AD 1066-1500 Late medieval

Rebellions in south-west England during the first few years of William I’s reign (AD 1066-1087) were soon crushed and great Norman castles were built as far west as Restormel in Cornwall. By the reign of Henry II (1154-89) the South West was profiting from trade links with the Angevin territories in France. Anjou and Aquitaine were exporters of wine and salt and, in return, imported English cloth through the ports of the South West.

Tin from Cornwall continued to be a valuable resource and was traded through Bristol. Closeness to the wool-producing areas of Somerset and Gloucester, and sea links with Gascony and the Bordeaux wine trade made Bristol one of the wealthiest towns in England by the 14th century. Its importance was recognised in 1373, when Edward III (reigned 1327-77) made Bristol a county in its own right. Exeter declined somewhat in the 13th and 14th centuries, but its magnificent Gothic cathedral was completely rebuilt, and its fortunes revived in the 15th century as a cloth-making and trading centre.

The ports round the coasts of the South West flourished, building on a tradition of sea-faring and ship-building for trade and the wars with France. This laid the foundations of the Tudor golden age of explorers and heroes like Drake and Raleigh.