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Why it wasn't
Popular
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- Lots of the Romano-British
lived in towns during Roman times. They were centres of government and
of trade.
- When the Romans
left Britain, there was no more central government. Trade contacts
disappeared and so did many jobs. There were few reasons left to live in towns.
- British
Towns were easy to find. They were on low ground and were easy for the
Saxons to attack.
- The town walls were difficult
& expensive to repair. There was no Roman local government to pay
for it any more. When they began to fall down, it was unsafe to stay
in the towns.
- Some local
kings used them as their capitals for a while.
- Other towns were a long way from
Saxon areas, like at Carlisle. People never stopped living in these
places.
- The British seem to have given
away some of their towns to the Church. Abbeys or Cathedrals were
built there, like at Caerwent and Caerleon.
- Some of the British may have
been driven away and their town buildings
taken down by the Saxons, like at Silchester.
- Some towns were quickly taken
over by the Saxons, like at Canterbury and Winchester.
- The Saxons did not usually live
in towns.
- The Saxons also sometimes gave
the towns away to the Church. Abbeys or Cathedrals were built there,
like at London and Dorchester-on-Thames.
- Some Saxon kings built their
palaces in old Romano-British towns, like at Winchester and York.
- In the 7th century, the towns
might also be split up into a number of 'estates' (an area of land
with a big house at the centre).
- As well as the King, important
thanes and bishops would live in great halls there. They might also
have watch-towers built of stone.
- Proper town life only became
popular again in the 8th century.
- Some Romano-British towns were
turned into Saxon walled towns in the
9th century.
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