A burh () or burg was an Anglo-Saxon fortification or fortified settlement. In the 9th century, raids and invasions by Vikings prompted Alfred the Great to develop a network of burhs and roads to use against such attackers. Some were new constructions; others were situated at the site of Iron Age hillforts or Roman Britain castra and employed materials from the original fortifications. As at Lundenburh (medieval London), many were also situated on rivers: this facilitated internal lines of supply while aiming to restrict access to the interior of the kingdom for attackers in shallow-draught vessels such as .
Burhs also had a secondary role as commercial and sometimes administrative centres. Their fortifications were used to protect England's various .
Byrig was the plural number form of burh and burg: "forts", "fortifications". It was also the dative case form: "to the fort" or "for the fort". This developed into "bury" and "berry", which were used to describe , large farms, or settlements beside the fortifications. Oxford English Dictionary, 1st ed. "† ˈbury, n. Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1888.
In addition to the English foundations described here, these names were sometimes used in Old English or variants of native placenames, including the Brittonic and Welsh placenames caer, as at Salisbury.
Some were based upon pre-existing Roman Britain structures, some newly built, though others may have been built at a later date. Æthelstan granted these burhs the right to mint coinage and in the tenth and eleventh centuries the firm rule was that no coin was to be Hammered coinage outside a burh.
A tenth-century document, now known as the Burghal Hidage and so named by Frederic William Maitland in 1897, cites thirty burhs in Wessex and three in Mercia. At the time, Mercia was ruled by the West Saxon kings. These burhs were all built to defend the region against Viking raids.
Only eight of the burhs achieved municipal status in the Middle Ages: Chester, Bridgnorth, Tamworth, Stafford, Hertford, Warwick, Buckingham and Maldon., noting Tait The largest were at Winchester, Wallingford and Warwick, whilst Wallingford and Wareham are the best-preserved examples, with substantial and Levee still visible. It has been estimated that construction of Wallingford's of bank would have taken more than 120,000 man hours. Burh towns also usually had regular street layouts, some of which are still preserved. Burhs are widely thought to have been the origins of urban life in England. In most cases, Alfred's rebuilding of a burh did not cause any change of name, as the sites chosen had already been some sort of fortified structure.
Frequently, a burh was built on the site of pre-existing fortifications. Sometimes, old Roman walls were simply repaired, as in towns such as Winchester, Exeter, York, Burgh Castle, Portchester and Dover. At other times, they would build on the site of old Iron Age forts, such as Dover, utilising the old ditches and ramparts.
However, many of the burhs were entirely new fortified sites, built on strategic sites on the coast, near ports or overlooking roads and trade routes. Substantial new towns were built on flat land with a rectangular layout, at for example Oxford, Wallingford, Cricklade and Wareham.
Traditionally, burhs were constructed first with a massive series of banks fronted by a ditch. The bank was typically timber faced and timber Revetment. This was topped by a wooden palisade of stakes, up to high, with a walkway. At towns such as Tamworth, the ramparts would decay and push outwards over time, meaning that the ditch and bank would deteriorate. To solve this, the banks were faced with stone, thus further reinforcing the defences and improving their life span.
Burhs also had secondary roles as economic centres, safe havens in which trade and production could take place. Armouries, blacksmiths, royal mints and trading posts were all located within the burh. They would be used as supply depot for the Anglo-Saxon army when it was in the field, thus ensuring that the Anglo-Saxon troops had a continual supply of weapons, fresh horses and food.
During Alfred's reign there was a definite demarcation between the royal fyrd (royal army) and those of the local fyrd (local defence force). The local fyrd were responsible for the construction and defence of their burh, whereas members of the royal fyrd served under the king.
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