Evolution of Worcestershire county boundaries since 1844 where more parishes or manors changed hands with neighbouring counties, usually as 'gifts' by the monarchy, church or through conquest. By 1844; the administration of Worcestershire was carried out by the Courts of Quarter Sessions, who were responsible for law and order, civil jurisdiction and certain administrative functions in the county. These roles included the licensing of alehouses, police, weights and measures, construction/maintenance of highways and bridges, poor law disputes and setting taxes. The county was then divided into five hundreds, four separate boroughs for the larger towns (Bewdley, Kidderminster, Droitwich, and Evesham), and Worcester itself, which was a county
Economics of English towns and trade in the Middle Ages during the period. The provincial towns also had a substantial number of trades by the end of the 13th century - a large town like Coventry, for example, contained over three hundred different specialist occupations, and a smaller town such as Durham could support some sixty different professions. The increasing wealth of the nobility and the church was reflected in the widespread building of cathedrals and other prestigious buildings in the larger towns, in turn making use of lead from English mines for roofing. Land transport remained much more expensive than river or sea transport during the period. Many towns