Walled market town

Open to everyone until Monday, October 5

To keep it, print it while it is open.

A town is packed inside stone walls, with a market square in the middle and workshops along the lanes. The people who sell cloth and make goods are beginning to run the town’s own affairs.

In the picture

The gatehouse: the one arch through the town wall where carts and traders enter
A market stall: a trestle table under canvas, loaded with folded cloth and stacked clay pots
The loom in an open workshop: a weaver at the treadles, threads stretched tight
The anvil in the next workshop: a smith hammering a glowing iron bar

Examples

A Saturday market in a town square, where stallholders pay the town for their pitch and follow its rules.
Craftspeople of the same trade, like bakers or carpenters, agreeing on prices and training new apprentices together.

Key takeaways

From the 11th century trade grew again and many new towns were built inside walls.
Merchants and craft workers joined together and paid lords for written charters giving their town the right to govern itself.