Metropolitan Market Networks, c.1300-1600; London, its Region and the Economy of England

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The project sought to further understanding of London's dynamic role within the economy of its region, and of England as a whole, between c.1300 and c.1600. It sought to clarify the parallels between the medieval and early modern periods and to explore the dynamics of change by assembling data relating to the development of trade networks over a 300 year period. Data derived from debt litigation has been used to measure the degree to which different parts of the country were united in a single economy and participated in regular trade with London at different dates. Analysis of 'detailed' debt cases has provided valuable insights into the content of trade and the mechanisms of exchange. Grain price series from London, provincial towns and rural manors have been used to explore the emergence of integrated regional and super-regional markets, and to chart the city's complex interaction with its agrarian hinterland and with other urban markets. The changing relations between London and England's provincial centres and the city's interaction with the dynamic urban and metropolitan economies of the north-west European mainland, have been investigated.Main Topics:Three principle types of information are contained in the data collection: i) data on debt and credit linkages; ii) details of commercial organisation; and iii) wheat price series. The data on debt and credit linkages and the details of commercial organisation are the product of sampling debt litigation contained in the records of England's Court of Common Pleas, for the Michaelmas law terms of 1329, 1424 and 1570, and also include debt cases for the Michaelmas law terms of 1500 and 1602 which detail the commodity or nature of obligation. The data as collected relate principally to London, the ten surrounding counties of Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Middlesex, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire and Surrey; and three more distant counties, Yorkshire, Staffordshire and Devon. Data can be analysed at the level of individual locality (village, town etc), county and region, and can be broken down by the occupation or status of debtors or creditors. The strength of this data is its abundance, its suitability for quantitative analysis, and the light it can shed upon patterns of commercial and related interaction between individuals, groups, towns and regions. It is most useful for illustrating the structure of relationships and their changes over time. The datasets do not provide national coverage, although individuals from every county in England are encountered. The wheat price series have been compiled from various manuscript and other unpublished sources and cover London between 1277 and 1640, Exeter between 1317 and 1640, Chester between 1378 and 1503, Canterbury between 1393 and 1502, and for twelve Bishopric of Winchester manors in the Thames valley and adjacent areas of southern England between 1208 and 1454. All these series have gaps of greater or lesser extent within the indicated spans, and there are significant variations in data quality between and within the series, necessitating great caution in their analysis and interpretation