| Abstract: | More attention is now being paid to the analysis of medieval and early modern town plans. Current debates include the usefulness of nineteenth-century plans to recreate earlier patterns and the antiquity and durability of the so-called burgage plot. This piece uses the abundant documents which survive in Wells to illustrate the history of the properties of one town. Several cycles of change are identified giving a complex mixture of continuity and change in plot boundaries. The material is used to suggest a series of processes which can result in boundary changes. The findings are related to recent work elsewhere in England. The need for more research is stressed. |
