96-552: Wantage ( / ˈ w ɒ n t ɪ dʒ / ) is a historic market town and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse , Oxfordshire , England. Although within the boundaries of the historic county of Berkshire , it has been administered as part of Oxfordshire since 1974. The town is on Letcombe Brook , 8 miles (13 km) south-west of Abingdon , 24 miles (39 km) north-west of Reading , 15 miles (24 km) south-west of Oxford and 14 miles (23 km) north-west of Newbury . It
192-535: A market cross ( mercat cross in Scotland). They were and are typically open one or two days a week. In the modern era, the rise of permanent retail establishments reduced the need for periodic markets. The primary purpose of a market town is the provision of goods and services to the surrounding locality. Although market towns were known in antiquity, their number increased rapidly from the 12th century. Market towns across Europe flourished with an improved economy,
288-494: A charter, but were accorded market town status through custom and practice if they had been in existence prior to 1199. From an early stage, kings and administrators understood that a successful market town attracted people, generated revenue and would pay for the town's defences. In around the 12th century, European kings began granting charters to villages allowing them to hold markets on specific days. Framlingham in Suffolk
384-440: A community space on the upper floor. The oldest surviving structures date from the mid-17th century. In Scotland, borough markets were held weekly from an early stage. A King's market was held at Roxburgh on a specific day from about the year 1171; a Thursday market was held at Glasgow , a Saturday market at Arbroath , and a Sunday market at Brechin . In Scotland, market towns were often distinguished by their mercat cross :
480-514: A crossing-place on the River Thames up-river from Runnymede , where it formed an oxbow lake in the stream. Early patronage included Thomas Furnyvale, lord of Hallamshire , who established a Fair and Market in 1232. Travelers were able to meet and trade wares in relative safety for a week of "fayres" at a location inside the town walls. The reign of Henry III witnessed a spike in established market fairs. The defeat of de Montfort increased
576-557: A district called Peche-fers. Divided into hundreds by 1273. From GENUKI Genuki: DERBYSHIRE, England – History and Description, 1868, Derbyshire (based on the 1868 Gazette): In 1850 there were thirty-two hundreds in Devon according to White's History, Gazetteer, and Directory of Devonshire County Durham was divided into wards, analogous to hundreds. From an 1840 map of County Durham Genuki: Co Durham in 1840, Durham . According to essex1841.com Hundreds in the Essex 1841 census
672-491: A full list, see this table at Danish Misplaced Pages ). The last town to gain market rights ( Danish : købstadsprivilegier ) was Skjern in 1958. At the municipal reform of 1970 , market towns were merged with neighboring parishes, and the market towns lost their special status and privileges, though many still advertise themselves using the moniker of købstad and hold public markets on their historic market squares . The medieval right to hold markets ( German : Marktrecht )
768-559: A good deal is known about the economic value of markets in local economies, the cultural role of market-towns has received scant scholarly attention. In Denmark, the concept of the market town ( Danish : købstad ) emerged during the Iron Age. It is not known which was the first Danish market town, but Hedeby (part of modern-day Schleswig-Holstein ) and Ribe were among the first. As of 1801, there were 74 market towns in Denmark (for
864-591: A group of villages or an earlier urban settlement in decline, or be created as a new urban centre. Frequently, they had limited privileges compared to free royal cities . Their long-lasting feudal subordination to landowners or the church is also a crucial difference. The successors of these settlements usually have a distinguishable townscape. The absence of fortification walls, sparsely populated agglomerations, and their tight bonds with agricultural life allowed these towns to remain more vertical compared to civitates. The street-level urban structure varies depending on
960-557: A highly carved Norman doorway from a demolished chantry chapel that formerly stood in the churchyard. The Old Town Hall in Wantage was completed in 1878. In recent years four or more significant housing developments have been constructed. At least one development (including the new health centre) has been on a greenfield site adjacent to the A338 road towards Oxford. The other three, however, have been on brownfield sites, converting
1056-420: A hinterland of villages are still commonly called market towns, as sometimes reflected in their names (e.g. Downham Market , Market Rasen , or Market Drayton ). Modern markets are often in special halls , but this is a relatively recent development. Historically the markets were open-air, held in what is usually called (regardless of its actual shape) the market square or market place , sometimes centred on
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#17327658056731152-455: A local shopfront such as a bakery or alehouse, while others were casual traders who set up a stall or carried their wares around in baskets on market days. Market trade supplied for the needs of local consumers whether they were visitors or local residents. Braudel and Reynold have made a systematic study of European market towns between the 13th and 15th century. Their investigation shows that in regional districts markets were held once or twice
1248-468: A market town at Bergen in the 11th century, and it soon became the residence of many wealthy families. Import and export was to be conducted only through market towns, to allow oversight of commerce and to simplify the imposition of excise taxes and customs duties . This practice served to encourage growth in areas which had strategic significance, providing a local economic base for the construction of fortifications and sufficient population to defend
1344-706: A more urbanised society and the widespread introduction of a cash-based economy. Domesday Book of 1086 lists 50 markets in England. Some 2,000 new markets were established between 1200 and 1349. The burgeoning of market towns occurred across Europe around the same time. Initially, market towns most often grew up close to fortified places, such as castles or monasteries, not only to enjoy their protection, but also because large manorial households and monasteries generated demand for goods and services. Historians term these early market towns "prescriptive market towns" in that they may not have enjoyed any official sanction such as
1440-563: A new service operating between Bristol and Oxford. The proposed station received backing from Network Rail in 2021 after a new Oxfordshire rail study was published, which recommended a new station at Wantage/Grove, subject to additional main line infrastructure. A section of the Wilts & Berks Canal passes through the parish. There is one state secondary school in Wantage, King Alfred's Academy , and approximately ten primary schools. The secondary school converted into an academy in 2011 and
1536-473: A number of market towns in Saxony throughout the 11th century and did much to develop peaceful markets by granting a special 'peace' to merchants and a special and permanent 'peace' to market-places. With the rise of the territories, the ability to designate market towns was passed to the princes and dukes, as the basis of German town law . The local ordinance status of a market town ( Marktgemeinde or Markt )
1632-604: A place where the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by a ruling authority (either royal, noble, or ecclesiastical). As in the rest of the UK, the area in which the cross was situated was almost always central: either in a square; or in a broad, main street. Towns which still have regular markets include: Inverurie , St Andrews , Selkirk , Wigtown , Kelso , and Cupar . Not all still possess their mercat cross (market cross). Dutch painters of Antwerp took great interest in market places and market towns as subject matter from
1728-548: A railway station; Didcot Parkway , 8 miles to the east, is the nearest station, with services towards Reading, Oxford, London, Bristol and Cheltenham. The Great Western Main Line is just north of Grove (2 miles north of Wantage) where the former Wantage Road railway station used to be. It was closed during the Beeching cuts in 1964. The Wantage Tramway used to link Wantage with Wantage Road station. The tramway's Wantage terminus
1824-412: A relationship with customers and may have offered added value services, such as credit terms to reliable customers. The economy was characterised by local trading in which goods were traded across relatively short distances. Braudel reports that, in 1600, grain moved just 5–10 miles (8.0–16.1 km); cattle 40–70 miles (64–113 km); wool and woollen cloth 20–40 miles (32–64 km). However, following
1920-546: A scrapyard next to the Letcombe Brook. In 2006, a commercial development began construction with a Sainsbury's supermarket as a focus. This supermarket is double the size of the previous one and was intended to have a significant impact on the town by drawing more visitors from outlying villages. The impact was projected as being positive, aimed at preventing the town becoming a commuter town and retaining some commercial activity. An action group, Wantage Rejuvenated ,
2016-535: A separate council that met each month to rule on local judicial and taxation matters. In 1929 the hundreds contained the following parishes. From Harris, B. E., and Thacker, A. T. (1987). The Victoria History of the County of Chester. (Volume 1: Physique, Prehistory, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Domesday). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-722761-9 . In Cornwall , the name calqued cantrev From GENUKI Genuki: Cornwall, Cornwall For some purposes,
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#17327658056732112-428: A small seaport or a market town prior to export. This encouraged local merchants to ensure trading went through them, which was so effective in limiting unsupervised sales ( smuggling ) that customs revenues increased from less than 30% of the total tax revenues in 1600 to more than 50% of the total taxes by 1700. Norwegian "market towns" died out and were replaced by free markets during the 19th century. After 1952, both
2208-419: A week while daily markets were common in larger cities. Over time, permanent shops began opening daily and gradually supplanted the periodic markets, while peddlers or itinerant sellers continued to fill in any gaps in distribution. The physical market was characterised by transactional exchange and bartering systems were commonplace. Shops had higher overhead costs, but were able to offer regular trading hours and
2304-576: Is a notable example of a market situated near a fortified building. Additionally, markets were located where transport was easiest, such as at a crossroads or close to a river ford , for example, Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan. When local railway lines were first built, market towns were given priority to ease the transport of goods. For instance, in Calderdale , West Yorkshire , several market towns close together were designated to take advantage of
2400-445: Is being sponsored by the town's chamber of commerce to try to bring business back into the area and inject new life into the town. There was activism in the town regarding development in 2011, with a campaign to stop the demolition of a building close to the town centre by Vanderbilt Homes, who initially gained permission to convert an early Georgian bank of shops into a mixed commercial and residential block. Vanderbilt applied to have
2496-598: Is home to the Vale and Downland Museum . There is a large market square containing a statue of King Alfred, surrounded by shops some with 18th-century facades. Quieter streets radiate from it, including one towards the large Church of England parish church . Wantage is the "Alfredston" of Thomas Hardy 's Jude the Obscure . Wantage is at the crossing of the B4507 valley road, the A417 road between Streatley and Cirencester ,
2592-701: Is no single register of modern entitlements to hold markets and fairs, although historical charters up to 1516 are listed in the Gazetteer of Markets and Fairs in England and Wales . William Stow's 1722 Remarks on London includes "A List of all the Market Towns in England and Wales; with the Days of the Week whereon kept". Market houses were a common feature across the island of Ireland . These often arcaded buildings performed marketplace functions, frequently with
2688-515: Is part of the Didcot and Wantage constituency which is currently represented in the House of Commons by Liberal Democrat MP Olly Glover who was first elected in the 2024 general election . The constituency was first contested at the 2024 general election after the former Wantage constituency was abolished following the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies . Wantage
2784-512: Is perpetuated through the law of Austria , the German state of Bavaria , and the Italian province of South Tyrol . Nevertheless, the title has no further legal significance, as it does not grant any privileges. In Hungarian, the word for market town "mezőváros" means literally "pasture town" and implies that it was unfortified town: they were architecturally distinguishable from other towns by
2880-538: Is planned to have a capacity of up to 1,000 students and hoped to open in 2019 in preparation for large scale housing developments that are planned for Wantage and Grove but has not yet been built (March 2021). Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC South and ITV Meridian . Television signals are received from the Oxford TV transmitter. Wantage's local radio stations are BBC Radio Oxford on 95.2 FM, Heart South on 102.6 FM. Local newspapers are
2976-620: Is reflected in the prefix Markt of the names of many towns in Austria and Germany , for example, Markt Berolzheim or Marktbergel . Other terms used for market towns were Flecken in northern Germany, or Freiheit and Wigbold in Westphalia . Market rights were designated as long ago as during the Carolingian Empire . Around 800, Charlemagne granted the title of a market town to Esslingen am Neckar . Conrad created
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3072-600: Is situated in Wantage. The school was rated Outstanding by Ofsted in 2014. It is named after the ancient lords of the manor of Wantage, the FitzWarin family, powerful Marcher Lords seated at Whittington Castle in Shropshire. In October 2013, the Vale Academy Trust was created when King Alfred's Academy, Charlton Primary School and Wantage CE Primary School came together to form a partnership. The trust
3168-703: The A338 road between Hungerford (and junction 14 of the M4 motorway ) and Oxford, and the B4494 road to Newbury . Wantage is well connected by bus services linking the town with Oxford and other nearby towns and villages. Stagecoach West run the S9 service up to every 20 minutes between Oxford, Botley , Cumnor , East Hanney , Grove and Wantage. Oxford Bus Company run the X1 service up to every hour between Oxford, Abingdon, Marcham , East Hanney, Grove and Wantage. Thames Travel run
3264-708: The Cinque Port Liberty of New Romney in Romney Marsh , with the parish of Lydd as a limb of the Liberty. Lathe of Sutton at Hone Lathe of Aylesford plus the Lowey of Tonbridge Lathe of Scraye (part) In 1857 the provisions of the Act of 9 Geo. IV were invoked to re-examine the whole structure of Lathes and their divisions in providing for the administration of justice. The Lower Division of
3360-607: The Crimean War . It is now a shopping arcade. Wantage is home to the Community of Saint Mary the Virgin , founded by the vicar of Wantage William John Butler in 1848; it was once one of the largest communities of Anglican nuns in the world. Wantage once had two breweries which were taken over by Morlands of Abingdon . In 1988 the town was thrust into the headlines after a Brass Tacks programme entitled "Shire Wars" exposed
3456-625: The Harrying of the North and subsequent incursions from Scotland, the high sheriff of Northumberland was granted extraordinary powers. The county was subdivided into baronies, which were arranged in six wards and subdivided into constabularies. The wards were analogous to hundreds. From the National Gazetteer of Britain and Ireland (1868) GENUKI: The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) – Northumberland Nottinghamshire
3552-555: The Isles of Scilly were counted as a tenth hundred. Cumberland was divided into wards, analogous to hundreds. From the National Gazetteer of Britain and Ireland Genuki: CUMBERLAND, England – History and Description, 1868, Cumberland The civil divisions of Derbyshire were anciently called wapentakes. In the Domesday Survey of 1086 are mentioned the wapentakes of Scarvedale, Hamestan, Morlestan, Walecross, and Apultre, and
3648-517: The Wantage & Grove Herald and Oxfordshire Guardian . Wantage has been the site of a church since at least the 10th century and the present Church of England parish church of Saints Peter and Paul dates from the 13th century, with many additions since. Saints' Peter and Paul contains seventeen 15th-century misericords . King Alfred's Grammar School was designed by the architect J. B. Clacy of Reading and built in 1849–50 but incorporates
3744-510: The Yiddish term shtetl . Miasteczkos had a special administrative status other than that of town or city. From the time of the Norman conquest, the right to award a charter was generally seen to be a royal prerogative. However, the granting of charters was not systematically recorded until 1199. Once a charter was granted, it gave local lords the right to take tolls and also afforded
3840-401: The koopman, which described a new, emergent class of trader who dealt in goods or credit on a large scale. Paintings of every day market scenes may have been an affectionate attempt to record familiar scenes and document a world that was in danger of being lost. Paintings and drawings of market towns and market scenes Bibliography List of hundreds of England#Berkshire Most of
3936-659: The "small seaport" and the "market town" were relegated to simple town status. Miasteczko ( lit. ' small town ' ) was a historical type of urban settlement similar to a market town in the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . After the partitions of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth at the end of the 18th-century, these settlements became widespread in the Austrian , German and Russian Empires. The vast majority of miasteczkos had significant or even predominant Jewish populations ; these are known in English under
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4032-426: The 16th century. Pieter Aertsen was known as the "great painter of the market" Painters' interest in markets was due, at least in part, to the changing nature of the market system at that time. With the rise of the merchant guilds, the public began to distinguish between two types of merchant, the meerseniers which referred to local merchants including bakers, grocers, sellers of dairy products and stall-holders, and
4128-703: The 1841 census also recorded Harwich hundred, which the Victoria County History places within Tendring. The thirty-nine hundreds mentioned in the Domesday Survey and the thirty-one hundreds of the Hundred Rolls of 1274 differ very widely in name and extent both from each other and from the twenty-eight hundreds of the present day. From the National Gazetteer of Britain and Ireland Genuki: Miscellaneous Places, Gloucestershire, Gloucestershire The Duchy of Lancaster (Gloucestershire) liberty
4224-699: The 19th century, the hundreds were listed as: The hundreds mentioned in the Domesday Survey and the hundreds of the Hundred Rolls of 1274 differ very widely in name and extent both from each other and from the ten hundreds of the present day. Not included in the hundreds of Herefordshire at the time of Domesday, the sparsely populated Welch area of Archenfield included Ashe Ingen, Baysham and Kings Caple. From Domesday (1086): From The National Gazetteer of Britain and Ireland (1868) Genuki: Miscellaneous Places, Herefordshire, Herefordshire (Danais & Tring added as per History of Hertfordshire ) From Kent Genealogy Kent Genealogy England . Early Medieval Kent
4320-477: The 2014 Tour of Britain passed through Wantage during Stage 6 of the event. The participants entered Wantage via the B4494 road and left via the A417 towards Harwell and then on towards the end of the stage at Hemel Hempstead . White Horse Harriers AC is an athletics club based in Wantage and Grove . They organise the annual White Horse Half Marathon, which starts and finishes in Grove. Corallian Cycling Club
4416-431: The 20th century, the special rights granted to market towns mostly involved a greater autonomy in fiscal matters and control over town planning, schooling and social care. Unlike rural municipalities, the market towns were not considered part of the counties . The last town to be granted market rights was Ólafsvík in 1983 and from that point there were 24 market towns until a municipal reform in 1986 essentially abolished
4512-407: The 68 service 2-4 times a day between Wantage, East Challow, Childrey , Uffington and Faringdon. There are up to seven buses per hour operating between Wantage and Oxford, and up to four buses per hour operating between Wantage and Didcot. Night buses NS9 and NX1 also operate on Friday and Saturday evenings, providing late night services between Wantage, Abingdon and Oxford. Wantage does not have
4608-516: The European age of discovery, goods were imported from afar – calico cloth from India, porcelain, silk and tea from China, spices from India and South-East Asia and tobacco, sugar, rum and coffee from the New World. The importance of local markets began to decline in the mid-16th century. Permanent shops which provided more stable trading hours began to supplant the periodic market. In addition,
4704-628: The Lathe of Scray, which formed the southernmost part of the Lathe, became part of West Kent, and consisted of the following Hundreds: Leicestershire was originally divided into four wapentakes, but these were usually later described as hundreds. From the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica after 1346 the six hundreds were: In the Domesday Book , West Goscote and East Goscote made up just Goscote and Sparkenhoe did not yet exist. The division which brought East and West Goscote and Sparkenhoe into existence
4800-510: The Wantage township was established in 1828 in order to provide local government functions. Such improvement commissioners' districts were reconstituted as urban districts under the Local Government Act 1894 . The urban district was enlarged in 1934 to absorb Charlton. The urban district council established its offices at Orchard House on Portway. Between 1894 and 1974 there was also a Wantage Rural District which administered
4896-549: The area. It also served to restrict Hanseatic League merchants from trading in areas other than those designated. Norway included a subordinate category to the market town, the "small seaport" ( Norwegian lossested or ladested ), which was a port or harbor with a monopoly to import and export goods and materials in both the port and a surrounding outlying district. Typically, these were locations for exporting timber, and importing grain and goods. Local farm goods and timber sales were all required to pass through merchants at either
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#17327658056734992-614: The award for Britain's Best Town Centre beating several other towns nominated for the award. Wantage has a non-League football club: Wantage Town F.C. , who play at Alfredian Park in the Southern Football League . Grove is also the home to Formula One constructor Williams Grand Prix Engineering . Wantage & Grove Cricket Club's first recorded match was in 1863. The club has three teams and play in Charlton, Wantage. On 12 September 2014, cyclists competing in
5088-470: The buildings completely demolished, prompting a local petition and campaign for the application to be refused at the discretion of the Town Council, as although the building is old, it is not listed. Another area of development which has provoked local protest has been on the north of the town, where a 1,500-home estate is proposed, increasing housing in the town by 35%. Residents launched petitions and
5184-519: The concept. Many of the existing market towns would continue to be named kaupstaður even after the term lost any administrative meaning. In Norway , the medieval market town ( Norwegian : kjøpstad and kaupstad from the Old Norse kaupstaðr ) was a town which had been granted commerce privileges by the king or other authorities. The citizens in the town had a monopoly over the purchase and sale of wares, and operation of other businesses, both in
5280-417: The connector X35 service up to 30 minutes between Didcot, GWP North, Harwell Campus , East Hendred , Wantage and Grove, and the connector X36 service up to every 30 minutes between Didcot, Milton Park , Steventon , East Hanney, Grove and Wantage Monday to Saturday daytimes. and Pulhams Coaches run both the 67 service up to every hour between Wantage, East Challow , Stanford in the Vale and Faringdon , and
5376-459: The counties of England were divided into hundreds or wapentakes from the late Anglo-Saxon period and these were, with a few exceptions, effectively abandoned as administrative divisions in the 19th century. The County of Berkshire comprised 20 hundreds and 193 parishes and parts of four others. From The National Gazetteer of Britain and Ireland (1868), Victoria County History Berkshire Vol 3 (1923) & Vol 4 (1924) Until at least
5472-488: The day when the community congregated in town to attend church. Some of the more ancient markets appear to have been held in churchyards. At the time of the Norman conquest, the majority of the population made their living through agriculture and livestock farming. Most lived on their farms, situated outside towns, and the town itself supported a relatively small population of permanent residents. Farmers and their families brought their surplus produce to informal markets held on
5568-513: The drunken violence that plagued the town and surrounding villages at that time. There are three tiers of local government covering Wantage, at civil parish (town), district , and county level: Wantage Town Council, Vale of White Horse District Council , and Oxfordshire County Council . The town council is based at the council offices at The Beacon on Portway, formerly known as the Civic Hall, which also serves as an events venue. Wantage
5664-546: The early market towns have continued operations into recent times. For instance, Northampton market received its first charter in 1189 and markets are still held in the square to this day. The National Market Traders Federation , situated in Barnsley , South Yorkshire , has around 32,000 members and close links with market traders' federations throughout Europe. According to the UK National Archives , there
5760-398: The era from which various parts of the city originate. Market towns were characterized as a transition between a village and a city, without a unified, definite city core. A high level of urban planning only marks an era starting from the 17th-18th centuries. This dating is partially related to the modernization and resettlement waves after the liberation of Ottoman Hungary . While Iceland
5856-578: The former gardens of Orchard House during 1974; the building opened in January 1975 and was later renamed The Beacon. Wantage is at the foot of the Berkshire Downs escarpment in the Vale of the White Horse . There are gallops at Black Bushes and nearby villages with racing stables at East Hendred , Letcombe Bassett , Lockinge and Uffington . Wantage includes the suburbs of Belmont to
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#17327658056735952-417: The grounds of their church after worship. By the 13th century, however, a movement against Sunday markets gathered momentum, and the market gradually moved to a site in town's centre and was held on a weekday. By the 15th century, towns were legally prohibited from holding markets in church-yards. Archaeological evidence suggests that Colchester is England's oldest recorded market town, dating to at least
6048-512: The half lathe of Milton (which consisted of the hundred of Milton and the Isle of Sheppey) and the Lathe of Wye (which consisted of the Isle of Harty (which is conjoined to the Isle of Sheppey) and many additional hundreds. Due to a judicial administrative reform in the mid-19th century, the some hundreds of the Lathe of Scray were moved from East Kent administration to West Kent administration: Lathe of Shepway The Lathe of Shepway also included
6144-413: The lack of town walls. Most market towns were chartered in the 14th and 15th centuries and typically developed around 13th-century villages that had preceded them. A boom in the raising of livestock may have been a trigger for the upsurge in the number of market towns during that period. Archaeological studies suggest that the ground plans of such market towns had multiple streets and could also emerge from
6240-404: The legal basis for defining a "town". For instance, Newport, Shropshire , is in the borough of Telford and Wrekin but is separate from Telford . In England, towns with such rights are usually distinguished with the additional status of borough . It is generally accepted that, in these cases, when a town was granted a market, it gained the additional autonomy conferred to separate towns. Many of
6336-519: The local town council . Failing that, the Crown can grant a licence. As the number of charters granted increased, competition between market towns also increased. In response to competitive pressures, towns invested in a reputation for quality produce, efficient market regulation and good amenities for visitors such as covered accommodation. By the thirteenth century, counties with important textile industries were investing in purpose built market halls for
6432-464: The market. If the travel time exceeded this standard, a new market town could be established in that locale. As a result of the limit, official market towns often petitioned the monarch to close down illegal markets in other towns. These distances are still law in England today. Other markets can be held, provided they are licensed by the holder of the Royal Charter, which tends currently to be
6528-575: The new trains. The designation of Halifax , Sowerby Bridge , Hebden Bridge , and Todmorden is an example of this. A number of studies have pointed to the prevalence of the periodic market in medieval towns and rural areas due to the localised nature of the economy. The marketplace was the commonly accepted location for trade, social interaction, transfer of information and gossip. A broad range of retailers congregated in market towns – peddlers, retailers, hucksters, stallholders, merchants and other types of trader. Some were professional traders who occupied
6624-974: The past been named Southamptonshire and is so recorded in the Commonwealth Instrument of Government, 1653 . The name of the administrative county was changed from 'County of Southampton' to 'County of Hampshire' on 1 April 1959. The short form of the name, often used in postal addresses, is Hants. The 44 Domesday-era hundreds were: Amesbury , Andover , Ashley , Barton , Basingstoke , Bermondspit , Bosbarrow , Bosham , Bountisborough , Bowcombe , Brightford , Broughton , Buddlesgate , Calbourne , Chalton , Charldon , Chuteley , Crondall , Droxford , East Meon , Edgegate , Evingar , Falemere , Fareham , Farringdon , Fawley , Fordingbridge , Hoddington , Holdshott , Hurstbourne , Kingsclere , Mansbridge , Meonstoke , Micheldever , Neatham , Odiham , Overton , Portsdown , Redbridge , Ringwood , Somborne , Titchfield , Waltham , Welford In
6720-513: The purchasing habits of the monks and other individuals in medieval England, suggests that consumers of the period were relatively discerning. Purchase decisions were based on purchase criteria such as consumers' perceptions of the range, quality, and price of goods. This informed decisions about where to make their purchases. As traditional market towns developed, they featured a wide main street or central market square . These provided room for people to set up stalls and booths on market days. Often
6816-540: The rise of a merchant class led to the import and exports of a broad range of goods, contributing to a reduced reliance on local produce. At the centre of this new global mercantile trade was Antwerp , which by the mid-16th century, was the largest market town in Europe. A good number of local histories of individual market towns can be found. However, more general histories of the rise of market-towns across Europe are much more difficult to locate. Clark points out that while
6912-407: The rural area surrounding the town; the rural district council was based at Belmont. Wantage Urban District was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 , which also transferred Wantage from Berkshire to Oxfordshire. A successor parish covering the area of the former urban district was created in 1974, with its council taking the name Wantage Town Council. A new Civic Hall was built on
7008-433: The sale of cloth. Specific market towns cultivated a reputation for high quality local goods. For example, London's Blackwell Hall became a centre for cloth, Bristol became associated with a particular type of cloth known as Bristol red , Stroud was known for producing fine woollen cloth, the town of Worsted became synonymous with a type of yarn; Banbury and Essex were strongly associated with cheeses. A study on
7104-574: The sample testing of markets by Edward I the "lawgiver" , who summoned the Model Parliament in 1295 to perambulate the boundaries of forest and town. Market towns grew up at centres of local activity and were an important feature of rural life and also became important centres of social life, as some place names suggest: Market Drayton , Market Harborough , Market Rasen , Market Deeping , Market Weighton , Chipping Norton , Chipping Ongar , and Chipping Sodbury – chipping
7200-567: The then local MP, Ed Vaizey , raised concerns, especially regarding the ability of local road infrastructure to cope. The town is served by the A338 and A417, which are single-carriageway roads. The proposed Wantage development is one mile from a similar mass of 2,500 homes proposed for the village of Grove and which will use the same road network. In 2014 Wantage was nominated for the Government's Great British High Street Award whereby Wantage won
7296-550: The time of the Domesday Survey in 1086 there were 18 hundreds in Buckinghamshire. It has been suggested however that neighbouring hundreds had already become more closely associated in the 11th century so that by the end of the 14th century the original or ancient hundreds had been consolidated into 8 larger hundreds. Cambridgeshire was divided into 17 hundreds, plus the borough of Cambridge . Each hundred had
7392-466: The time of the Roman occupation of Britain's southern regions. Another ancient market town is Cirencester , which held a market in late Roman Britain. The term derived from markets and fairs first established in 13th century after the passage of Magna Carta , and the first laws towards a parlement . The Provisions of Oxford of 1258 were only possible because of the foundation of a town and university at
7488-644: The time of the 'Nomina Villarum' a survey carried out in the first half of the 12th century, the Stoke Hundred had been absorbed into the Corby Hundred), Stotfold, Sutton, Towcester, Upton, Warden, Willybrook, Witchley, Wootton and Wymersley. From the Northamptonshire Family History Society the hundreds in the 1800s are: The liberty and Soke of Peterborough was sometimes called Nassaburgh hundred. Following
7584-428: The town and in the surrounding district. Norway developed market towns at a much later period than other parts of Europe. The reasons for this late development are complex but include the sparse population, lack of urbanisation, no real manufacturing industries and no cash economy. The first market town was created in 11th century Norway, to encourage businesses to concentrate around specific towns. King Olaf established
7680-747: The town erected a market cross in the centre of the town, to obtain God's blessing on the trade. Notable examples of market crosses in England are the Chichester Cross , Malmesbury Market Cross and Devizes, Wiltshire. Market towns often featured a market hall , as well, with administrative or civic quarters on the upper floor, above a covered trading area. Market towns with smaller status include Minchinhampton , Nailsworth , and Painswick near Stroud, Gloucestershire . A "market town" may or may not have rights concerning self-government that are usually
7776-408: The town some protection from rival markets. When a chartered market was granted for specific market days, a nearby rival market could not open on the same days. Across the boroughs of England, a network of chartered markets sprang up between the 12th and 16th centuries, giving consumers reasonable choice in the markets they preferred to patronise. Until about 1200, markets were often held on Sundays,
7872-626: The west and Charlton to the east. Grove to the north is still just about detached and is a separate parish. Wantage parish stretches from the northern edge of its housing up onto the Downs in the south, covering Chain Hill , Edge Hill, Wantage Down, Furzewick Down and Lattin Down. The Edgehill Springs rise between Manor Road and Spike Lodge Farms and the Letcombe Brook flows through the town. Wantage
7968-473: Was an ancient parish in the Wantage hundred of Berkshire. The parish was subdivided into four townships , being Charlton, Grove , West Lockinge , and a Wantage township which included the town itself. Such townships were all declared to be separate civil parishes in 1866. Wantage was sometimes described as a borough , particularly in the 18th century, but it lacked the bodies and powers that boroughs typically had. A body of improvement commissioners for
8064-482: Was derived from a Saxon verb meaning "to buy". A major study carried out by the University of London found evidence for least 2,400 markets in English towns by 1516. The English system of charters established that a new market town could not be created within a certain travelling distance of an existing one. This limit was usually a day's worth of travelling (approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi)) to and from
8160-530: Was divided into wapentakes, analogous to hundreds. From the Thoroton Society of Nottinghamshire The Thoroton Society of Nottinghamshire: Nottinghamshire From From GENUKI † — including the Shropshire exclave of Halesowen ‡ The liberties of the borough of Shrewsbury and priory/borough of Wenlock were extensive and are usually considered as hundreds (Wenlock was sometimes described as
8256-477: Was founded by local heads, governors and other stakeholders in the hope of creating quality partnerships among the schools to ensure higher quality education for the area. Since the trust was formed in 2013, three other primary schools in the area have joined. The Vale Academy Trust announced plans in September 2016 to build a brand new free school in Grove for children from the ages of two to sixteen. The school
8352-469: Was founded in 2016 and organises regular sociable cycle rides from Wantage Market Place. Wantage is twinned with: Market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages , a market right , which allowed it to host a regular market ; this distinguished it from a village or city . In Britain, small rural towns with
8448-496: Was in Mill Street and its building survives, but little trace remains of the route. One of the tramway's locomotives, Shannon , alias Jane , is preserved at Didcot Railway Centre . Oxfordshire County Council have ambitions to open a railway station on the former Wantage Road site. In 2018 a feasibility study was carried out for a new Wantage & Grove Parkway station with the hope that the proposed station could be served by
8544-598: Was made in 1346. Lincolnshire was divided into three Parts, each of which was divided into wapentakes, analogous to hundreds. From map on Lincolnshire County Council website: In 1086, there were 39 hundreds in the county: Alboldstow, Alwardsley, Barcheston, Beltisloe, Bloxham, Bumbelowe, Cleyley, Coleshill, Collingtree, Corby, Cuttlestone, Fawsley (Foxley), Gravesend (later absorbed into Fawsley Hundred), Guilsborough, Hamfordshoe, Higham, Hunesberi, Huxloe, Kirtlington, Mawsley, Navisford, Navisland, Ness, Nobottle, Offlow, Orlingbury, Polebrook, Rothwell, Spelhoe, Stoke (By
8640-417: Was rated Outstanding by Ofsted in that year. Between 1873 and 2006, an Anglican private girls' school, St Mary's School , was located in Wantage. The school closed in 2006 when St. Mary's merged with Heathfield School, Ascot . A former independent preparatory school, St Andrew's, established in 1926, closed permanently in 2010. Fitzwaryn School, a school catering for children with special needs aged 3–19,
8736-526: Was sometimes counted as a hundred. The Domesday Survey mentions 44 hundreds in Hampshire, recorded as HanteScire and abbreviated as Hante . By the 14th century the number had been reduced to 37. The hundreds of East Medina and West Medina in the Isle of Wight are mentioned in 1316. The Isle of Wight obtained a county council of its own in 1890 and became a full ceremonial county in 1974. Hampshire has in
8832-467: Was the birthplace of King Alfred the Great in 849. Wantage was a small Roman settlement but the origin of the toponym is somewhat uncertain. It is generally thought to be from an Old English phrase meaning "decreasing river". King Alfred the Great was born at the royal palace there in the 9th century, in what was originally known as Wanating. Wantage appears in the Domesday Book of 1086. Its value
8928-609: Was traditionally divided into East and West Kent, and into lathes and hundreds. The hundreds contained parishes and portions of parishes. In many regions of England as well as Kent, an entire parish would be within one hundred, yet especially along rivers and estuaries which had previously seen invasion, the Kentish hundreds were smaller in area and "shared" parishes to institutionalize resiliency and collective responsibility for defence and justice. Lathe of St. Augustine Lathe of Scraye Lathe of Scraye formed by mid-1200s from
9024-405: Was under Danish rule, Danish merchants held a monopoly on trade with Iceland until 1786. With the abolishment of the trading monopoly, six market town ( Icelandic kaupstaður ) were founded around the country. All of them, except for Reykjavík , would lose their market rights in 1836. New market towns would be designated by acts from Alþingi in the 19th and 20th century. In the latter half of
9120-557: Was very involved in founding the British Red Cross Society. In 1877 he paid for a marble statue of King Alfred by Count Gleichen to be erected in Wantage market place, where it still stands today. He also donated the Victoria Cross Gallery to the town. This contained paintings by Louis William Desanges depicting deeds which led to the award of a number of VCs , including his own gained during
9216-528: Was £61 and it was in the king's ownership until Richard I passed it to the Earl of Albemarle in 1190. Weekly trading rights were first granted to the town by Henry III in 1246. Markets are now held twice weekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Royalist troops were stationed in Wantage during the English Civil War . In the 19th century, Lord Wantage became a notable local and national benefactor. He
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