Why did some towns fail?

Many places were given the right to a market - in England between 1200 and 1349 several thousand grants of market rights were given (Kate Tiller, English Local History, an Introduction, Alan Sutton, 1992). Many towns failed to thrive, however, and either never got off the ground or simply failed to grow. Some in fact grew smaller and in some cases were abandoned altogether.

When a town was granted rights it often had a charter (an official document) drawn up to attest to these rights. 

No new town was guaranteed economic success. War with Scotland put a heavy tax burden on the population, as did the war with France from 1337. Bad weather caused crop failures and cattle disease caused widespread famines in 1315-25. There was a 400% increase in grain prices because of the poor harvests (J. Schofield and A.Vince, Medieval Towns, Leicester University Press, 1994).

Some towns were affected by the ravages of the Black Death, some by war (the frequent incursions of the Welsh) and some were just poorly situated from the outset. Richards Castle, for example, however well sited for a castle (on a high bluff), was poorly situated for a market town. It failed to change from a town supporting a castle to a market town, providing commercial opportunities for the surrounding area. (Trevor Rowley, The Welsh Border: Archaeology, History & Landscape, Tempus, 2001)

During the reign of Edward I, and with his conquest of Wales, more peaceful times in Herefordshire meant that many castles were not needed any more. With the decline of these castles also came the decline of their attached towns. An example of this is Kilpeck, which was abandoned altogether.

[Original author: Toria Forsyth-Moser, 2002]