1. Beverley, Yorkshire

Beverley's wool industry, for which it had been famous in the fourteenth century, went into decline in the fifteenth century, as clothmaking moved to towns such as Bradford and Sheffield.

2. Boston, Lincolnshire

Boston was became a staple in 1369, making it one of a group of towns permitted to export wool. However, by the late fifteenth century this trade declined as the wool industry moved to other parts of England.

3. Bristol, Gloucestershire

Bristol was one of the largest towns in England, with a population of around ten thousand in the fifteenth century. It was a major port exporting woollen cloth and wheat, and carried out an extensive trade with Ireland, Iceland, France and Spain. In 1497 John Cabot sailed from Bristol on his voyage of exploration to North America.

4. Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

Bury was an important woolmaking town in the fifteenth century and a centre for pilgrimage to the shrine of St Edmund.

5. Cambridge

The first colleges of the university were founded in the thirteenth century. The town was also important for its woollen and leather industries.

6. Canterbury, Kent

The main industries in the fifteenth century were wool and leather. It was also a centre for pilgrimage to the shrine of Thomas à Becket.

7. Colchester, Essex

Colchester's main industries in the fifteenth century were wool and leather. Grain was exported from its port and oyster-fishing took place on the River Colne.

8. Coventry, Warwickshire

Coventry was an important centre for the woollen industry in the fifteenth century and was one of the largest towns in England.

9. Exeter, Devon

Exeter's main industries in the Middle Ages were wool and leather. It was a port and a large ecclesiastical centre with many churches and a large cathedral.

10. Gloucester

Its main industry in the Middle Ages was wool, which was brought to the town from the nearby Cotswolds. Cloth and grain were exported from its port and wine was imported. Fishing on the River Severn was also important.

11. Great Yarmouth, Norfolk

Great Yarmouth was an important centre for herring-fishing in the Middle Ages. Its other main exports were wool and coal.

12. Hereford

In the Middle Ages its main industries were wool and leather.

13. Ipswich, Suffolk

Its main industries in the fifteenth century were wool and leather. It also had a large shipbuilding industry. Its imports included wine.

14. King's Lynn, Norfolk

Called Bishop's Lynn until sixteenth century, the town's exports were wool, grain and salt. It imported timber, fish, pitch and iron. The town carried on an extensive trade with the Hanseatic League.

15. Kingston-upon-Hull, Yorkshire

The manufacture of wool was Hull's most important industry in the fifteenth century, together with brick- and tile-making. It was a large port, with much of the wool being exported to what is now Belgium and the Netherlands. It was also a centre for the fishing trade.

16. Leicester

The main industries in Leicester in the fifteenth century were wool and leather.

17. Lincoln

Lincoln's prosperity had been built on the export of wool and it was a staple, one of only a few towns allowed to export wool. However, by the fifteenth century its wool trade faced competition from other parts of England, and its status as a port declined as nearby Boston and Hull grew in size.

18. London

London was the base for the English Parliament, which sat at nearby Westminster, and the Royal family. Its merchants, organised into guilds, were very influential. Plague was a constant threat to the populace due to poor sanitation.

19. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland

In the fifteenth century the town was a busy port exporting wool and coal, and was the centre for a large ropemaking and shipbuilding industry.

20. Norwich, Norfolk

Norwich's main industries in the fifteenth century were the manufacture of wool and leather. By 1500 it had a population of around ten thousand and was one of the largest towns in England.

21. Oxford

The university was founded in 1167. Oxford's wool and leather industries declined in the fifteenth century as it began to rely more on students for its prosperity.

22. Plymouth, Devon

In the Middle Ages Plymouth was an important port, exporting wool and tin. Coal and grain were also brought here from other parts of England via the coast. It imported wine, hemp and hops and was a centre for the fishing industry.

23. Salisbury, Wiltshire

Salisbury's main industry in the fifteenth century was the manufacture of wool, which was mostly exported from Southampton. It was one of the largest towns in England by 1500.

24. Shrewsbury, Shropshire

In the Middle Ages Shrewsbury was a centre for the woollen trade, in particular for the finishing of Welsh wool. It also had an important leather industry.

25. Worcester

Its main industries in the fifteenth century were wool- and leathermaking. It was an inland port on the River Severn and timber and iron were transported by water from the Forest of Dean. Its chief import was wine.

26. York

During the fifteenth century York's previous prosperity declined as the wool industry moved to other parts of England.