ntry
is however incomplete and atypical and was not renewed in the usual way. A murage
grant was next made in 1260 and renewed regularly over the next two centuries.
This time the grant was made by name to Geoffrey de Genevile, Lord of Ludlow.
From this and other surviving documents it seems that the town walls and gates
were in place by 1270. They were constructed about the central part of the
community with four main gates and three postern gates. Because the walls were
constructed after the development of the town's streets, the positions and
names of the four main gates are based on the streets they crossed; the postern
gates on the other hand are located by and named after old outlying districts. The
7 gates are (clockwise from the castle; postern gates in
italics)
Linney, Corve,
Galdeford,
Old, Broad, Mill and
Dinham. An
eighth un-named 'portal' gate (smaller than a postern gate) existed in the wall
just to the northwest of the castle, now in the gardens of Castle Walk House.
The castle complex continued to expand (a Great Hall, kitchen and living
quarters were added) and it gained a reputation as a fortified palace. In 1306
it passed through marriage to the ambitious Earl of March, Roger Mortimer, 1st
Earl of March. Queen Isabella and her son, the young Edward III, were
entertained at the castle in 1328.
Marcher
town
The town prospered, with a population of about 1,725 by 1377, and sustained
a population of about 2,000 for several centuries thereafter. It was a market
town; market day was held on every Thursday throughout the 15th century. In
particular, it served as a centre for the sale of wool and
