A Reappraisal of the Freehold Property Market in Late Medieval England

45 Pages Posted: 21 Jul 2017 Last revised: 6 Mar 2018

See all articles by Adrian R. Bell

Adrian R. Bell

University of Reading - ICMA Centre

Chris Brooks

University of Reading - ICMA Centre

Helen Killick

University of Reading

Date Written: July 18, 2017

Abstract

This paper re-examines the late medieval market in freehold land, the extent to which it was governed by market forces as opposed to political or social constraints, and how this contributed to the commercialisation of the late medieval English economy. We employ a valuable new resource for study of this topic in the form of an extensive dataset on late medieval English freehold property transactions. Through analysis of this data, we examine how the level of market activity (the number of sales) and the nature of the properties (the relative proportions of different types of asset) varied across regions and over time. In particular, we consider the impact of exogenous factors such as war, plague and political crises, and the effects of growing commercialisation. In so doing, we present an important new perspective on the long-term evolution of the medieval English property market.

Keywords: English medieval property market, impact of crises, land prices

JEL Classification: N13, N23, N33, N53, N93

Suggested Citation

Bell, Adrian R. and Brooks, Chris and Killick, Helen, A Reappraisal of the Freehold Property Market in Late Medieval England (July 18, 2017). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3004472 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3004472

Adrian R. Bell

University of Reading - ICMA Centre ( email )

Whiteknights Park
P.O. Box 242
Reading RG6 6BA
United Kingdom

Chris Brooks (Contact Author)

University of Reading - ICMA Centre ( email )

Whiteknights Park
P.O. Box 242
Reading RG6 6BA
United Kingdom
+44 118 931 82 39 (Phone)
+44 118 931 47 41 (Fax)

Helen Killick

University of Reading ( email )

Whiteknights
Reading, Berkshire RG6 6AH
United Kingdom

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