The markets that are listed were the first established by charter in each county. The charter was usually granted by the monarch to a local noble, granting the right to hold a market in a specified place and on a particular day or day's. Many grants were given to formalise an existing (older) right to trade that may have pre-existed as far back as Roman times. This area was dominated by the Kingdom of Mercia and later the Norse invaders. It is worth noting that all the chartered markets post date the Kingdoms union with Wessex in 883. The last Mercian King was Chosen by the Mercian council or Witan was Athelred Mucil (883-911) but was possibly an Earl owing allegiance to King Alfred of Wessex.

The Market Charter

There were two purposes of a market charter, first it formalised the market and made it hard for any rival market setting up close by. Second the charter granted privileges to the town and the traders such as exemptions from tolls and taxes which any rival markets did not enjoy.

The Chartered Markets Of The North Midlands

The early history and formation of the northern midland counties was dominated by many things, but the most influential were:

The Kingdom of Wessex which had risen to dominate the area by defeating the Danes and establishing the Danelaw and effectively giving the area to the Danes.

The Kingdom of Mercia¹ which was overrun by the Danish invaders, and after the establishment of the Danelaw, ruled by them.

This was the most fought over area of the time and very much a border country. Trade was brisk but in some areas economic development was slow until the end of the Danish Kingdom and the unification of the country.

It is interesting that in this part of the country more use was made of the Roman road network than the north, and that the towns have market charters that pre date the Norman Conquest. Apart from Overton, in the county of Rutland² the grant of a charter was made after the conquest. This area was experiencing growth and prosperity, unlike the north which fell victim to the events in 1069 known as the Harrying Of The North. This was the personal revenge of King William I for the slaughter of his army of 700 men in Durham. Also the cultural and economic structure was destroyed, this is evidenced by the lack of chartered markets in the area³. The area did not have a market established until 1086 when the first charter was granted to Penwortham, and this could have been established as a market to serve an area around a local seaport.

Cheshire

The county name comes from the 990 original Legecaestrescir, or shire of the city of the legions'.
The Romans arrived in the area and found it occupied by the Cornovii tribe. There were important deposits of silver and lead a few miles and a fort was erected in Chester in AD 60, to protect access to these. When the Romans left there was a period of Danish settlement, the divide between the Danes and the Welsh peoples forming what was to become the border between England and Wales. The first indication of this was Offas Dyke, built by King Offa in 760 to mark the border of his Kingdom of Mercia and Wales⁴ The area to the east was controlled by King Ceowolf and there were raids until Alfred the Great brought peace to the area by granting right of settlement to the Danish raiders. From 990 the county was part of an administrative area that included Staffordshire and parts of Shropshire and the last governor before the conquest was Earl Edwin of Mercia’.
The Normans encountered resistance which was finally overcome in 1069 their response was to virtually destroy large areas of the county villages were burnt and live stock destroyed. By the end of the period of resistance the county was destroyed the doomsday book refers to the county as “abandoned” or “useless land”, Hugh d'Avranches was the first Norman governor of the county and the area slowly recovered and the 19 new castles helped to maintain the peace of the county.

The Market Town Chester, 939

Situated to the north of Wrexham the town of Chester is situated on the main costal road (east west) from north Wales into England. It also on the road to the north from Shrewsbury. The Town is placed at the practical (ancient) crossing point of the river Dee from which it gained access to the sea. Originally founded by the Romans (Deva Victrix) it was prosperous. After the Romans withdraw it became part of the Kingdom of Powys, until 616 AD when Æthelfrith of Northumbria took it by force and it became a Saxon Burgh. fortified against Viking raiders by the Saxons it remained an important trading centre until the conquest when Hugh d'Avranches was granted the town⁵ and became the first Earl of Chester.

Derbyshire

The area that that is now Derbyshire was actively controlled by the Romans legions and centred on Little Chester until their departure. The area was then taken over and ruled by the Saxons as part of the Mercian Kingdom. After the Conquest the county was part of the land grant given to one of William's favourites William Peveril, he was granted parts of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

The Market Town Derby, 917

Derby is situated in the centre of the midlands at a point where the major routes of the area converge at this crossing point of the river Derwent. The settlement was founded by the Romans (Derventio) and after they withdrew the town was settled by the Vikings and named after the Danish words 'deor by' meaning deer settlement. The town was one of the five borough's⁶ of the Danelaw⁷. It passed into Saxon hands in 917 AD, and was granted the charter in the same year, it was peacefully annexed by the Normans after the conquest and the Doomsday Book entry for the area records a population of 2,000 by 1086 AD.

Nottinghamshire

The first people arrived in the county 42,000 BC, the Roman occupation saw the establishment of settlements at Nottingham and Mansfield, the Fosse Way passes through the county. After the Romans left Britain a people called the Angles occupied the area, migrating from the Lincolnshire area occupying the valley along the river Trent. By 451 the county was part of the Mercian Kingdom Saxons appear to have established a settlement at Tuxford and Oxton where traces of settlement were found. The first documentary mention of the area as Nottingham is in 876, in the Anglo Saxon Chronicle ⁸
In 878 the Treaty of Wedmore parts of the county around Nottingham formed one of the five Danelaw or Danish Burghs⁹.


The first documents to mention the shire of Nottingham and give the name Sherwood to the nearby woodlands was in 1016 when the area was ravaged by Canute. When the Kingdom was united by Hardicanute in 1049 with the rest of Britain the area became the Earldom of Mercia and granted to Leofric.


In the county boundaries and its eight wapentakes¹⁰ are defined in the Doomsday book , and are largely unaltered since this time.

The Market Town Nottingham, 918

There may have been a Roman settlement on the site as the Fosse Way passed near by the town. And is the first point that the river Trent can be crossed, the river also provided the site for an inland port. Nottingham is located on the main route north from London and is situated between Leister and Lincoln on the route to the east coast port of Grimsby. Little is recorded of the town until the Anglo Saxon settlement and founded the burgh of Snottingaham¹¹. The next occupants were the Danes who in 850, took the town and fortified the outcrop of sandstone above the town. They also encircled the town with a ditch and wooden wall. In 918, the English Edward the Elder re took the town, he granted the charter, he established a mint and ordered the building of the first bridge in the town. The Normans took the town in 1067, built a castle and so many French moved in to the new settlement it was called ‘the French borough‘. The area was hostile to the Norman rule and motte and bailey castles were built at Cuckney, Laxton and Newark.

Lincolnshire

The Romans arrived in AD 43 they found it occupied by the Cornovii tribe, who also occupied part of Cheshire. They improved the area established 15 forts in the county and Ermine Street and The Fosse Way pass through the county. After the Romans left the peoples known as the Angles and the Kingdom of Lindsey was created with Lincoln as the capital. The Kingdom became part of Mercia in the 690‘s, in 865 starting with Mrecia all Anglo Saxon Kingdoms with the exception of Wessex, fell to the Danish army led by Ivar. There followed a period of Danish settlement in the county, Lincoln was given the status of burgh¹² or borough as part of the Danlaw division as agreed in the treaty of Wedmore by Alfred the Great and Guthrum. The transition to Norman control was facilitated by the construction of castles at Tattershall and Lincoln.

The Market Town Lincoln, 924

Lincoln started life as the Roman fortified settlement of ’Lindum’¹³ and located on the north south route from London to Kingston upon Hull, in 48 AD, when the local tribes accepted Roman rule the settlement into a colonia¹⁴ and the port facilities on the river Witham were improved and a canal was dug to connect Lincoln to the river Trent. The town was prosperous from the start, but after the Roman withdrawal it was almost deserted and the area was occupied by the Angles and then taken over by the Danes in 890 AD, when it became one of the five burghs. In 917 AD, the town passed into Saxon hands and the town was granted its market charter in 924 AD by Athelstan “the Glorious” in the year of his coronation, and grew into an important town with a full range of local trades and a Royal mint.
The town had a fairly smooth transition to Norman rule and had a castle built to keep the peace in the town. The town prospered and by 1086 AD had a population of over 6,000 and due to its position became an important trading centre.

Shropshire

The county name Shropshire is thought to have come from the Old English 'Scrobbesbyrigscir' or Scrob shire from Richard Fitz Scrob, a Norman Knight granted lands in the Ludlow area of the county prior to the conquest by Edward the Confessor. The town and associated parish became known as Richards Castle.
After the Romans left Britain some of the local hill forts appear to have been re occupied, when the Saxon Kingdom of Mercia became established the settlements moved into more open areas. There were frequent Danish incursions, in 874 the Abbey at Much Wenlock was sacked, the Danes were strong enough to over winter in the county in 912.
In 866 the last Mercian King died without an heir and the county became part of the Kingdom of Wessex. In 1016 the Danes were still threatening the area Edmund Ironside laid waste to Shrewsbury to prevent its use by the Danish army.
After the defeat and a year later the death of Edmund Ironside the Danes under King Knute became the rulers of all England. This did not bring peace to the county as in the years prior to the conquest the Welsh raids lay waste to much of the county.
The arrival of the Normans meant that Shrewsbury was fortified and the castle was re built in stone, and the town began to grow. The raids of the Welsh continued and they took the town and held it for a short while in 1215, Shropshire’s status of a border county slowed development of the area for many years.

The Market Town Shrewsbury, 901

Originally an Anglo Saxon town its name is thought to derive from original Scrobbesburh meaning fort in a waste land.

Situated on the end of Watling street the road from Kent that passes through London and terminating at Worcester (Virconium) before turning south towards Hereford. And the town is also sited on a crossing of the river Severn. Founded in 800, and was a major trading centre for wool. From the earliest times the town had access to Europe from the quays on the river Severn. The town started life as a wooden walled settlement with strong associations with the new Christian church and Bishop Eata of Northumbria.

Staffordshire

The county of Staffordshire has no deep historical roots as it was founded in 1889 the county was mainly forest and moor land, and from the earliest times a provider of iron, coal and clay. The area was chiefly known as Mercia and the county was formed from the old Mercian regions of Totmonslow, Pirehill Cuttlestone, Senisdon and Offlow. The county symbol the Staffordshire knot comes from a pre Conquest Mercian monument in a church yard in Stone.

The Market Town Stafford, 913

The town is situated on the same eastern, north south main route as Worcester, the road from London to the costal ports clustered around Liverpool. It is situated on a major crossing of the river Sow¹⁵ There is evidence of history as far back as the Iron age and Romans may have settled the town. The first recorded history is when the town was fortified against Danes by King Alfred’s daughter Aethelflaed. The charter dated 913, was for a market to serve a huge rural area with farming and forestry. When the Normans arrived market charter was not revoked but Stafford Castle was built as were many fortified houses and forts the area was obviously hard to subdue.

The Town of Tamworth also had a market established in 913 AD, but as Stafford is the county town and appears to have had the charter issued just prior to Tamworth, Stafford has the priority.

Rutland

The Romans arrived in AD 43 they found it occupied by the Corieltauvi and Cornovii tribes, it appears to have been something of a border area. When the Romans left the Angles occupied the area and by 451 the county was part of the Mercian Kingdom Saxons. A record exists that Edward the Confessor left the county to Erdith his wife in 1066 so it must have been a royal estate. The county was recorded as being a part of Nottinghamshire and in the wapentake of Wincelsea. The county came into official existence in 1159 when it was referred to by the Norman and given the title the Soke of Rutland.

The Market Town Overton, 1200

A Roman settlement originally but nothing was recorded. Later it became a Saxon settlement This town was granted a charter in 1200, during the reign of King John, making it the last market to be established in the region. The town is situated on the main east coast north south route from London to the ports of Grimsby and Hull, the route appears it be unnecessarily far inland, this was due to the wet and difficult passage through the are before it was drained in the middle ages.

All the markets in this region are pre conquest apart from Market Overton 1200 Rutland.

A map of each town mentioned in the entry can be found on Google map. Please use this to get an idea of how the market fitted in the surrounding area. If you zoom out you will see how the markets relate to each other.