Battle of Shrewsbury 21 July 1403

This morning I joined a guided battlefield walk organised by English Heritage, it was dark and it rained unlike the weather in Medieval England in July 1403.

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. The battle was significant in military terms as it was the first occasion where massed troops armed with the longbow were fitted against each other on English soil, in the tactical formations that would be so effective in the coming decades against the French.  The effectiveness of this tactical use of the weapon was apparent to all.  I learnt Longbows were very expensive to make and if injured by one, the only way to remove it was to pull the head in the direction it had travelled!

It was a victory for King Henry IV and  St Mary Magdalene, Battlefield church was built within a few years of the battle at the behest of him "for the souls of those who fell". (1,600). An image of King Henry IV can be seen above the East window and there are some interesting gargoyles. The remains of the village Manor and moat is now a hotel and restaurant Albright Hussey Manor Hotel.

St Mary Magdalene church was restored in 1860 by a local architect Samuel Pountney Smith. Although he kept the original shape, tower and walls, the hammer beam roof, reredos, fittings and furniture were installed by him.  The stained glass, typical of 1860 is also attributed to his restoration plan. This would explain the vivid palette of colour. A commemorative service is held on the anniversary of the battle in the church.