Abstract

The villages of the Weald may in some senses be regarded as substitute towns. They supplied to a limited area those good which otherwise would have to have been bought at the predominantly coastal urban centres. This is particularly apparent by examining the distribution of villages in this area. This distribution shows a marked concentration inland away from the larger towns. A number of planned settlements were seemingly founded with the intention of creating urban centres. The period 1250 to 1350 was crucial for the development of the network of markets and villages in the Weald. Markets established later generally failed to develop into places of any significance.