Property, ownership and improvement in Ludlow, a fashionable country town, 1660 to 1848

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for the degree of Doctor of PhilosophyThree major themes - property, ownership and improvement - are investigated, within the context of a well preserved and well documented historic town. The relevance of these themes to urban history is shown. Ludlow is a small market town in south Shropshire. From the 1660s population was just over 2,000, but this rose to 5,253 in 183 1. Between 1660 and 1689 the town was a centre for regional administration, the Council of the Marches in Wales having its headquarters there. Ludlow then developed as a fashionable social centre, thriving especially in the early and mid-eighteenth century. To provide historical context for the three topics under investigation, the Ludlow region is described, as are many aspects of the town's economy and society. Because of their effect on these topics, attention is given to the Corporation, and to local systems of finance and credit. The town plan and its properties are described in detail, drawing upon tenurial reconstructions of properties. The arrangement of properties, many of them historic burgage plots, is described and analysed, and amendments to property dispositions in the period are considered. The ownership of properties is analysed in detail. Both the places of residence of owners, and their occupational and social status, are analysed, and the resulting themes and trends are illustrated by case studies. Ownership by women and for political purposes are highlighted. A wide range of improvements are reviewed and explained, and 286 known and postulated building dates are used to postulate a building sequence. Attention is given to the role of the Corporation and to the contribution of craftsmen and architects. A number of buildings and housing forms are described. A large data base is provided in five appendices, and there are many supporting, maps, tables and illustrations