The Battle of Shrewsbury, 1403

By Annie Whitehead

Last time, I explored the history of the medieval town of Shrewsbury. My visit there also included a walk round the site of a bloody battle which took place in 1403, between royal forces and rebellious nobility.

Just four years earlier, in 1399, Richard II was ousted as king of England by his ambitious cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, who then became Henry IV. Usurpations haven’t happened all that often in English history, and Henry couldn’t have done it without help. Among those who assisted him were the powerful northern Marcher lords, the Percy family of Northumberland.

Still, even if you are the richest in the land, wars don’t come cheap. The Percys claimed that the king owed them £20,000 and they were also peeved that Scottish nobles who’d been captured at the battle of Homildon Hill in 1402 had not been ransomed. This meant, of course, that Henry Percy, earl of Northumberland, was also being denied a source of income.

It was Percy’s son, also Henry but nicknamed ‘Hotspur’, who was instrumental in the battle of Shrewsbury. He had been given high office in Wales, where he’d been busy trying to bring the Welsh rebel Owain Glyndŵr to heel. But yet again, payment was withheld and Hotspur did a ‘u-turn’, entering into alliance with Glyndŵr and Edward Mortimer, a powerful Marcher lord. Their claims superficially rested on the financial injustices, but Henry IV saw this as a bid for his crown, and an attempt to replace him. Their proposed candidate for the throne was the earl of March, nephew of Mortimer.

The battle at Shrewsbury was fought on 21 July. Rebel troops had gathered in Cheshire, where Hotspur issued a proclamation which suggested that Henry IV was not king but merely ‘Henry of Lancaster’ and that Richard II was in fact still alive. The rebels marched south and Hotspur was accompanied by his uncle, Thomas Percy, 1st earl of Worcester and Archibald Douglas, 4th earl of Douglas.

Shrewsbury was garrisoned by the eldest son of the king, whose name was ‘Harry’ and who would go on to make a bit of a name for himself at Agincourt as Henry V. Here, though, he was not leading the battle. King Henry IV managed to intercept Hotspur before he could join forces with Glyndŵr. Henry got to Shrewsbury before Hotspur on 20th July and this left Hotspur stuck on the north side of the town, and with the king’s army and the River Severn between him and the Welsh.

The next morning, with no sign of Glyndŵr and with the king’s troops advancing from the town, there was nothing for it but to stand and fight. Several hours of parlaying preceded the fighting, but it could not stave off the inevitable. The picture below shows the suggested positions of the armies, with the Percys on the ridge and the king’s troops having to force their way up the slope. The fighting lasted until nightfall.

Estimates suggest that the king had at his command some 14,000 men while the rebels had 10,000.*

Both sides seem to have had difficulty in recognising coats of arms and there was a great deal of confusion during the battle. It was rumoured that Henry IV had died, but in fact the king was removed to safety. Nevertheless, royal casualties were heavy. The losses have not been calculated with certainty but to walk round the site is to get some idea of the scale of the fighting and, indeed, the numbers of casualties. Estimates are that the dead numbered around 1,600 on both sides, with at least 3,000 wounded subsequently dying from their injuries or killed by looters seeking booty.

The longbow played an important and decisive role in the fighting. The battle began with an archery onslaught, in which Hotspur’s Cheshire bowmen appeared superior and the English Chronicler, Thomas Walsingham, said that the royal troops fell “like leaves in Autumn, every one [arrow] struck a mortal man". ** Famously, the Prince of Wales was struck in the face by an arrow and it is incredible that he survived. The arrow sank into his cheek (the surgeon stated that it was the left, although I have seen debates in which people argue that he might have meant the left as he looked at it.) That the prince survived was down to the skills of his surgeon, John Bradmore, who later described in detail how he used a specially designed implement, using a sort of corkscrew motion, to extract the arrow-head and then treated the wound with honey and alcohol.

Prince Henry survived, and no doubt learned a great deal about the effectiveness of the longbow in battle, but the other leaders involved were not so lucky. Hotspur led a charge directly at the king and was surrounded and killed. Other rebel leaders survived, but not for long. Thomas Percy was tried and beheaded. The earl of Northumberland, Hotspur’s father, was not executed but was stripped of his office as Constable and of several castles, which were thenceforth to be controlled by royal officers.

Hotspur’s body, first buried at Whitchurch, was exhumed and put on display at Shrewsbury, and then was cut up, the parts being sent to various cities and his head sent to York and displayed at Micklegate Bar.

Battlefield Church was constructed on the orders of the king, to commemorate the fallen, and it has been suggested that it stands on ground where most of the fighting took place. There is an area of the churchyard which does look as if it might be the site of a mass grave, but archaeology has not confirmed this.

The church itself is no longer open to the public. It was dedicated to St Mary Magdalene as the battle took place on the eve of her saint's day. In 1410 the chapel was converted into a college of chaplains, where a master and five chaplains said daily mass for the dead. The existing church is the only chapel building to survive and in 1548 the college was closed. In 1982 the church was declared redundant.

There are two visitors’ points. The first is at the southern side of the battle area, and gives views across to the church and offers a walking trail. The area is still agricultural land and is easy to imagine the forces lined up, and to envisage where the fighting might have taken place. On the northern side of the site, the Battlefield 1403 complex houses an exhibition which gives information about the battle and a walk back down to the church. Slightly further north is a village called Upper Battlefield, suggesting to me that the fighting might have extended further still.

Top- from the south. Bottom - from the north

I was there on a sunny September day, and presumably it would have been warmer still in the month of July when the battle was fought. It all looks very bucolic now, but not for nothing did Edith Pargeter call this A Bloody Field by Shrewsbury.***


*The Annales Henrici Quarti offers the figure of 14,000 Royal troops, while Jean de Waurin, a medieval French chronicler, estimated 60,000. It seems that Henry's army was the larger, but in his Chronicle of England John Capgrave suggested that Hotspur had, "as is wrytyn, XIIII thousand men".

**The Chronica Maiora of Thomas Walsingham (1376-1422) by David Preest (Translator), James G. Clark (Translator)

*** Her novel about the battle, and the events leading up to it.

[All photos by and copyright of the author]

This is an Editor’s Choice from the #EHFA archives, originally published October 1, 2019.
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Annie Whitehead studied History under the eminent Medievalist Ann Williams. She is a member of the Royal Historical Society and an editor for EHFA. She has written three award-winning novels set in Anglo-Saxon England, one of which was long-listed for the Historical Novel Society (HNS) Indie Book of the year 2016, and a full-length nonfiction book, Mercia: The Rise and Fall of a Kingdom. She has contributed to fiction and nonfiction anthologies and written for various magazines, including winning the New Writer Magazine Prose Competition. She was the winner of the inaugural Historical Writers’ Association/Dorothy Dunnett Prize 2017. She has recently been a judge for that same competition, and for the HNS Short Story Competition. Annie’s new book, Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England, is published by Pen & Sword Books.

For more information, visit Annie's Website or her Author Page. Also connect with Annie through her Blog and Twitter (@AnnieWHistory)

The Historic Border Town of Shrewsbury

By Annie Whitehead

The market town of Shrewsbury in Shropshire is surrounded by a loop of the River Severn and has a Welsh Bridge and an English Bridge, which gives some clue as to its proximity to the Welsh/English border. But first things first: what about the name itself? Is it pronounced with an ooo in the middle, or an oh? Even its inhabitants are divided, with some saying it's 'Shroosbury' and some saying it should be 'Shrowsbury'.

Although nothing of the original Anglo-Saxon buildings have survived, the name itself was recorded as early as 1016, as Scrobbesbyrig (possibly meaning the fortified place of a district called The Scrub). The Normans found it hard to say ‘scr’ and changed it to ‘sr’ and then ‘sar’ which got confused with ‘Sal’ so that it became ‘Salopesberie' (the abbreviation of Shropshire is still ‘Salop’ to this day). An English form persisted, though, in 'Shrobesbury'. This had changed to 'Shrouesbury' by 1346. But towards the end of the century, ‘Shrew’ spellings appeared, such as 'Shrewesbury' in 1386, which alternated with 'Shrow' spellings thereafter. The two spellings appear to have been equally acceptable, and thus the argument over pronunciation began.*

The stone head of Roger de Montgomery

However you say the name, there is no disputing that the town is stunning, with much architectural merit. The original Norman castle and abbey were built by Roger de Montgomery after the Conquest in around 1080 but the castle which stands today is a rebuild from the twelfth century. (The abbey was the setting for the Brother Cadfael novels by Ellis Peters.)

Although nothing much survives of the building pre- and immediately post-Conquest, the medieval streets are much in evidence as in, for example, Grope Lane, where the building almost kiss each other above street level.

Grope Lane

And yes, much worse probably went on at ground level, hence the name! At the top of Grope Lane is the Bear Steps Gallery, in a building which was a  - possibly - fifteenth-century hall although dendrochronology has produced frustrating results, with not all the timbers being dateable. This is also a reminder that not all these ancient buildings have, or would have, survived. In the mid-twentieth century, the buildings collectively known as the Bear Steps had become a group of barely habitable, run down cottages, which were condemned. The buildings would have been demolished had the Civic Society not raised the money necessary for the renovation and restoration.

Only the Lady Chapel remains of St Chad’s, which was the largest of the town’s medieval churches. St Alkmund was a revered Mercian saint, and the church dedicated to him in Shrewsbury was founded during the ‘reign’ of Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians.

St Alkmund's Spire

The tower and spire though date from 1475 and the chancel and nave were rebuilt in 1795. St Mary’s, nearby, is intact from the medieval era, with the earliest sections built from 1170 onwards with stone from the nearby Roman city of Wroxeter. St Mary’s is where I found some Anglo-Saxon grave markers. Phil, from the town’s museum, had sent me to look at what are the only Anglo-Saxon bits of Shrewsbury visible to the general public. ** St Mary’s is also famous for the fourteenth-century stained glass ‘Jesse’ window, which depicts Christ's family tree.

Anglo-Saxon Grave Markers

An interesting building is the ‘Hole in the Wall’. This building started life as a family home in the thirteenth century and has been a pub - the Gullet Inn -  and, in its time, also a slaughterhouse and a debtors’ prison. It is said that the original ‘hole’ was where the prisoners were kept, in a single cell. It is rumoured that these souls are still there, trying to get free… The family who owned the original building were the Schitte family.

The Schittes appeared first appeared in the town records in 1219. And yes, the name probably suggests that they were involved in the unpleasant but necessary business of removing night soil in the town. Still, it seems that they outgrew their lowly origins and later records show that they became high class cutlers, which, although the name suggests the manufacture of cutlery, may at this time have involved the making of swords. (The word cutler derives from French and means ‘maker of knives’.)

How the original 'Hole in the Wall' building might have looked

Medieval guilds were, of course, powerful institutions and one of the leading guilds in Shrewsbury was that of the Drapers. They were responsible for the construction of many of the timbered houses in the town which still stand today, including Rowley’s House, a sixteenth-century edifice that used to be home to the town’s museum and art gallery and which is also supposed to be haunted.

Rowley's House

The Henry VII pub promises free hugs (alas, not free beer!) and also boasts of fourteenth-century art. Sadly, it was shut when I arrived so I couldn’t investigate whether this art was in the form of murals, or something else. Note how much the building leans though!

Shrewsbury is famous for its medieval origins and its strategic importance - the bridges in/out of the town are relatively modern but crossings have existed since at least Norman times - and of course for the bloody battle of 1403 which will be the subject of my next post, but it has other, more modern, claims to fame.

The Methodist, John Wesley, preached in the town in 1761 and he was there to witness the opening of the first Methodist chapel in Shrewsbury. Perhaps the town’s most famous son was Charles Darwin, author of On the Origin of Species. He was born at Mount House and attended Shrewsbury School.

AE Houseman wrote about the town in A Shropshire Lad. As I've already mentioned, Ellis Peters set her Brother Cadfael books there. Another literary connection is that of Wilfred Owen, the WWI poet whose most famous work is probably Dulce et Decorum Est. I was informed that his mother received the news of his death while the local church bells were ringing to celebrate the end of the war. Such tragic timing.

If you find yourself in the area, a good starting point would be the museum and gallery, where you can learn about the history of the area from Roman times, through the Medieval Gallery and beyond to the Tudor and Stuart periods. I recommend a visit; you won’t be disappointed.

*See Margaret Gelling, Signposts to the Past, pp 28-9
** He told me that an Anglo-Saxon cellar has been excavated, but it is in a private house and not open to the public.
[all photographs by the author]
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Annie Whitehead is an author and historian, and a member of the Royal Historical Society. She has written three award-winning novels set in Anglo-Saxon Mercia, including To Be A Queen, the story of the life of Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians. Her history of Mercia, from Penda the pagan king to the last brave stand of the earl of Mercia against the Conqueror, Mercia: The Rise and Fall of a Kingdom, is published by Amberley. Her new book, about Anglo-Saxon Women, will be published by Pen & Sword in 2020.
Connect with Annie: Website  Blog  Facebook  Twitter 

In Search of a Character, or Two, in Ludlow

by Tim Carrington

Photo Courtesy of Paul Farmer
Wikimedia Commons

"Oh, come you home on Sunday
When Ludlow's streets are still
And Ludlow's bells are calling
To farm and lane and mill.
Or come you home on Monday
When Ludlow Market hums
And Ludlow chimes are playing
The Conquering Hero Comes."

Those are the well-known words of A.E.Housman who wrote 'A Shropshire Lad'. Although his ashes were laid to rest in Ludlow, Housman was born in Worcestershire. But that's the effect that Shropshire has on people, they come to visit and end up staying here.

Ludlow has always been a 'favourite town'. and is even thought of as 'up-market Shropshire'. Like Shrewsbury, it has its castle and river. Like Shrewsbury, it has so much history attached to it that, as a subject, it is worthy of study on its own. But there the comparisons end. Although both towns have seen development, Ludlow's town centre has fared better, and the annual Ludlow Festival has firmly put the town at the top of the county's cultural list. To be brutally honest, Ludlow is one of England’s ‘new towns’. One of those places created by invaders in the 11th century with none of the earlier Roman and Celtic heritage – but I still love the place.

Buttercross, Broad Street, Ludlow
Pauline Eccles, Wikimedia Commons

Whichever way one approaches Ludlow the town is impressive, and the climb up to the town centre gives one the impression of 'arriving'. One such approach is over Ludford bridge then through Broad Gate and into Broad Street which rises steadily to the Butter Cross at the top. Particularly when on foot, one can feel the history of this town enveloping the visitor in a welcome embrace.

Early History

The Saxons called it Leodlowe which implies an administration centre. But of that early settlement there are no remains and we have to wait until the Norman Conquest to find the Ludlow of today. Roger de Montgomery erected the greatest part of the castle, and fortified the town with walls.

He was related to William the Conqueror, and whether he was given the Marches (border) region because of his family ties, or because he was a brilliant soldier/administrator, and was therefore the man for the job, is not clear. Whatever the reasons, for his efforts he was awarded the Earldoms of Arundel and Shrewsbury.

It must be remembered that at that time most of the country's problems were with the Welsh. Ludlow, being so close to the border, was an ideal staging post for armies in times of trouble, and an administrative centre when times were more peaceful.

To combat the threats from Wales, the King allowed any Lord or Baron to raise an army and march into Wales, the reward being that he could keep anything he took from the Welsh. For this reason, the Lords, or Barons, Marchers were a great ally if on your side, but a terrible problem if they were not, and it is these Lords of the Marches who created much of the history of Ludlow and, indeed, the whole of the Marches area.

When Roger de Montgomery died, his second son, Hugh, inherited his English titles and estates and became Lord of Ludlow. But, unfortunately, he did not live long and his death is recorded in the Welch Chronicle thus;

"The year following being 1096, Hugh de Montgomery, Earl of Arundell
and Salopsburie, whom the Welchmen called Hugh Goch, that is to say,
Hugh the red-headed; and Hugh Vras, that is Hugh the fat, Earl of
Chester, and a great number of nobles more, did gather a hugh armie,
and entred into North Wales, being thereto moved by certein lords of
the country .... And so the Earls came over against the ile of Mon, or
Anglesey, where they did build a castel of Aberihiennhawc. Then the
Earls spoiled the ile and slew all that they found there. And at the
verie same time Magnus, the sonne of Haroald, came with a great navie
of ships towards England, minding to laie faster hold upon that
kingdome than his father had done, and being driven by chaunce to
Anglesey, would have landed there, but the Earls kept him from the
land. And there Magnus with an arrowe stroke Hugh, Earl of Salop in
the face, that he died thereof."

Ludlow Castle
Ian Capper, Wikimedia Commons

Hugh's brother, Robert, succeeded him, but he was the opposite of his brother and is recorded as; "a most ingenious architect, a man of great insight in serious affairs, and unwearied in his management of worldly affairs; but for inflicting torments, a most inexorable butcher, exceedingly cruel, covetous and libidinous." Robert was finally defeated by Henry I who turned Ludlow into a Royal Residence.

When Stephen came to the throne in 1135, the governor of Ludlow was Gervase Paganelle, but he was a supporter of the Empress Maud, and the King besieged Ludlow. The outcome is not clear, but it is generally believed that Gervase had a change of heart and obtained the king's forgiveness.

Over the next hundred years Ludlow was the centre of rivalry between the Dynans and the de Lacys and it was while one of the de Lacy’s and one of his knights were imprisoned by Joce de Dynan that we find an interesting character, Marion of the Heath.

"Sir Arnold was a young bachelor and handsome, and he was greatly overtaken with the love of Marion of the Heath, a very pretty damsel, who was the chief chamber-maid of the lady of the castle of Dynan. Sir Arnold and the damsel often conversed together; for she used to come every day into the tower with her lady, to comfort Sir Walter de Lacy and Sir Arnold.

"It happened that Sir Arnold, when he saw an opportunity, pleaded with the damsel, and told her that she was the thing which he loved most, and that he was so much overtaken with her love, that he could have no rest day or night unless she yield to him; for she could give him relief from all his sorrows. And, if she would do it, he would make her a surety at her own will that never would he love another but her; and, as soon as he should be set at liberty, he would take her for his wife.

"The damsel heard the fair promise, and yielded him to do his will in all things, and took surety of him that he would hold with her according to his promise. The damsel promised them that she would help them in all points secretly, that they might be delivered from prison. And she took towels and sheets, and carried them into the tower, and sewed them together, and by means of these she let down Sir Walter and Sir Arnold from the tower, and she prayed them to keep their faith and the promise which they had made her. And they told her that they would behave faithfully towards her, without breaking any covenant, and bid her adieu.

"Months go by and Joce de Dynan left his castle on affairs of state.

"And Marion of the Heath feigned sickness, and took to her bed, and said that she was so ill that she could not move except with great difficulty. And she remained at the castle of Dynan. Joce commanded that she should be carefully attended to. And, for fear of the Lacy and other people, he took into his pay thirty knights and seventy sergeants and valets, and delivered them his castle to keep until his return into the country.

"When Joce was gone, next day Marion sent a messenger to Sir Arnold de Lys, and prayed him, for the great friendship that was between them, that he would not forget the covenants which were made between them, and that he come hastily to talk with her at the castle of Dynan, for the lord and the lady and the strength of their household are gone to Hertland, and that he come to the same place where last he escaped from the castle.

"When Sir Arnold had heard the message of his mistress, he immediately sent back the same messenger, and prayed that for his love she would measure the height of the window by which he last escaped out of the castle, and that she should send him back information by the said messenger what kind of people, and how many, and what household their lord had left behind him.

Ludlow Castle Gatehouse

The damsel, who had no suspicion of treason, took a silk cord, and let it down through the window to the ground, and sent information of all the condition of the castle to Sir Arnold. Then Sir Arnold sent back to his mistress that on the fourth day, before it struck midnight, he would be at the same window through which he passed; and begged that she would wait for him there.

The night was very dark, so that they were not perceived by the watch, or by any one else. Sir Arnold took a squire, who carried the ladder of leather, and went to the window where Marion was waiting for them. And when she saw them, she was never so joyful; and she let down a cord, and drew up the ladder of leather, and fastened it to a battlement of the wall. And Arnold mounted easily and lightly the tower, and took his mistress between his arms and kissed her; and they made great joy, and went thence into another chamber, and supped, and then went to bed, and left the ladder hanging.

The esquire who carried it went for the knights and the great company who were in ambush in the lord's garden and elsewhere, and brought them to the ladder. And a hundred men, well armed, mounted by means of the ladder of leather, and went down from the tower of Pendover, and went along the wall behind the chapel.

And they found the watch sleeping, for he seemed to be heavy under the presentiment of death; and they took him immediately, and would have thrown him down from his tower into the deep fosse; but he cried for mercy, and begged that they would suffer him to whistle one note before he died. And they granted it him; but he did it in order that the knights within should be warned. But it was all in vain.

While he whistled the greater part of the knights and sergeants were being cut to pieces; and they screamed and cried in their beds that God might have pity. But the companions of Sir Arnold were without pity; for all who were therein they put to a foul death, and many a sheet which was white at even, was all reddened with blood. At last they threw the watch into the deep fosse, and broke his neck.

Meanwhile, Marion of the Heath lay in bed beside her love, Sir Arnold, and knew nothing of the treason which Sir Arnold had perpetrated; she heard a great noise in the castle, rose from the bed, and looked down into the castle, heard the noise and cry of the wounded, and saw knights in arms and white helms and hauberks.

Now she perceived that Sir Arnold had deceived and betrayed her, and began to weep very affectingly, and said piteously: 'Alas!' said she, 'that ever I was born of mother; for by my fault, my lord, Sir Joce, who fostered me tenderly, has lost his castle and his good people; and had I never been, nothing would have been lost. Alas! that ever I believed this knight; for by his flattery he has deceived me, and my lord, which is still more to me.'

Marion, all weeping, drew the sword of Sir Arnold and said, 'Sir knight, awake; for you have brought strange company into the castle of my lord without leave. But if you, Sir, and your esquire, were lodged
by me, the others, who have come in through your means, were not. And, since you have deceived me, you cannot rightly blame me if I render you service according to your desert; but you shall never boast to any mistress you shall have, that by my deceit you have gained the castle of Dynan and the country.'

The knight raised himself erect. Marion, with the sword which she held drawn in her hand, struck the knight through the body, and the knight died immediately. Marion knew well that if she were taken, she should be delivered to an evil death, and knew not what to do; so she let herself fall from a window towards Linney, and broke her neck."
          A translation by Leland of a 12th/13th century manuscript that was written in Norman French and Welsh. John Leland 1503 – 1552

Oh what a^””holes men can be! Or is all fair in love and war?

Roger de Mortimer

In 1303, during the reign of Edward I, Roger de Mortimer (a very famous Shropshire name) married Joane, the widow of Peter de Genevill and became Lord of Ludlow Castle. Edward I was succeeded by Edward II who was a bit of a bad egg, and Roger de Mortimer sided with other discontented barons of the realm and was imprisoned in the Tower of London. But he managed to escape, and, in memory of his escape, built the chapel which still stands in Ludlow Castle.

In the reign of Edward III Roger de Mortimer was created Earl of March and Justice of Wales, but he was destined for a sticky end, and was executed when he was found in bed with the King's mother, and, as if
that wasn't enough, he was also accused of the murder of Edward II. His crimes were listed in the celebrated poem "Mirrour of Magistrates".

"Five hainous crimes against him soon were had.
1. First that he causde the King to yeeld the Scott.
(To make a peace) townes that were from him got.
And therewithall the Charter called Ragmau.
2. That of the Scots he had privy gaine,
3. That through his meanes Sir Edward Carnarvon
In Barkley Castle most traiterously was slain.
4. That with his Prince's mother he had laine,
5. And finally with polling at his pleasure
Had rob'd the King and Commons of their treasure."

For his crimes he was executed at Tyburn, hanging (by the King's commandment) "two days and two nights, a public and gladsome spectacle."

Ludlow passed to a grandson of Roger Mortimer and continued in the possession of the Mortimers for some considerable time. "How great, how pious, how numerous these Mortimers were, and lastly how honourable the name went out, being wrapt up in the crown by an heir general," for the Mortimers were involved in the Wars of the Roses, as Edmund Mortimer was related to Richard Plantagenet, Earl of Cambridge, who was beheaded by Henry V.

But before we get to the Wars of the Roses, we have to deal with another Welshman in the shape of Owen Glendower during the reign of Henry IV. Owen Glendower objected to English landlords in Wales, in particular the Mortimers, and attacked Radnor Castle which belonged to Roger Mortimer, as well as many other 'English' strongholds. At Knighton, on the Shropshire- Welsh border, Glendower and his men fought an army commanded by Sir Edmund Mortimer. Mortimer lost eleven-hundred men and was himself taken prisoner.

During the Wars of the Roses, Ludlow was a stronghold for the House of York and was the place of rendezvous for supporters of the Duke of York. When Henry's army marched on Ludlow they demanded the surrender of the town. The civilians said yes, but the garrison said no, and fighting between the two broke out within the besieged town.

Later, the Yorkists fled and the town and castle were sacked by the King's army. After the Duke of York was slain at the Battle of Wakefield, his son and heir, Edward (a descendant of the Mortimer family), took up the cause and visited Shrewsbury and Ludlow to quickly raise an army which defeated the King's army at Mortimer's Cross, to the south of Ludlow.

Ludlow became a favourite town of Edward after he was crowned, and in the first year of his reign he granted the first Charter of Incorporation.-, "In consideration of the praiseworthy and gratuitous services, which our well beloved and faithful subjects, the Burgesses of the town of Ludlow, have done in aid of recovering the right of the crown of England, withheld from us and our ancestors, and being
therefore desirous for the bettering and relief of the town."

With Edward's help, Ludlow was rebuilt. It became a favourite Royal Residence and home to Edward IV's oldest son, Edward, and his younger son, Richard, Duke of York. It was from here, after the death of
Edward IV, that the two young princes were taken to London.

Henry VII

After the Battle of Bosworth, Henry VII came to the throne, and by marrying the eldest daughter of Edward IV he united the houses of York and Lancaster. Henry VII, because of his Welsh connections, did much to progressively strip the Marcher Lords of their powers over the Welsh, and what he started was completed by Henry VIII.

In 1501, Prince Arthur, Henry VII's eldest son, married Catherine of Aragon and took up residence in Ludlow Castle with his bride. (He was fifteen, she was eighteen). With reference to that marriage, the
writings of Hall give us a curious specimen of the manners and language of those times.

....."Because I will not be tedious I passe over wyse devises, the
prudent speches, the costly woorkes, the conninge portratures
practised and set foorth in VII goodly beutiful pageauntes erected and
set up in diverse places of the citie. I leave also the goodly
ballades, the swete armony, the musicall instrumentes, which sounded
with heavenly noyes on every side of the strete. I omit farther, the
costly apparel both of gold-smythes woorke and embraudery, the ryche
jewelles, the massy cheynes, the sturynge horses, the beutiful barbes
and the glitterynge trappers, bothe with belles and spangles of golde.
I pretermit also the ryche apparelle of the pryncesse, the straunge
fashion of the Spanyshe nacion, the beautie of the English ladyes, the
goodly demeanure of the young damosels, the amorous countenance of the
lusty bachelors, I passe over also the fyne engrayned clothes, the
costly furres of the citezens, standynge on skaffoldes, rayled from
Gracechurche to Paules. What should I speke of the oderiferous
skarlettes, the fyne velvet, the pleasaunt furres, the massye chaynes,
which the Mayre of London with the senate, sitting on horsebacke at
the little conduyte in Chepe, ware on their bodyes, and about their
neckes. I will not molest you with rehersyng the riche arras, the
costly tapestry, the fyne clothes bothe of golde and silver, the
curious velvettes, the beautiful sattens nor the pleasaunte sylkes,
which did hang in every street where she passed, the wyne that ranne
continually out of the conduytes, the graveling and rayling of the
stretes nedeth not be remembered."

Having spent so long listing the things he wasn't going to mention, what was left to mention? But Arthur died the following year and lay in state in Ludlow Castle for three weeks before being buried at
Worcester.

Because of their Welsh connections, Henry VII and VIII did much to placate the Welsh Nation until, in the twenty-seventh year of the reign of Henry VIII, Wales emerged as a nation where the Welsh had equal rights to the English.

In passing this Act, Henry also altered the role of Ludlow. In the past it had been the headquarters of the Marcher Lords who were little more than legalised thugs, when viewed from the Welsh point of view. But now Ludlow became the headquarters of the President of the Court of justice for Wales, and was served by counsellors, a secretary, an attorney, a solicitor and four justices.

Peace had come to Ludlow and the Marches after almost 450 years of Ludlow being the centre of bloody power struggles between the English and the Welsh and even the English and the English.

Not a bad history for one of our new towns?

Tim Carrington
tim-carrington.co.uk

PS. Oh but I forgot to mention the famous ‘Ludlow Massacre’. Well if you want to know about that you’ll just have to look it up.