Woodhouses

Woodhouses is unique amongst the wards of Morton in that it straddles the line of one of the town's earlier walls. The southern tip lies inside the line of the first walls and fronts onto Dukes Square, a facade which is dominated by Morton's town hall and the Berman's council (housed in the same building). The remainder of the ward forms part of the town's second phase it is bounded onthe three remaining sides by Downton Road, Valton Road and Newall Street which together make it one of the better connected areas of town.
It's name derives from the large proportion of wooden built buildings - the original vernacular style of the earlier part of Morton's development but rare for the past few centuries, since increasing prosperity and the desire for reduced fire risk turned the normal building material to brick or (for those with more money) stone. Students of the town's history know that the term is comparatively recent with the ward having been formed early in the 9th century by the merger of three small wards - Oldtown, in the south, Marroms in the east and Daughtersfield in the west (the last according to legend being the field where Duke Carron's daughter slew the dragon Jorrock).

Demographics

A mixed socioeconomic range, with the Berman's official residence and various other leaders in civic society living in the southern part with a gradual straightening of circumstances as one moves out from the town centre. Ethnically it is quite mixed many of the families of the ward (especially in the western part) priding themselves on a Taru heritage - some of these hold that they were never part of the town, but that Marroms was enfolded within it as the town grew. It is also notable for being the part of town where Monkin-ban can be found as anything other than short term residents.

Industry & Trade

Leaving aside its importance to the government of the twn, Woodhouses is the centre of the garment trade in Morton. This ranges from the bespoke clothing beloved of those in high society to the more prosic and workaday dress of the labouring classes (both urban and rural). This industry is a large consumer of labour and a poor provider of wages which contributes to the varied socio-economic makeup of the area. Of particular note and value are the embroidery workshops oned and oparated by the hndful of extended families of monkin-ban that have made Morton their home.

Guilds and Factions

The ward is dominated by two splits - between the local government set and the cloth workers; and amongst the latter, between the tailors and the weavers. The latter is associated with more raucous rivalry, with vigorous competition between the two guilds (most epecially among their apprentices) which has been known to break into violence, most recently in 1023.

Type

Ward

Alderman

Amya Enna Carrick is nearing the end of her term as alderman. Having spent her career in the cloth trade based in Woodhouses, she rose to lead the weavers' guild despite being a small operator through her networking skills and ability in judging the quality of cloth, which gave her a footing in the town's trade policy that lead to her being co-opted onto the Berman's council for 3 years before being selected as Alderman Woodhouses. A short, thin woman in her fifties she is usually accompanied by her oldest son who serves as enforcer, porter and messenger as circumstances require.