THE TRANSPORT SYSTEM OF MEDIEVAL ENGLAND AND WALES - A GEOGRAPHICAL SYNTHESIS by James Frederick Edwards M.Sc., Dip.Eng.,C.Eng.,M.I.Mech.E., LRCATS A Thesis presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Salford Department of Geography 1987 1. CONTENTS Page, List of Tables iv List of Figures A Note on References Acknowledgements ix Abstract xi PART ONE INTRODUCTION 1 Chapter One: Setting Out 2 Chapter Two: Previous Research 11 PART TWO THE MEDIEVAL ROAD NETWORK 28 Introduction 29 Chapter Three: Cartographic Evidence 31 Chapter Four: The Evidence of Royal Itineraries 47 Chapter Five: Premonstratensian Itineraries from 62 Titchfield Abbey Chapter Six: The Significance of the Titchfield 74 Abbey Itineraries Chapter Seven: Some Further Evidence 89 Chapter Eight: The Basic Medieval Road Network 99 Conclusions 11? Page PART THREE THr NAVIGABLE MEDIEVAL WATERWAYS 115 Introduction 116 Chapter Hine: The Rivers of Horth-Fastern England 122 Chapter Ten: The Rivers of Yorkshire 142 Chapter Eleven: The Trent and the other Rivers of 180 Central Eastern England Chapter Twelve: The Rivers of the Fens 212 Chapter Thirteen: The Rivers of the Coast of East Anglia 238 Chapter Fourteen: The River Thames and Its Tributaries 265 Chapter Fifteen: The Rivers of the South Coast of England 298 Chapter Sixteen: The Rivers of South-Western England 315 Chapter Seventeen: The River Severn and Its Tributaries 330 Chapter Eighteen: The Rivers of Wales 348 Chapter Nineteen: The Rivers of North-Western England 362 Chapter Twenty: The Navigable Rivers of Medieval 375 England and Wales Chapter Twenty One: The Medieval Coasting Trade, Coastal 397 Ports, and Vessels Chapter Twenty Two: Cartographic Evidence 420 Conclusions 426 PART FOUR THE COMBINED MEDIEVAL ROAD AND WATERWAY 429 NET Chapter Twenty Three: Combining the Road and Waterway Networks 430 Page Chapter Twenty Four: The Combined Transport System: 454 Some Further Examples of Its Use Chapter Twenty Five: Journey's Fnd 472 APPENDICES Appendix I: The Medieval Unit of Distance 479 Appendix II: The Gough Map: The Complexities 488 Associated with the Welsh Coastal Route between Cardigan and Chester Appendix III: The Date of the Gough Map 505 Appendix IV: Bibliography 516 iv. LIST OF TABLES Table Page 3:1 Gough Map : Roads and Distances 33 3:2 The Route Towns of the Matthew Paris Maps 41 4:1 Routes Travelled by Henry III more than Twenty Times 55 5:1 Premonstratensian Itineraries from Titchfield Abbey 63 6:1 Titchfield Itineraries Similar to the Gough Map 76 Routes 6:2 Mileage Tolerances for Increments of Standard 84 Deviation for the Titchfield Abbey Iters and Gough Map Data 7:1 Journeys from Oxford 1315-1461 90 7:2 Routes Recorded in Contemporary Medieval Records 94 8:1 Probable Trade Routes for the Transport of Wine 105 8:2 Routes associated with the Transport of Agricultural 106 Produce between 1298 and 1339 10:1 The Fifteenth from Seaport Merchants of 1204 144 20:1 The Navigable Rivers of Medieval England and Wales 375 and their Heads of Navigation 20:2 Regional Distribution of Specifically Identified 389 River Cargoes 22:1 Rivers of England and Wales shown on the Gough Map 423 but not considered as Navigations 23:1 The Ranked Medieval Boroughs 432 23:2 The Prominent Medieval Boroughs 435 23:3 Additional Routes to the Basic Road Network 437 23:4 The Changing Fortunes of the Prominent Medieval Boroughs 444 I:I The Itinerary of Robert of Nottingham 1324-5 480 II:I The Gough Map Route between Cardigan and Chester 488 11:2 Interplace Distances on the Inferred Gough Map 498 Route between Cardigan and Chester 11:3 Interplace Distances on the Gough Map Route between 500 Cardigan and Chester (after Parsons) 11:4 Comparison of Computed Gough Mileages and Modern 501 Mileages for the New Inferred Route and that of F.J.S. Parsons Between Cardigan and Chester v. LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 3:1 Anonymous Map of Great Britain known as the Gough Map 32 3:2 The Roads of the Gough Map 36 3:3 The Roads of the Gough Map Plus the Inferred Routes 40 3:4 Matthew Paris : Map of Great Britain (version A) 43 MS on vellum (c 1250) British Museum 3:5 Comparison of the four versions of the Matthew Paris route 44 3:6 The Routes of Matthew Paris 45 4:1 A Minimum Aggregate Network based on the Royal Itineraries 49 of John, Edward I and Edward II 4:2 Comparison of the Itineraries of John, Edward I and 50 Edward II : routes travelled four or more times 4:3 The Itinerary of King Henry III 54 4:4 The Itinerary of King Henry III : routes travelled three 56 or more times 4:5 A Minimum Aggregate Network based on the Royal 60 Itineraries of John, Henry III, Edward I and Edward II 5:1 Itineraries from Titchfield Abbey 67 6:1 Titchfield Itineraries similar to the Gough Map Routes 77 6:2 Histogram of Titchfield Itinerary Mileages 79 (Excluding repeated routes) 6:3 Histogram of the Gough Map Mileages 80 6:4 The length of the Medieval "Mile" in the Titchfield 83 Abbey Iters and on the Gough Map 6:5 The Reliability of the Titchfield Abbey Itinerary 85 Distances 6:6 The Reliability of Distances on the Gough Map 86 7:1 Journeys by the Warden and Fellows of Merton College, 92 Oxford, 1315-1461 8:1 The Basic Medieval Road Network 100 8:2 Overland Routes Associated with the Distribution of 107 Wine in the Fourteenth Century; and with the Sheriff's Accounts between 1298 and 1339 8:3 The Gough Map Route between London and Norwich 110 vi. Page 9:1 The Rivers of North-Eastern England 135 10:1 The Rivers of Yorkshire 168 11:1 The Rivers of Central Eastern England 203 12:1 The Rivers of the Fens 230 12:2 The Island of Ely 232 13:1 The Rivers of the Coast of East Englia 259 14:1 The River Thames and Its Tributaries 286 15:1 The Rivers of the South Coast of England 310 16:1 The Rivers of South-Western England 326 17:1 The River Severn and Its Tributaries 343 18:1 The Rivers of Wales 358 19:1 The Rivers of North-Western England 372 20:1 The Navigable Rivers of Medieval England and Wales 381 20:2 Specifically Identified River Cargoes 383 20:3 Time-scale of Major Sources 384 20:4 Recorded Cargoes and Obstructions for the Period 386 1220 to 1400 21:1 The Coastal Ports and Navigable Rivers of Medieval 403 England and Wales 21:2 A Model of the River Rother Barge 407 21:3 Scene from the Bayeux Tapestry 407 21:4 The Second Seal of Winchelsea (1274) 411 21:5 The Seal of Kiel (c 1365) 411 21:6 The Seal of Elbing (c 1360) 413 21:7 Drawing of the Hulk on the font of Winchester 413 Cathedral (c 1180) 23:1 The Combined Road and Navigable Waterway 439 Networks of Medieval England and Wales 23:2 The Parts of England and Wales more than 15 miles 440 from Navigable Water 24:1 Routes Associated with the Transport of Wine in 1258 456 24:2 Route Associated with the Transport of Grain and 458 Flour in 1309 vii. page 24:3 Routes Associated with the Transport of Grain in 1309 460 24:4 Routes Associated with the Transport of Produce 461 to Scotland in 1298 and 1301 24:5 Route Associated with the Transport of Produce in 1340 461 24:6 Route Associated with the Transport of Grain in 1339 461 24:7 A Christmas Journey - 1319 464 24:8 Routes Travelled by the Goods of the Bursar 466 of Durham between 1299 and 1336 24:9 Route Associated with the Transport of Fagots in 1326 467 24:10 Route Associated with the Transport of Lead in 1371 467 24:11 Route Associated with the Transport of Lead in 1374 467 I:1 The Itinerary of Robert of Nottingham 1324-5 481 II:1 The Chester-Cardigan Route on the Gough Map 489 11:2 Inferred Gough Map Route Between Cardigan and Chester 499 III:1 Ship Shown on the Gough Map 507 A MOTE ON REFERENCES References are generally given in the following forms: Books: AUTHOR, Title (Place, Date) Volume numbers where necessary are given in lower case Roman numerals. Articles in Periodicals: AUTHOR, 'Title' Name of Journal Volume Number (Year) Either type of reference may be followed by page numbers (in arabic numerals) or, where specifically indicated, by chapter or other reference numbers. Abbreviations All names of Journals are given in full with the following abbreviations: Ann. Annals Bull. Bulletin ed. editor Ed. Edition esp. especially Journ. Journal Proc. Proceedings Rev. Review Ser. Series Soc. Society Trans. Transactions ix. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Firstly I must thank my supervisor, Dr. B.P. Hindle for his guidance, helpful advice and continuous encouragement in directing someone steeped in engineering matters to the ways of historical geography. The University Library dealt most capably and helpfully with requests for references, many of which were of an obscure nature. The staff at the Manchester Central Library Department of Social Sciences were particularly friendly and helpful, and I am also most grateful to the Librarian of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester for granting me special status as an outside user. During the initial stages of the research, the author spent many hours at the Record Office, Chester, where the staff were most generous in allowing access to many valuable records.