Changes Under the Normans - Town Features

History: KS3, topic 1.13.16

Features of Norman Towns

The new Norman towns had a number of features that were different from the Anglo-Saxon towns which preceded them.

Each town had a mix of houses and business properties (probably run by members of guilds - like the blacksmiths, butchers or bakers).
Churches and religious houses (abbeys containing nuns and monasteries containing monks) could also be found in towns. Abbeys and monasteries sometimes provided healthcare and food for the very poor.
Peasants and most people in England lived in tiny houses in the town centre. They would be cramped on narrow streets, with farmland surrounding the town centre.

If a villein (peasant) escaped to a town and lived there over a year, he became a free-man.
Citizens of towns were called burgesses.
They were responsible for acting as watch-men on the outskirts of the city.
They helped the militia when needed and could rule on disputes between people.
Citizens also paid taxes to the noble or earl in charge of their town.

If a city reached a certain size, it could ask its local lord who would ask the king for a charter for independence.
A charter meant that a city could run itself and collect taxes from its citizens as it wished, although proceeds still had to be paid to the king and the local noble or Earl.