A royal charter of 1215 gave Wellington its status as a town, and during the medieval period it grew as a centre for trade on the road from Bristol to Exeter, being laid out with the church at the east end of town, in a similar manner to other towns of this era. In 1548, the manor was sold to Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, but reverted to the control of the bishops after his execution. By the end of the 16th century it had come under the protection of John Popham (judge) and his descendants who built a manor house which was destroyed during the English Civil War.