Small places with large consequences: the importance of small towns in England, 1000–1540

Abstract

Abstract English small towns before industrialization deserve our attention because they provided homes and livings for large numbers of people–a tenth of the population by 1300. Small towns, even those with only a few hundred inhabitants, can be distinguished from various ‘town like’ settlements such as industrial and open villages. They can be regarded as fully urban, and shared many characteristics with larger towns. They played an important role in the commercial hierarchy, and brought trade to the ordinary producers and consumers of the countryside. Small towns influenced the economy and society of their neighbourhood, not least by providing a channel for migration and social advancement. As centres of entertainment and culture they diverted and even civilized those who lived in and around them. Small towns were important for those who lived at the time, but they are also significant for modern perceptions of the past. Historians, through studying them, are encouraged to revise their views of government, economic change and regional differences.