BOOK NO: 1841413 NOT TO BE Bound by TAKEN AWAY Abbey Bookbinding Co. I OS Cathap Terrace Cardiff CF14 <HU South Walei, U.K. Tel: (029)2039588! www.bookbinderiuk.com Email: [email protected] University of Wales College, Newport Transport and Trade in South Wales c.1100 - c.1400: A Study in Historical Geography Robert Weeks PhD 2003 Summary Enquiries into the medieval history of south Wales have in the past tended to focus on the 'soap opera' history of the elite. This thesis differs in that it examines two aspects that are occasionally touched upon, and which are inextricably linked, but rarely considered in detail: namely the system of transport and trade. Due to the paucity of surviving evidence the study covers a time span of some three hundred years from the reign of Henry I (1100) to the Glyndwr rebellion (1400). It charts the development of trade in an age that saw great political changes leading to the construction of planned towns and, in some places, villages, as well as complex fortifications and the introduction of Latin monasticism. The thesis examines the respective roles of the key influences on transport and trading activity, namely: (i) the players, be they the marcher lords and the Crown, the monasteries, and the merchants and traders themselves; (ii) the places such as towns and villages, ports and landing places; and (iii) the processes that influenced trade including the linkages between settlements - with particular attention to the medieval road system - and markets and fairs. A model is advanced which describes how initially autonomous open country settlements and farmsteads were integrated into a regional network, within and between lordships, as rural commodity producers and consumers grew increasingly dependent on the retail goods and services found in the market towns. These developments are charted as the population grew and rural settlement intensified, so much so that by 1300 South Wales had achieved a level of prosperity unprecedented in its history. It was not to last. Population pressure had driven families to the margins of cultivable land. The imbalance between livestock husbandry and arable risked the danger of soil exhaustion. Disease such as the sheep scab epidemic of the 1280s and the agricultural crises which affected much of Britain between 1315 and 1322 led to famine. Political and social unrest, notably the revolts of Llewelyn ap Gruffudd in 1214, Rhys ap Maredudd in 1295 and Llewelyn Bren in 1316, allied to the decline in seigneurial influence caused the South Wales economy to repeatedly falter. Outbreaks of the plague in the middle of the fourteenth century added to the woe. The Glyndwr rebellion dealt the final fatal blow when many commercial settlements were attacked, including some that were not directly touched by earlier upsets. Prior to the Norman Conquest trade in South Wales had taken place in the open country. By 1400 the dependency that had been built in the preceding three hundred years on the transport and trading network of market towns and rural producers and consumers was shattered sending the economy into long term decline. DECLARATION This work has not previously been accepted in substance for any degree and is not being concurrently submitted in candidature for any degree. Signed ...........lt&a^..>......W<feS;.V>~;................. .............. (candidate) Date................ STATEMENT 1 This thesis is the result of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated. Other sources are acknowledged by footnotes giving explicit references. A bibliography is appended. Signed............\.CO.U^f:.>......UVJ.C^^.^......................... (candidate) -^ /] ...^.^kl \J STATEMENT 2 I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. Signed .......,...\.L^V.^....>.......Vw<^.>rn!<^^.^...........................(candidate) Date Acknowledgements In researching and writing this thesis I have benefited from the help and assistance of numerous friends, colleagues and organisations. Firstly, I would like to thank the research board of SCARAB, a research centre at the University of Wales College, Newport, and its director, Prof. Miranda Aldhouse-Green, for providing both funding for the project and a stimulating environment in which to undertake it. I have been fortunate that the good working relationship established with Dr. Jon. Kissock on the first 'digging' season of the Cefn Drum project in 1996 has carried over to when he became my supervisor on this project in 1998. Dr. Kissock, has provided good advice, enthusiastic encouragement, and much appreciated guidance and support throughout. Additionally, the positive enthusiasm of my second supervisor, Dr Hilary Thomas, has been most welcome. She read a copy of the thesis in its entirety and offered many valuable comments and suggestions. The helpfulness and patience of a great many archivists in handling my many enquiries has made the documentary research more enjoyable than I had ever hoped it could be. Especial thanks must go to the staff at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth and the Public Record Office in London. At the latter, Dr Nick Barratt helped to identify relevant documentation and made considerable progress in demystifying the intricacies of the PRO for me. The staff of the RCAHMW were very helpful on the many occasions I visited their offices in Aberystwyth to study the OS field surveyors notes and other holdings. Thanks must also be extended to Susan Beckley at West Glamorgan area Record Office; the staff at Gwent Record Office, Glamorgan Record Office, Brecon Library and the local history department at Cardiff Central Library all of whom took time to assist me with my enquiries. Equally, the staff at Somerset Record Office and Nottingham University library promptly handled my enquiries about the south Wales ministers' accounts in their possession. The SMR officers at the Welsh archaeological trusts were helpful in enabling me to get to get to grips with their holdings. Colleagues at the SCARAB Research Centre were also accommodating in discussing various issues, especially Mrs Chris Waite who answered my queries about the use of boats and river navigation on the Rivers Wye and Usk, and how it all fitted in to the use of the Severn Estuary. I benefited from discussion and correspondence with individuals whose own research interests considered old routeways, notable among these was Mr Ken Jermy who shared some insights from his extensive researches over many years into Roman roads and commented on the problems of identification in Wales. A great many others assisted me by answering queries, providing references or sending information, these were: Eleanor Breen, Dr. Paul Graves-Brown, Dr. Maddy Gray, Clare Green, Dr. Ray Howell, Peter Jenkins, Neil May, Jenny Micham, Ken Murphy, Berwyn Thomas and Harold Whatley. The library staff of the Caerleon campus of the University of Wales College, Newport have been extremely helpful. I made full use of the inter-library loans section, the staff of which efficiently handled my regular flow of requests, even tracking down books that the British Library had been unable to trace. I also made frequent use of the library at the University of Wales, Swansea and was ably assisted by the staff there. Finally, my greatest debt is to my parents - both emotionally and financially - my father did not live to see the completion of this work, but his firm support for it, along with that of my mother has been invaluable. Without them none of this would have been possible. It is customary to absolve others of any responsibility for the contents of the work and I do not intend to deviate from that here. Thus, any errors of fact, interpretation, undue emphasis or omission are entirely my own. Contents List ofMaps and Plans \ List of Tables vii A Note on Place-names ix Abbreviations x Chapter One: Introduction 1 - 29 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 The study of transport and trade in medieval Wales 1 1.3 Studies of medieval trade in the regions of England 5 1.4 South Wales 1100-1400 8 1.5 The present study 16 1.6 Documentary source material 18 1.7 Beresford' s questions relating to transport and trade 26 1.8 Conclusion 29 Chapter Two: The Role and Influence of Lordship on Transport and Trade (I) South East Wales 30 - 88 2.1 Introduction 30 2.2 Marcher lordship in south east Wales 31 2.3 Borough status 38 2.4 The concept of periodic marketing 47 2.5 Markets in medieval Monmouthshire/Gwent 58 2.6 The markets and fairs of south east Wales 71 2.7 The fairs of post-Conquest south Wales 76 2.8 Continuity and contrast 78 2.9 Conclusion 86 Chapter Three: The Role and Influence of Lordship on Transport and Trade (II) South West Wales 89 -130 3.1 Introduction 89 3.2 The markets of south west Wales 90 3.3 The fairs of south west Wales 98 3.4 The 'lost market' settlements of Pembrokeshire 103 3.5 The markets & fairs of south Wales 1100-1400 119 3.6 Conclusion 127 Chapter Four: The Road System of South Wales 1100 -1400 131 -170 4.1 Introduction 131 4.2 Medieval roads 133 4.3 Pre-War research 133 4.4 The Gough map 135 4.5 Recent research 142 4.6 The south Wales road system c. 1100 152 4.7 The structure of medieval roads 154 4.8 Medieval road transportation in south Wales 157 4.9 The road system in 1400 168 4.10 Conclusion 169 Chapter Five: River Transportation and Maritime Transport and Trade in South Wales 171 -192 5.1 Introduction 171 5.2 The study of medieval