Saffron Walden’s dates are similar to the national changes. In the 1100’s the nation had the feudal system and there was a large civil war being fought between Stephen and Mathilda. The nations towns were also growing largely in size due to the increase in birth rate.
Saffron Walden at this had had the right to move the market from Newport to Saffron Walden. The market played a key part thought every town through the country, and Saffron Walden was no exception. It allowed locals to trade goods and to make a living. Because of the new market in Saffron Walden the town increased in size dramatically. Saffron Walden also had the right to build a castle. This could be just a coincidence that the civil war was taking place at this time so it would be perfect to protect the town from attacking enemies. So this would be a great time to build a large castle. So in the 1100’s Saffron Walden was very typical as it had all the key developments as the nation itself.
During the 1200’s the king allied to the burgesses who owned and run the local shops and markets. The markets through out the country had been well established and were doing well. So well that the king personally joined up with the people who ran them.
Saffron Walden in the 1200’s had its market well established as it had had it for a long period of time so it was at the heart of Saffron Walden and kept the town growing more. This is what was also possibly going to happen to the rest of the markets through out the country, that’s why the king wanted to join up with the burgesses who ran the markets. So in the 1200’s, yes Saffron Walden was a typical medieval town.
In the 1300’s the country had the worst plague the country had ever seen, it was called “Black Death”. Because of this it made people flee from towns and cities to go and live in the countryside were they are less likely to get the plague. So all the towns and cities throughout the country stopped growing and shrunk in size.
In Saffron Walden in the 1300’s the town shrunk in size as people fled out of the town to live in place were they had no neighbours, were they would be safe from the plague. This therefore can explain the reason why Saffron Walden did not grew up to the battle ditches and fell a large margin short. Because of the fleeing no one was moving into Saffron Walden so no more new houses were built. So in the 1300’s Saffron Walden was very typical in the nations development.
In the 1400’s some of the towns population stayed the same, others revived and started to go back to its original population count. Very few even grew. The drastic population change was caused by the plague, the 1400’s is the after effect.
Saffron Walden in the 1400’s was one of the minority as it revived and actually started to increase in size. This maybe because it was around half way between London and Cambridge and so maybe the people who fled from London and Cambridge wanted to live in the countryside but still have the amenities of a town. Saffron Walden would be perfect as it was in the countryside and set of from the main route between London and Cambridge and due to its increasing size it had the amenities. So maybe it is typical as the cities shrank in size they had to live some where and the towns in the countryside like Saffron Walden were perfect solutions.
So as you can see from my work Saffron Walden was typical in more ways then not and therefore can be classed as a typical medieval town.