This is the first scholarly history of the city of Wells in the Middle Ages. David Gary Shaw traces the growth of Wells from a rural manor into the prosperous borough it became by the late twelfth century. Dr Shaw examines the variety of trades which flourished in Wells--including tanning, glove-making, and cloth-manufacture--and analyzes the composition of the burgess community. He also explores the importance of the family, the extent of social mobility, the position of women, and the roles of conviviality on the one hand and religion on the other in shaping communal activity and communal spirit.