AS in many other parts of the country, the basic infrastructure of towns and markets in Kent, Surrey, and Sussex was well established by 1348. A string of ports along the southern and northern coasts allowed goods to be transported by sea from one place to another within the region and along the Thames to London. Cross-Channel markets were equally accessible, and raw materials and luxury items flowed into and out of the major ports. In addition the region had an excellent road system, the main framework of which, radiating from London, was inherited from the Roman period. As trade had expanded in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, new markets and towns had sprung up to cater to the needs of travellers as well as local inhabitants. By 1348 151 places within the three counties had received a royal charter that allowed them to establish a market. Other markets existed by prescription rights and had never been confirmed by charter. Some of these markets, however, may never have taken off and functioned for just a few years at best. One guide to the major markets in the late fourteenth century is the map of Great Britain known as the Gough map (c.1360). It shows 45 places in south-east England, of which 41 are known to have had markets, and all stood on important roads (see Map 1). How many of these markets had actually developed into towns?

In looking at the early fourteenth century, and using a variety of criteria, James Masschaele identified four settlements within these counties that he believed functioned ‘as central nodes of regional exchange’ — Canterbury, Guildford, Kingston-on-Thames, and Chichester.