Monument Type(s):

• MARKET PLACE (Created, 13th century - 1261 AD to 1261 AD)

Summary

This site represents: a market place of medieval date.

Related records

Associated Finds: None recorded

Associated Events: None recorded

Description

The Square, also known as the Corn Market in the Middle Ages, created in c.1261 when the King's Market between St Alkmund's and St Julian's was deemed too small [<1>]. The Guild Hall or Booth Hall [PRN 01482] was built here in 1270 subsequently undergoing many rebuildings and alterations. The Square became the usual market for grain, fruit, and vegetables. According to Hobbs, corn and other grain was sold at the south-west end, and this part was known as the Corn Market; the opposite end was the Green or Apple Market [<2>]. There is some evidence, in the form of references to selds in this area by 1246, that the origins of marketing functions here may be earlier than 1261; Dorothy Cromarty maintains that it was an open space, used for the annual Summer Fair, and not built upon because of the local ground conditions (see sites 60119-60121) [<3>]. Set against this view is the morphology of the Square, whose bent outline appears to reflect boundaries perpendicular to the main street frontages at the north and south ends, implying that the area was developed by clearing already built-up plots and not by formalising an open space. The staggered frontage-line of the west side may also be a result of this process (former plots back-to back, north and south, and not quite joining up) or may have come about by encroachment into the Square from the properties north of Gullet Passage [see PRN 62437]. An indication that the area was built up prior to at least 1270 may be found in the incident cited by Hobbs, to the effect that the king's escheator took possession of the Guildhall in 1324 because (allegedly) the townspeople had illegally appropriated a plot of royal land for it [<2>] <4>

The creation of the Square in c1261 is believed to have been a key element in the conjectured southward expansion of the town in the 13th century <5>

Detatiled study on the market square including archaeolgical investigations and the historical development of the site.<6>

<01> Anon, 1934, Calendar of Close Rolls, Henry III, 1259-1261, p351 (Manuscript). SSA10598.

<02> Hobbs J L, 1954, Street Names of Shrewsbury, p109 (Monograph). SSA365.

<03> Cromarty D, 1991, Everyday Life in Medieval Shrewsbury, p6 (Monograph). SSA10519.

<04> Baker Nigel J, UAD Analysis, 24/03/1997 (SMR comment). SSA20432.

<05> Baker Nigel J et al, 1989, The Talbot Chambers Site, Market Street, Shrewsbury (Article in serial). SSA10358.

<06> Baker Nigel J et 2 al, 2006, Shrewsbury market place and hall (Article in serial). SSA22988.

Sources

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