The transport system of medieval England and Wales : a geographical synthesis

This thesis is concerned with attempting to reconstruct thetransport system of medieval England and Wales.The thesis is divided into four parts. The first is an introductionwhich seeks to justify the research and to place it in thecontext of recent work in historical geography. This section alsoexamines the previous research on medieval transport.The second part expands the previously established medieval roadnetwork and attempts to clarify certain aspects relating to it.Cartographic evidence is examined together with a critical examinationof various itineraries which have not been previously discussed in anygreat detail. An attempt is also made to clarify the vexed questionrelating to the significance of the medieval unit of distance. Somefurther evidence, including direct documentary evidence, is examinedand then added to all the previous evidence to produce the basic frameworkof a national medieval road network. Direct documentary evidenceis also used in an attempt to establish the most likely routes takenfor the overland movement of goods and produce where only the startingpoint and destination are recorded.The third part attempts to determine, using direct historicalevidence, the extent of navigable water used during the medievalperiod. The initial chapters deal with the navigable rivers on aregional basis, and an attempt is made to establish their navigationallimits. All this regional evidence is then brought together to producea national picture of inland navigable waterways. An analysis of the movement of goods along the rivers is carried out, and the linkbetween inland and coastal navigation is also considered, togetherwith an appraisal of medieval vessels. This section also examinesthe cartographic representation of waterways.The fourth, and final part of the thesis is concerned withcombining the road and waterway networks and also examines theiraffinity with the more prominent medieval trading centres to producethe basic structure of the whole national medieval transport system.Trends in the changing fortunes of the prominent medieval boroughsare analysed which puts into perspective temporal fluctuations andhence highlights the changing importance of the routes leading to them.Finally, further direct historical evidence is called upon to confirmutilisation of the system