 In the 14th century a French ship sailed up the river, and by 1388 Thomas Tanner from Wells used Rackley to export cloth and corn to Portugal, and received iron and salt in exchange.Wells had been a centre for cloth making; however, in the 16th and 17th centuries this diminished, but the city retained its important market focus.Wells in the 19th century had the largest cheese market in the west of England.