By 1060, which towns were the biggest in England with about 10,000 people?

• A. London and York
• B. Canterbury and Winchester
• C. Norwich and Lincoln
• D. Exeter and Bristol

Answer: (A)

In this period towns were still relatively small, and a handful reached about ten thousand people. The two largest were London and York. London, on the Thames, was the primary market and political center, drawing merchants and goods from across England and beyond, which kept its population high for the era. York, in the north, stood out as a major religious and administrative hub with strong trade links and regional influence, making it the next largest urban center.

Other towns—Canterbury and Winchester, Norwich and Lincoln, Exeter and Bristol—were important regional centers, but their populations were generally smaller than London’s and York’s. Canterbury and Winchester, for example, were important ecclesiastical and royal centers, but not as large in population; Norwich, Lincoln, Exeter, and Bristol developed significant roles later or to a lesser extent, keeping their sizes below the tens of thousands mark seen in London and York.

So the combination of a major southern trading-capital and a major northern administrative center best matches the description of the biggest towns in England around 1060 with about ten thousand inhabitants.