The English borough
Twelfth-Century England was predominantly rural, and with the exception of London, the few existing towns tended to be small by continental standards. However, Lincoln, Norwich, York and Winchester all had populations approaching ten thousand, and there wer many other smaller urban settlements throughout the country, although these retained very close links with rural life -- their inhabitants cultivated the fields on their outskirts. In 1086 about one person in every ten had live in one of these settlements. This proportion grew in the 12th century and a number of new towns developed which were often 'planned', sometimes on a grid system like Leeds and Liverpool.
Places described as boroughs in the 12th century usually had a fairly sizeable population, and always contained people known as burgesses. Living on mussuages (plots of land each with a house and garden), these were people who made their living wholly or partly from the profits of trade. A 12th-century borough would therefore cotain a market; it might also have walls for protection. The burgesses had their own courts and customs, a considerable say in the running of their town and might have been granted a charter of protection or privileges by the Crown.The social composition of borough communities varied, but in larger towns usually included merchant and commercial groups who also participated in town government; Jewish communities involved in money-lending; and a diverse 'industrial' population which could be significant and influential. As early as 1130 the weavers of Huntingdon, Oxford, Lincoln and Winchester bought the protection of their interests from the king. The growing importance and wealth of these groups in the 12th century made the towns increasingly a force to be reckoned with in the political and economic life of England.
Right - This map of Britain was drawn around 1250 by Matthew Paris to illustrate his History of England. A fascinating and relatively accurate example of medieval cartography, it depicts many of the larger towns and boroughs which would have been well known to the more seasoned traveller of the day. The county names are also clearly visible.
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