The Impact of Growing Urbanisation (Edexcel A-Level History): Revision Notes

The Impact of Growing Urbanisation

Introduction

During the Tudor period, England experienced significant changes in its urban landscape. Urbanisation – the growth of towns in population and economic importance – was not a straightforward process. While London grew rapidly and continuously throughout the period, other towns experienced a more complex pattern of initial decline followed by recovery. Understanding this pattern is essential for grasping the broader economic and social changes of Tudor England.

Urban decline in the early Tudor period (1520s-1540s)

The scale of decline

In the 1520s and 1530s, many towns that had flourished during the medieval period faced serious depopulation and economic decay. The evidence for this decline is striking:

Other significant medieval towns experiencing similar problems included:

• York – a major northern city
• Canterbury – an important pilgrimage centre
• Ipswich – a port town
• Leicester – a market town
• Bristol – a major port and trading centre

Town representatives petitioned the king and parliament about their difficulties, though historians note that some of these complaints were partly tactical attempts to reduce local tax burdens rather than purely objective descriptions of urban crisis.

Reasons for urban decline

The decline of towns in the early Tudor period had several interconnected causes, which varied in importance from town to town:

The shifting cloth industry

The most significant factor was the fundamental restructuring of England's most important industry – cloth production. During this period, the cloth industry increasingly moved away from traditional urban centres to smaller towns like Lavenham and to rural areas. This shift was driven by the development of the "putting out" system (also called subcontracting), where clothiers distributed work to rural workers rather than concentrating production in urban workshops.

London's dominance

The growth of London and its ports created a gravitational pull that undermined the trade of other cities. Towns such as York and Bristol found their commercial importance reduced as London came to dominate English trade. York's position as a northern trading hub was particularly challenged, while Bristol's role as a western port faced competition.

The dissolution of the monasteries

The dissolution of the monasteries (1536-1540) had significant economic consequences for urban centres. Many towns had developed economies that depended substantially on income from religious institutions and pilgrimage. The closure of monasteries and destruction of shrines meant the loss of pilgrims and the economic activity they generated. This particularly affected:

• Canterbury – home to the shrine of Thomas Becket, one of England's most important pilgrimage destinations
• York – which had numerous religious houses and was an important religious centre

Government responses to urban decline

Tudor governments recognised the problem of urban decay and attempted various legislative solutions, though with limited success:

Acts of the 1530s and 1540s

Parliament passed a series of Acts ordering town authorities to rebuild derelict properties. These measures aimed to reverse physical decay and encourage economic recovery, but they struggled against underlying economic forces.

Mary's attempts to revive urban cloth production

During Mary I's reign (1553-1558), the government attempted to reverse the shift of the cloth industry to rural areas. Legislation tried to restrict the growth of cloth production in the countryside and smaller towns, aiming to encourage clothiers to return to larger urban centres.

The Act of 1556 imposed a fine of £5 per cloth on anyone starting a rural cloth business. This was a substantial sum, intended to make rural cloth production uneconomical.

Urban recovery and growth from the 1550s

Evidence of urban growth

From the 1550s onwards, English towns began to recover and grow. The scale of this change is evident in population statistics for major towns:

Town	Estimated population in Henry VIII's reign	Estimated population by end of Elizabeth's reign
London	60,000	215,000
Norwich	12,000	15,000
Bristol	10,000	12,000
Exeter	8,000	9,000
York	8,000	11,500
Newcastle	4,000	9,000

These figures reveal London's exceptional growth – its population more than tripled during the Tudor period. Other towns grew more modestly but still significantly, particularly Newcastle, which more than doubled in size, and York, which recovered strongly after its earlier decline.

Reasons for urban growth

The recovery and growth of towns in the second half of the 16th century resulted from several interconnected factors:

Population pressure and migration

England's overall population was growing during this period, creating pressure on employment in rural areas. This encouraged migration to towns where people hoped to find work. The movement of people from countryside to town became a significant feature of Elizabethan England.

New trading routes

The opening of new trading routes transformed the commercial prospects of several towns:

• Towns such as York, Bristol, and Exeter all benefited from new trade routes in the Baltic and Atlantic
• These routes opened access to new markets and products, revitalising port towns
• Exploration under Elizabeth I created fresh commercial opportunities that had not existed earlier in the century

Dutch migrants and the "new draperies"

Economic diversification

Towns began to diversify their economic activities rather than relying solely on traditional industries:

• Norwich developed industries beyond cloth, including clothes making and hat making
• This diversification made towns more economically resilient and created a wider range of employment opportunities

Gentry town houses

An important social change also contributed to urban growth. Gentry families increasingly purchased houses in towns where they would spend the winter months. This brought wealth into urban areas and created demand for luxury goods and services.

Increased demand and new occupations

Growing urban populations created increased work in several sectors:

• The building trade expanded to accommodate population growth
• Food suppliers benefited from increased demand for essential provisions
• Luxury goods such as sugar and wine became more widely available
• A new occupation that developed in Tudor towns was that of vintner (wine merchant), reflecting growing demand for imported wine

New urban settlements and specialisations

Not all urban growth occurred in existing towns. Some new settlements began to develop during this period:

Birmingham emerged as a significant settlement with a flourishing trade in iron manufacture. Its growth demonstrated how industrial specialisation could create new urban centres.

Manchester was developing as a centre for linen and textile manufacture, establishing the foundations for its later importance.

Existing towns also developed specialisations: Newcastle's rapid growth (from 4,000 to 9,000) resulted from its profitable coal trade, which supplied the growing London market. As London's population exploded, so did its demand for coal, making Newcastle's coal trade extremely lucrative.

Social and economic challenges of urbanisation

Disease and mortality

Towns were particularly vulnerable to disease due to cramped living conditions and poor sanitation. Disease could spread rapidly through dense urban populations, with devastating consequences:

The poor harvests and influenza epidemic of the late 1550s made conditions in towns particularly difficult, leading to:

• Widespread disease
• High mortality rates
• Temporary labour shortages in the early years of Elizabeth's reign
• Increased demand for workers
• Some workers demanding higher wages

Wealth inequality

Although some urban residents were very wealthy, wealth was not equally divided among the population. There was a large gap between the wealthy minority and the poorer majority in most towns.

Many town residents owned little or no property because they could not afford it. This had serious consequences:

• They were not self-sufficient – they could not grow their own food
• They depended entirely on purchasing food and other necessities
• In times of food shortages, they had no means to support themselves
• They were particularly vulnerable to economic crises

Migration pressures

The migration of people to towns in search of work created significant pressures:

Government response: the Statute of Artificers (1563)

The Statute of Artificers of 1563 represented the government's comprehensive attempt to address the interconnected problems of unemployment, wages, and poverty.

The statute introduced several important provisions:

Wage regulation

For the first time, Justices of the Peace (JPs) were ordered to set maximum rates for wages in each county. This was intended to prevent wage inflation and maintain social stability. The authorities feared that labour shortages might allow workers to demand excessive wages, disrupting the social order.

Agricultural priority

The statute prioritised the collection of the harvest. This reflected the fundamental importance of agriculture to the economy and the need to ensure food supplies.

Apprenticeship regulation

Apprenticeships were regulated to ensure that unqualified people could not enter skilled jobs for which they were not properly trained. This protected established craftsmen and maintained standards, but also restricted social mobility.

The concentration of poverty in towns

Towns were particularly sensitive to the social and economic crises that affected Tudor England. Several factors concentrated poverty in urban areas:

Physical conditions

• Cramped living conditions meant disease could spread quickly
• Dirt and poor sanitation created health hazards
• High population density made epidemics more devastating

Economic vulnerability

• Urban workers depended on the cash economy
• They could not fall back on subsistence agriculture
• Food shortages hit urban populations particularly hard
• Economic downturns immediately affected urban employment

Poor relief

Recognising these problems, major towns began to establish permanent systems of poor relief:

• As early as 1547, the city of London made contributions to poor relief permanent
• Other major towns soon followed: Ipswich, Norwich, and York
• This marked an important development in social welfare provision
• Towns recognised they had a responsibility to support their poor residents

The growing professional classes

An important consequence of urbanisation and wider social changes was the growth of professional classes – people whose careers required formal education and training. This development transformed Tudor society and created new opportunities for social advancement.

Careers in the Church

Although employment in the Church was not strictly a profession in the modern sense, those who worked within the Church had received some form of education, making them part of an educated elite.

Education and training

A boy who wanted a career in the Church would typically be educated at:

• A grammar school – schools originally designed to teach Latin grammar to boys planning Church careers
• A school attached to a cathedral or monastery
• These institutions taught Latin, which was essential for Church services and religious texts

It was not necessary for a potential priest to attend university, though this option was available to able students. Tudor governments were keen to improve the standard of clerical education, recognising that many clergy were poorly educated.

Career paths

Church careers varied enormously in status and reward:

• Some clergy were employed at low rates of pay in chantries (chapels where priests said prayers for the dead)
• Others became parish priests, serving local communities
• Some became tutors or teachers in private households or schools
• A few fortunate or able students could rise high:
  • Teaching at Oxford or Cambridge
  • Becoming bishops
  • Entering royal service

The legal profession

The legal profession became increasingly important and popular during the Tudor period, offering significant opportunities for wealth and status.

Training and education

Unlike Church careers, legal careers required formal and lengthy training. Potential lawyers could follow two main routes:

University training

• Study civil law at Oxford or Cambridge
• This provided a theoretical grounding in legal principles

The Inns of Court

• Training through the London Inns of Court – four institutions known by contemporaries as the "third university"
• These were: Lincoln's Inn, Middle Temple, Inner Temple, and Gray's Inn
• The Inns provided both formal education and professional organisation
• Prospective lawyers would live and study at one of the Inns

The structure of the legal profession

The legal profession had a clear hierarchy:

At the top:

• Judges – presided over courts
• Barristers – worked in the largest and most important central courts
• These were the elite of the profession

Below them:

• Attorneys – worked in the localities, provided advice, and represented clients in court
• Solicitors – more lowly, but still had professional training

Dramatic growth in numbers

The expansion of law courts created enormous demand for legal professionals. The growth in numbers was remarkable:

Lawyers in Parliament

An increasing number of men with legal education began to act as Members of Parliament (MPs):

• 1563: 140 MPs with legal training
• 1603: 253 MPs with legal training

This increase occurred because:

• Local communities particularly valued lawyers' expertise
• Lawyers could effectively promote regional interests in parliament by formulating laws
• Their professional training made them skilled in drafting legislation
• Lawyers were well paid enough to afford to become MPs (which was an unpaid role)

Lawyers in royal service

As royal government expanded and became more complex, there was increasing demand for legal expertise in royal service. Some men with legal training and the right contacts rose very high indeed:

Physicians (doctors)

The medical profession also developed professional organisation and status during the Tudor period.

The Royal College of Physicians (1518)

The Royal College of Physicians was founded by the Crown in 1518. This was a landmark in the development of medicine as a profession. The college had important functions:

• Protect medical practitioners with qualifications from those who claimed medical skill but had no formal training
• License physicians across England
• Punish those who practised without a licence
• Give doctors professional status for the first time

Training

Doctors were trained at:

• Oxford and Cambridge
• European universities (medical education was often better developed abroad)

The foundation of the college created clear standards and gave qualified physicians official recognition and protection.

Key statistics to remember

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