Woolly says – Arrangements seemed to have taken a lifetime and with two humans, one mammoth a sheep and a long list of places to visit it should have been easy, it wasn’t. Places were closed, tickets were sold out and despair was starting to set in when Jen finally came up with something viable meaning that me and my bestie could finally have a chance to meet up.
The journey through Shrewsbury was easy and I sat pondering how many swords, arrows and how much blood we might find today, I voiced the question to Jo who laughed and pointed out that it was unlikely that we would find anything as hundreds before us had already made claim to any relics. As we passed our first brown sign, I knew we weren’t far but the final few miles seemed to take a decade to pass as we sat at traffic light after traffic light.
I raced towards the café with Jo and Alfie the Dog following behind to see Jen and my Bestie Sion the Sheep indulging in a coffee in the sunshine. With the coffees consumed and certain humans toileted we walked towards the area where the Battle of Shrewsbury had taken place.
The Battle of Shrewsbury was fought on 21 July 1403, waged between an army led by the Lancastrian King Henry IV and a rebel army led by Henry “Harry Hotspur” Percy from Northumberland. It had started over lands in and around Cumberland which had been promised to the Percy’s by the King but were instead given to a rival, so the Percy’s revolted. Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, and Thomas Percy, 1st Earl of Worcester, publicly renounced their allegiance to King Henry IV and set about raising enough men to head into battle.
Henry Percy, nicknamed “Hotspur,” raised a group of about 200 retainers in early July 1403, and started the long march south to meet his uncle, Thomas Percy. He recruited most of his army in Cheshire, an area hostile to Henry IV, which provided many experienced soldiers, notably its Cheshire archers, some of whom had served as Richard II’s bodyguard. King Henry IV only became aware of the Percy forces on 12th July, apparently while he was marching an army north to assist the Percy’s against the Scots, receiving the news at Burton-on-Trent, he changed direction and marched west towards Shrewsbury with his army, arriving before the Percy’s could capture the town.
Both forces arrived in the Shrewsbury area on 20th July and set up camp to the north and south of the Severn River, which loops around the town. For much of the morning of Saturday 21st July, the two forces parleyed. Thomas Prestbury, the Abbot of Shrewsbury and the Abbot of Haughmond presented the King’s terms. Hotspur declined any terms and Thomas Percy spoke to the King, trading insults. Henry Percy was somewhat inclined toward accepting the King’s position, while his uncle Thomas Percy was not. Negotiations ended near noon, and the two forces advanced closer for the fight.
About two hours before dusk, King Henry IV raised his sword. The battle opened with a massive archery barrage, arrows killing or wounding many men before they could meet hand to hand in the field. Prince Henry, Prince of Wales was hit in the face with an arrow during the fighting, sustaining a terrible wound. He later recovered due to the skilled treatment of the Physician General John Bradmore, who used honey, alcohol and a specially designed surgical instrument to extract the arrowhead. He was left with a permanent scar.
Hotspur led a charge aimed at killing the King himself, during which the Royal Standard was overthrown and its bearer, Sir Walter Blount, was hacked down by Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas. Hotspur was killed in the charge, reputedly shot in the face with an arrow when he opened his visor. It sounded thrilling as Sion and I stood looking over the harvested field which would have once been a seething mass of men, blood and flying arrows, we both agreed that we would look very dashing in full armour and wondered if that could be something that Farter Christmas might bring for us, it’s always a good idea to get your Christmas list in early.
As the boys talked all things battle Jen and I strolled with Alfie the Dog catching up on news and our lives as a level of normality was returning to the UK.
Woolly says – With our battle plans complete we led our armies towards the lovely looking church across the field. Battlefield Church is said to have been erected over the site of the mass burial pit dug immediately after the battle. It was built initially as a memorial chapel, on the orders of King Henry IV and paid for by him, with prayers and masses being said continually for the dead on both sides. The chapel was replaced in 1460 by a church, which was further restored in 1862.
The exterior was wonderful with lots of gargoyles to feast our eyes on and ward off the evil, a statue of the King stood atop of the stained-glass window looking out towards where so many had died.
The grass might have needed a good cutting but the church building was in amazing condition and as Jen inserted the key, she had borrowed from the shop we entered into the cool delights of its inner sanctum.
The floor was wonderful with Tudor roses adding to the decoration, I found it hard to take in anything else.
Finally looking up to the wooden roof it certainly seemed as though a lot of time and effort had gone into preserving all of it. Along the wooden beams were shields of family crests that had fought on both sides.
The Pietà, an image of Our Lady of Pity showing Mary holding the body of her son after his removal from the cross, is a rare survival from the 15th century. It came from Albright Hussey, a nearby chapel that fell into disuse and was given a home here, it was a fine piece of carving. Next to it was a memorial to the Corbet family who had paid for the restoration of the church in 1860, intricately carved it was a real work of art.
Each window contained beautiful stained-glass windows, with intricate details in brilliant hues.
As we left the splendour behind and headed back through the battle field Sion and I debated on whether we would have been with King Henry or Hotspur, Sion leaned more towards the Percy side whilst I have always liked a relative of the Tudors, we took our battle lines and raced towards each other over the corn stubble, let battle commence.
