow lake in the stream. Early patronage included Thomas Furnyvale, lord of Hallamshire , who established a Fair and Market in 1232. Travelers were able to meet and trade wares in relative safety for a week of "fayres" at a location inside the town walls. The reign of Henry III witnessed a spike in established market fairs. The defeat of de Montfort increased
636-478: A dozen Irish prisoners were selected to be killed after picking lots. This prompted Rupert to respond by executing Parliamentarian prisoners in Oswestry . By the 18th century Shrewsbury had become an important market town and stopping point for stagecoaches travelling between London and Holyhead with passengers on their way to Ireland; this led to the establishment of a number of coaching inns, many of which, such as
742-411: A few miles north of the town centre, between King Henry IV and Henry Percy (Hotspur) , with the king emerging victorious. Hotspur's body was taken by Thomas Neville , to Whitchurch , for burial. However, when rumours circulated that Percy was still alive, the king "had the corpse exhumed and displayed it, propped upright between two millstones, in the market place at Shrewsbury". That being done, Percy
848-429: A frontier post for a cohort of Thracian Auxilia who were taking part in the campaigns of the governor, Publius Ostorius Scapula . The site is strategically located near the end of Watling Street , the primary Roman trunk road that ran across Britannia from Dubris ( Dover ). The post was a key frontier position because it defended the River Severn valley as it come out of Cambria ( Wales ) as well as protecting
954-491: A full list, see this table at Danish Misplaced Pages ). The last town to gain market rights ( Danish : købstadsprivilegier ) was Skjern in 1958. At the municipal reform of 1970 , market towns were merged with neighboring parishes, and the market towns lost their special status and privileges, though many still advertise themselves using the moniker of købstad and hold public markets on their historic market squares . The medieval right to hold markets ( German : Marktrecht )
1060-549: A good deal is known about the economic value of markets in local economies, the cultural role of market-towns has received scant scholarly attention. In Denmark, the concept of the market town ( Danish : købstad ) emerged during the Iron Age. It is not known which was the first Danish market town, but Hedeby (part of modern-day Schleswig-Holstein ) and Ribe were among the first. As of 1801, there were 74 market towns in Denmark (for
1166-591: A group of villages or an earlier urban settlement in decline, or be created as a new urban centre. Frequently, they had limited privileges compared to free royal cities . Their long-lasting feudal subordination to landowners or the church is also a crucial difference. The successors of these settlements usually have a distinguishable townscape. The absence of fortification walls, sparsely populated agglomerations, and their tight bonds with agricultural life allowed these towns to remain more vertical compared to civitates. The street-level urban structure varies depending on
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#17328370857131272-455: A local shopfront such as a bakery or alehouse, while others were casual traders who set up a stall or carried their wares around in baskets on market days. Market trade supplied for the needs of local consumers whether they were visitors or local residents. Braudel and Reynold have made a systematic study of European market towns between the 13th and 15th century. Their investigation shows that in regional districts markets were held once or twice
1378-589: A lock of the emperor's hair, presented to an officer of the 53rd, remains to this day in the collections of the Soldiers of Shropshire Museum at Shrewsbury Castle. HM Prison Shrewsbury , when new in the Georgian period, was considered a national example of improved conditions and more enlightened penal policy. Times change and a 2005 report on prison population found that it was the most overcrowded in England and Wales , despite
1484-684: A major expansion in Victorian times. The prison, which was also known as the Dana because it was built near the site of the medieval Dana gaol, was closed in 2013 and then sold by the Ministry of Justice to private property developers in 2014. Market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages , a market right , which allowed it to host
1590-468: A market town at Bergen in the 11th century, and it soon became the residence of many wealthy families. Import and export was to be conducted only through market towns, to allow oversight of commerce and to simplify the imposition of excise taxes and customs duties . This practice served to encourage growth in areas which had strategic significance, providing a local economic base for the construction of fortifications and sufficient population to defend
1696-554: A member of the Stanley family he was admitted. Thomas Mytton, the Bailiff of the town, a supporter of Richard III , had vowed that the only way he would get through was "over his dead body". Thomas then lay down and allowed Henry to step over him, to free himself from his oath. Henry was accommodated in the building now known as Henry Tudor House on Wyle Cop. In 1490, Henry VII, accompanied by his queen and his son, Prince Arthur , celebrated
1802-469: A number of market towns in Saxony throughout the 11th century and did much to develop peaceful markets by granting a special 'peace' to merchants and a special and permanent 'peace' to market-places. With the rise of the territories, the ability to designate market towns was passed to the princes and dukes, as the basis of German town law . The local ordinance status of a market town ( Marktgemeinde or Markt )
1908-601: A place where the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by a ruling authority (either royal, noble, or ecclesiastical). As in the rest of the UK, the area in which the cross was situated was almost always central: either in a square; or in a broad, main street. Towns which still have regular markets include: Inverurie , St Andrews , Selkirk , Wigtown , Kelso , and Cupar . Not all still possess their mercat cross (market cross). Dutch painters of Antwerp took great interest in market places and market towns as subject matter from
2014-661: A plague in Viroconium around this time. The site was probably abandoned peacefully in the second half of the seventh century or the beginning of the eighth. The later minor Wreocensæte sub-kingdom of the Angles emerged in the area when Oswiu conquered Pengwern in 656. Eventually the court of the Kingdom of Powys moved to Mathrafal sometime before 717 following famine and plague in its original location. Although archaeologist Philip A. Barker believed stonework from Viroconium Cornoviorum
2120-518: A red sandstone fortification, and Shrewsbury Abbey , were founded in 1074 and 1083 respectively by the Norman Earl of Shrewsbury , Roger de Montgomery . The town is the birthplace of Charles Darwin . It has had a role in nurturing aspects of English culture, including drama , ballet , dance and pantomime . Located 9 miles (14 km) east of the England–Wales border , Shrewsbury serves as
2226-414: A regular market ; this distinguished it from a village or city . In Britain, small rural towns with a hinterland of villages are still commonly called market towns, as sometimes reflected in their names (e.g. Downham Market , Market Rasen , or Market Drayton ). Modern markets are often in special halls , but this is a relatively recent development. Historically the markets were open-air, held in what
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#17328370857132332-412: A relationship with customers and may have offered added value services, such as credit terms to reliable customers. The economy was characterised by local trading in which goods were traded across relatively short distances. Braudel reports that, in 1600, grain moved just 5–10 miles (8.0–16.1 km); cattle 40–70 miles (64–113 km); wool and woollen cloth 20–40 miles (32–64 km). However, following
2438-428: A small seaport or a market town prior to export. This encouraged local merchants to ensure trading went through them, which was so effective in limiting unsupervised sales ( smuggling ) that customs revenues increased from less than 30% of the total tax revenues in 1600 to more than 50% of the total taxes by 1700. Norwegian "market towns" died out and were replaced by free markets during the 19th century. After 1952, both
2544-419: A week while daily markets were common in larger cities. Over time, permanent shops began opening daily and gradually supplanted the periodic markets, while peddlers or itinerant sellers continued to fill in any gaps in distribution. The physical market was characterised by transactional exchange and bartering systems were commonplace. Shops had higher overhead costs, but were able to offer regular trading hours and
2650-566: Is a notable example of a market situated near a fortified building. Additionally, markets were located where transport was easiest, such as at a crossroads or close to a river ford , for example, Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan. When local railway lines were first built, market towns were given priority to ease the transport of goods. For instance, in Calderdale , West Yorkshire , several market towns close together were designated to take advantage of
2756-478: Is estimated to have been one of the richest and the fourth largest Roman settlement in Britain with a population of more than 15,000. Its wealth is surprising for what remained a frontier town and is perhaps explained by its access to Wales and to other trade routes. Between 165 and 185 the forum burned down, including neighbouring shops and houses, and many shop contents were subsequently found in excavations. The forum
2862-416: Is mentioned by Giraldus Cambrensis in the 12th century. Alternative suggestions as to the location of Pengwern include Whittington Castle near Oswestry , and Berth, a hillfort near Baschurch . The Historia Divae Monacellae , composed in the 14th or 15th century, says that Brochwel Ysgithrog , the 6th-century king of Powis, had a palace at Shrewsbury that became the site of the foundation of St Chad. In
2968-732: Is no single register of modern entitlements to hold markets and fairs, although historical charters up to 1516 are listed in the Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales . William Stow's 1722 Remarks on London includes "A List of all the Market Towns in England and Wales; with the Days of the Week whereon kept". Market houses were a common feature across the island of Ireland . These often arcaded buildings performed marketplace functions, frequently with
3074-502: Is not known, but it may have been a bishop. Some of the buildings were renewed three times, and the community probably lasted about 75 years until, for some reason, many of the buildings were dismantled. There is a tradition that Shrewsbury was "founded in the 5th century, on occasion of the decay of the Roman Uriconium." The historian, John Wacher, suggests that Shrewsbury may have been refortified by refugees fleeing an outbreak of
3180-490: Is owing to provision made by its head master, the excellent and worthy Thomas Ashton ", the school's first head master. During the English Civil War , Shrewsbury was a Royalist stronghold, under the command of Sir Francis Ottley . In the autumn of 1642 Charles I had a temporary base in the town. Prince Rupert established his headquarters in the town on 18 February 1644, being welcomed by Shrewsbury's aldermen. He
3286-503: Is perpetuated through the law of Austria , the German state of Bavaria , and the Italian province of South Tyrol . Nevertheless, the title has no further legal significance, as it does not grant any privileges. In Hungarian, the word for market town "mezőváros" means literally "pasture town" and implies that it was unfortified town: they were architecturally distinguishable from other towns by
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3392-601: Is reflected in the prefix Markt of the names of many towns in Austria and Germany , for example, Markt Berolzheim or Marktbergel . Other terms used for market towns were Flecken in northern Germany, or Freiheit and Wigbold in Westphalia . Market rights were designated as long ago as during the Carolingian Empire . Around 800, Charlemagne granted the title of a market town to Esslingen am Neckar . Conrad created
3498-559: Is usually called (regardless of its actual shape) the market square or market place , sometimes centred on a market cross ( mercat cross in Scotland). They were and are typically open one or two days a week. In the modern era, the rise of permanent retail establishments reduced the need for periodic markets. The primary purpose of a market town is the provision of goods and services to the surrounding locality. Although market towns were known in antiquity, their number increased rapidly from
3604-582: The Historia Brittonum ' s list of the 28 civitates of Britain, Viroconium became the site of the court of a sub-Roman kingdom known in Old English as the Wrocensaete , which was the successor territorial unit to Cornovia. Wrocensaete means the ‘inhabitants of Wroxeter’. The Wroxeter Stone or Cunorix Stone, was found in 1967, with an inscription in an Insular Celtic language , identified by
3710-425: The 2021 census , the parish had a population of 76,782. Shrewsbury has Anglo-Saxon roots and institutions whose foundations dating from that time represent a cultural continuity possibly going back as far as the 8th century. The centre has a largely undisturbed medieval street plan and over 660 listed buildings , including several examples of timber framing from the 15th and 16th centuries. Shrewsbury Castle ,
3816-786: The Earls of Tankerville . St John the Baptist hospital passed to the Wood family and became almshouses. At this time the shrine and relics of St Winifred were destroyed. The Council of Wales and the Marches was established during the 1470s by Edward IV with a headquarters in the town. Its buildings partly survive near the castle and were later adapted to be an episcopal palace, the council also met at Ludlow Castle . Members of this council included John Dudley, Earl of Warwick , Sir Henry Sidney , William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke , and Sir Rowland Hill , publisher of
3922-545: The Forest of Arden , a thickly wooded area, unpenetrated by Roman roads and somewhat dangerous in medieval times, so that travellers would pray at Coughton before entering. In 1102, Robert of Bellême, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury was deposed and the title forfeited, as a consequence of him rebelling against Henry I and joining the Duke of Normandy 's invasion of England in 1101. William Pantulf , Lord of Wem , assisted Henry in putting down
4028-529: The Geneva Bible and potential inspiration for a hero in Shakespeare's As You Like It . Its functions were interpreted widely. It was to hear all suits, civil and criminal, which were brought by individuals too poor to sue at common law; it was to try all cases of murder, felony, piracy, wrecking and such crimes as were likely to disturb the peace; it was to investigate charges of misgovernment by officials and
4134-592: The Picts in Scotland. With the departure of Legio XIV Gemina, Legio XX Valeria Victrix took over the fortress. By the late 80s the fort had ceased to be used by the Roman army after Legio XX Valeria Victrix moved to Deva Victrix . In this period the canabae , or civilian settlement, that had grown up around the legionary fort began turning it into a town. Archaeological research has found that an unfinished legionary bath house in
4240-460: The Via Devana ). Viking raiders from the north were reaching as far south as Bridgnorth by 910. In the early 10th century, the relics of St Alkmund were translated to the town from Derby , this was probably the work of Æthelflæd. (Later, after St Alkmund's Church became the property of Lilleshall Abbey in about 1145, the relics were retranslated back to Derby.) Roger de Montgomery was given
4346-501: The Yiddish term shtetl . Miasteczkos had a special administrative status other than that of town or city. From the time of the Norman conquest, the right to award a charter was generally seen to be a royal prerogative. However, the granting of charters was not systematically recorded until 1199. Once a charter was granted, it gave local lords the right to take tolls and also afforded
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4452-442: The koopman, which described a new, emergent class of trader who dealt in goods or credit on a large scale. Paintings of every day market scenes may have been an affectionate attempt to record familiar scenes and document a world that was in danger of being lost. Paintings and drawings of market towns and market scenes Bibliography Viroconium Cornoviorum Viroconium or Uriconium , formally Viroconium Cornoviorum ,
4558-649: The "small seaport" and the "market town" were relegated to simple town status. Miasteczko ( lit. ' small town ' ) was a historical type of urban settlement similar to a market town in the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . After the partitions of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth at the end of the 18th-century, these settlements became widespread in the Austrian , German and Russian Empires. The vast majority of miasteczkos had significant or even predominant Jewish populations ; these are known in English under
4664-511: The 1220s, there was also a general hospital dedicated to St John the Baptist. In January 1234 Prince Llywelyn ab Iorwerth of Wales and Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke burned down the town and laid siege to its castle. In 1283, Edward I summoned a parliament in Shrewsbury, later adjourned to Acton Burnell , to try and condemn Dafydd ap Gruffydd , last of the native Princes of Wales, to execution by hanging, drawing and quartering within
4770-733: The 12th century. Market towns across Europe flourished with an improved economy, a more urbanised society and the widespread introduction of a cash-based economy. Domesday Book of 1086 lists 50 markets in England. Some 2,000 new markets were established between 1200 and 1349. The burgeoning of market towns occurred across Europe around the same time. Initially, market towns most often grew up close to fortified places, such as castles or monasteries, not only to enjoy their protection, but also because large manorial households and monasteries generated demand for goods and services. Historians term these early market towns "prescriptive market towns" in that they may not have enjoyed any official sanction such as
4876-401: The 14th and 15th centuries and a new shrine for her relics was built in the late 1300s. Around this time the abbey illegally acquired the relics of St Beuno , uncle of St Winifred, by stealing them. As a result the abbey was fined but allowed to keep the relics. From 1155, during the reign of Henry II , there was a leper hospital dedicated to St Giles and associated with Shrewsbury Abbey. From
4982-426: The 16th century. Pieter Aertsen was known as the "great painter of the market" Painters' interest in markets was due, at least in part, to the changing nature of the market system at that time. With the rise of the merchant guilds, the public began to distinguish between two types of merchant, the meerseniers which referred to local merchants including bakers, grocers, sellers of dairy products and stall-holders, and
5088-431: The 20th century, the special rights granted to market towns mostly involved a greater autonomy in fiscal matters and control over town planning, schooling and social care. Unlike rural municipalities, the market towns were not considered part of the counties . The last town to be granted market rights was Ólafsvík in 1983 and from that point there were 24 market towns until a municipal reform in 1986 essentially abolished
5194-512: The 5th century, on occasion of the decay of the Roman Uriconium ." Historian John Wacher suggests that Shrewsbury may have been refortified by refugees fleeing an outbreak of a plague in Viroconium around this time. It is claimed that Pengwern , sometime capital of the Kingdom of Powis (itself established by the 440s), was at Shrewsbury. The first attested association of Pengwern with Shrewsbury
5300-529: The 8th. Extensive remains can still be seen. Viroconium is a Latinised form of a toponym that was reconstructed as Common Brittonic *Uiroconion ("[city] of *Uirokū ". *Uirokū ( lit. "man-wolf") is believed to have been a masculine given name meaning " werewolf ". The original capital of the local British tribe of the Cornovii was the impressive hillfort on the Wrekin known as *Uiroconion. When
5406-658: The Bailiffs in a most royal and hospitable manner. Shrewsbury's monastic institutions were disbanded with the Dissolution of the Monasteries and the Abbey was closed in 1540. Henry VIII intended to make Shrewsbury one of his 13 new bishoprics (serving Shropshire and Staffordshire ) and hence a cathedral city, after the formation of the Church of England but the citizens of the town declined
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#17328370857135512-601: The Celtic Inscribed Stones Project (CISP) at UCL as "partly-Latinized Primitive Irish". The inscription, probably on a re-used gravestone, is dated to 460-475 AD, when Irish raiders had begun to make permanent settlements in South Wales and south-western Britain. Town life in Viroconium continued in the fifth century, but many of the buildings fell into disrepair. Between 530 and 570, when most Roman urban sites and villas in Britain were being abandoned, there
5618-578: The Cornovii were eventually subdued by the Romans, their capital was moved to Wroxeter and given its Roman name. Hence the term "Cornoviorum" distinguishes the site as the Viroconium "of the Cornovii ", the Celtic tribe whose settlement became civitas . The city is mentioned by Roman historians Ptolemy , Suetonius , and others. Wroxeter was first established in the early years of the Roman conquest of Britain as
5724-590: The Council House to St Chad’s Church, the choir of which was fitted up in imitation of St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle with the stalls decorated with the arms of the Knights of the Garter ; on the conclusion of divine service Sir Henry devoted the afternoon to feasting the burgesses. Shrewsbury thrived throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, a period when the town was at the height of its commercial importance. This success
5830-521: The Council: represented a remarkable experiment in regional government. It administered the law cheaply and rapidly; it dealt with up to twenty cases a day and George Owen stated that the 'oppressed poor' flocked to it. In 1551 there was a notable outbreak of sweating sickness in the town, which Dr John Caius was in the town to attend to at the command of the council. The following year, after his return to London, Caius published A Boke or Counseill Against
5936-536: The Disease Commonly Called the Sweate, or Sweatyng Sicknesse . The president of the council was the dedicatee of the book and the dedicatory epistle explains his appointment. This text became the main source of knowledge of this disease, now understood to be influenza . In 1581, Sir Henry Sidney, celebrated the feast of St George, on 23 April, in this town, with great splendour: a solemn procession went from
6042-506: The European age of discovery, goods were imported from afar – calico cloth from India, porcelain, silk and tea from China, spices from India and South-East Asia and tobacco, sugar, rum and coffee from the New World. The importance of local markets began to decline in the mid-16th century. Permanent shops which provided more stable trading hours began to supplant the periodic market. In addition,
6148-533: The Lion Hotel, are extant to this day. A town hall was built in the Market Place on the site of an ancient guildhall in 1730; it was demolished and a new combined guildhall and shirehall was erected on the site in 1837. Local soldier and statesman Robert Clive served as the town's mayor in 1762 and was Shrewsbury's MP from 1762 until his death in 1774. St Chad's Church collapsed in 1788 after attempts to expand
6254-715: The Quarry. In the Industrial Revolution the Shrewsbury Canal opened in 1797, initially connecting the town to Trench . By 1835 it had been linked up to the Shropshire Canal and thence to the rest of the canal network . In the period directly after Napoleon 's surrender after the Battle of Waterloo , the town's own 53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot was sent to guard him in his exile on St Helena . A locket containing
6360-549: The area. It also served to restrict Hanseatic League merchants from trading in areas other than those designated. Norway included a subordinate category to the market town, the "small seaport" ( Norwegian lossested or ladested ), which was a port or harbor with a monopoly to import and export goods and materials in both the port and a surrounding outlying district. Typically, these were locations for exporting timber, and importing grain and goods. Local farm goods and timber sales were all required to pass through merchants at either
6466-491: The bushes" (or "shrubs", the modern derivate). This name gradually evolved in three directions, into Sciropscire , which became Shropshire ; into Sloppesberie , which became Salop / Salopia (an alternative name for both town and county), and into Schrosberie , which eventually became the town's name, Shrewsbury. Its later Welsh name Amwythig means "fortified place". The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Shrowsbury' or 'Shroosbury',
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#17328370857136572-589: The centre of the town eventually became the town's forum . A decade later a civic street grid was subsuming the plan of the old legionary fort. The colonnaded forum was started in the 120s covering the unfinished bath house, and with the impressive dedicatory inscription to Hadrian found in excavations dating the completion to 130. By then the town had expanded especially under Emperor Hadrian to cover an area of more than 173 acres (70 ha). It then had many public buildings, including thermae . Simpler temples and shops have also been excavated. At its peak, Viroconium
6678-508: The commercial centre for Shropshire and parts of mid-Wales, with a retail output of over £299 million per year and light industry and distribution centres, such as Battlefield Enterprise Park , on the outskirts. The A5 and A49 trunk roads come together as the town's by-pass and five railway lines meet at Shrewsbury railway station . In Old English the settlement was known as Scrobbesburh ( dative Scrobbesbyrig ), which may mean either "Scrobb's fort" or "the fortified place in
6784-514: The concept. Many of the existing market towns would continue to be named kaupstaður even after the term lost any administrative meaning. In Norway , the medieval market town ( Norwegian : kjøpstad and kaupstad from the Old Norse kaupstaðr ) was a town which had been granted commerce privileges by the king or other authorities. The citizens in the town had a monopoly over the purchase and sale of wares, and operation of other businesses, both in
6890-678: The correct pronunciation being a matter of longstanding debate. Evidence of Neolithic occupation of a religious form dating back before 2,000 BC, was discovered in 2017 in the grounds of the medieval Church of the Holy Fathers in Sutton Farm , making it Britain's oldest place of worship. An Early Bronze Age urned burial was excavated at Crowmeole in 2015. An Iron Age double ring ditch has been excavated at Meole Brace . Amongst other finds, parts of an iron age sword and scabbard were recovered. At Meole Brace, an extensive roadside settlement along
6996-410: The crypt compromised the structural integrity of the tower above. Now known as Old St Chad's, the remains of the church building and its churchyard are on the corner of Princess Street, College Hill and Belmont. A new St Chad's Church was built just four years after the collapse, but as a large neo-classical round church and in a different and more elevated location, at the top of Claremont Hill close to
7102-488: The day when the community congregated in town to attend church. Some of the more ancient markets appear to have been held in churchyards. At the time of the Norman conquest, the majority of the population made their living through agriculture and livestock farming. Most lived on their farms, situated outside towns, and the town itself supported a relatively small population of permanent residents. Farmers and their families brought their surplus produce to informal markets held on
7208-532: The early market towns have continued operations into recent times. For instance, Northampton market received its first charter in 1189 and markets are still held in the square to this day. The National Market Traders Federation , situated in Barnsley , South Yorkshire , has around 32,000 members and close links with market traders' federations throughout Europe. According to the UK National Archives , there
7314-398: The era from which various parts of the city originate. Market towns were characterized as a transition between a village and a city, without a unified, definite city core. A high level of urban planning only marks an era starting from the 17th-18th centuries. This dating is partially related to the modernization and resettlement waves after the liberation of Ottoman Hungary . While Iceland
7420-418: The false verdicts of juries; it was to enforce the laws against livery and maintenance, to punish rumour mongers and adulterers, and to deal with disputes concerning enclosures, villein service and manorial questions; it heard appeals from the common law courts; and it was responsible for administering the legislation dealing with religion. According to historian John Davies , at its peak in the mid-16th century,
7526-461: The feast of St George in the town. The town is recorded as having entertained Henry again in 1496, with attendants lodged in the Sextry of Old St Chads; more generally it is said of Henry VII's relations with the town that: The intercourse which had begun thus favourably was kept up in after years by Henry, who, with his queen and son, frequently visited this town, upon which occasions they were feasted by
7632-417: The grounds of their church after worship. By the 13th century, however, a movement against Sunday markets gathered momentum, and the market gradually moved to a site in town's centre and was held on a weekday. By the 15th century, towns were legally prohibited from holding markets in church-yards. Archaeological evidence suggests that Colchester is England's oldest recorded market town, dating to at least
7738-612: The guilds of the Ironmongers and Goldsmiths . This fraternity were patrons of the Altar of St Michael in St Chad's Church and they kept a Mercers Hall on the site of the Sextry of Old St Chads . In 1485, ahead of the Battle of Bosworth Field , Henry Tudor , while not yet king, marched his forces on a route that lay through Shrewsbury. He was initially denied access to the town, but on intervention by
7844-413: The lack of town walls. Most market towns were chartered in the 14th and 15th centuries and typically developed around 13th-century villages that had preceded them. A boom in the raising of livestock may have been a trigger for the upsurge in the number of market towns during that period. Archaeological studies suggest that the ground plans of such market towns had multiple streets and could also emerge from
7950-478: The late 8th century, it is said that Offa took the town for the Mercians in 778, and he is associated by some sources with establishing the town's first church and dedicating it to St Chad . If so, then there may have been an ecclesiastical foundation in the town within a century of the death of Chad of Mercia . By the beginning of the 10th century, Shrewsbury was home to three moneyers who had permission to operate
8056-404: The legal basis for defining a "town". For instance, Newport, Shropshire , is in the borough of Telford and Wrekin but is separate from Telford . In England, towns with such rights are usually distinguished with the additional status of borough . It is generally accepted that, in these cases, when a town was granted a market, it gained the additional autonomy conferred to separate towns. Many of
8162-469: The line of the Roman military road connecting Viroconium Cornoviorum and Caersws was uncovered, with evidence of trading of amphorae and mortaria . A major discovery was the finding of the Shrewsbury Hoard of more than 9000 Roman coins in a field near the town in 2009. Prior to the late 8th century, there is little in the way of reliable records. There is a tradition that the town was "founded in
8268-515: The local town council . Failing that, the Crown can grant a licence. As the number of charters granted increased, competition between market towns also increased. In response to competitive pressures, towns invested in a reputation for quality produce, efficient market regulation and good amenities for visitors such as covered accommodation. By the thirteenth century, counties with important textile industries were investing in purpose built market halls for
8374-457: The market. If the travel time exceeded this standard, a new market town could be established in that locale. As a result of the limit, official market towns often petitioned the monarch to close down illegal markets in other towns. These distances are still law in England today. Other markets can be held, provided they are licensed by the holder of the Royal Charter, which tends currently to be
8480-583: The name "Wroxeter Roman City". Some of the more important finds are housed in the Music Hall Museum in Shrewsbury . Most of the town still remains buried, but it has largely been mapped through geophysical survey and aerial archaeology . Archaeological research of the site is ongoing with further buildings being excavated. In February 2011 a reconstructed Roman villa was opened to the public to give visitors an insight into Roman building techniques and how
8586-575: The new trains. The designation of Halifax , Sowerby Bridge , Hebden Bridge , and Todmorden is an example of this. A number of studies have pointed to the prevalence of the periodic market in medieval towns and rural areas due to the localised nature of the economy. The marketplace was the commonly accepted location for trade, social interaction, transfer of information and gossip. A broad range of retailers congregated in market towns – peddlers, retailers, hucksters, stallholders, merchants and other types of trader. Some were professional traders who occupied
8692-465: The offer, which is the point of origin of the term "Proud Salopians": the town leadership preferring to be the most senior town in the country and not the most junior city. As a consequence of the dissolution, the monastic hospitals were closed and the incomes from their endowments were transferred to secular owners. St Giles's leper hospital passed to the Prince family, who were succeeded by their descendants
8798-513: The purchasing habits of the monks and other individuals in medieval England, suggests that consumers of the period were relatively discerning. Purchase decisions were based on purchase criteria such as consumers' perceptions of the range, quality, and price of goods. This informed decisions about where to make their purchases. As traditional market towns developed, they featured a wide main street or central market square . These provided room for people to set up stalls and booths on market days. Often
8904-440: The rebellion. To deal with the thickly wooded local forests, ideal for the concealment of archers, Pantulf brought in 6,000 foot soldiers to cut down trees and open up the roads. Henry subsequently took the government of the town into his own hands and in 1116 the nobility of England did homage to William Ætheling , Henry’s son, at Shrewsbury, and swore allegiance to his father. The early death of William Ætheling without issue led to
9010-487: The rise of a merchant class led to the import and exports of a broad range of goods, contributing to a reduced reliance on local produce. At the centre of this new global mercantile trade was Antwerp , which by the mid-16th century, was the largest market town in Europe. A good number of local histories of individual market towns can be found. However, more general histories of the rise of market-towns across Europe are much more difficult to locate. Clark points out that while
9116-616: The route to the south that lead to the Wye valley . In the mid 1st century Caesar's Legio XIV Gemina took over the site from the Thracian Auxilia in preparation for the invasion of Wales and replaced the fort with a much larger legionary fortress. In 78 governor Gnaeus Julius Agricola led campaigns to suppress the tribes in North Wales and the druids on Ynys Môn . In 80 Agricola took Legio XIV Gemina north on his punitive expeditions against
9222-433: The sale of cloth. Specific market towns cultivated a reputation for high quality local goods. For example, London's Blackwell Hall became a centre for cloth, Bristol became associated with a particular type of cloth known as Bristol red , Stroud was known for producing fine woollen cloth, the town of Worsted became synonymous with a type of yarn; Banbury and Essex were strongly associated with cheeses. A study on
9328-566: The sample testing of markets by Edward I the "lawgiver" , who summoned the Model Parliament in 1295 to perambulate the boundaries of forest and town. Market towns grew up at centres of local activity and were an important feature of rural life and also became important centres of social life, as some place names suggest: Market Drayton , Market Harborough , Market Rasen , Market Deeping , Market Weighton , Chipping Norton , Chipping Ongar , and Chipping Sodbury – chipping
9434-603: The succession crisis, known in history as the Anarchy , and during this period, in 1138, King Stephen successfully besieged the town's castle held by William FitzAlan for the Empress Maud . In 1138 the relics of St Winifred were brought to Shrewsbury from Gwytheryn , following their purchase by the Abbot of Shrewsbury , the abbey being ready for consecration but having no relics prior to that time. The popularity of St Winifred grew in
9540-462: The time of the Roman occupation of Britain's southern regions. Another ancient market town is Cirencester , which held a market in late Roman Britain. The term derived from markets and fairs first established in 13th century after the passage of Magna Carta , and the first laws towards a parlement . The Provisions of Oxford of 1258 were only possible because of the foundation of a town and university at
9646-547: The town after Dafydd was captured, ending his rebellion against the king. It is thought this parliament met in the Abbey. Shrewsbury was devastated by the Black Death , which, records suggest, arrived in the spring of 1349. Examining the number of local church benefices falling vacant due to death, 1349 alone saw twice as many vacancies as the previous ten years combined, suggesting a high death toll in Shrewsbury. "The Great Fire of Shrewsbury" took place in 1394: St Chad's church
9752-428: The town and in the surrounding district. Norway developed market towns at a much later period than other parts of Europe. The reasons for this late development are complex but include the sparse population, lack of urbanisation, no real manufacturing industries and no cash economy. The first market town was created in 11th century Norway, to encourage businesses to concentrate around specific towns. King Olaf established
9858-549: The town as a gift from William the Conqueror and took the title of Earl of Shrewsbury. He built at Shrewsbury Castle in 1074, though archaeological excavations at the site of Shrewsbury castle in 2019 have indicated that the location may have been a fortified site in the time of the Anglo-Saxons. He also founded Shrewsbury Abbey as a Benedictine monastery in 1083. The town's position just off Watling Street placed it within
9964-682: The town erected a market cross in the centre of the town, to obtain God's blessing on the trade. Notable examples of market crosses in England are the Chichester Cross , Malmesbury Market Cross and Devizes, Wiltshire. Market towns often featured a market hall , as well, with administrative or civic quarters on the upper floor, above a covered trading area. Market towns with smaller status include Minchinhampton , Nailsworth , and Painswick near Stroud, Gloucestershire . A "market town" may or may not have rights concerning self-government that are usually
10070-408: The town some protection from rival markets. When a chartered market was granted for specific market days, a nearby rival market could not open on the same days. Across the boroughs of England, a network of chartered markets sprang up between the 12th and 16th centuries, giving consumers reasonable choice in the markets they preferred to patronise. Until about 1200, markets were often held on Sundays,
10176-509: Was a Roman city, one corner of which is now occupied by Wroxeter , a small village in Shropshire , England, about 5 miles (8 km) east-south-east of Shrewsbury . At its peak, Viroconium is estimated to have been the 4th-largest Roman settlement in Britain , a civitas with a population of more than 15,000. The settlement probably lasted until the end of the 7th century or the beginning of
10282-437: Was a substantial rebuilding programme. The old basilica was carefully demolished and replaced with new timber-framed buildings on rubble platforms. These probably included a very large two-storey building and a number of storage buildings and houses. In all, 33 new buildings were "carefully planned and executed" and "skillfully constructed to Roman measurements using a trained labour force". Who instigated this rebuilding programme
10388-564: Was billeted in a building then the home of the family of Thomas Jones in the precincts of what is now the Prince Rupert Hotel. Shrewsbury only fell to Parliament forces after they were let in by a parliamentarian sympathiser at the St Mary's Water Gate (now also known as Traitor's Gate). After Thomas Mytton captured Shrewsbury in February 1645; in following with the ordnance of no quarter ;
10494-422: Was consumed by an accidental fire, which spread to a great portion of the town, then chiefly consisting of timber houses with thatched roofs. The damage was so considerable that Richard II remitted the town's taxes for three years towards the repairs. In 1398, Richard summoned a Great Parliament in the town, which is believed to have met in the Abbey. In 1403 the Battle of Shrewsbury was fought at Battlefield ,
10600-476: Was derived from a Saxon verb meaning "to buy". A major study carried out by the University of London found evidence for least 2,400 markets in English towns by 1516. The English system of charters established that a new market town could not be created within a certain travelling distance of an existing one. This limit was usually a day's worth of travelling (approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi)) to and from
10706-446: Was in this period that Edward VI gave permission for the foundation of a free school, which was later to become Shrewsbury School . Later, William Camden , in his Britannia (begun 1577), remarked of the town that "Shrewsbury is inhabited both by Welsh and English, who speak each other's language; and among other things greatly to their praise is the grammar school founded by them, the best filled in all England, whose flourishing state
10812-660: Was largely due to the town's location, which allowed it to control the Welsh wool trade , a major industry at the time, with the rest of Britain and Europe, with the River Severn and Watling Street acting as trading routes. This trade was dominated by the Shrewsbury Drapers Company for many years. As a result, a number of grand edifices, including the Ireland's Mansion (built 1575) and Draper's Hall (1658), were constructed. It
10918-430: Was rebuilt with several modifications. Following the end of Roman rule in Britain around 410, the Cornovii tribe divided into Pengwern ( Shropshire ) and Powys . This socio-political division started Viroconium's decline as an important settlement. Although Viroconium served as the early sub-Roman capital of Powys, variously identified with the ancient Welsh cities of Cair Urnarc or Cair Guricon which appeared in
11024-640: Was subjected to posthumous execution . One of the Princes in the Tower , Richard of Shrewsbury , was born in the town around 17 August 1473, the second son of King Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville . In 1480, Edward V , then Prince of Wales (and the other prince of the Princes in the Tower), was resident in Shrewsbury. On 11 May Edward V confirmed the composition of the town's Mercer's Company , which had merged with
11130-405: Was under Danish rule, Danish merchants held a monopoly on trade with Iceland until 1786. With the abolishment of the trading monopoly, six market town ( Icelandic kaupstaður ) were founded around the country. All of them, except for Reykjavík , would lose their market rights in 1836. New market towns would be designated by acts from Alþingi in the 19th and 20th century. In the latter half of
11236-513: Was used to build the nearby parish churches of Atcham , Wroxeter , and Upton Magna , some substantial remains are still standing. These include "the Old Work" (an archway, part of the baths' frigidarium and the largest free-standing Roman ruin in England) and the remains of a baths complex. These are on display to the public and, along with a small museum, are looked after by English Heritage under
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