Part 2

the ancient enemy of Percy but now his friend, still appeared his rival amidst the horror and confusion of the day. This nobleman performed feats of valour which are almost incredible. He seemed determined that the king of England should that day fall by his arm: and as Henry either to elude the attacks of the enemy on his person, or to encourage his own men by the belief of his presence every where, had accoutred several captains in the royal garb; the sword of Douglas rendered this proud distinction fatal to many. Having dispatched sir Walter Blount, the king’s standard bearer, he assailed Henry with such fury that it was with difficulty he escaped to another part of the field. But while the armies were contending in this furious manner, the death of Percy by an unknown hand, decided the fate of the day and the royalists prevailed. On this memorable day, which is immortalized by the genius of Shakspeare, it is supposed that 7000 men were slain. A great number of persons of distinction were killed on both aides, and the earls of Douglas and Worcester, taken prisoners; the latter was after beheaded at Shrewsbury.

This battle, which fixed the house of Lancaster on the throne during three reigns, is among those of the first importance recorded in ancient English history, and may be named as the first of those conflicts between the white and red roses, which some years after deluged the nation with some of its best blood, and filled it with intestine ravages and divisions.

Owen Glyndwr had the mortification to be obliged to remain inactive at the head of his troops at Oswestry, from whence he retired on hearing of Percy’s defeat: and although he afterwards attempted, he was unable to regain the independence of his native country.—He died in Herefordshire in 1414. Henry returned thanks to heaven for this brilliant victory, and founded the collegiate church at Battlefield on the spot where it is probable most of the slain were buried.

During the fatal quarrel between the houses of York and Lancaster, which is computed to have cost the lives of eighty princes of the blood, and to have almost entirely annihilated the ancient nobility of England, Shrewsbury remained steadily attached to the Yorkists, and previous to the battle of St. Albans, Richard Plantagenet, duke of York wrote to his “right worshipful friends the bailiffs, burgesses and commoners of the good town of Shrewsbury,” requesting assistance in his enterprise for the recovery of his throne. After his defeat and death at Wakefield, his son Edward, earl of March, appeared in Shrewsbury, entreating a supply of men to revenge his father’s death. With an army of 23,000 men chiefly raised in this neighbourhood, he obtained a decisive victory at Mortimer’s Cross in Herefordshire, from whence advancing rapidly to London he was shortly afterwards proclaimed king. Edward, duly sensible of the strength and inviolable attachment of Shrewsbury to his cause, committed the care of his queen to its inhabitants, and during her residence here she twice lay in at the convent of the Black Friars, and was delivered of Richard and George Plantagenet, the former of whom was murdered in the Tower through the cruelty of his uncle Richard III. and the latter died young.

In 1484, Henry Stafford, duke of Buckingham, having entered into a conspiracy for the purpose of depriving Richard of a throne which he had acquired by such manifold injustice, and his endeavours being frustrated, fled to the house of one Bannister, at Shinewood, near Wenlock, in order to concealment, but notwithstanding Bannister was indebted to the duke for the property he enjoyed, unable to withstand the temptation of so large a reward as £1000, basely betrayed him to John Mitton, esq. then sheriff of the county, who conducted him to Shrewsbury, where Richard shortly after arrived, and feasted his eyes with the execution of his enemy.

The crimes of Richard were so horrid and so shocking to humanity that the natural sentiments of men, without any political or public views, were sufficient to render his government unstable; and every person of probity and honour, earnest to prevent the sceptre from being any longer polluted by the bloody and faithless hand which held it, at length united in favour of the earl of Richmond. This nobleman set sail from Harfleur, in France, on the 7th of August, 1484, and landed at Milford Haven, in Pembrokeshire, without opposition, with about 2000 followers. He directed his course to that part of the kingdom in hopes that the Welsh, who regarded him as their countryman, and who had been already prepossessed in favour of his cause by means of the late duke of Buckingham, would join his standard. Richard, not knowing where to expect his antagonist, took post at Nottingham, and purposed to fly on the first alarm to the place exposed to danger. He had appointed sir Rice ap Thomas and sir Walter Herbert to defend the coasts of Wales; but the former joined Richmond, and the latter made scarcely any resistance. The earl advanced towards Shrewsbury, which was the only convenient place at which he could cross the Severn, but very unexpectedly found the gates shut against him; and on his demanding entrance by his herald, he was refused, “the head bailey, Maister Myttoon, being a stoute wyse gentilman,” saying, “that he knew no kynge, but only kynge Richard, whose lyffetenants he and hys fellows were; and before he should entir there, he should go over hys belly, meaninge thereby, that he would be slayne to the ground, and that he protested vehementlye on the othe he had tacken; but on better advice, Maister Myttoon permitted the kynge to pass; but to save his othe, the sayd Myttoon lay alonge the grounde, and his belly upwardes, and soe the sayd erle stepped over hym and saved hys othe.” Previous to his reaching Shrewsbury his army scarcely deserved that name, from their wretched appearance and small numbers; but being joined by sir Gilbert Talbot with 2000 of the tenants of his nephew, the earl of Shrewsbury, together with several gentlemen of rank, his cause began to wear a favourable aspect, and marching on with his army, now amounting to about 6000 men Richmond gained the brilliant and decisive victory of Bosworth; Richard perishing by a fate too mild and honourable for his multiplied and detestable enormities.

It is supposed by some that that plague, the sweating sickness, which broke out here in 1485, originated among Henry’s foreign levies; it afterwards infested the kingdom at different periods for 60 years: and, according to Mr. Pennant, Shrewsbury particularly felt its ravages, 1000 nearly dying per day at one period.

Henry was not unmindful of the reception he met with here, and, when quietly seated on the throne, several times visited the town, particularly in 1495, when he was sumptuously entertained in the castle by the corporation.

Nothing worthy of note in the history occurs from this period until the struggle between the Parliament and Charles I.; the former for their privileges and the rights of the people, and the latter for arbitrary power as a despotic monarch. Charles, determined to try the force of arms, erected the royal standard at Nottingham, the open signal of discord and civil war throughout the kingdom. Whilst many of the large towns and corporate bodies took part with the parliament, a great proportion of the nobility and gentry sided with the king; the latter was the case with the Salopians. Not meeting with the support which he expected in the vicinity of Nottingham, Charles after a little hesitation pursued his march to Shrewsbury “in regard of the strong and pleasant situation of it, one side being defended by the Severn, the other having secure passage into Wales;” having received information that the place was entirely devoted to him.

At Wellington the king passed one night, and on the following morning made a rendezvous of all his forces on the plain beneath the Wrekin. His orders having been read at the head of each regiment, he placed himself in the midst of his army, and that he might bind himself by reciprocal ties, he solemnly made the following declaration in their presence; “I do promise, in the presence of Almighty God, and as I hope for his blessing and protection, that I will, to the utmost of my power, defend and maintain the true reformed protestant religion, established in the church of England, and by the grace of God, in the same will live and die. I desire that the laws may ever be the measure of my government, and that the liberty and property of the subject may be preserved by them with the same care as my own just rights. And if it please God by his blessing on this army raised for my necessary defence to preserve me from the present rebellion, I do solemnly and faithfully promise in the sight of God, to maintain the just privileges and freedom of parliament, and to govern to the utmost of my power, by the known statutes and customs of the kingdom, and particularly to observe inviolably the laws to which I have given my consent this parliament. Mean while, if this emergency and the great necessity to which I am driven, beget any violation of law, I hope it shall be imputed by God and man to the authors of this war; not to me, who have so earnestly laboured to preserve the peace of the kingdom. When I willingly fail in these particulars, I shall expect no aid or relief from man, nor any protection from above; but in this resolution I hope for the cheerful assistance of all good men, and am confident of the blessing of Heaven.” Had Charles previously acted up to this declaration, he would not now have been placed in such a critical situation.

Although the tyrannical proceedings of the king had induced many of the Salopians to look upon his cause in an unfavourable light, yet his mild and amiable behaviour won on the inhabitants generally, so much so that a considerable number enrolled themselves as volunteers in his service. In order to give efficiency to his troops and maintain his cause, a mint was established here for the purpose of coining the plate which had been presented to him by various public bodies and private individuals; but at such a low ebb were the mechanic arts at this period, that scarcely £1000 per week could be coined.

However despicable the royal army appeared when it marched from Nottingham, its improvement was rapid on its arrival in Shrewsbury, so that in about twenty days it mustered 12000 men, chiefly persons of considerable property, from the neighbouring parts. But they were exceedingly ill equipped, for says Clarendon; “In the whole body not a pikeman had a corselet, and very few musketeers had swords.”—Add to this, that there was not a single tent, and very few waggons attached to the whole train. With this ill accoutred but high spirited body, Charles took his leave of Shrewsbury, on the 12th of October, 1642.

On the departure of the king, a garrison was left in town, of which Lord Capel was appointed governor, and a fort was erected on an eminence above Frankwell, to secure that quarter from attack. Capel was severally succeeded by Sir Fulke Hunkes (a relative of the celebrated Baxter, the non-conformist,) Sir Richard Otteley, and Sir Michael Earnley. This gentleman was in a very declining state of health, in consequence of which many disorders crept in among the garrison, and gave the commanders of the parliamentary forces in the neighbourhood, opportunity to attempt the conquest of so important a post. After two unsuccessful attempts by Colonels Mitton, and Langhorne, two enterprising officers, they at length attained the object of their wishes. Having arrived before the town with fifteen hundred picked men of the garrisons of Wem and Oswestry, they contrived to convey eight carpenters up the river, who were landed within a breast work on the east side of the castle hill, and notwithstanding they were fired on by the centinels, they continued to cut down a sufficient quantity of palisadoes to enable the troops to enter. After storming a rampart beneath the Council House, a large body of troops entered by St. Mary’s Water-Lane, where the guard, having been intoxicated or bribed, made no resistance. Having opened the north gate, the horse immediately marched in, commanded by Cols. Mitton and Bowyer.—The consternation of the inhabitants may be easily imagined. The preceding night they had retired to rest, confident in their supposed security, but by daylight in the morning they were in the hands of their enemies; and, notwithstanding the humane exertions of Col. Mitton, the soldiery were not to be restrained from plundering the peaceably disposed of their private property. The first intimation which the governor received of the surprise of the town, was the entrance of some of his enemies into his chamber, where he fell covered with wounds, repeatedly refusing quarter, being determined not to outlive the disgrace of the day. The English part of the garrison were suffered to march to Ludlow, but the Irish were left to the discretion of Col. Mitton. The fort at Frankwell bravely held out till night, but finding resistance useless, at length surrendered at discretion. A number of prisoners of rank were taken, besides 15 pieces of cannon, a large stand of arms, and the whole of prince Maurice’s magazine. Nor did the plate and valuable effects of many of the surrounding gentry, placed in the castle for security, during the turbulence of the times, meet a better fate: the whole of it to a vast amount, falling into the hands of the victors. For this important achievement, Colonel Mitton received the thanks of Parliament. The fall of Shrewsbury was a death blow to Charles’s expectations in this quarter; for besides its being the key to North Wales, it caused the dissolution of a formidable confederacy between the counties of Salop, Worcester, Chester and Flint, then on the eve of assembling to defend the falling fortunes of their king.

After the battle of Worcester, so fatal to the royal cause, a commission was sent to Chester by the Parliament, to try the Earl of Derby, and other gentlemen on charges of treason and rebellion; or in other words, for having borne arms in defence of Charles. One of these was Colonel John Benbow, who, in the beginning of the contest, had united with the parliamentary army, and distinguished himself at the surprise of Shrewsbury. Afterwards, disgusted with the violent proceedings against the king, and perceiving that the object of the leaders of his party was private aggrandizement, and not the welfare of their country, he left them and repaired to the royal standard. This was a crime which could not be pardoned; he was therefore condemned to death. That his punishment might be rendered most bitter, the sentence was pronounced by Colonel Mackworth, once his friend and fellow soldier; and it was ordered to be executed at his native town of Shrewsbury, that a terrible impression might be made on the inhabitants of that loyal place. He was shot on the green before the castle, October 15, 1651, and suffered with great intrepidity. This respectable officer was uncle to the celebrated admiral Benbow.

An unsuccessful attempt was made to surprise the castle, in order to favour the restoration of Charles the second, in 1654, but it ended merely in plunging the king’s friends still deeper in misery and ruin: among the most active in this enterprise was Sir Thomas Harris, who suffered most severely for his well intended zeal. After Cromwell’s death, and the restoration of the long parliament, upon Sir George Booth’s rising in Cheshire for the king, the venerable Sir Thomas Middleton, then 80 years of age, proclaimed him at Wrexham, which so much encouraged the royalists of Shropshire and Denbighshire, that they immediately sent a party to seize Shrewsbury, but though the friends of monarchy were very numerous in it, Captain Edmund Waringe of Oldbury, the governor, prevented their design, and secured the place for the parliament. In 1683, when the nation was thrown into a ferment, by the discovery of the Rye House Plot, this town was one of those which the conspirators, presuming on its general disaffection to the government of Charles the second, proposed to have seized. Such at least was the deposition of the infamous Colonel Romsey, a wretch on whose head lies the blood of the virtuous and patriotic Russel—who adds, in his narrative, that there were in the castle 38 barrels of powder, 138 pounds in the barrel, with arms for 300 men and great guns. “The castle,” he, observes, “is strong by situation, and lies so conveniently, that either from the north or west, or Midland, or Wales, the rebellious party might easily resort thither.”

The last royal visit paid to this town was by the bigotted James the second, who passed the 25th of August, 1687, here, and kept his court at the Council House. The sentiments of loyal attachment, for which Shrewsbury has ever been conspicuous, burst forth on this occasion, with chivalrous enthusiasm.—They blazed in bonfires and illuminations, and literally ran through the streets in torrents of wine, the public conduits being charged with this royal liquid.

Having brought down the general history of Shrewsbury to a late date, we shall now proceed to view its local character. There is no doubt that its Trade was formerly very considerable, and though its importance in this respect may have been eclipsed by the more eligible situation of numerous other places for the manufacture of various articles, it has never ceased to enjoy a considerable share of internal commerce. Heylyn speaks of it as “a fair and goodly town, well traded and frequented by all sorts of people, both Welsh and English, by reason of the _trade of cloth_, and other Merchandise; it being the common mart or emptory between Wales and England,” and Mr. Pennant, who wrote his account of Shrewsbury above 40 years ago, gives the following account of its trade in Welsh woollens: “From very early days this place possessed almost exclusively the trade with Wales in a coarse kind of woollen cloth called Welsh webs, which were brought from Merioneth and Montgomeryshires to a market held here weekly on Thursday. They were afterwards dressed, that is, the wool raised on one side, by a set of people called Shearmen. At the time of Queen Elizabeth, the trade was so great, that not fewer than 600 persons maintained themselves by this occupation. The cloth was sent chiefly to America to clothe the negroes, or to Flanders; where it is used by the peasants. At present the greatest part of this traffic is diverted into other channels, and not more than 4 or 5000 yards are brought to the ancient mart.” This market is now entirely done away, through an unfortunate disagreement between the manufacturers of these articles and the drapers of Shrewsbury, and the market is now held at Welsh Pool every other Thursday. The mode of raising the wool on one side, described by Mr. Pennant, being found to be injurious to the texture of the cloth, the number of shearman has considerable declined, insomuch that there are only a few in the town at this time. Beside, its trade in Welsh flannels and webs, a brewery appears to have been established here in 1618; and in the reign of Henry VIII. and Elizabeth it was famous for its glove and shoe manufactory.

Nor is the trade carried on in Shrewsbury at this period inconsiderable—being the capital of a large and populous county, its vicinity to the principality of Wales, and the facility with which articles of every description are forwarded either by land or water carriage, render it an extensive mart for the disposal of goods. Here are two very large linen factories, besides manufactories for starch, soap, flannels, cotton goods, an extensive iron and brass foundry, two ale and porter breweries, a spirit distillery, &c. which will be noticed under their proper heads, as well as various mechanical trades which are common to all other large towns, and which contribute in no small degree to the accumulation of wealth, to the enjoyment of the conveniences of life, and to the power of benevolent actions by the inhabitants.

Shrewsbury is also famed for its excellent brawn and a kind of sweet flat cake, whose good qualities are celebrated by the elegant pen of Shenstone,

“For here each season do those cakes abide, Whose honoured names the inventive city own, Rend’ring thro’ Britain’s isle, Salopia’s praises known.”

With the increase of trade and riches we must also connect that of its population and its consequent extension of buildings. In the reign of Edward the Confessor there were only 252 houses here, and the earliest calculation of the number of inhabitants on record is in 1695; the town then contained 7383 persons—in 1750, there were 8141 inhabitants and 1884 houses. In the years 1801, 1811, and 1821, enumerations were made, agreeable to orders of the House of Commons, and which are here subjoined:

1801. 1811. 1821. _Inhabit_. _Houses_. _Inhabit_. _Houses_. _Inhabit_. _Houses_. 13,479. 2,861. 15,542. 3,024. 18,242. 3,463.

From these statements it appears that an increase of 2063 persons took place in the first 10 years, and 2700 in the second, but it should be observed that as each parish extends more or less into the surrounding country, it is probable that the town does not contain more than 16,000 inhabitants.

Although much remains to be done in order to put Shrewsbury on an equality, with respect to elegance and convenience, with many other places not its superiors in size, wealth, or situation, numerous praise-worthy improvements have taken place during the last 60 years. Previous to that period there was but one Inn (the Raven) of any extent for the accommodation of strangers, no stage coach; neither cart nor waggon was employed for the conveyance of goods, packhorses being only in use; and such persons as had occasion to travel were obliged to perform their journies on horseback, postchaises being unknown.—At length about 1761 the first stage coach made its appearance in Shrewsbury, and since that period by the indefatigable perseverance of the late Mr. Robert Lawrence, of the Lion Inn, in completing the communications and bettering the roads: a noble and substantial Guildhall, two beautiful stone bridges over the river Severn, together with two new and elegant churches, and a great number of charitable and benevolent erections have given additional beauty to this interesting and venerable town. Its suburbs have been materially enlarged and improved, many obstructions in the principal streets removed, and the facilities for travelling have been astonishingly increased.

The government and police of Shrewsbury have the next claim on our attention. It is a corporation by prescription, and charters have been granted to it by almost every king of England since William the Norman. The first regular charter was granted by Henry I.; this was confirmed by John, who in addition empowered the burgesses to chuse two prœpositi of bailiffs removeable only on bad behaviour; but it was not until Edward III. that the bailiffs were constituted magistrates and authorised to hold a session for the trial of causes. The institution of aldermen is supposed have taken place in the 12th of Richard II. for “about the year 1390, the earl of Arundel being commissioned by the king to end certain disputes among the Burgesses, awarded that for the good government of the town for the future, the commonalty should elect out of themselves twelve of the most sufficient persons who should continue in their office for two years from the feast of St. Giles.”