Becoming Ipswich: Urban emergence in Britain’s oldest town with Dr Brandon Fathy. 

This is a FREE event open to University of Leicester alumni.

Early medieval urban development in Britain has proven a vexing question, with oversimplified narratives often dominating discussions. Existing research has considered the competing roles of kings and artisans in urban emergence. This talk examines Ipswich (AD 600-900), arguably England’s oldest continuously inhabited town, to challenge top-down, mono-causal models of town formation. In contrast to previous research, it investigates interactions between human and non-human actors, focussing on Buttermarket and Franciscan Way as detailed case studies. Findings suggest that urban development is not a singular event but a continuous, evolving process shaped by kings, commoners, craftspeople, and the environment. Dr Fathy’s research offers a nuanced framework for understanding towns as complex systems of interactions and material practices, advancing our comprehension of the dynamic development of early medieval urban landscapes.