The Severn Sea: Urban networks and connections in the fifteenth century

Fleming, Peter

Abstract

This chapter will examine the range and nature of these connections. In particular, it considers the links between the northern coast of the English south-western peninsula (Somerset, Devon and Cornwall) and
south Wales from the point of view of Bristol. Bristol was by far the most important urban centre in the region, being, in effect, the regional metropolis for south-east Wales and the English West Country, with a sphere of influence that covered north Somerset, abutting Exeter’s sphere, south-east Wales, abutting Carmarthen’s (but perhaps with an important outlier in south Pembrokeshire), north-east Wiltshire (as far as Salisbury Plain), and going as far north, along the Severn, as Coventry. Bristol performed important market functions for the Severn Sea region and was its largest centre of population by a considerable margin; in the early sixteenth century it had a population of perhaps 8,000, making it the second or third largest provincial centre of population in the realm.

Citation

Fleming, P. (2018). The Severn Sea: Urban networks and connections in the fifteenth century. In E. T. Jones, & R. Stone (Eds.), The World of the Newport Medieval Ship: Trade, Politics and Shipping in the Mid-Fifteenth Century (115-134). Wales: University of Wales Press

• Publication Date: May 1, 2018
• Deposit Date: Jun 27, 2019
• Publisher: University of Wales Press
• Pages: 115-134
• Book Title: The World of the Newport Medieval Ship: Trade, Politics and Shipping in the Mid-Fifteenth Century
• Chapter Number: 7
• ISBN: 9781786831439
• Keywords: medieval commercial shipping, south Wales, Bristol, Severn Sea, Newport Medieval Ship
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1445586
• Publisher URL: https://www.uwp.co.uk/book/the-world-of-the-newport-medieval-ship/