The history of Ludlow and its neighbourhood; forming a popular sketch of the history of the Welsh border

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HARVARD
COLLEGE
LIBRARY

■1

t .■'

THB

HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

I.

THB

HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

^HISTORY OF LUDLOA^^

AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD;

POBUING A. POPULAR SKETCH

HISTORY OF THE WELSH BORDER.

THOMAS ^BIGHt/esq. M.A., F.S.A., Hon. M.H.S.L.,

Of Trim^ CoBft, CambnJff4; CerrttptmiUitt of Ou Inttitutt of Frtuu*
(Afdimia tm IntenpOanu tt B4litt LMntJ; ~ ......

Of Boeitif of Amiiqttari— of ScoOand ; Fomgn

Iiueriptio-u tt B4liu LMntJ; Cerrt^foitdmg Mtmb*r ^
tnfifHoriM ofSMlitmd; Forwign M*mber of IM SocUU dm
A Fnaet; lA* aoeUU dm Antifuarim it Normmtdi*; Ot
jUmMmi* dm Seunen, ArU, at Billa-Uttrm dt Catm; tSt BeeidU Ettuudo-
fifm^Pmrit;lAtButerii!cJaHdGmfnpMiialSoeittim^Hmm-DaTiiuta^i
d4 S^mMJM FonuJcrift-Simtiapm, Staci^olm; O* Rofot Soeitty ^ If orOmn
Antifarim of CaptuMagm ; ^c. ^e. ; oarf Corrm^omtliitt U»inbtr of A*
Cmmmitttm ^poixUil tig (J(< fVmeA (7ae«riUHilf fot IM* pubHtatteii of

LUDLOW:

roaLISBSD BT B. JOHXS, B BO All BTBXET.

.U.DCCC.LII.

,^ j'£^f:/'^ A

•^AA^q ' ■ - ■f<.i-i'cL

NARVARO UNIviftsirv
LIBRARY

JAN 1 /. 1991

PREFACE.

THE historical sketch comprised in the following pages was
commenced some years ago, with the desire of giving a popular
account of the past condition of a district which is endeared to
the writer as that in which he was bom, and in which he
receired his earlier education. Many causes have since com-
bined to retard its completion, and many parts of it have been
written under circumstances which renders it necessary to ask
for the indulgence of the readers. It was the author's wish, as
fiir as he could, to show that the old dull fashion of compiling
local histories might be laid aside, without making them less
serious or less accurate, and it must be confessed that it would
be difficult to find any district in England which offered a
better opportunity of doing so than the borders of Wales.
For ages the scene of many of the most important events in
English history, and connected in a peculiar degree with the
great revolutions in the political and social condition of English*
men, the border districts present such a combination of beautiful
scenery and historical associations as is seldom to be met with.
Under the Bomans a militaiy road ran through them ftom
north to south, which was lined with flourishing towns and
cities; they were afterwards the favourite residence of the
Mercian princes; and at a still later period, when the Saxons
had given way to the Normans, they were the stronghold of the
great baronial houses whose influence contributed so extensively
to most of the great events of the middle ages. We find in
that dark period poetiy and literature establishing themselves
here in a veiy marked manner, and as the age of the refer-

11. PRBKACB.

uiation approached we trace here also ia their earlier deyelopment
the prindplea of religious freedom. It has been attempted in
the present Tolume to describe these events more minutelj and
continuouslj than in any former work, and a considerable mass
of materials have been brought together for that purpose which
had not been used before. It was the writer's first intention to
conclude with a history of the great civil wars of the seventeenth
oentuiy, as far as thej affected this district; but finding that
that subject has occupied for some time the attention of a
distinguished border antiquary, the Bev. J. Webb, of Tretire,
who is much better qualified to do it justice, he willingly and
gladly resigns it into his hands. With this only omission from
his original plan, he now takes leave of a work which, taken up
at leisure moments, lias always been one of pleasure and love.

Brompton, London,
July, 1852.

THE

HISTORY OF LUDLOW,

AJtP ITS

NEIGHBOURHOOD.

^^^sr'^*y>^^,^^y^^^^^^^f>^^^'^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^'

SECTION I.

Bordn^ History jtrocious to the Conquest.

AS we ascend the stream of historj", the monuments of
our forefathers are continually becoming morc rare, until
vre find no other memorial of their existence than the
earth on which they lived. The historical monuments,
indeed, vary not only in quantity, but in their character,
and their variations to a certain degree may be defined
by limits. From the beginning of the tliirtccnth century
to the present time, historical events may be verified by
the o£Scial records which are still preserved in our public
offices; and they arc detailed in numerous contemporary
chronicles. During the Anglo-Norman period, from the
conquest to the end of the twelfth centiury, a %'ery large
portion of the official records of the kingdom have perished ;
but their place is in some measure supplied by an unusual
number of interesting historical narratives written by those
who witnessed the events wliich they describe. Under
the Anglo-Saxons, the ^vritten memorials of liistory, though
much fewer, are still authentic and valuable: but at this
licriod, o^ving to the divisions of the country and tlie local

Z THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

character of the chronicles, vrc know much more of some
|Kirts of the countiy than of others. Of the Roman )x*ri<Nl
wc have a few scattenxl notices in foreign writers; hut
we may trace the histor}- of that people by their nwds
and their camps. Tlie only definite memorials of the
earlier Uritons arc their graves.

Wc know little of the border history before the times
of the Anglo-Saxons. Tlic numerous traces of entrench-
ments and fortifications of a remote date, prove that this
district was frequently the scene of MTufare. It is prolmble
that before the Roman invasion^ the tribes who inhabitctl
the wilds of what we now call Wales, were accustomed
to make predatory excursions against the Britons in the
neighbouring plains, whilst the latter, exposed also to
piratical invasions from the north and the south, pro\'ided
for the temporary safety of themselves and as much of
their property as they could carry away, by forming strong-
liolds at the tops of the loftiest hills. We have no means
of judging how far the spirit of the mountain tribes was
tamed by the Roman arms ; although the remains of roads
and stations show that at least the coasts and the more
accessible parts were reduced under the dominion of that
extraordinary jieople.

A Roman road may still be distinctly traced nmning
from Wroxeter near Shrewsbury (the Uriconium or Viri-
conium of the Romans) to Kenehester near Hereford (the
Roman Magna), accompanied, like all such roads, by nu-
merous tiunuli, and skirted by a continued line of strong
camps. The formidable entrenchments which crown the
hills that overlook this route, particularly in the narrow
mountain passes like that of Aymestry, and which were
doubtlessly intended to protect it from the incursions of
the mountaineers to whom its position here exposed it,
arc convincing proofs of the unquiet state of this ix>rtion
of the Roman province. The neighboiurhood is supposed
to have been the scene of the last actions of the war against
Caractacus; but it would be difficult or imposMble now

THE HISTORY OF LUDIX>W. 3

to |K)iiit out the i)o$itions wliick Mere occu])ioil by the
rival anuies.

Tliere can be no doubt that the road just mentioned,
wliich, prolonged in its opjiositc direetions, was the line
of connnunieation between Deva (Chester) and Blestiiun
( Monmouth), was the one indicated in the Itinerary of
Antoninus. From Wroxeter it runs, not south (as the
old Antiquaries drew the road), but in a south-westerly
direetion to Church-Stretton, whence it takes a more
southerly direction and crosses the Oncy at Stretford
Uridge, jKissing on by Rowton to Leintwardiue, and thence
by Wigmorc to Aymestr}' and to Street (about three miles
south of Aymestr}'), and thus having made a considerable
curve proceeds in a more easterly course by Legion Cross,
near Burton, to another Stretford Bridge, and so on towards
Kenchester. On this line of road lay an intennediate station,
between Uriconium and Magna, twenty-seven Roman miles
from the former and twenty-four from the hitter place. Tliis
town, named by the Romans Bra\inium, must have been
situated in the immediate neighbourhood of Ludlow, jicrhaps
nearer to the road, at or near Leintwardine ; though it may
be doubted how far it is necessary to 8upi)ose that the
smaller Roman towns were situated on the roads. Tlie geo-
grapher Maimert places Bravinium at Bromfield.*

The little historical information that we |)ossess relating
to the invasion of our island by the Saxons, is obscured by
much fable ; tlirough the mist of tradition we can only
discern the indefinite traces of battles and ravages by which
their conquests were founded and assured. It is certain,
that long before this land had ceased to be a Roman

* "In die NUhe tod Ludlnw, cigcntlich etwas nordwestUchcr, wo sicli
<!cr Ouy in den Tcme-Fluss ergicsst, an dio Stclle dca Dorfes BrotnAcld."
Mannert, Britannia, p. 140. This conjecture of Manncrt is rather sinpilar
when coupled with another circumatancc. I am strongly inclined to be-
lierc that the present race-course (adjacent to Bromficld), which bears tlic
name of the Old-Field, and aronud which there arc several tumuli, was the
silc of a Roman scKlcmcnt of some kind ; and if the tumuli were opened*
their contents would probably be found to be pure Roman.

4 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

province, its coasts were infested by the Saxon rovers ; and
it is probable that their depredations increased as the Roman
power declined, until in the middle of the fifth century
(a. d. 449) a party who came from Jutland entered the
Thames and established themselves in Kent. £ight*and-
twenty years later ^lla with his Saxons landed on the
southern coast, and founded the kingdom of the South
Saxons, or Sussex. Another party of his countrymen un-
der Cerdic formed, in 494, the adjacent kingdom of the
West Saxons, or Wcssex. The Angles, a kindred race,
were at the same time beginning to settle on the eastern
coast, so that when Ida founded the powerful kingdom of
Northumberland in 547, the maritime districts of England,
from Cornwall to the Forth, including much of the low*
lands of Scotland, were ix)rtioned out into petty Saxon
states.

While these states were establishing and strengthening
themselves, a number of apparently independent chieftains
were gradually taking possession of the territory which lay
on their borders towanls the interior of the island. The
lands which they thus occupied were called the mcarce, i. e.
borders or marches, and the ixx>ple who held them were
Myrce, or Merce^ borderers. As tlie inland Britons were
in this manner by degrees reduced to subjection, the
whole of the interior as far as the feet of the Welsh moun-
tains became one extensive Saxon state, and was known by
the name of Myrcfm-land or Myrcna-rice, the land or king*
dom of the borderers, Latinised into ilcrcia. The name is
still preserved in that of the Marches of Wales.

It is a commonly received, but very erroneous, notion,
that as the Saxon conquerors advanced, the British popula*
tion quitted the land, and left it o^n to the invaders, ta-
king refuge themselves in the higlilands and jiarts not yet
subdued. In the fifth contur}' the inhabitants of the part
of the island we now call England must have become es-
sentially Roman ; it was covered with Roman towns and
villages ; a large i)ortion of tho landholders were no doubt

• THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 5

Romans by family ; those of the liighcr castx) and the
inhabitants of towns who were of Dritish origin^ had be-
come Romans in manners and by nlUanec of blood ; and
the only pure British jKirt of the population were the lower
clafses and the eultivators of the laiul — in fact, the serfs.*
It may fairly be doubted whether any other but the Roman
language was in use. The pictiure of the Anglo-Saxon in-
vasion resembled that of the irruption of the Franks into
Gaid. Their fury was directed chiefly against the higher
caste, a large portion of which fell in battle ; the towns
were plundered and burnt, and their inhabitants massa-
cred ; but the mass of the |K>pulation became the serfs of
the conquerors as tliey h<id previously been of the van-
quished— ^it was but a change of masters. IVeaUi in
Anglo-Saxon (and its equivalent in other Germanic tongues)
signified generally a foreignei\ but was more particularly
applied to the people who spoke the Latin tongue, or dialects
derived from it. In German, Italy is still called Welschland.
Tlie Anglo-Saxons gave the name of IVeakts or Wylisc-
menn to the British iK)piUation in their o^vn territory, as
well as to the population of the then independent districts
in the names of which it is still preserved, Wales and Corn-
wall (the country of the Coni-wealas). This is the origin
of our word Welsh. The existence of a Welsh population
in the Saxon kingdoms, more jmrticularly in Mercia and
Wcssex, is distinctly acknowledged in the Anglo-Saxon
laws. In the eye of the law, the Welshman, even when he
became a landholder (which seems to have been a case
that was rare and ne\'er to any great extent), was much in-
ferior in value to an Englishman. Tlie learned editor of
the Anglo-Saxon Laws, Mr. Tlioq)e, com|>ares the Wealli
under the Saxons mth the Romanus tributarius of the
Salic law. In the laws of Ine, king of the West-Saxons,

* The Britiah soldiers who fought against the Saxons, wore fonnod by
Uonun discipline. Henry of Honlingdon, speaking of Iho battle of Wod-
nesburh, says '^um aulem BriUones more Romanoruin acics disUncto ad*
moTOfent, Sozones vero audaclcr et confuse irrucrcnt.*' (p. 315.)

0 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOAV. .

coiiii>08efl in the latter years of the seventh century, the
Wealh is distingiiishetl into tlic two classes of gafol-geUla
(rent-i>ayer, or tenant) and thcow, (serf). Tlie two i)eoples
p-adually melted into one ; but even as late as the reign
of* Henry I, the distinction is admitted in the laws, and it
apiK'ars not unfrequently in Doomsday in the districts near
the borders. It was probably fi*om this intermixture of
l)eoplc that originated the common English names of Jones,
Davies, Price, &c.

By the Saxons, as well as by the Franks, the Roman
towns (and all to^vns they found were Roman) were redu-
ced to heaps of ruins, and became the haimts of wild
lieasts and birds of prey. After the conversion of the Ger-
manic tribes, these ruins offered inviting situations for mo-
nastic establishments, not only on accomit of the melau-
choly solitude which reigned there, but also because they
offered ready materials for building, and these monastic
foundations were frequently the origin of new towns which
at a later ]ieriod occupied the ancient sites. Thus the
monastery of St. Alban's was built amid the massy ruins
of the ancient Verulamiiun, which were but imperfectly
cleared even in the thirteenth century. But the invaders
seldom rei>aired the towns they had destroyed. It was pro-
bably in the latter half of the sixth century that the Mer-
cians ^Kissed the Severn and destroyed the towns along the
Roman road which we have already described. The fate
of Uriconium is jierhaps indicated in its modem name of
Wroxeter (Wt-ace-^easfer, the town of vengeance?). Tlic
remains of this place are still a proof of its former strength
and importance ; the site of Magna at Kenchester was co-
vered \ni\\ ruins so late as the time of Leland ; but the last
definite traces of Bravinium have long disappeared.* Botli

* Th« StxoDS gare to th« Roman towns and fortreatet the name of
eemtitr, probably fonned from the Latin tmtirum : and wbereTer we find
the name of a place composed of cetier, or ekaitr, we may bo sore it is
the site of a Roman station. The Saxons gave to the forts or towns which
they built themselves generally the name of burk, or burgh.

THK HISTORY OY lA DLOW. 7

rrironiuin and Magna wow important ]K)sitions to dicck
iho inroads of tho "nionntain-dwolUns" ((ftm-scvtas) as the
Saxons tennetl the iK^ojde who only have since Iwrnc the
name of "Welsh ; and very shortly after their destrnction,
the eonquerors erected two new towns in their unmediate
vicinity: one they named Scrohlies-bnrh, the town of
shmbsy from the wooded appearance of the nein;hboin-
hoody now softened to Shrewsbury;* the other Ilere-ford,
the ford of the army, because it was the iK>int at which the
hostile armies were in the habit of passinj^ the Wye in
their excursions.

We have no account of the earlier jxiriod of ^Mercian
history. That people apix»ars to have been comj^sed of
diifercnt tribes, each governed ori^rfnally by its indeixindent
chieftain. The tribe of the Hwicc.as was seated in the
modem coimtics of Worcester and Gloucester; its chief
toivn, named Wicwara-ccaster, or Wigra-ceaster, (Wor-
cester) had been a Koman station, the name of which
has not been ascertained ^vith certainty. Herefordshire
and Shropshire were possessed by a tribe named Hecanas ;
the residence of their chief was in the immediate neigh-
bourhood of the modem town of Leominster, and is
supposed to have been Kingsland, a village which derives
its present name from having been a manor of the Anglo-
Saxon kings. The first king of Mercia who holiLs an
important place in liistory was Penda, who obtained the
supreme power in 626, and during a reign of twenty-nine
years was engaged in continual wai-s with Ins neighbours.
The * mountain-dwellers' of Wales were his allies, and
at this early period often fought under the same banners
with the Saxons. In 643 they gained a great victory
over the Northiunbrians at a place then called Maserfield,
and the pious king Oswald was slain: he fell near a
tree which was afterwards named from him Oswaldes-treow,
now Oswestry. Penda was himself slain in Go5, in another

* I am incUncd to take Ike BritUh origin of Shrewsbury fur a mere f.ible
the Welsh Pengweme it probably a partial translation of the Saxon nanio.

^ TIIK IIIJSTOHY OF LUDIX)AV.

war Willi the Nortluiinbrimis. Morcin was the lasl of llio
Aiiglo-Srfxon kingdoms which received Chrif«tianity> IVnda
was a jwigan, and had liccii constantly at war with the
Christian kings ; and the monkish chronicler exults in the
belief that when he fell another soul was added to the
number of the damned.* Yet the wicked Penda was the
father of a family of saints. His daughters^ Kineburga
and Kineswitha, lx?came nuns. Two of liis sons, Wulfere
and Ethelnxl, reigned in succession after him : the foimer
introducetl the Christian religion among the ]^Iercians, and
his daughter St. Werburga became a mm at Chester : the
latter, after a short reign, quitted his throne to enter a
monaster}'. Another brother, Peada, was ealderman of the
Middle Angles, and was the means of their conversion.

Mercwald the fourth Son of Penda, was ealderman or
chieftain of the Ilecanas, and resided, as has been said, near
Kingsland. It was here that he was \isite<l by the Nor-
thumbrian priest Etidfrid, or Otfrid, at whose persuasion he
quitted the errors of paganism; and, as a proof of the
warmth of his zeal, he built a church in honour of St. Peter,
and founded a monaster}* of which he made Eadfrid first
abbot, and to which he gave the name of Lcof-niinsfcr, or
the beloved monastery. At a later period the name became
Latinised into Ijconis-monasterimn ; and a legend was in-
vented, according to which Eadfnd in his journey to the
court of Mercwald, arrived in the dusk of the evening, faint
and weary, at the spot where Leominster now stands, and
there seated himself beneath a tree, and began to eat the
bread' whieh he hod brought with him. Suddenly he be-
held a fierce lion approaching towards him, ready, as he
thought, to spring forward and devour him ; but when lie
offered his bread to the sa%-agc animal, it became tame as a
lamb, and, after eating, disapix^arett. The traveller accep*
ted the omen,— he conceived the \isionar}' lion to be em-
blematical of the unchristian ealderman of the Ilecanas ; in

* lafersAlium niunenim animanim auxii. W. Malmsb. Hiit p. 27.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 1)

the moniiug he presented himself at the palace, iuul Mas
received with kindness; Mercwakl also had had a vision
during the night, and was easily converted. The date of
this event, and of the foundation of the monastery, is said
to have been a. d. 660.

Merewald married Ermenberga, daughter of the king of
Kent^ and had by her three daughters, Milburga, Mildritha,
and Milgitha, who became nuns. St. Milburga was placed
over the abbey which her father founded at a place then
called Wimnicas, but since known by the name of Wenlock.
She had lands at a village named '' Stokes" (Stoke St.
Milburgh), which she often visited, and where she is said to
have performed many miracles. Her fields were believed
for centuries afterwards to be miraculously defended from
the depredations of the wild fowl, which it appears infested
the lands of her neighbours. The beauty of Milburga
attracted many suitors ; but she had made a vow of chastity,
and rejected them all. The son of a king (perhaps a Welsh
king) who was among the number, determined to eaiT}*
her off by force, and laid a plan to 8\u7)rise her while she
was on a \isit to Stoke; but St. Milburga was informed
of her danger, and fled hastily towards Wenlock. When
she reached the little river Cor\'C, which was there a trifling
stream,* her pursuers were close at her heels ; but she had
no sooner leaped over it, than the rivulet suddenly became
a torrent, and put an effectual stop to the designs of her
lover. Such are the legends which fill up the baiTen page
of history in these remote ages.

In the seventh and eighth centuries the modern counties
of Salop and Hereford, as well as that of Gloucester and a
great part of Monmouthshire, were firmly occupied by
the Saxons. The independent Welsh were sometimes in
alliance with their Mercian neighbours, and fought under
the same banners^ in their contests with the other Saxon

* Erat ibi amnis qiudani uomine Corf, vado mcabilis ct alvco medio-
cria. Capgravc, Nova Lcgcuda Anglitc; where arc given lUc legends of'
Merewald and Milburga.

c

10 llIK HISTORY OF LUDLOAV.

or Angle kings. But such alliances were not of long
duration, anil, among the scanty notices of the older chro-
nicles, M'c meet with indications of sanguinary battles
between the Mercians and the Welsh. OITa, the greatest
of the Anglo-Saxon monarchs before Alfred, drove the latter
from the border, and made the wonderful earth-work which
is still kno^vn as OiTa^s Dyke, to defend the land of the
Ilccanas from their incursions. An old tradition says that
every Welshman, who passeil this boundary, was to lose
his life. Tlie vales of Herefordshire seem to have been
a favourite resort of the Mercian king; he is supposed to
have had a {lalace at Sutton, four miles north of Hereford,
where remarkable earth-works, now known by the name of
Sutton Walls, still exist. It was here, according to some,
that in 792 the unfortunate king of the East Angles,
Ethelbert, was murdered. His body was deposited at
Hereford, where his shrine long gave celebrity to the
church.

The inhabitants of the border, hardened by their fre-
quent wars with the Welsh, shewed an exemplary courage
in their resistance to the Danish invaders. In 894 the
Danish army penetrated westward to the banks of the
Severn, and followed its course, as it appears, till they
reached the neighbourhood of Welshpool, where they in*
trenched themselves at a spot then called Butdigingtune,
now Buttington ; but they were besieged by the English,
and, after having suffered greatly from famine, were nearly
destroyed in their attempt to force a way through the be-
siegers. In the year following the Danes again crossed the
border, and are said to have penetrated into Wales. In
896, they went to a place named in the Saxon Chronicle
Cwatbricge, on the Severn, probably the present village of
Quatford, a little to the south of Bridgenorth ; there they
built a fortress (and |>a^r ge-weorc worhton), and passed
the winter. But this was the last struggle of the invaders
against the talents and fortunes of Alfred, which restored
peace, at least for a time, to England. The children of

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 11

Alfred were worthy of their father. While tlioy cherished
literature and the arts, and loved the elegance and splendour
of peace, their vigour and courage preserved the kingdom
from the horrors of war. It was the policy of Edward, who
succeeded his father on the throne, to strengthen the parts
most exiK>sed to the inroads of the Danes hy erecting
fortresses and garrison towns. In this he was aided by the
wisdom and enterprising spirit of his magnanimous sistcv
Ethelfleda, the widow of the calderman of Mcrcia, — for
Mercia was now no more than a province under the West-
Saxon dynasty. In 912, the lady of the Mercians (Myrcna
hlacfdige), as she was called by her admiring countrymen,
built the fortress at Bridgenorth, then named simply Uricge.
The Danes had been defeated on the banks of the Severn by
her brother in the preceding year. Ethelfleda also built a
fort at CyriC'byrig or Chirbury, in 915, at no great distance
from the spot where the Danes had wintered in 896. The
Welsh seem to have taken advantage of the terror inspired
by the Danish ravages, to invade the border. In 916,
Ethelfleda led an army into Wales, which repressed the
turbulent mountaineers, and she took by storm the town of
Brecenan-mere, or Brecknock. In 918, the Danes again
invaded the borders of Wales. Leaving their sliips in thi*
Severn, they had advanced as far as Yrcinga-feld (the Hold
of hedge*hogs), now Archenfield, in Herefordshire, where
they were encountered by the men of that county and of
Gloucestershire, who defeated them, slew some of their
chiefr, and drove them to their ships. In 920 Ethelfleda
died and was buried at Gloucester. In 931 king Edward
built Wicinga-mcre (Wigmorc) ; which was attacked the
same year by the Danes, who had again entered the
Marches of Wales. They besieged the town one day from
morning till evening, but it was gallantly defended, and
they were obliged to leave it, after having plundered the
country round, and carried ofi* the cattle.

It was not till towards the end of this century, when the
strength of the Anglo-Saxon^i had been wasted in religious

I* THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW,

ractions and domestic quarrels^ that the Danes becanic
again formidable. Wliilc Swogii with his Northmen were
ravaging the fairest districts of the south, the indolent
Ethclrcdy as we learn from one of the old historians, was
living in retirement at a manor he iwsscssed in Shropshire.*
The best proof of the suiferings of the borderers during the
many years of devastation which followed, is the circum-
stance that the nunnery at Wenlock, the resting place of
the relics of St. Milburga, presented for many years after-
wards nothing but heaps of ruins. Yet the courage of
the people seems not to have been entirely broken, and
when the Danish king, Hardicnut, attempted to exact from
them an odious impost, the men of Worcester arose and
slow the taxgatherers. Then Hardicnut in his resentment
ordered the county to be ravaged with fire and sword.
The inhabitants, apprised of the danger which threatened
them^ quitted their homes, and took shelter on the borders.
The city of Worcester was reduced to ashes; but the
citizens also had quitted their houses, and fortified them-
selves in an island in the river Severn then named Bever-
cgc, or the Isle of Beavers, and successfully defied the
attempts of their assailants, who were obliged to leave their
mission of vengeance only half executed. The destruction
of Worcester occurred in a. n. 1041.

The Danish wars have left memorials in the names of
many places on the Welsh borders. After landing in the
south, the invaders seem generally to have followed the
course of the ancient Roman road, and they appear to have
established themselves frequently in the valley which it
traverses between Aymestry and Leintwardine. The name
of Wigmore, in Anglo-Saxon Wicinga-mere, signifies the
moor of the pircUes. Wicingas (in Danish, vicingr), or
sons of war, was the name adopted especially by the Danish
rovers. Dinmore, in like manner, is perha|)s Dena-mere,

* Roi aatem Addrcd cum oKTStitia c\ rcnfu^innc crat ad firmani tuam
in Sal^pschirc. Hen. Huntingd. Hist p -I'^o This was in a. d. 965.

THE lllSTOKY UK LI ULOW. IS

(he moor of the Uaiies. I am inclined to think that a
party of Danes had also estahlishcd themselves on the brow
of the hill which is now occupied by the castle of Ludlow^
and that from their fortifications it took the name of
I)cna-hamy the residence or home of the Danes^ still pre-
served in that of Dinham. When the Normans built the
castle on the site of the Danish fort^ they seem to have
retained for it the name of Dinham, corrupted in old
writings to Dinam or Dinan ; and it was not till the end of
the twelfth century that that name was lost, except in its
present restricted application, in that of Ludlow.

This latter name is also Saxon, and carries us back
probably to a very remote period of our national history.
Lude-low, in purer Saxon Leode-hlccw, signifies tlie hill of
the people.^ But the Anglo-Saxon hl€eu) was generally
applied not to a natural hill like that on which the town of
Ludlow stands, but to an artificial burial mound, a tumulus
or barrow, like the Bart/ou? Hills in Cambridgeshire, which
have been discovered to be Roman sepulchral monuments.
These Uno9 were intimately connected with the mythology
and superstitions of our early forefathers, and in t^eir minds
were wrapped up with the notions of primeval giants and
dragons which kept a jealous watch over their hidden
treasures. In old times wc find them frequently the scenes
of popular ceremonies and meetings. I was long doubtful
as to the cause of this name being assigned to the town,
tin I accidentally discovered a document which clears up
the difficulty iii the most satisfactory manner. It appeai-s
that up to the end of the twelfth century, the site of the

* This luuno affSords a Tcry curious instance of the manner in which
dcrirations nay become perrerted in passing from one writer to another.
Some one of the older Antiquaries had interpreted Ludlow by the mott of
ike pecpUf the word wioU being the reprcscntatiro of the French motte^ a
hillock. The mote of a castle was the artificial mound of earth on which
the dongeon tower was generally built. Writers who came aAer, tltinking
this word moU was the representative of the Anglo-Saxon ffe-moi (remain-
ing in such words as moot-hall, &c.) Iiavc interpreted the name of the town
as signifying the court nfjutthc nf the pff*ph.

14 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

present churchyard of Ludlow, the most elevated p<art of the
hilly was occupied by a very large tumulus, or barrow. In
the year 1199, the townsmen found it necessary to enlarge
their church, which seems to have been of small dimensions,
and for tliis purpose they were obliged to clear away the
mound. In doing this, they discovered in the interior of
the mound three sepulchral deposits, which were probabl\
included in square chests, as at Bartlow, and the narrator
perhaps exaggerates a little in calling them 'mausolea of
stone.* But the clergy of Ludlow, in the twelfth century,
were by no means profound antiquaries ; they detennined
in their own minds that the bones they had found were the
relics of three Irish saints, the father, mother, and uncle of
the famous St. Brandan, and they buried them devoutly in
their church, with the confidence that their holiness would
be soon evinced in numerous miracles.* It was to this
tumulus alone that the name Leode-hlscw belonged. It was

* The aoootmt of this event was preserved in the monastery of Clcobury
Mortimer, in what Lcland calls a "schedula/* and was copied for that
antiquary by a monk of the house. It is printed in Leland's Collectanea,
Tol. iii, p. 407, but Hcame has printed it Ludlajiia instead of Ludlaiiia,
which has caused it to be entirely overlooked. It is as follows : —

"Anno D. 1199, contigit in quadam AngUic patria, scilicet provincia
Salopesbiriensi, apud pagum qns Lndelavia nnncupatur, quod pagenscs
qjusdem oppidi decrevisseni ecclesiani suam, quod breyis essct ad conti-
nendam se plebem contingenlem, longiorem construcre. Quocirca oporiuit
quendam terne tumulnm magnum ad occidentem eoclesic solo cotrquare,
qua munis ejusdem debuit eztendL Cumque prsraiissum coUem fodiendo
complanassent, invenerunt tria mansolea lapidea et corpora sanctorum
decentia, quM dnm aperuisscnt, repererunt trinm sanctorum relliquias
hoc scripto in uno bustorum in schodulam eomposito, quie prius intrinsecus
cera, exterius rero plumbo fuerat inroluta, his Tirbis Anglice exprcssis :
Hie r^gwiiitfiiwf S. FtreKtr, ptUtr Brm^dtmi^ heaia pigmra^ atmeti $cUieet
ibmmmuii, pmtera iapUU H 9oIq imehua. Sondki fmoqus eonma, mat<r

prmiibafi Ihwuhmi, maUrUra vkUKcH OOtrnkilN, tUcH Dei Sameiut

COcksi, ^'mamuB ffu»tUm mmetm» Hie nempe fmmUms deywnmt anmie,
Amm tmtiofum BriiamUm tuUreni pairoeimmm poet oMtem Ltidm ineretfuh.
Quorum depocita derici qjusdem eoclesic ab humo levantes, in archa
Ugnea poiuanuit, eademquo in eccleaiam gestantes decenti locello col-
locaTtfUBt, 3 Id. Apr. opericntes, quoad Dominus aliquas Tirtutcs eorum
mentis et inteiccssionibus patiarc dignciur, cui laus, hnnor, ct glvrxn in
BSDcola. Amen.

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 15

without doubt a Roman sepulchre, and, by its importance,
seems to indicate the neighbourhood of a Roman town,
which is a strong confirmation of the supposition that the
present Old Field may have been the site of the Roman
station Bravinium. This tumulus was an object of super-
stitious reverence among the Anglo-Saxons, and they pro-
bably assembled there to perform games and ceremonies at
certain fixed periods. Traces of such customs remain in
different parts of the kingdom, even at the present day. In
Leland^s time, the people of Leominster and '' there abouts"
went once a year " to sport and playe" at certain intrench-
ments on a hill side distant half-a-mile from Leominster,
called Comfort Castle. It was thus that the law or tumulus
became known as 'Uhe low of the people." And as a
great portion of the people who assembled there, coming
firom Herefordshire^ had to cross the river Teme^ the shal-
low place where they passed obtained the name of 'Uhe
people's ford^" Leode«ford, or Ludford. It was a common
custom with the early missionaries to turn objects of super*
stitioQ to christian purposes, to fix themselves on the site
of some object of pagan worship, — ^in fact^ to attack the
enemy in his strong hold. The little church beside the
hw was probably the origin of the town of Ludlow. "When
the Danes may be supposed to have occupied the other end
of the hill^ the town did not exist ; and it seems that till
the time when the hw was levelled with the surrounding
ground, the town of Ludlow continued distinct in name
from the adjacent castle of Dinham, although even in those
times the name of the town was not unfrequently given
popularly to the castle.

Under the last monarch of the regal line of the Saxons,
the movements and intrigues of the fiimily of the powerful
earl Gk)dwin, and the jealousies which distracted the king-
dom, were intimately connected with the history of the
Welsh border. Godwin headed the popular party — ^that
party which opposed the power and insolence of king Ed-
ward's foreign favourites, who were ever ready to profit by

16 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

^hat weak monarch's dislike of his English subjects. In
the earlier half of the tenth century, the Welsh, severely
chastised and humiliated, had become little better than sub-
jects of the Anglo-Saxon crown. Athelstane had compelled
their prince to do him homage in person at Hereford, and
to pay him a fixed tribute, which was continued in some of
the following reigns. But the Danish invasions, by weaken-
ing the Saxons on the border, had restored their indepen-
dence to the Welsh, and enabled them to become again the
aggressor^. They were, under Edward the Confessor, as in
after times, more or less active in all the struggles between
the contending factions in England.

Harold, the eldest of Godwin's sons, was earl, or ealder-
man of Wessex. His brother Swegn was the ealderman of
the counties of Hereford and Gloucester. Swegn, with
another brother, Tostig, were remarkable chiefly for their
turbulent conduct. Robert of Jumidges, the Norman Arch-
bishop of Canterbury, was remembered with execration so
late as the twelfth century, as having been the cause of
all the discord between king Edward and earl Godwin's
family. Yet the first public cause of displeasure was given
by tlie turbulent sons of the earl. In 1046 Swegn was
engaged in a successful expedition against the Welsh ; and
on his return, in the midst of his exultation, as the Saxon
chronicler tells the story, he ordered Elgiva, the abbess
of Leominster, to be brought to him, kept her " as long as
he liked, and then sent her home." The criminal was
banished from the kingdom; and his government was
given to his brother Harold and his kinsman Beom. Some
chroniclers say that Swegn fled, because he was not allowed
to marry the abbess whom he had seduced. A few months
afterwards he came to Pcvcnsey to obtain forgiveness of
king Edward, and he there added to his previous crime the
treacherous murder of Beom, and then escaped to Flanders.
A year afterwards he obtained his pardon by the inter-
mediation of his father, or, accoiding to others, of Aktrcd,
bishop of Worcester.

THE HISTOKY OF IXDLOW. 17

Uodwiii apiiears on evorv occasion to have identified
himself with the cause of justice and patriotism. In 1051 ,
he provoked the royal displeasure by his refusal to sacrifice
the people of Dover to the unjust vengeance of Eustace,
count of Boulogne. Summoned to apjiear at the court,
which was then held at Gloucester, he came with an army
which Harold had raised in Wcssex and established at
Beverstone, in Gloucestershire, under pretence that Swegn*s
county of Hereford was threatened by the Welsh. His
attempt to drive away the Norman favourites was not in
this instance successful ; and at a parlement at London,
God%vin and his sons were outlawed and banished, and
his beautiful and accomplished daughter, Edith, the queen
of the Confessor, partook in their disgrace. Godwin, with
a part of his family, sought refuge in Flanders ; but Harold
went to Ireland, where he fitted out some ships, and visited
the English coasts in company with the Irish pirates, by
whom they were at that time infested. Harold's earldom
was given to Algar, the son of Leofnc of Mercia ; and a
Norman garrison appears to have been placed in Hereford,
under Radulf, one of the king's foreign relatives. King
Edward, in his anger against the party of his father-in-law,
invited over a foreign prince, William of Normandy, and
promised him the succession to the English crown.

In 105S, the Welsh, under their prince GryfTyth, taking
advantage of their domestic feuds, made an irruption into
the border, and cruelly ravaged Herefordshire. The Nor-
man garrison of Hereford led the men of the county against
them, but they were defeated, and the Welsh '^carried
off a great prey." The same year the family of Godwin
returned to England with an armed force, and the people
universally joining with him, the king was comiielled to
receive them, and the foreigners were banished. But one
of Gk)d win's sons never returned to his native land. Swegn,
while with his father in Flanders, had been seized with
penitence for the murder of his kinsman Beom, and maile
a pilgrimage to Jerusalem barefooted, to atone for his

D

18 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

crime. On his way home he died of the fatigues of the
journey, or, as others say, he was slain hy the Saracens.

The earldom of Harold was restored, but that of Swegii
still remained in the hands of the king. The year following
Godwin died, and Harold became the head of the family.
Within a few months after died Siward, the celebrated
earl of the Northumbrians, and his earldom was given to
Harold's turbulent brother Tostig. This year is famous in
our annals as the date of the Tragedy of Macbeth. On the
death of Godwin, and the elevation of Harold to his place,
Algar (son of Leofnc and Godiva) was again made earl of
Wessex ; but he also now fell into the king's displeasure,
and, being accused of treason and banished, took refuge
in Wales. The Welsh at this time, in addition to their
common incentives to plunder, were exasperated by the
fate of their prince's brother. Bees, who having fallen into
the hands of the English after their former incursion, had
been put to death, and his head sent to the king at Glou-
cester. Algar and Gry€yth threw themselves suddenly
into Herefordshire with a powerful army, in 1055. The
cowardice and unskilfiilness of Badulf and his garrison of
Normans, or Frenchmen (as the Northmen who had settled
in Neustria began now to be called), exposed the English
to a second defeat. The battle was fought '' at about two
miles from Hereford ;" the Anglo-Saxons, accustomed al-
ways to fight on foot, had by Radulf 's command been
injudiciously mounted on horses ; and, discouraged by their
own awkwardness in this new mode of engagement, when
they saw their leader fly with his foreigners at the begin-
ning of the battle, they immediately followed his example.
The victors found Hereford without defenders, except the
monks of St Ethelbert, who were slain fighting at the door
of their church. The noble cathedral, which had been built
the year before by bishop AtheUtan, and the monastery
were reduced to ashes. The dty itself, after being plun-
dered, was delivered to the flames, and most of the dtiiens
who escaped the sword were carried into captivity. On

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 19

this occasion^ Leominster ako was taken and pluudei-ecl by
the invaders, who are said to have fortified themselves in
or near the town.

Harold, when he heard of these events, hastened to
place himself at the head of the English army which was
assembled at Gloucester, and following the Welsh, who
retreated before him, he established liimself in the valley
of " Straddle,*' probably in the immediate neighbourhood of
Leominster. But the SVelsh were too well acquauited with
the military skill and bravery of their pursuer to oppose
him ; flying into their mountain fastnesses, they sent mes-
sengers to api^ease his ^vrath, and soon afterwards made a
formal submission, whilst Harold led part of his army to
Hereford, where he rebuilt and fortified the city. The
cathedral lay in ruins during nearly thirty years. In the
midst of these events died earl Leofric, who had been a
great benefactor to the churches of Leominster and Wen-
lock; and his son Algar, after the defeat of the Welsh,
landed in Cheshire in conjunction with a body of North-
men, and, having taken possession of his heritage by force,
succeeded in obtaining his pardon.

The Welsh continued still to infest the border, till in
106S Harold and Tostig together traversed the principality,
and inflicted upon them a severe vengeance. In their
despair, they sought peace by slaying their own prince,
Gryffyth, and delivering his head to Harold, who appointed
a successor in his place, from whom he exacted an oath
of allegiance. Shortly after their return from diis exire-
dition, violent dissension arose between the brothers, and
in the royal presence at Westminster, Tostig made a brutal
assault on Harold and tore his hair from his head. He
then went to Hereford where Harold was preparing a
feast to receive his sovereign, and having slain and dis-
membered his brother*s household servants, he placed their
legs, arms, and heads, on the vessels of wine, mead, ale,
and other liquors which were placed ready for the festival,
and sent word to the king that when he came he need

so THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

bring no saused meat witli liim, as he had taken care tu
provide plenty at his brother's house.* For this outrage
Tostig was again outlawed and banished from tlie kingdom.

The famiily of Godwin possessed hirge estates in Here-
fordshire. Their manors whieh are enumerated in the
Domesday survey are very numeroiis. Leominster, with
all its members, Luston, Larpole, A}inestry, &c. belonged
to his sister, queen Edith, whose name is still preserved
in that of Stoke-Edith, as another Stoke has preser^'ed
similarly the name of the family whieh possessed it at a
later period in the apiiellation of Stoke-Lacy. The fate of
Godwin's sons was singularly tragical. Swegn, as has
been said before, died, or was slain, in the performance of
his penance. Tostig, when the people of Northumberland
could no longer bear his tyranny, only escaped their ven-
geance in 1065 by flying to Denmark. Harold, imitating
his father in putting himself forward as the champion of
the people, defended the Northumbrians, and obtained for
them the royal permission to choose Morcar, the son of
Algar, for their earl. Tostig returned in 1066, with his
northern allies, and was killed in the battle of Stamford-
bridge, fighting against his brother. A week afterwards,
Harold was slam at Hastings, and with him fell his younger
brothers. Girth and Leofwine. The remaining brother,
Wulnoth, was the captive of the Norman conqueror, and
ended hia days in a prison.

The Marches of Wales were connected with the name of
the last of the Anglo-Saxon kings, long after the fiital
conflict at Hastings. A report was widely prevalent during
the twelfth century that Harold had escaped from the
slaughter. It was said that after seeking in vain for

* Pamzil ad Hereforde, ubi frater siiiia corrodima regale mazimnoi
paiaveiat ; obi oiiniatroa firatria aiat omnca delnmcaiia, aingviUa raaia villi,
modonta, canriaic, pigmcnti, morati. siccrc cnia humanam vel caput tcI
braduiuB impoaait, mandaritquc rcgi quod ad flnnain auam propcrana
ciboa aalaatoa aafficicntcr iiiTcntrct, altoa sccom dcforrc curarct. lieor.
Hunt. Iliat Ub. vi, p. 3C7.

THE HI5T0KY OK U DLOW. 21

;u»i»ibtance from tlie people of tlie continent who were
nearest in the fiunily of nations to his own, lie returned
to England to pass the remainder of his life in religious
retirement — that, disguising his name and face, he passed
many years as a hermit on the Welsh borders, exposed
to the insults of the jx^oplc over whom he had so often
triumphed, and who knew not the humble individual
whose religious habit they derided — that he afterwards
settled at Cliester, where he ended his days, and on his
death-bed revealed the secret to his confessor. The monks
of ^^'altham, Harold's rich monastic foundation, received
the legend with joy, and consigned it to writing in a manu-
script which is still extant.* Such legends have in other
countries followed the destruction of a native dynasty by a
foreign and oppressive invader.

SECTION II.

Slate of tlie Border wider the Conqueror.

IT will not perha|)S be uninteresting to the reader, if
we pause in the course of our history to take a view of the
state of the border as it appeared shortly after the establish-
ment of the Anglo-Norman dynasty. It was the point of
transition between an older period of which we have no
local description, and the more modem age when the
character of its history as well as the outward api)earance
of the country became entirely changed.

During nearly a century the Marches of Wales had been
exposed to the continual ravages of the Danes or the
Welsh. Ruins occupied the sites of what had been

* Tlie VUa liaroidi of iho MS. alludod to has been lately printed in
France, in the second vol. of the Chroniques Anglo-Normandcs, edited by
M. Michel, Rouen, l£i3r>.

S2 THE HUTO&T OF LUDLOW.

ioviruhing towns ; churches, mooasterie?. and rren castles,
had been destroyed ; land^, CanneTlj eulthrated^ lay waste,
and were orerrun with trees and bnishword. Ordericiis
Vitalis giTes an affecting description of the mi^err and
d^rjrj^ilation which followed the entry of the Xonnans.
The general depression of mind and the feeling of inserarity
and consequent recklesmess which attend soch erents are
moff^ ethctire in thinning the population of a country than
the sword itself. The Domesday book describes sereral
estates, then waste and corered with wood, as haTing been
tilled land ander prerioos possessors. It is probable that
even the strong castle of Wigmore had been destroyed ; for
tlie I>omesday book states that the castle then standing had
been recently btiilt by the 'comes Willelmns/ oo waste
ground which had receiTed the name of * Mexeston/ or the
town or inclosure of the moor.^ Of the kind of law which
then existed on the immediate border, the Domesday book
has preserred a rerj remarkable specimen : if one Welsh-
man slew another, the relatives of the slain were to assem-
ble and plunder the lands of the slayer and of his rclati\-cs,
and bum their houses, until the noon of the following day,
when the body was to be buried: of the prey they thus
collected, the king claimed one third, and the plunderers
were allowed to appropriate the rcst.f This cmious notice
shows that at the time of the Conquest, by the confessed
•ttstom of the Welsh on the border, the king of England
laid claim to a feudal superiority over Wales, whenever he
rould exercise it.

Under the Saxons this {lart of the island was much more

* Willelmua comet fecit iUnd in watts tcm qiut rocatar Mcrettim.
Thoagli the ground were corercd with mint, if it wat naproductive, the
Una waHs would be ttiU applicable.

t Quod ti Walcntii Walentem occtderit, congrcgantur parentet occisi.
el prvdantur eun qui occidil cjutque propinqiiot, et conbunmt domot
eonim, donee in cratlinun circa meridiem corpnt mortui tcpeliatur. Dc
hac prrda habet res terttam partem ; ilU vero totum aliud habcnt quietum.
Dometday, toL i, fel I7*J

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 23

densely wooded than at present. The woodlands of our
times are, as it were, the skeleton of the extensive forests
of former days, which wore tliickest and most considerable
in the tract of country between Ludlow and Leominster
and the Welsh territory. The cultivation of the plains to
the south was protected by the strong towns of Hereford
and Leominster. The open country in Shropshire was
similarly defended by the larger towns of Shrewsbury,
Bridgciiorth, &c. and by some smaller fortresses. The
number of castles on the border, previous to the conquest,
was not great. The Anglo-Saxons were a brave and hardy
race, unaccustomed to depend for safety upon stone walls ;
and the Welsh, when they crossed the border, more fre-
quently carried back with them hard blows than any more
profitable booty. The policy of Ethelfleda had however
been followed from time to time ; and a few Anglo-Saxon
castles were standing at the {leriod of the Norman conquest,
which defended these wilder parts of the. border. There
was an ancient castle at Caynham, or, as it was then called,
Cayham (? the residence on the brook Cay), which so early
as the twelfth century, was a deserted ruin. One of king
Henry's foreign attendants named Richard, to whom the
Anglo-Saxons gave the derisory name of Screcpe, or the
Scrub, either on account of some inferior office which he
held in the royal household, or perhaps as a mere satirical
appellation, and who was one of the few Normans permitted
to remain at court after the rest of the foreign favourites
had been driven away, was enriched by his royal master
with considerable possessions in this part of the border;
and introducing there the fashion of his own countrymen,
he built a strong castle between Ludlow and Leominster,
which has preserved its founder's name in that of Richard's
Castle. The lower part of the walls, and the mound on
which the keep stood (one of the peculiar characteristics of
the more ancient castles), still remain. The other name
by which the builder was known became afterwards softened
into that of Scroop.

*24 THE HISTORY OF LUDIX)W.

The nuods were not the least profitable part of the
ground, for they gave food to numerous herds of swine, the
llesh of u'hich formed the most general article of animal
food amonp^ our forefathers during the middle ages. The
stores of the baron's castle equally mth those of the
lieasant's hut, consisted chiefly in bacon; and from this
circumstance is derived the name which we still give to
the place in which our meat is preserved, a larder (lar-
darium). The extent of a wood was frequently estimated
by the number of these animals which it would support.
Thus at Ca}'nham there was in the days of the Conqueror
" a wood of two hundred swine ;" at Burford there was ** a
wood of one hundred swine.*' Another article produced
in abundance on the waste lands (frequently covered with
thyme), and which was infinitely more in use among our
early forefathers than at present, was honey. The rivers and
streams gave motion then, as now, to numerous corn-mills.
At Ludford theif was a mill, the only one mentioned in
the neighbourhood of Ludlow; at Little Hereford there
were four mills; Caynham had one mill; Burford, two.
Another article which was then reckoned a part of the
produce of landed estates, was fish, particularly eels. Among
the ancient Germanic tribes, fresh-water fish were con-
sidered as game, and protected as such : an early Teutonic
law allowed the unqualified person to have only as much
as he could take by walking into the water and catching
them with his hand. The com lands were tolerably ex-
tensive, and were generally uninclosed. The fields in
which cattle were kept, were, on the contrary, inclosed.
To these inclosurcs our Anglo-Saxon forefathers gave the
name of iun, our modem word town, though it then
conveyed no idea of buildings, but meant simply a space
inclosed by a hedge; wyrt-tun, i. e. herb-town, was a
garden ; ffttrs-iun, i. e. grass-town, was a meadow. The
Norman's called these inclosures haies, in Low-latin hagtB
or hai€B, the origin of our word hedges. The more modem
English name for such inclosures is a close. In the earliest

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 25

collection of Aiiglo-Saxou laws, those of Athelbriht^ king of
Kent, at the end of tlic sixth century, it is set down as a
grievous offence to break through n man's hedge, or tun.
In the laws of king Ine (end of the seventh century) it
was enacted that ** If ceorls (or peasants) have a common
meadow (gsers-tun gc-ma^nne), or other partible land, to
fence, and some have fenced their part, some have not,
and their neighbour's cattle stray in and eat up their corn
or grass ; let those go who own the gap, and compensate
to the others, who have fenced their part, the damage
which there may be done, and let them demand buch
justice on the cattle as may be right. But if there be a
beast which breaks hedges and goes in everywhere, and
lie who owns it will not or cannot restrain it; let him
who finds it in his field take it and slay it, and let the
owner take its skin and flesh, and forfeit the rest." In
Domesday book we find frequent mention of such tuna or
haics: there were five haitc at Clunton; and three in a
waste called Chinbaldescote, belonging to the church of
Bromfield. The Anglo-Saxon word is preserved in all
names of places ending in tun or town, as Downton
(the inclosure on the hill), Micelton (the great inclosure)
Eaton (the inclosure by the river), Acton (the oak inclosure),
Stanton (the inclosure of stone), Coinbertou (cufnbpa-tiot,
the inclosure amid the vallies). The Anglo-Norman term
is also prescr>'ed in places, the names of which contain the
word Hay. Among the produce of the manor of Caynliam
in the reign of the Conqueror is reckoned four loads of salt
(iiij summsc salis de Wich) ; perhaps from SalimoTc. We
may illustrate the proportions of these articles of produce by
the instanc^of the town of I^icominster and its membei-s
(including Luston, Larix>le, Aymestry, Brimfield, Eston,
Stockton, Stoke, Mersetone, Upton, Hope, Bredcge, Lumton,
* Cerlestreu,* Leinthall, * Gedeuen,' and Fenilow), which
were then held by the king ; there were in this sjiace eight
mills ; a hundred and twenty-five acres wci-e sown with corn ;
a large surface of ground was covered with woods, which
K

iJCI THK HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

wen* estituateJ to Im* s>i\ * U-:iiriu*^* ]o\v^ and three broad ; u
liuiidred xftrftfc, or score, t»f eel?* were taken yearly ; tin:
annual value of the other fisili raui^ht was estimated at seven-
teen shillinsr?*. and tliat of the honey at sixty-five schillings.
A shilling was a very lai*ge sum of money at that period.
In the time of the conqueror, ()sl)orn Fitz Richard, the son
of Uichard the St^rfib before mentioned, and lord of Richard's
Castle and Ludford, held a very large {lortion of the wood-
lands beyond Brampton Hryan and Wigmorc, including
Titley and other manors which were so wild that they
w*ere not reckoned in Domesday book as affording any
regidar produce; Osborn Fitz Richard hunted in them,
and " had what he could catch and wo mare,*^^

The names of places frequently furnish us with charac-
teristics of ancient times, of which we find few other traces.
A thousand years ago the ^voods of Herefordshire were
infested by wolves ; and the rivers were inhabited by
beavers. In the time of Giraldus Cambrensis (the latter
end of the twelfth century), beavers were found only in
the Teivy, in the neighbourhood of Cardigan ; but at an
earlier period they constructed their towns even in the
Severn, where was an island, near Worcester (which we
have already had reason to mention) named in Saxon
Beofcr-eage, the beaver isle. Tliere is also a Beverstone in
Gloucestershire. We have traces of the ancient haunts of
wolves probably in Wulf-^age or Wolfes^eage (Wolphy)
the wolfs isle, and in Wolferlow, the mound of the
wolvc»s. The wolves had been more entirely destroyed
than the beavers: king Edgar, in the tenth century,
exacted from a king of Wales, instead of the money which
the Welsh princes had previously paid to the English
crown, an annual tribute of three hundred wolves. He
was probably led to do this by the ravages which these
animals, descending from the Welsh mountains, committed

* In hit wutis territ excreverunt silvae in quibiu iste Otbcraus
tenationcm exercet, et tnde habet quod cttperc potest. Nil aliud. Domes*
day book.

THE HISTORY OF I.UDLOW. 27

Oil tlie border. History tells us that this tribute wah
punctually deliveretl for two years, but tlie destruction was
so great that on the third ^ear the Welsh could not find
wolves enough to pay it.* In the time of the Conqueror,
the hundred adjoining to that of Wolphy, and apparently
coincident with that of Wiginore. was named Hegetre^ or
Ilightree, probably from the noble trees which still form so
remarkable an ornament to it.

The names of places not only picture to us the state of
the country at a remote period, but they frequently help to
make us acquainted ivith the custom? and, more especially,
with the superstitions of our foietathers in former days.
T-udlow, or the ijeople's low, was probably, as we have
before obser^•ed, the scene of sujjerstitious ceremonies in the
times of the Anglo-Saxons. Most of the other numerous
laws had doubtlessly legends of different kinds connected
with them. Wyrmes-htew, now Womielow, (the dragon's
low), reminds us in its name of the dwelling of the fearful
dragon which acts so prominent a part in the ancient
Anglo-Saxon romance of Beowulf, almost the only pure
remnant of the romantic literature which our forefathers
brought with them into this island : —

^* hl€Bw under hr6san, a fotc under the bank,

holm*wylme n^h, nigh to the sea wave,

ytS-ge-winne ; to the clashing of waterr^ ;

se woes innan full which was full within

wrstta mnd wira; of embossed ornaments

and wires;

weard un*hi6re, a savage guardian,

gearo gu5*frecay ready and fierce in war,

gold roiSmas he61d» held the treasures of gold,

cald under eorSan : old under the earth :

nses |>aet y5c ceap that was no easy pinTha>e

t6 ge-gangenne to obtain

gnrocna leniguni. for any ni.iM.

• Wil. Malmkb. dc Gcblts Kcp Aug), p '•'

28 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

fia 86 wyrm ge-be^h iheu the ilruyon bent

8ii(ide to somnc rapidly together

he on searwum bad : he awaited in ambush :

ge-w6t M byrncndc then proceeded he, burning,

ge bogen scri^an bent together, to go

to ge-scipe ecyndan.*' to distribute contest.

(Beowulf, U. 4817, 5131.)

The mound or barrow at Wonnelow, is called Womiclow
tump. There is also in Herefordshire a Wormcsley
(Wyrmcs-leagy the lea or field of the dragon). In Beowulf
the treasures of ancient days which the dragon guarded,
are represented as lying in a chamber or cave underneath
the low. An old historian of the fourtcendi ccntur}%
Thomas of Walsingham, has preser\'ed in his chronicle a
curious legend relating to the village of Bromficld, near
Ludlow. In the year 1S449 he says, a certain Saracen
physician* came to earl Warren to ask permission to kill a
serpent or dragon, which had its den at Bromfield, and was
committing great ravages in the earl's lands on the borders
of Wales. The earl consented, and the dragon was over-
come by the incantations of the Arab; but certain words
which he had dropi)ed led to the bcUef that large treasure
lay hid in the dragon*s den. Some men of Herefordshire,
hearing of this, went by night, at the instigation of a
Lombard named Peter Picard, to dig for the gold; and
they had just reached it, when the retainers of the carl
Warren, having discovered what was going on, fell suddenly
upon them, and threw them into prison. The treasttre,
which the carl took ix>sscssion of, is said by Walsingham to
have been great. It is very probable that this treasure wa$
a deposit of Roman coins, &c. found in the neighbourhood
of the Old Field ; and one of the barrows or lows there
may have been the reputed dragoirs home.

* The staJy uf medicine was bronght into Christian Europe in the
twclAh and thirteenth centuries by the Arabs of i^pain.

THE HISTORY OF LIDLOW. 29

Many local legends might still be gathered from the
mouth^i of the jwasantry on the Wels^h borders. At the
extremity of the roof of the north transept of Ludlow
church is placed an iron arrow. According to a popular
legend still repeated, Robin Hood stood on the larger
mound or low at the Old Field, and aimed this arrow
at the weathercock of the church, but, falling a few yards
short of its intended destination, it has ever since rcmained
in the place where it fixed itself The arrow simply
indicates that this was the Fletcher's chancel; but the
legend, made to explain its position, after the use of arrows
was laid aside and forgotten, was probably engrafted on the
tradition of a former legend which connected the low in
the Old Field with the larger low which formerly occupied
the site of the present church ; the one was nsible from
the other.

As parts of the country became less wild, the fear of
dragons gradually jMissed away, and the popular mythology
became modified. The lows were then supposed to be
the abode of elves and fairies; and there were people
who believed that in the dead of night the entrance became
visible, and that the under-ground i)eople might be seen
issuing forth to frolic and gambol on the face of the earth.
There can be no doubt that the Marches of Wales were
once rich in fairy legends. In the reign of Henry VIII,
when Lcland visited the border, the ruins of Kenchester,
then very extensive, were believed to have been taken pos-
session of by the diminutive beings of the popular creed ;
the Roman coins frequently found there were called ybtVy-
money ; and one more considerable mass of building had
received the name of the ** king of faerie's chair.'' Other
legends of a more terrific character, were at an early
period connected with the ruined sites of the ancient towns.
At the time of the composition of the Romance of the
Fitz Warines, probably before the middle of the thirteenth
century, a ruined city, which may possibly have been
Wroxeter, was believed to have lioon inhabited by the

so

THE HirrORT OF LUDLOW.

devil, wlio guarded the vast trra'^ures i*lucb were concealed
thiTc, and held hi« revtl** with ho^t5 of other fiends in
it.<9 desolated lialls.

The pagan Angl«>-Saxons were in the habit of givin<y
the names of their zoiU to thinir* which were wonderful or
extraordinnr}', or which niovetl tlioir su^K^r^titious feelings.
When they obtained ix>ssession of this island, nothing
seems to have excited their admiration more than the
great Ilouian military ways. One of their deiti€»s whose
name apix?ars to have had a verv- w ide influence, was named
Eormen or Ermin. It frequently entered into the comiM>-
sition of the names of persons of rank: Ilermhnus led
our forefathers, then a tribe settled in Germany, ajniinst
the Romans ; JSr //m/ieric was one of the greatest of the
Gothic princes ; in early German such names as IrmanAcOj
Irman\te.Td\\i, Irmanfrit^ /iv/m//gart, were common ; in
Anglo-Saxon we have Eortncnnc (the same name as Elrman-
eric) king of Kent in 568, whose great grand-son Eonncnred
gaye to his three daughters the names fbrme^iberga, Eor-
//ie;iburgha, and .Eo; v;iewgytha. ////it/i-sul was one of the
great objects of worship to the Gennnnic tribes on the
continent. Eorviefflc&f was the .\nglo-Saxon name of the
mallow (malva erratica) which was belicve<l to |x>ssess
many miraculous virtues. Tliere can scarcely be a doubt
that this is the origin of the name given by the Anglo-
Saxons to one of the great roads — Eo»inen-str<ety Ermiii-
streety or Irming-street. In a similar manner, to another
of the great roads the Anglo-Saxons gave the name of
Wa^tUnga-strtct^ which means literally the street of the sons
of Watla, for Wtetlinga is the genitive case plural of a jm-
tronjmic. If more of the ancient Anglo-Saxon mythic
|X)etry were preserved, we should doubtlessly find that
Wfctla was a mythological personage. Florence of Wor-
cester, who wrote when this poetry was in being, call»
the Watling-street, " Strata quani filii Watlo* regis strave-
nint/' It is very singular that our forefathers gave the
name of Watling-street, or WiclHnga-stnrt to the milky-way

THE HISTORY OF LUULOW. 31

in the heavens as well as to the llonmn road ; and we
find also that among the old Oennanic tribes the name
Iringes-wec (Iring's way) composed of a name Iritty closely
allied to that of Innin, was given to an ancient road and
at the same time to the milky-way. In the Vilkunga Saga
this road is called Irungs-veggr. It may be observed also
that among the ancient Germans the polar constellation
was named Innins-tcageny or Innin's waggon. One of
the ancient roads in Germany was called ITufofcneS'toec,
IVtioteneS'Straza^ or Wodenes-tvcffc, Woden's way or street.
An ancient carth-w*ork in the south of England was called
by the Anglo-Saxons Wodnes-dicy or the dyke of the god
Woden, now softened down into Wans-dyke. In the
modification which the superstitions of the Anglo-Saxons
underwent after their conversion to Christianity, their older
gods became transformed into devils, and it was by this
change that originated all our Devil's-dykes, Devil's-
bridgcs, &c. The name of Wa^tlinga-stnet was given to
the Roman road which ran from Kenchester to Wroxeter,
as well as to the great road which traversed the island.
During the Saxon period of our history, the Herefordshire
Watling-street, the remains of which are still known by
that name, continued to be the regular line of commu-
nication between Shrewsbury and Hereford; and it was
probably not until later on, in the twelfth century, when
part of the old road was found to be too solitary and
insecure, that the traveller turned from the Watling-etreet
at Chiuch Stretton, along a road which passed under the
strong castle of Ludlow, and which, perhaps, instead of
following the present route to Leominster, crossed the hill
and rejoined the ancient road near the no less formidable
castle of Wigmore. The then new road passed by the
abbey of Bromfield, and proceeded to Ludlow apparently
along the lane which now leads on the south side of the
Teme, so that the traveller who was bound to Ludlow
had to pass the river under the castle walls to enter at
Dinham gate.

•32 THE HISTORY OK LUDLOW.

If we quit the not uiipleasing subject of the beuigs of
superstition who were sup|K>sed to hold the woods and
wildsy to consider the more real one of the |K)ssessors and
culti\'ators of the soil, we shall find their names no less
frequently indicated in the modem local appellations. Many
of the names of places of which the meaning seems most
difEcult to explain, are compounded of those of Anglo-Saxon
possessors or cultivators; and the original forms of such
words are readily discovered by a reference to Domesday
book. Thus on the Herefordshire side of Ludlow we
have Ehnodes-treow, <«• the tree of Klmod (now AjTnestr}*) ;
Widferdes-tune, or the inclosurc of Widferd (Woofferton);
Willaves-lage, or the lee f salt its) of Willaf (probably,
Willey) ; Edwardes-tune, or the inclosure of Edward (Ad-
ferton ?) ; Elnodes-tune, or the inclosure of Elnod (Elton ?) ;
Bemoldune, or the hill of Bemold. In Shropshire there
are Chinbaldes-cote or the cot of Chinbald, a place men-
tioned as dependant upon Bromfield; ^fillmundes-tunc, or
the inclosure of Elmund ; Elmunde-mc, or the dwelling of
Elmund ; Alnodes treow, or the tree of Elnod, &c. Names
of places having ing in the middle are generally formed
from patronymics, which in Anglo-Saxon had this temii*
nation. Thus a son of Alfred was an j£lfreding, his
descendants in general were jGlfredingas, or Alfrcdings.
These patronymics are generally compounded with ham^
tuny &c. and whenever we can find the name of the place
in pure Saxon documents, we have the patronymic in
the genitive case plural. Thus Birmingham was Hcor-
minga-ham, the home or residence of the sons or descen-
dants of Beorm. There arc not many names of this form
in the neighbourhood of Ludlow ; lk*rrington (Beoringa-
tun) was, perhaps, the inclosure of the sons or family of
Beor, and Culmington that of the family of Culm.

Under Edward the Confessor the large estates in the
borders of Wales had been chiefly |)ossessed by the great
nobles allied to the houses of Godwin and of l^eofric of
Mercia, and were confiscated after the entrance of the

k

THK mSTORY OK LUDLOW. 33

Nunnaiisi. With the exception of the estates of KichanI
Scrcoix», hardly a foot of j^ouiul ivinainecl in the hnndb of
the old proprietors. At the time of the Domesday sm-vey,
the whole of Shropsliire, with some trifling exceptionj?,
belonged to the Conqueror's kinsman, Roger dc Mont-
gomery, who had let out parts of it on feudal tenures to the
knights who attended him. One of his retainers named
Helgot, held lands in Clee and Stanton, and built in the
latter demesne a castle, wliich from its possessor bore after-
wanls the name of castle Helgot or Holgate. Herefordshire*
was parcelled out in smaller estates, under numerous
barons; but there the most extensive {possessions wei*c those
of Roger de Lacy, whose head castle was at Eivyas, and
Ralph dc Mortimer, whose castles were Wigmore and
Clcobury in Shropshire. The other estates lay scattered
over the country. To the south, among the chief pro-
prietors were William Fitz Norman, and Ralph de Todenei,
who held the castle of Clifford. Hereford and Leominster,
mth their members, were held by the king. In the inter-
vening country, along the street, lay the estates of Roger
de Jlicelgros, Robert Gernon, who held LaqK>le of the
king, and William de Scotries, who ap^iears to have resided
at Croft, which had bclonge<l to earl Etlwin. Tlie estates
de|iendant upon Wigmore extended from Shobdon (Sceope-
dun, the sheep's hill) to Downton. The lands from Ludford
to Richard's castle, with extensive waste lands on the
extreme border, and Burford in Shropshire, belonged to
Oslwme Fitz Richard. There were a few other smaller
land-holders, such as Hugo L'Asue, or Hugh (he Ass,
who held Bemoldune in Herefordshire, and king William's
physician Nigellus, generally entitled Xigellus Medicus,
who held Clee in Shroi>shire, and also some estates in
nercfordshire. Caynham, which had been an estate of
earl Morcar, belonged now to Ral])h de Mortimer. Roger
de Lacy possessed also some land"? in Shropshire in the
neighbourluxHl of Hodnet.

The silence of Domesday book is a satisfactory pn)of

o4 THK HISTORY OF LUDI^OW.

that tliere wun nntlier town nor castle at Ludlow when it
%va9 madts about a. d. 1085. Althougli the places around
are all mentioned, we find in that record no such names as
Ludlow or Dinhani. In fact the one belonged only to a
mound of earth, the other perhaps to a deserted Danish
<amp. If there were a church, or rather perhaps a hermit's
cell, previous to that period, it had probably been destroyed
in the Danish wars. The only church mentioned in
Domesday book as Ixnng in this neighbourhood is that of
Bromfield. We have a distinct testimony that the castle
was begini by Uoger dc Montgomery, but not finished till
after his death.* Other considerations aid us in fixing
the period at which this castle was commenced. The
oldest part of it, the massive keep, was built in imitation of
the style which bishop Gundulf had first exhibited in his
castle of Rochester, built after the year 1088 : it must
therefore be dated between that time and 1094, the date of
Roger de Montgomery's death. The first beginning of the
town was situated, under protection of the castle walls, in
the district still named Dinham, and this was the name
given to both, although at an early period the people of the
neighbourhood, who knew the place by the superstitions
attached to it, would speak of them as the castle and town
at the peopl^^s hw, or Ludlow.

SECTION III.

Border Htstofy from the Conquest to the end of the twelfth

century.

ONE of the immediate results of the Norman Conquest
was a long period of complicated disorders in the Marches
of Wales. Under the Saxons, with a few fortresses, the

• St comeu^A un chasUel 4 Brugge, • iu autre chattel comenra en
Utujiti ; m^t yl ne let parfitt poynt. Romaace of Fiti Warine.

THE HISTOUY uK Ll'DLOW. 35

iMinlor had lx»eii more effectually protected than it was now
by the numerous range of Anj;lo-Xomian castles. After the
death of Harold at Hasting, tho possessions of his family
in Herefordshire were naturally seized into the hands of
the new king. The Saxon Edric was for a time allowed to
retain his earldom of Shrewsbury ; that of Hereford was
given to one of the Conqueror's most faithful and able
oounsellors, William Fitz ()sl)orne. Eilric, irritated at an
offence he had received from the king, raised the standard
of revolt ; his lands were invaded Jind ravaged by the
Normans of Herefordshire^ under Richard Screope, who
was entrusted with the command of the garrison of Here-
ford ; but Edric called in the WeUli, comi>elled the Normans
to retire to Hereford, and laid waste the country up to tho
gates of that city. The most skilful of the Norman chiefs,
Roger de Montgomery, Ralph de Mortimer, and Walter de
I^cy, were employed against the insurgents, who, although
deserted by their Welsh allies who were satisfied with
the plunder they had made and anxious to secure it, made
a protracted resistance. Edric himself had seized u]K)n
Wigmore, from which he was with difficulty expelled by
Ralph dc Mortimer. For his services on this occasion,
Roger dc Montgomery obtained the earldom of Shropshire,
with all the possessions of Edric, which comprised nearly
the whole county ; Ralph de Mortimer obtained Wigmore
and its dependencies; and other lands in Herefordshire
were bestowed u]K)n Walter de Lacy. The Welsh began
now to be continually troublesome ; they were instigated
by the Saxon refugees to make frequent incursions ; in
1068-9, they ravaged Shropshire and laid siege to Shrews-
bury, and king William was obliged to go in person to
drive them from the border. In his way he laid the foun-
dation of Nottingham castle, which he entrusted to the
keeping of M'illiam Peverel.

William Fitz Osborne was a man of great prudence and
aclivilv, remarkable for his liberality as well as for the
vi;;our of hi»« govrrnment. His salutary regulations survived

36 THB HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

the vicissitudes of many years, and were still in force in
the time of William of Malmsbury.* According to Domes-
day book, the earl William rebuilt the castle of Wigmore.
In 1070 he and Walter de Lacy invaded Brecknockshire,
and defeated the Welsh princes Rces and Cadoc. Shortly
afterwards earl William was slain in Flanders, and in 1071
he was succeeded in the earldom of Hereford by his son
Roger.

Roger de Montgomery also ruled Shropshire with vigour
and justice (the justice, at least, which might be expected
from a conqueror). He made considerable encroachments
on the territory of the independent Welsh, and one of his
retainers, named Baldwin, established a post which from
him received the name of Bald^vin's town, and at which
earl Roger afterwards built a castle and gave it his own
name of Montgomery. He also strengthened the castle
of Bridgnorth on the east, and, in his latter days, he laid
the foundation of the castle of Ludlow, and probably com-
pleted the keep tower, to fortify his southern frontier.

In 1075, according to the Saxon chronicle, occurred tlie
celebrated marriage at Norwich, the fatal consequences of
which were long proverbial. Roger Fits William, the
earl of Hereford, harboured treasonable designs against his
sovereign, and, perhaps in furtherance of these designs, he
proposed to give his sister Emma in marriage to Ralph,
earl of Norfolk. The Conqueror forbade the match ; yet
the marriage was solemnized at Norwich, while the king
was absent in Normandy, and at a splendid and well-
attended feast a league was formed to deprive William of
his English throne. The Saxon chronicle has preserved
the popular saying which perpetuated the memory of the
fatal results of this meeting, —

* Manet in Lunc di«m in comitAtu ejus apud Herefordam logum qiiM
tlAtitit inconcussa firmiUs ; ut uullus miles pro qiialicunqne commisso
plus s«pteni solidis solvat: cum ia sliis prorinciis ob parram oceasiun-
culam ill transp'essiono pneccpti herilis, %igiiiti vel viginti quinquc pen-
dsntcr. Wil. Malmsb. Hist p. lOTi Conccniitii: William Fill C^sbf^rDc,
icc nuillstime dc Jumt^g^t pp. ^1, 67 G, and Ordcncus.

THE HISTORY OF LIDIXJW. 87

5aer waes \>xi bryd-eala
TDannum to bcala.

(there was that bridal feast
a cause of misfortune to men.)

The parties concerned in this league were to rise simul-
taneously. Earl Ralph ojiencd conimuiiications mth the
Saxons who still bore anns in the marshes of Ely and the
fens of Lincolnshire. Roger Fitz William collected the
men of Herefordshire, and >nth a considerable body of
Welsh auxiliaries, marched to the banks of the Severn,
intending to join his brother-in-law. But the secret of the
conspirators had been betrayed, and, to use the expression
of the native chronicler just quoted, earl Roger was " hin-
dered." The hindrance was caused by the forces raised by
Urso, sheriff of Worcester, and bishop Wolstan, joined with
those of Agelwy, abbot of Evesham, and Walter de Lacy.
The earl Ralph, thrown upon his own resources, hastened
to Brittany to seek aid from his countrymen, and left his
xnfe Emma to defend the castle of Xorwdch, which she did
with 80 much courage that she obtained fair terms for her
garrison even from the ferocious bishop Odo. Earl Roger
was deprived of his lands and honours, and thrown into
prison. It was in consequence of this insurrection that the
brave and innocent Waltheof was put to death.

In the latter part of his reign, it appears that the Con-
queror again led his army to the border, and invaded Wales,
provoked perhaps by the ravages of the Welsh, who are
said to have over-run the southern part of the border as far
as the city of Worcester, in lOSO. But we find no detail of
these transactions; and we know only from the assertions
of older ^vriters tliat William left M'ales to his successor as
an appendant of the English crown, and that he had com-
pelled the Welsh to acknowledge his supremacy.*

* This U most explicitly staled b)* the contemporary Saxon rhroii icier,
"The laud of Uic Uritons was iu his jurisdiction, and he built canth:*
therein, and ruled all that people.*'

38 THB HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

The general statement of Domesday book would lead u»
to conclude that during the Conqueror's reign, the English
counties bordering on Wales enjoyed a certain degree of
security. At this early period, the historians seldom men-
tion the predatory inroads of the Welsh, when they are not
connected with some more important political event; but
the peace which had been established by this king's rigorous
government seems to have been first broken by the tur-
bulence of the Anglo-Norman barons. At his death, in
the September of the year 1087, he left the succession
to his crown to be disputed by his two sons, William
Rufus, and Robert Courthose, who was in possession of
the dukedom of Normandy. Bishop Odo, who had been
in prison in the latter yeais of the preceding reign, raise<l
and organized a party in England in favour of duke
Robert. The great barons on the border immediately
espoused the same cause; and Roger de Montgomery,
Ralph de Mortimer, Roger de I^acy, and their neighbours,
armed their de{)endants, and called in the aid of the
Welsh in 1088, to make war against king William Rufus.*
A large body of the men of Herefordshire and Shro])shirc,
with their Welsh auxiliaries, led by Osborne Fitz Richard
(the lord of Richard's Castle and Ludford), and his kins-
man, Bernard de Newmarket,t entered Worcestershire,
and ravaged the country up to the walls of the city, which
they threatened to bum. But as they were preparing
to attack the ioyrn on the side of the cathedral, bishop
Wolstan sallied out with the townsmen and the garrison,
beat off the assailants, and obliged them to return homo
with disgrace, instead of the rich plunder on which they
calculated. The king soon after succeeded in detaching

• Proceros qnoqiic do llcrcfi>rili.i. cl dc Scrobc»«biric cum inultitudiiH'
Vttllentinm. l%og. Iluvcdcii. p. IGI. rruicipc« rcru llercfurddhyic et
8alop€»cyrc rum WhIcii^iIhu. Ilciir Hunt. PriurijH-*, tii ihc lailrr
writer is perhaps a more ciror of llir ftciibe for procnea.

t Ordcricut V it alts, p. ri<*»<i.

THE HISTORY OF M'DLOW. '3\l

Roger dc Montgomery from tlio oonfcilcracy, and the insur-
rection of the other barons Avas soon repressed.

The phnider which the AVelsh carried off on this occasion
incited them to fnrtlier depredations, and the early years of
the reign of the second WiUinin, were marked by constant
hostilities between them and the barons on the border.
The Welsh were still more encouraijed bv the death of
Roger de Montgomery in 1004 ; and the same year they
invaded Shropshire and Herefordshire in numerous parties,
destro}'ing several castles, and carrying away much plunder.
They were beaten in many encounters by Hugh de Mont-
gomerj', the son and successor of Roger, but other parties
continued their ravages, and to use the words of a con-
temporary, " omitted no evil that they could do." In
the year following they repeated their incursions, in which
they took and destroyed the castle of Montgomery, and
massacred the garrison and inhabitants. The king, who
was just returned from Nomandy, raised a powerful army
and hastened to the border, to put a stop to their depre-
dations. He suffered more from the badness of the roads
and the inclemency of the weather, than from the enemy,
who fled into their forests and mountain fastnesses at
his approach. The English king continued his march into
the heart of the country, and on the day of All Saints his
army arrived at Snowdon ; but the season was far advanced
and he returned without fighting a battle, with the loss
of but a few hoi*ses and men, but he had effected nothing,
and the Welsh were rather emboldened than daunted
by his invasion. They appear again to have carried
destruction into the English counties in the year follow-
ing; and early in 1097 the king raised a still more
powerful army, and chose a more favourable time of the
year to carry his design of vengeance into execution. He
entered Wales about Lent, and is said to have remained
there during the summer; but the Welsh followed the
same system of retiring into the woods, and he was disap-
{K>inted in his endeavours to bring them to a regular

40 THE IIISTOKY OP LUDLOW.

fngaj;i»inciiL The En<;lis1i, hmvover, over-run the country,
involvinj? all they mot with, younj^ or oM, in one common
<le^truction, and the Welsh a|ii)ear now to have boon
effectuJilly humbled. An old chronicler, Peter Langtoft,
who wrote more than two centuries after this event, calls
it " the jpreat vengeance."* The king, before he returned
to England, onlerwl several castles to be built on the Welsh
side of the border to check their future attempts. The
Welsh chiefs or princes appear on this occasion to have
renewed the fealty and tribute which they had given to
William the ('onqueror; and "the kings of Wales" arc
enumerated in the chronicle of Geoffrey Gaimar, among
the attendants at the court of Rufus when he held a great
festival at Westminster.f

The year following, a. d. 1098, Hugh de Montgomery and
Hugh earl of Chester, taking advantage of some domestic
quarrels, invaded North Wales with a iK>werful army to
avenge the wrongs which they had received by the Welsh
invasions of Shropshire, and they penetrated as far as the
Isle of Anglesea, of which they took possession and put its
inhabitants to the sword. But their conquest was almost
immediately abandoned on the death of Hugh de Mont>
gomery, who was killed in a skirmish with a party of Danes,
who also came to attack that island. Hugh was succeeded
in the earldom of Shropshire by his brother Robert de
Belesme, who had succeeded to the Norman estates of his
father Roger, and who now obtained the English succession
by paying three thousand pounds to the king.

• Le sccounde an apres le rayn ettut movers
1'ut dratt en quarreme, kant fu paste la mer,
Bn Galea eat ales lea Walayt chaatier,
Ke aa terre alaynt deatnire ct waatcr.
Le rayt William lea prent ct let fel tuer,
Ad joren ne ad tcIi ne volt etparnyer.
I'nkea fu Tcngaonce en Galet fet ti fcr!
Aprf • la frande vengaunce ke en Galea fet estayt, etc.
Peter Langtoft. MS. Cotton. Julius. A. V. (ia Brit. Mus.) f.>l. HI.

t Chroniqucs Anglo*Nonnandct, torn, i, p. i*\

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 41

Robert de Belesme was a restless aud ambitious man,
and merited the hatred of his contemi)oraries by his tyranny
and cruelty. In the popular traditions of Maine^ where
part of his Norman possessions lay, he is still indentified
M-ith the half-fiend, half-human Robert-the-Devil of middle-
age legend/ and the acts of the fabulous tyrant arc less
horrible than the monstrous crimes which historians lay to
the charge of the earl of Shrewsbur}\ It is said that he
caused men and women to be impaled on stakes, that he
might amuse himself by watching their agonies as they
pined to death; and he tore out the eyes of a little boy,
who was his own godchild, and who was his hostage for
the fidelity of its father, when it came to meet him in
playful fondness. The earl Robert had been high in favour
with king William Rufus;t but his uneasy spirit urged
him to seek employment by fomenting the troubles which
were likely to break out after the accession of Henry, and
he was already plotting to dethrone him, when the king,
aware of his treachery, cited him before his court. The earl
had already fortified and provisioned his numerous castles
in England, particularly those of Anmdel, Shrewsbury,
Bridgenorth, and Tickhill in Yorkshire, which with Blyth
in Nottinghamshire he had inherited from Roger de Buslcy;
he obeyed the king's citation, and made his appearance in
court slightly attended, but when he found that his designs
were known, he fled precipitately to the Welsh border,

* Pluqaet'f note on the Roman du Rou. ii. 33i. Lnppcnberg Ge-
flchichte von England, it. 232, 233.

t Wacc give* the following account of him,—

" Robert de Belesme, un baron
Ke Ten tcneit por mult {i\on,
Aveit li Reis en Tost od sei,
Et il C5tcit mult btcn del Rei.
Robert de Belesme fu fals,
E felonies sout e mals ;
De felons gieus ert coneui,
E do fcrc mals ert cremus.'*

Romnn du Rou, /. 15042.
<;

42 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

where his greatest strength lay, and raised the standard of
rebellion at Bridgcnorth.* Tlie king immediately collected
an army, and having taken the castle of Arundel, marched
towards the Severn. On his way he took the castle of
Blyth, in Nottingliamshire ; and Tickhill had already sur-
rendered to the Bishop of Lincoln. In addition to his
own powerful forces, he had hired a large body of Welsh
auxiliaries under their princes Cadogan and Jorwerth ap
Rees, and they were occupied in ravaging Staffordsliirc
when the king's army approached. At the king's approach,
Robert de Belesme left Uridgenorth under the command
of Roger Fitz Corbet, and retired to Shrewsbury, where
he prepared for a vigorous struggle. The siege of Bridge-
north lasted thirty days; it was thus protracted by the
lukewarmness of the barons who followed the king, and
who foresaw that the destruction of the sons of the great
Roger de Montgomery would be a severe blow at their
own power, for the struggle between royalty and aristocracy
had already commenced; they represented to him the
difficulties of the warfare in which he was engaged, and
urged him to offer favourable terms to his enemy, and to
seek reconcilement. Henrj' was discouraged and already
wavered, when the knights and landholders of Shropshire,
to the number of three thousand, arrived at his camp.
Weary of the galling tyranny of their great feudal lord,
Robert de Belesme, they had chosen for their leader
William Pantulf of Wem, who, the faithful and valued
retainer of carl Roger, had been goaded by numerous
injuries to regard his son with implacable hatred; and
they exhorted the king to complete the destruction of the
earl of Shrewsbury, and offered to march first to the
assault, and shed their last blood in reducing the garrison
of Bridgcnorth. He accepted their services with joy ; and
the fortress was taken. This was one of the first instances

* Bncontre l« rey Henri k Durg sa gwere crye
En Salopftchire, qe fa en m bnillye.

THE UlSTOKY OF LUDLOW. 43

in which the commons of England sided openly with the
king against the feudal aristocracy.

The ruin of Robert dc Belesnie was completed by the
defection of the Welsh. Their mercenary leaders were
easily seduced by the offer of better pay, and the secret
expectation of more plunder; and after ravaging Stafford-
shire as the allies of the rebels, they returned under the
banner of the king to lay waste the county of Salop.
Henry advanced with his anny direct to Shrewsbury. The
retainers of the earl attempted to defend the extensive and
then almost impassable forests which covered the approach
to that town; but the king, witli incredible labour and
perseverance, cut his way through mth the axe ; and
having thus forced the diiRcult pass of Wenlock-edge,
established his host in the plain on the other side. As he
came near, the inhabitants of Shrewsbury sent him the key
of the town; and Robert de lielesme, deserted by the
armies in which he trusted, was compelled to surrender at
discretion. Robert, with his brother Amulf de Mont^romery
(who had conquered extensive lands from the Welsh and
was lord of Pembroke) and other border barons, were
banished the kingdom and their estates confiscated. The
earl fled to his estates in Normandy, and, after committing
new treasons, attended by the same violence and cruelty,
he ended his life in prison. The only benefit which he
conferred on the Marches of Wales was the introduction
of a fine breed of horses, which he brought from Spain,
a country celebrated in the middle-ages for the superiority
of its horses ; at the end of the twelfth century the breed
was still preserved, chiefly in Powis-land, and ^vas famous
throughout England.*

* In bac tcrtia WalHae portione quit PowisU dicitur, sunt equitia
peroptima, et cqui emUsarii laiidatissimi, de Hispanteiisiiini equoniin
^neroaitate, qiios olioi comes Slopcsburie Robcrtus do Belesmo in finea
Utof adtluci curavenit, originaliter propa^rati. Undo et qui hinc exeunt
eqni, rum nobili furmfr picture ip^a protrahente nature, tam membroaa
fua majcstate, quum incomparebtit vclocitatc, raldc comtnGinorebilc«
repcriuntur. (itreld. Cambr. Kin. ii, 12.

44 THB HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

King Henry distributed the estates of the banished
nobles amongst the knights >vho had served him ^nth most
zeal. Some of the strongest castles he kept in his oi\'n
hands. He made Richard de Belmeis (or de Beaumes),
an ecclesiastic who had enjoyed the confidence of Bogcr de
Montgomery, steward or governor of Shropshire, and Here-
fordshire also appears to have been included in his juris-
diction. Richard de Bcaumes, ha^nng been created bishop
of London in 1108, was succeeded by Paganus (or Paine)
Fitz John, who ruled Herefordshire and Shropshire with
great vigour, and compelled the barons of the IMarches to
respect the law. On his marriage with Adela of Boulogne
in 1121, the king gave the earldom of Slirewsbury to his
new wife, who appointed William Fitz Alan, lord of
Oswestry, sheriff or governor (vice-comes) of the county.
It appears to have been about this time that the king gave
''the castle of Dinan (or Dinham) and all the country
around it towards the river of Corve with all the honour"
to a favourite knight named Joce or Gotso, who from that
time took the name of Joce de Dinan. " This Joce finished
the castle which Roger de Montgomery in his time had
begun, and was a strong and valiant knight. And the
town was very long time called Dynan, which is now called
Ludelawe. This Joce caused to be made below the town
of Dynan a bridge of stone and lime, over the river of
Temede, into the high road which goes through the March
firom Chester to Bristol. Joce made his castle of Dynan of
three wards (baylles), and surrounded it with a double foss,
one within and one without."*

During the reign of the first Henry, several remarkable
measures were adopted to repress the turbulence of the
Welsh. The king seems to have been extremely dissatis-
fied with the conduct of his allies in the war with Robert
de Belesme, and soon afterwards he caused their prince
Jorwerth to be seized and detained in close prison about

• Romuice of the Fid Warinet, p. d.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 45

four years. During this period a destructive guerilla war-
fare was constantly kept up on the southern border. At
this time numbers of Flemings, a hardy and industrious
race of men, came over to England. Some of their country-
men had already settled in this country in the days of the
Conqueror, and we find them established about Do^vnton
at the period of the Domesday survey. An eruption of the
sea into Flanders compelled the inhabitants to emigrate
in great numbers ; a large portion went to Germany, but
many sought a refuge m England, and were allowed to
inhabit the border of Scotland. Shortly afterwards (11 07-9),
the king moved this colony to the Welsh border, and gave
the Flemish refugees the district about Ross in Hereford-
shire, and Haverfordwest and Tenby in Pembrokeshire.
They were however chiefly settled about the former place,
and they brought there their manners and language, of which
many traces remained even as late as the time of queen
Elizabeth. Giraldus has given us an interesting account of
their superstitions.* They were beneficial in many respects
to the country ; they laid the foundation of the trade in
wool for which Herefordshire was afterwards celebrated;
and, equally ready to handle the plough or the sword, they
enriched the county by their industry and tamed the
Welsh by their courage.f Checked in their depredations
in the south, the latter now turned their fury against the
northern boundary. The king was obliged on more than

* Girald. Camb. Itin. i, 11. Compare the account there giren with the
rery timilar superstitions of the Tartar inraders of Europe in the following
century, as related by William de Rubniquis.

t GiraU 1. c; W. Malmsb. p. 158; Roger Hoveden. ; Rad. Dicet. fin
the Decern Scriptures), &c. Lappeuberg, Geschichie ron England ii, 283.
Giraldus describes these Flemings as being in his time—Gens fortis et
robusta, continuoqne belli couftictu gens Cambrensibus inimicissima; gens,
inquam, lantficiis, gens merpimoniis usitatisstma ; quocunque labore sive
pericttlo terra marique lucrum qu«rere gens pervalida; vicissim loco et
tempore nunc ad aratmm nunc ad arma gens promplissima ; gens utique
felix et forttfl, si rel regibus ut deceret Cambria cordi fuisset, vel prsesti-
tults saltern et prsefectis injuriarum dedecus animo rindice dispUcuissel.

46 THR HISTORY OF LUDU)W.

one occasion to leal an anny against them ; and in one of
these expeditions he narrowly escaped with his life. As he
was carefully making his way through the woods, Henry
was struck on the breast by an arrow, which was fortu-
nately turned off by the mail mth which he was covered.
The king asserted that the blow had been treacherously
aimed by one of his o^ru men. The Welsh always escai)ed
by carrying their goods to the tops of the least accesfsible
mountains. Taking advantage of the death of Richard
earl of Chester, who was droivned in the celebrated wreck
of the White-ship, they entered Cheshire in 1119, massacred
many inhabitants, and burnt two castles. Henry hastened
to the border, and an English army after a painful march
again encam\)ed at the foot of Snowdon. There the Welsh
came with rich gifts and, according to the English chroni-
clers, begged for peace in the most abject manner. The
king took hostages and returned home; but within a dozen
years, in spite of the severe chastisement which they had
received on this occasion, they were again in arms, and
invading Herefordshire, they burnt ' Cans/ a town belong*
ing to Paine Fitz John, who was still sheriff of that county,
and treated the inhabitants with extreme cruelty. King
Henry, who w*as in Normandy, hastened to England to
punish their contumacy; but death stopped him on the
road, and left the crown of England to another usurper,
and the kingdom to be torn by a new contest for the suc-
cession, more fatal than all which had gone before.

The Welsh continued in arms after the accession of
Stephen, but they were occupied in domestic quarrels, and
in attacking the castles which had been built in the interior
of the country during the preceding reign.* The great

* TheM hottilitiei were carried on chiefly in the Muth of Walet, on
the const of the Bristol ciiAnael. The coniinuator of Florence of Wor-
cester speakinf of tlie number sUin in one battle in 1136. says. Corpora
vero eonim a lupis horrthtlitcr per airrus (li«rerpu et devoruta sunt. p. bVL
This is the latest mention of wolves in Wales that I remember to ha«e
met with.

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 47

barons of Herefordshire and Salop were engaged in more
important projects than the prosecution of border warfare.
It was here that the conspiracy was formed against the
king, in favour of the claims of the empress Matilda,
which soon afterwards involved the whole kingdom in the
horrors of civil war. In 1138, the third year of Stephen's
reign, nearly all the castles and strong towns on the border
Avere fortified against him. Kobert earl of Gloucester (the
illegitimate son of Henry I.) occupied Bristol, which formed
the head quarters of the rebellion, and Gloucester ; Geoffrey
Talbot garrisoned his own castle of Weobly and seized
upon Herefonl; William Fitz Alan, the sheriff of Shrop-
shire, established himself in the castle of Shrewsbury;
Ralph Paganel, an active and influential partizan of the
empress, fortified himself in his castle of Dudley ; and
Gervase Paganel, probably the brother or kinsman of
Ralph, seized upon that of Ludlow. William Pcverel, in
like manner raised the standard of rebellion in his castles
of Ellesmere, Whittington, &c. From these strong holds
the revolted barons sent out their emissaries, who ravaged
and plundered the surrounding country in the most ruthless
manner.

Stephen was no less active than his enemies ; he quickly
made himself master of Hereford, and Geoffrey Talbot
sought refuge in the castle of Weobly, from which also
he was driven by the king. After placing a garrison in
both these fortresses, the king quitted the border. In these
cruel wars, the towns as well as the country suffered
equally from both parties. In the attack upon Hereford
by the king, all the city on one side of the Wye bridge
was burnt; and, as soon as he was gone, Geofirey Talbot
with his army, consisting in great part of Welshmen, came
and burnt that part of the city which stood on the other
side of the bridge.* On this occasion the assailants were

* In the king's atUck Civitaa Hercfordensis infra pontem fluminit
Wtgft comburitur igne. Contin. of Florenco of Worcester, p. 520. la
Tslbot's attack the part ' ultra pontem Wegc' was bomt. lb. p. 52L

48 THE HISTORY OF LUDIiOW.

beaten off with loss by Stephen's garrison ; and shortly
afterwards Tallwt, in an attempt upon the city of Uatli, was
taken prisoner by the bisliop, who however was induced by
the threats of the terrible garrison of Bristol to set him at
liberty. Tlie king accused the bishop of Bath of treachery,
and again advanced towards Gloucestershire, taking several
castles in his way, but he failed in an attempt upon Bristol.
From thence he went to Dudley, which he appears not to
have taken; but, having burnt and plundered the neigh-
bourhood, he hastened to Shrewsbury. William Fitz Alan
fled at his approach, leaWng a strong garrison, which
sustained a protracted siege. Stephen employed against
Shrewsbury castle all the most powerful warlike engines
which were then in use; the besieged were almost suffo-
cated with clouds of thick smoke which were thrown into
the place ; and one of the gates being at length driven in,
it was taken by storm. Part of the garrison escaped;
many were slain ; and a few of the prisoners of rank were
hanged by order of the king.* The siege of Shrewsbury
occurred in the July of the year 1188. The invasion of
the northern counties by the Scots called the king from the
further prosecution of the war on the border. Immediately
after Christmas, Stephen hastened towards Scotland in
person; but the invaders had sustained a severe defeat,
and, having signed a treaty of peace at Durham, the EngUah
king returned to Shropshire, carr}4ng with him the Scottish
king*s son, Henry earl of Northumberland, who had been
delivered to him as a hostage. We hear nothing of the
king*s proceedings till he reached Ludlow; probably the
lesser fortresses of Shropshire had been given up without a
struggle ; but the castle of Ludlow, under Gervase Paganel,
made an obstinate resistance. Two forts were erected by
the asAailants, and the siege was prosecuted with great
vigour, yet it was not successful; and it needed all the
prudence of the monarch to hinder sanguinarj* feuds from

• The contioitator of Florence of Worcester, p. 523.

VMK HISTORY OV LL'IU.OW. 49

hr<'?ikiTi;^ o:ii anions llu* hc^^iriifcvs.^ In nur of tlif attacks,
tlio Src»ttisli princi' a|)pii):uhinp^ rashly too iu*nv to the walls,
\v,i:> seized In an iron i^raiiplc' tlirown out from tlie castle,
and wouM hav(^ been taken piisoncr, but the kinj^ with his
characteristic bravery ruslied to the spot, and saved his
liostaj^fo at the innninent peril of his own life. The king
soon afterwards raised the siejj^e, and repaired to Oxfoi'd,
where his jnx>sence was necess«iry.

After the arrival of ^Fatilda in England, her araiy was
strengthened by ten thousand Welsh auxiliaries, raised by
Robert earl of Gloucester. Her cause was sustained in
Herefordshire bv Geofii(^v Talbot and Gilbert de Lacv,
with Milo, constable of Cf!ouce<tcr, the son of Walter,
constable of Shropshire in the prccediuLr reign. At the
end of the autunni of 1139, they plundered and partly
burnt the city of Worcester. Immediately afterwards Talbot
attacked Hereford, set fire to the cathedral, slaughtered
the monks, and sacked the town. The king liastened to
Worcester, and then pushing forwards encamped his anny
at Little Hereford and Leominster. In the folio winjj vear
he again occupied Little Hercford,t not far distant from
Ludlow, which we may suppose to have been still held
by Gcrvase Paganel. Stephen's progress in this quarter
was arrested bv other events. In 1141, earl Rolwrt's
Welshmen took part in the battle of Lincoln, where the
king was made captive. J Milo de Gloucester, for hi.>

• The account of tliis siege is chiefly tnkcii fit'in ilic Cumii.ii.ii«»i ot"
Florence of Worct'^ter, pp. 527, 528. He spclU thir i.ainc Lutfrhirc. The
orthography in oilier accuiints of the same event is, Lufllnuc in Ilcnry i»r
Huntingdon; Ludvhncc in Roj^cr de Hovcdcn; Ltulehhirt in M.UfIi«>\\
I*4iis; Lo'lclowe in Ralph de Dicct and in Robert of (il«)U< ester.

t These particnlars arc given by ilic CuntinuaUir nl* Floreni «.• of Wor-
cester, pp. 5.31, 5.T2, 5.33.

1 Two of our most valuable border lu9tt)ri:in.s oiid \%ith (in.- viar.
Ordericus Vitalis, a native of ShropsIiire» whose father wa^i a iitiTity
minister of Roger de Montgomery, and tlie anonymoii:$ nmnk of Wor-
cester, who continued the Chronicle of ricirei.rc of V.«»n'r-.UT fimn ihc
year 1118.

H

•"lO I UK HISTORY OF Lrmxiw.

f'oiuluct ill tliU i'iigagriiu»nt, was rewarded by Matilda with
the earldom of llerefonl : and among the witnes^srs to the
ii;rant arc the sij^natnn*> of Ralph Paganel and Gill)erl
do Lacy.* During the various vicissitudes of the year
which followed, the Welsh border seems to have been less
frequently the scene of Jictive warfare between the con-
tending parties. In the summer of 1160, the city of
Worcester was taken by the army of Stephen, and a con-
siderable portion of it was again burnt to the ground.f
The castle of Ludlow also fell into the king's hands, but it
is not known when or how. It appears to have been
restored to Joce de Dinan, who is mentioned as holding it
in a deed of the last year of the reign of Stephen (1154).
This deed is a grant of the earldom of Hereford to Roger
son of Milo dc Gloucester. William Fitz Alan was restored
to the office of sheriff of Shropshire on the accession of
Henry 11.

Henry II began his reign by destropng no less than
cle%'cn hundred of the i)etty castles, the inmates of which
had oppressed the country so grievously during the reign of
Stephen ; and by seizing the royal fortresses which had
been usurped by the more powerful barons. Among the
latter was the castle of Bridgenorth, held by Hugh de
Mortimer who refused to surrender it ; and when the king
approached with his army to reduce him to obedience, he
])ersuaded Roger earl of Hereford to join in his rebellion,
and to fortify against his sovereign the castles of Hereford
and Gloucester. The carl of Hereford was soon restored
to ol)edience by Gilbert Foliot, the bishop of that sec;
but Hugh de Mortimer defended Bridgenorth castle with
obstinacy. During the siege the king, who was directing
the operations, narrowly escaped from an aiTOw which
was aimed at him by one of the garrison; his faithful
attendant, Hugh dc St. Clair, threw himself before the

* This grant is printed in Rymer's Fedem, last edition, i. 14.
t Robert of Gloucester*! Chronicle, p. 465 (ed. Hearse).

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 51

monarch and received the weapon in his own breasi.
Mortimer was soon afterwards conii)ellcd to surrender.
The humbled baron ap|)ears to liave wreaked his wrath
upon his neighbours, and we soon afterwards find him
engaged in open warfare with Joce de Dinan. The latter
could scarcely quit the walls of his castle of Ludlow
^nthout danger of being taken by Mortimer's men ; but,
learning one day that the lord of Wigtnorc was to ride
out alone^ Joce sent some of his men to lay wait, who
made him prisoner and brought him to Ludlow, where
he was confined for some length of time in a tower in
the third "baylle" or waird, till he obtained his liberty
by the payment of a very heavy ransom.* The tower,
which we are told in an old writer, was tlie loftiest in
the third ward of the castle, was known in the thirteenth
and fourteenth centiuies by the name of Mortimer's Tower ,t
a name which it took from this circumstance, and whicli
is still preserved.

The Welsh on the border continued to be exceedingly
troublesome during the whole of Henry's reign. In 1157,
less than three years after his accession to the crown, the
king led an anny into Flintshire, to repress the hostilities
of these mountaineers under their prince Owen Gwynned.
The enemy retired before him, and took refuge in the woods,
and he had reached the forest of Coleshill in the neigh-
bourhood of Flint, when, wth the ardour of youth, he
threw himself with his army into a wooded and dangerous
iwss. The Welsh from the mountains and woods attacked
him on every side ; many of his best men were killed,
among others Eustace Fitz John and Robert de Courcy ;
and Henry de Essex,* the royal standard bearer, hearing

• History of the f«nnd«tion of Wipnorc Abl)cy, printed iu ICllU's
Uugdalc, Tol. Ti, p. 3 10.

t Lc pliia h:ilt lour q'cst en la tcrce bayle del cbastel, qc or est ai^clt-
dc plusours Mortciucr. Komance of the Viit Wariness.

t The Pictorial History of England calls him Henry v»t\ of K«:$e7
The carl of Essex at !hi«« time wa» (Jeoffrcy de Mandcville.

52 THE IIISTOKY OK LVDLOW.

that the king w;i< killed^ threw down his standard cMui
spread the alanu through the anny. Tho confii>itni was
great and many of the EngUsh were shiin, but Rotrer earl
of Clare, with his omu retainers, raised up the* king's
standard and pressed forwawls into the heat of the battle,
and the spirited exertions of the young king restored the
army to order. As soon ns he had extrieated himself
from this diffieulty, he recruited his army and led it to
the south, and advancing along the coast by Glamorgan,
reached Pencadair near Cannarthen, where Ileos prince
of South Wales surrendered to him. Owen, the prince
of the north, also submitted, and gave hostages; and the
king returned by ' Elenith and Melenith* to England, car-
rying with him Roes as his prisoner, who however was
permitted to return home on taking the oath of fealty and
giving hostages.* Henry de Essex was disgraced for his
conduct in the battle of Coleshill. Six years afterwards, in
a quarrel with Robert de Montfort, the latter openly accused
him of treason in throwing down the standard with the
intention of betraying the king : Henr}' de Essex retorted
the charge, and the cause was decided by a judicial combat
in an island in the Thames near the abbey of Reading.
The standard bearer was vanquished and left for dead,
and his body was carried by the monks to their church to
be buried there. But when released from the weight of his
amour, he reeoveretl, and soon afterwards became a monk
of the abbey of Reading.f

* Giraldtts Cambrensis, llibcm. Bzpugn. c. 30 ; Itin. Cam. lib. i, c. 10.
and lib. ii, c. 10, compared with tiie other hit torians of the period.

t Cronica Joscelini de Drakclonda (edited by John Gage Rukewodc,
Esq. for the Camden Society), pp. 50-52. The account ditfcrs a little from
that commonly given, but Jotccline de Brakelonde received it from Henry
de EtMZ's own month, after the latter had taken tl;o cuwl at Reading.
The standard bearer assured him that he re.illy believed the king had
been slain*-'in tci vcntnte, prirdictus llenricus de K«^eMa uu liiuni regcm
llenricnm secundum, \Valcn!«utni rr.iu<libuf^ intcrcrpium, dnn rluuiii«9<*
•*redidit eztremtmi

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. -^hi

At the time when this combat took jOacc (v. n. ll(>»Jj,
tlic AVclsh ivgnrtlle^s of the safety of their hostages, wen^
again in anns. Beaten by the borderers, tliey were not
discouraged, and early in 11G5, the princes of North and
South Wales, in conjunction with Owen Kevclioc prince of
Powis, renounced their dependance on the English king.
Henry raised a great army and entered Po^vis-land by
Oswestry. The Welsh, as usual, retreated to their woods
and mountains, but they were closely pursued, and were
defeated with great loss on the banks of the river Ceiriog.
The English army at length encamped at the foot of the
13erwin mountains, but here the inclemency of the weather
was more fatal to the invaders than the cunning of the
Welsh in the former war. The rain fell in torrents and
swelled the mountain streams, and the position of the
English became so untenable, that they were obliged to
return home in confusion, and, being pursued by parties of
the enemy, lost many men in the retreat. Henry stung
mth mortification at this second disaster, took vengeance
on liis unfortunate hostages, who were by his order deprived
of their eyes. Giraldus Cambrensis, an attentive obser^'cr
of these events, but prejudiced against the king by his
personal feelings, blames him for undertaking such expe-
ditions without seeking the aid and advice of the border
cliieftains, who, by long experience, were better able to
carry on hostilities with the mountain hordes.*

It is probable, however, that king Henry saw little
reason for placing confidence in the fidelity of the barons
who occupied the castles in the Marches of Wales, and
who appear to have been busily occupied with their own
private feuds, which had been increased and embittered
by the confiscations and changes of property during the
preceding reigns. W^c have already seen Joce de Dinan
at war with his jKiwerfnl neighl>our Hugh de Mortimer;
M>iMi afterwards we find him rnga;;t»d in a still more

* GiralU. Cuinl». Itin. lil>. it, c. lO.

64 THE HISTORY OF LUDIX)W.

desperate feud with another of the old border chieftaill^.
Walter dc Lacy. It api)ears by the deed of the last year
of the reign of Stephen, mentioned above, that Hugh dc
Lacy then laid claim to lands which Joce do l>inan held
in Herefordshire, and it is not improbable that those con-
tending claims were the ground of the dissensions in which
**many a good knight lost his life;*' '.he traditions of which
continued to be the subject of minstrel song in the following
century,* and in the course of which the castle of Ludlow
passed into the family of the Fit/ Warines.

The first of this family .vho l>ore the name of Fulke Fitz
Warine had inherited by his mother Melcttc, daughter of
William Pevercl, the castle and honour of Whittington,
when seven years of age, Fulke was, according to the
custom of those times, placed in the family of Joce do
Dinan to be educated in the practice of knightly exercises,
for Joce was **a knight of good experience," and as he
grew up he became ''handsome, strong, and of goodly
stature." At the time when the hostilities between Joce
de Dinan and Walter de Lacy raged with most violence,
Fulke Fitz Warine had reached the age of eighteen.

One summer's day, Joce de Dinan arose early in the
morning, and mounted a tower in the middle of his castle
to survey the country. Turning his eyes towards Whit-
clifie, he was surprised to see the fields covered with
knights and soldiers in all the api)arel of war, and to behold
among others the banner of his mortal enemy Sir Walter
de I^cy. He ordered part of his knights to arm and
mount in haste, and to take with them arbalastcrs and
archers to go and defend the bridge and ford "below the
town of Dinan," and they drove back the Lacy's men, who

* For an account of the Romance of tlie Fiti Warincs* ncc a note at
the beginninir of our next section. It may be observed that the article^
on tiiifl (amily in Burke'a Extinct Peerage it full of errors. Walter ilt*
I«acy did not become in his own right lord of Ewy<i9 till after hi« father's
HcAth in 11A5. but ai the latter was constantly engaged in Ireland, he was
probably runsidered a« the head of the family on the bonier of Walr<.

THK HISTORY OF LUDLOW. OD

were already occupying the jiass. Soon after came Joce,
with five hundred knights and men at aims, besides the
burgesses of the town, and crossing the water they engaged
and entirely defeated the invaders. Walter de Lacy, after
having lost his banner and seen his men dispersed, fled
along the road which ran near tlie banks of tlic Teme
tow*ards Bromfield, called by the Anglo-Nonnan writer
Champ-Geneste (campus gencsta*). Joce do Dinan seeing
Walter de Lacy flvins: in this direction, followed him
unattended, and overtook him in a little valley within
sight of the castle, between the wood and the river, and
I^icy was already wounded and on the point of being made
a prisoner, when three of his knights suddenly made their
appearance ami came to his aid.

Joce's lady, with her two daughters Sibille and Hawyse,
had witnessed the combat and the subsequent flight from
a tower in the castle ; and terrified with the danger which
threatened their lord, who was now alone against four,
they made the place resound with their screams. Fulkc
Fitz Warine, who on account of his youth had been left in
the castle, was drawn to the spot by the cries of the ladies,
and, seeing them in tears, he inquired of Hawyse the cause
of their distress. " Hold thy tongue," she replied ; " thou
rcsemblest little thy father who is so bold and strong ; and
thou art but a coward, and ever wilt be. Seest thou not where
my father, who has cherished and bred thee with so much
care, is in danger of his life for want of help ? and thou
art not ashamed to go up and down safe without paying
any attention!" Fulke, stung by the maiden's reproof,
hurried into the hall of the castle, where he found nothing
but an old rusty helmet, which he put on as well as he
could, for he hsid not yet attained to the age of bearing
armour, and seizing a great Danish a^e he ran to the
stable which was close to the i)ostern that led to the river.
There he found a cart-horse, which he mounted, and
spurring across the river, he reached the spot where Joce
de Dinan, overcome by the number of his opjionents, was

•i<> THK HISTOKY OF LUDTXJW.

ulroaily iHsmoinitoil and on tlir ground. Yonn**: Fulkr
was no sooner amvcd, than xvitli one blow of his for-
midable weapon he cut in two the back-bone of one of
Ijacy's men who was securing; the fallen lord of I^inllow,
and with a second he clove the scull of another who was
coming to encounter him. Joce was now soon remoinited,
and Walter de Lacy wth his remaining companion, Arnold
do Lisle, who had both been severely wounded in the
action, were easily made priscmers. They were brought
to Ludlow castle and confined in a tower which was called
Pendovcr.*

Tlie two prisoners were treated ^ith kindness, and wer<»
frequently \4sited by the ladies of the household. Amongst
them was a " very gentle damsel" named Marion de la
Bruere (Marian of the Heath), who was smitten with
the courtly mien of Arnold de Lisle, and allowetl herself to
be seduced by his fair words and promises of marriage*.
IIa>nng thus placed herself in his power by her impru-
dence, she was further induced secretly to aid the escai>e
of the prisoners through one of the ivindows of the tower
by means of towels and napkins attached together. After
Walter de Lacy had obtained his liberty, he sent to his
father in Ireland for soldiers, resolved to avenge himself
on Joce de Dinan ; but after having carried on their hos-
tilities for a short time, the two barons were reconciled
by the interference of their neighbours. Soon after peace
had thus been restored, Fulke Fitz Warine was married mth
great ceremony to Ilawysc de Dinan ; and after the fes-
tivities were ended, Joce de Dinan with his household and
son-in-law, and Warine the father of Fulke, went to
* Ilertland,' baring entrusted the castle of Ludlow to
the care of thirty trusty knights and seventy good soldiers,
" for fear of the Lacy and other people."

* Romance of the Piti Wahnes, p. 17. The tower called Pcndover
was certainly not the keep or donjon. It appears from Ihc context to
hare been a tower in the outer wall, looking towards Linncy, an^l
common ica ting with the wail that ran at the back of the chapel, perhaps
the one marked 10 in our plan of the castle.

PLAN OF LUDLOW CASTLE.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 67

No sooner had Joce dc Dinnn quitted his c<astle, than
Marion do hi Brucrc, who had remained behind on pretence
of iUncss, sent a private message to her lover AruoUl dc
lasle^ acquainting him mth the state of the castle^ and
inviting him to pay her a visit, promising to let him enter
by the same ^vindow from wliich he and Walter de Lacy
had made their escape from prison. Arnold communicated
his intelligence to Walter de Lacy, and obtained his consent
to making an attempt on the castle. Havmg provided
himself with a ladder of leather of the length indicated
to him by the unsuspecting lady, he took with him above a
thousand knights and soldiers, the main body of whom
he concealed in the woods by ^Vhitcliffe, and the rest
were placed in ambush in the gardens below the castle.
It seems by the story that the ground under the castle,
bordering on the river, was then laid out in gardens for
the recreation of the family of the lord of Ludlow. It
was during a dark night that these movements were
effected; when Arnold, with an attendant who carried
the ladder, approached the wall of the tower, his mistress
was ready at the window, and threw do^vn a cord by which
the ladder was drawn up and fixed. The lady led liim
to her chamber^ and the ladder was left suspended at
the window.

In the mean time Arnold's attendant had returned to the
gardens, and brought forth the soldiers who were placed in
ambush. A hundred men, well armed, mounted by the
leathern ladder into the tower of Pendovcr, and whilst one
party, descending from the tower to the wall which led be-
hind the chapel,* threw the sleeping sentinel into the deep
foss wliich separated it from the outer ward, another party
went into the inner ward, and slew in their beds the
knights and soldiers who had been left to gtianl the castle.
They then issued from the castle, opened Dinham gate
(la porte de D]man vers la ry>'ere), to admit the rest of

*B 8*cn avalcTcnt dc la tour dc Pcndovrc, o s'cn alcrcnl yM ie mur Uo«
rcre lachapolc. Romance of the Fitz-Wariuos, p. 24.
I

58 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

Lacy'8 moil, and placing i>artie8 of soldiers at the end ot
each street, tliey burnt the to^vn and massacred the inliabi-
taiit^, siKirinp; neither woman nor child. At day-break,
Marion, who was in bed with her lover Sir Arnold, was
awakenetl by tlie shouts of the victors; she arose, and,
looking tlirough a window, learnt the treason which had
been acted during the night. In the agony of despair, she
seized upon Sir Arnold's sword and thrust it through his
body, and immediately afterwards threw herself out of a
window which looked towards Linney (Lyne}'e), and
^' broke her neck." As soon as he received intelligence of
the success of this attack, ^yalter de Lacy came with all
his force, and took possession of Ludlow castle.

Tidings of these events were brought to Joce de Dinan
at Lamboume. Joce and the Warines, having assembled
their friends and dependants, came with about seven
thousand men, and established themselves in the castle of
Cainham (Keyenhom), situated on a hillock about a league
from Ludlow, and then ''very old and the gates rotten.*'
The siege of Ludlow castle lasted long; the attacks were
frequent and vigorous, but Lacy who had many Lish troo^is,
as well as his own knights and retainers, defended the place
against them ; when however he ventured to go out from
the castle, he was severely beaten by the besiegers, and the
gardens about Ludlow were more than onoo covered with
the bodies of his soldiers who were slain in these skirmishes.
The attack was made on the side of the castle to which the
approach is now covered by the town ; the town, as we ha%'e
alieady observed, seems at this time to have been situated
only in Dinham and towards Mill-street. At length the
besiegers made a fire at the gateway witli bacon and grease,
so fierce that it burnt not only the treble door of the gate-
way tower, but also destroyed the tower itself, and Joce de
Dinan became master of the outer ward. In this assault
the chief tower in the outer ^vard of the castle (Mortimer's
tower) was nearly levelled with the ground, and almost the
whole ward destroyed. In the midst of these events Fulke

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 69

Fitz Warine's father died, ami Fulko became TiOrd of Wliil-
tinn^ton.

Walter de Lacy finding himself hard presso<l, fsent for
assistance to Jorw'crth Dnr\Tidwn (i. c. Jonverth with the
broken nose), prince of Wales, who invaded the Marches
with twenty thousand Welshmen, ravaged the countiy,
burning towns and. slaying the inhabitants, and six>edily
approached Ludlow. Joce and Fidkc fought against the
invaders with great braverj', but they were at length com-
I^ellcd to retire to Cainham, where they were besieged
during three days. Cut off from all hope of assistance, and
unable even to procure provisions, on the foivth day they
sallied out from the ruined fortress, and attempted to force
their way through tlieir enemies. After killing many of
the Welsh and Irish, they were ovenvhelmed by numbers,
and Joce de Dinan, with most of his knights that wxrc
not killed, was taken prisoner and committed to the dun-
geon of Ludlow castle. Fulke Fitz Warine, seeing his
fiEither-in-law carried away, made a desperate attempt to
rescue liim, and ran his lance through the body of the knight
who had. him in charge ; but he was himself sorely wounded
by Owen Kevelioc, and with difficulty escaped from the
field, and fled towards Gloucester, where king Henry was
at that time making his stay.

The king received Fidke M'ith great consideration, and
claimed him as his kinsman. He made his wife Hawyse
a lady of the queen's chamber, and sent orders to Walter de
Lacy to set at liberty his prisonei*9, on pain of incurring a
severe chastisement. Lacy was too well acquainted with the
vigour and skill of king Henry to disobey his commands,
and Joce de Dinan joined his son-in-law at the royal court.
Immediately after his arrival at court, the lady Hawj'se gave
birth to a son, who was named after his father FuIkc Fitz
Warine. Joce died at Lamboume a short time afterwards ;
and it was probably on his death that the king made a
grant confirming tlie right of his son-in-law to the castle of
Ludlow and the doiK'ndant honour of Con'c-dalc. This

60 THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

grant is said to have been made about the year 1176.
Fulke rose rapi<Uy in the favour of his sovereign, who made
him lieutenant of the Marches, in which capacity he was
very active in rosistinpj the aggressions of the Welsh, who
during the latter part of this king's reign again ravaged
Shropshire and Herefordshire.* He defeated the Welsh
prince in several combats, and particularly in a great
battle at 'Wormeslowc' near Hereford; and after these
hostilities had continued more or less during four years, a
reconciliation was effected between the Welsh prince and
king Henry, the former being allowed to retain EUesmere,
Whittington, Maylour, and other places on the border, and
Henry's daughter Joane was betrothed to Lewis, Jorwerth's
son. In recompence for the loss of these lands, the king
gave to Fulke the honour of ' Alleston.' It seems doubtful
if he ever again obtained possession of Ludlow castle. The
town which had been utterly destroyed in the wars between
Walter de Lacy and Joc^ de Dinan, was rebuilt, and tlic
new town was probably placed nearer to the church and
about the present Broad-street and Old-street ; it was
henceforth known only by the name of Ludlow. Perhai>s
amid the troubles and dissensions on the border, Walter dc
Lacy was aUowed to retain possession. Fulke Fitz Warine
continued to enjoy the favours of king Henry and of his
son and successor Richard, early in whose reign he died.

The preaching of archbishop Baldwin had led the way
to that outbreak of enthusiasm for the crusade which
characterised the opening years of the reign of Richard I.
The king, and wiUi him nimibers of the first nobles and
best knights of England and Wales, deserted their country
to seek a new field of action in the East. Contemporary
historians, carried with the general impulse, fill their pages
with the wonderful dcctls of valour performed in S}'ria, and
give us but a very imiKrfect account of the state of England
diuiiig UirhanrK absence. The jMirtial notices wliich have

* Romance <>( tho Ivi Waritu». p. T2.

TH£ HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 61

come <lown to us shew that England was torn by discord.
Tlic feudal barons had not yet forgotten the licence of
the days of Stephen, and tlicy were glad to be liberated
from the iron-anncd justice of the reign of his successor.*
The ambition of Jolm, Richard's eldest brother^ encouraged
their exiiectations, and laid the foundation of those hostile
combinations which a few years afterwards troubled his
own reign.

In the first year of his reign, king Richard provoked the
resentment of the Welsh by his uncomiieous treatment of
their prince Rhecs, who came to Oxford^ under the safe
conduct of prince John, to confer with him. King Henry
had Ix^n accustomed to meet the Welsh prince at this
place ; but Richard, despising the example of his father,
refused to quit his capital, and Rhees, ^'exceedingly angry,"
returned home.f On his departure for the Holy Land, the
king appointed Fulke Fitz Warine warden of the Marches ;
but his name scarcely occurs in the different events of the
following years. Soon after the king's departure^ in the
arrangement between prince John and the Chancellor, arch-
bishop Hubert, arising out of the siege of Lincoln by the
latter and the occupation of the castles of Nottingham and
Tickhill by John, tlie castle of Hereford was delivered to the
keeping of Roger Bigod, one of the Chancellor's partizans.
In 1197, Hubert was called to the border, to make peace
between the sons of the Welsh prince Rhees, who had quar-
relled about their inheritance after their father's death. At
the Christmas of the year following, 1198^ Hubert was
again on the borders^ and took from the lords who had
unlawfully usurped them the castles of Hereford, Bridge-
north, and Ludlow, which he delivered to new keepers.^

• See WilUam of Newbury, p. 380. Edit 1610.

t Roger do Horcden, p. 661.

X Bodcm anno, die natalis Domini, Hnbortut-— fiiit in Owallia apnd
Ilcrcfurd. ct reccpit in manu sua castollum do Hereford, ct castellum do
Brigcs, ci castcUum do Ludclaw, ozpulsis inde custodibus qui ea dtu
cusludicrant, ct tradidit ca aliis custodibus custodicnda ad opus regis.
Roger do Hovcilcn, p. 775.

62 THB HISTORY OF IXOLOW.

In the fifth year of this reign, 1194, the custody of Ludlow
castle had been given to GiU)ert Talbot , whose father
ap^xmrs to have been nephew of the Geoffrey Talbot who
was so active in Herefordshire during the reign of Stephen.
A few months after his last visit to the border, Hubert yxns
deposed from his secular dignities, and was succeeded by
Gteofirey Fitz Peter, who was almost immediately called
with an army to Wales to assist William dc Braose, who
was besieged by Gwenwynw^n in his own castle. The
Welsh were defeated with a great slaughter.*

This William de Braose, lord of Builth and Brecknock,
and allied by kindred to the Lacies and most of the great
border families, was deeply hated by the Welsh, and was
constantly engaged in hostilities with their princes. His
wife, Maude de Saint Waleri, was one of the most re-
markable women of her time, and was no less active in the
wars than her husband. At the beginning of the turbulent
reign of John, she and her husband enjoyed the royal
favour. She on one occasion presenteil to the queen three
hundred cows and one bull, all of them white ^*ith red
ears; and she boasted that she possessed above twelve
thousand milch cows, and that she had in her stores so
many cheeses, that if a hundred of the most vigorous men
in England were besieged in a castle during a month, and
if they were obliged to defend themselves by continually
throwing her cheeses at the assailants, let them throw them
as fast as they might, they would still have some left at the
end of the month. William de Braose and his wife soon
incurred the displeasure of king John; they returned a
proud answer to his message, and he went with an army
towards Wales. On his approach, William de Braose fled
to France, and Maude yxith her eldest son William went
over to Ireland to seek protection from their kinsman
Hugh de Ijacy, who was likeii'ise under the king's dis-
pleasure. As John piusued them from castle to castle in

* Roger 4e lloveden, p. 761.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 63

Ireland, they fled to the Isle of Mail and to Scotland,
where Maude and her son WiUiam were taken and sent to
the king. He ordered them to be inclosed in a room in
Corfc castle, with a sheaf of wheat and a piece of raw
bacon for their only provisions. On the eleventh day their
prison was opened, and they were found both dead ; the
mother was sitting upright between her son's legs with her
head leaning back on his breast, whilst he was also in a
sitting posture ^vith his face turned towards the groiuid.
Maude de Braose, in her last pangs of hunger, had knawed
the cheeks of her son, then probably dead, and after diis
effort she appeared to have fallen into the position in wliich
she was found.*

•wwwvwws<'w^w^/^/wwv^^/«^/w

SECTION IV.

Adventures of the younger Ftdke Fitz Warinc.

THE first Fulke Fitz Warine had, by liis ^vife Hawyse
de Dinan, five sons, Fulke, William, Philip, John, and Alan.
Fulke, as we have already stated, was bom soon after the
capture of Ludlow castle by Walter de Lacy ; he, as well
as bis younger brothers, and his cousin Baldwin de Hodnet
was educated with the children of Henry II; and he
enjoyed the favour of king Richard I during the whole of
that monarch's reign. After his father's death, which is
said to have occurred before the king embarked for the
crusade, Fulke had livery of his lands, and in 1195 he was

also restored to the possession of Whittington, which in the

•

* ThcM ptxticuUn relating to the Braoies, differing considerably
from the acconnte commonly receired, are taken from an anonymous
writer who Ured at the time, and was intimately acquainted with the
domestic erents of the reign of John : his work, in a strong Norman dialect,
was first printed by the Soci^t6 do I'Histoiro do France, in 8vo. 1840.
The account of Maude de Braose will bo found at pp. U 1*1 15.

04 THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

preceding reign had been allowed to remain in the hands
of Roger prince of Powis. He continued during this reip^i
to enjoy the charge of warden of the Marches. On the
accession of John, Fulke lost the royal favour, and became
an out-law. He was held one of the bravest knights and
strongest men of his time; and his adventures, while he
lived in the woods and on the seas, were the theme
of general admiration during the two centuries which
followed.*

* Wo cito tho intorMting namtiTo of tho adTcnturcs of Fulko by the
titlo of the Romance of the Fitz Warinee ; but it must not bo supposed that
by this titlo we mean to conrey a doubt of its being historical. The word
rowfluft, in its original aoeeptation, meant a book of any king written in
th« middle-ago dialects dariTed ftom the latin* each of which was called
LmguaRpmana, or Langue Romanes pure Latin being always characterised
as the Luupia Latma, or Langue Latme. The name Rommu (i. e. iiber
BomtmusJ became more peculiarly applied to the long poetical narratives
sung by the minstrels in the baronial halls, which sometimes recorded Um
old traditions of tho country, at others celebrated the deeds of the barons
in whose halls they were chanted and their feuds with their neighbours,
and at a later period becamo gradually restricted to stories of a more
imaginatiTc character, from whence has arisen our modem application of
the word. The Romance of the Fits Warines was rery popular during a
long period of time: it was first composed in Anglo-Norman rerse;
there appeared a reision in English Terse probably before the end of
ths thirteenth century ; and at the beginning of the fourteenth century
the original Anglo-Norman poem was transformed into a prose rcrsion.
The Anglo-Norman and English poems were extant in the time of
Leland, who has given an imperfect abstract of them ; but the prose
Torsion alone, as Csr as can be ascertained, is now presenred; it is
contained in a manuscript of the reign of Edward 11, in the British
Museum, MS. Reg. 12, C. XII. The writer who made the prose Torsion
has followed his original so closely, that we haTo cTidcntly the Tcry words
of the poem a little transposed, and with a little care we mi^t restore
the original verses of a considerable portion of it At tho end of the
aocoont of Joce's wars with Walter de Lacy, it is said " Now you haTO
heard how Sir Joce do Dynan, Sibillo, the elder, and Hawysc, the
youngor, his daughters, were disinherited of tho castle and honour of
Dynan, which Sir Walter de Lacy holds wrongfully** (ore a«cs oy com-
ment sire Joce de Dynan, ftc. furent disherit es de la chostcl e Tonour do
Dynan, que sire Walter de Lacy tietU A tort). This must have been
written before 1341, when Walter de Lacy died (the only Lacy who held
the castle of Ludlow), and therefore during the life of the younger Fulke
Fits Warine, of whose adrcnturcs chiefly it treats. Thu circumstance,

THK HISTORY OF LUDLOW. G5

The cniuity which existed so long between king John and
the family of the Fitz Warines, is said to have originated
in their boyish quarrels. While they were little more
than children in king Henry's household^ John and Fulke
were one day playing at chess, and the former, whose evil
disposition was exhibited in his childhood, angry at the
superior skill of his playfellow, struck him violently on
the head mth the chess-board. Fulke returned the blow
mth 80 much force, that the prince was thrown with his
head against the wall, and fell senseless on the floor. He
was soon restored to his senses by the exertions of his
playfellow, for they were alone; and he immediately ran
to his father the king to make his complaint. But Ifonry
knew his son's character, and not only rebuked him for
his quarrelsomeness, telling liim that if Fulke had beaten
him he had no doubt it was what he merited, but he seiit
for the prince's master and ordered him to be again beaten
" finely and well" for complaining.

John never forgot that Fulke Fitz Warine had been
the cause of this disgrace. Immediately after his accession
to the throne, he gave not only the wardenship of the
Marches, but also the family possessions of the Fitz W''a-
rines at Whittington, to Morice, son of Roger of Powis.*

and the exact knowledge which the minstrel shows that he possessed of
Lndlow castle and the bord«>r, leads mc to bclioTe the poem was
originally composed by a minstrel attached to the family of Fulke at
Whittington, when the jealousies were still alive which arose out of the
transfer of Ludlow from the Fitz Warines to the Lories. 1 have little
doubt that the incidents of the story arc in the main truc« if we make
allowance for the inaccuracies which must have arisen in their passage
from one mouth to another, with the embellislnncnts which party fccliiif;
would naturally give to them, and which in fact appear mure or less in
erery historical narrative. The poet, however, seems to have thought
himself justified in giving full scope to his imagination when he described
Fulke's adventures in distant lands, which it has not been thought neces-
sary to insert here. It ought to be observed, that since the present work
was begun, the prose text of the Komnncc of the Fitz Wsrincs has been
printed at Paris fSvo. 1810).

• The grant of ' Witinlonc and Overton' to Morice Fitz Roger (Mcurico
K

OG THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

Iieforc mentioned, who was known to the Normans by the
name of Morico Fitz Roger. When Fulke Icamt the injus-
tice which had been done to him, he immediately repaired
with his brothers and Baldwin dc Hodnet, to the court,
then at Winchester,* and in the royal presence, demanded
his right by the judgement of the common law. The king
refused to listen to him; he said that he had given the
lands to Moricc Fitz Roger, ''who should keep them, be
angry who might ;" and Morice coming forwards addressed
the claimant in reproachful words ; — ** Sir knight,'* he
said, ** you are a very fool, to challenge my lands. If you
say that you have a right to Whittington, you lie ; and, if
we were out of the king's presence, I would prove it on
your body." He had scarcely ended speaking, when
William Fitz Warine, less scrupulous in this particular,
stepped forward and struck him a blow with bis mafled fist
which left his face covered with blood. The knights who
were present interfered to put a stop to the fray; and
Fulke turning to the king reproached him ^ith bis injustice
and, having publicly withdra^vn his fealty, hastened with
his kinsmen from the court. They bad scarcely proceeded
half a league from the city, when they were overtaken by
fifteen of the king's best knights, well armed and mounted,
who called on them to stop, ** for," said they, ** we have
promised to give your beads to the king." "Fair sirs,"
said Fulke, ''you were, in faith, very foolish when you
promised to give what you had not got." And thereupon
sotting upon them, they slew or severely wounded fourteen,
and left but one able to ride back to carry the news to
king John.

Fulke hurried to bis castle of Alberbury, where his

ftlio Rogert de PeowUX <Uted at Worcester, April 11, 130(X it found on
the Charter Rolls at the Tower. King John was at Woieester from
the 6th to the 12th of ApriU

• It is most probable that Winchester is a mistake for Westminster,
where the king was on the ISih, 19lh, and 20th of AprU, 1200. He was
not ai Winchester during that year.

THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW. 07

mother was living, and having taken his leave of her,
he went hy sea to Bretagne, accompanied by his brothers
and his cousins Audulf de Bracy and Baldwin de Hodnet,
and carrying ^nth him large treasures which he had laid
up in his castle. King John immediately seized u))on
all his lands in England. After staying a short time in
Bretagne, where they were hospitably received by their
kindred (for their family was of Breton descent), Fulke and
his brothers and cousins returned to England, where they
were soon joined by others who were sufferers from the
injustice of the king. By day they concealed themselves in
the woods and moors, and travelled only by night, for fear
of the king's power, because they were as yet few in
number. At ' Huggeford' they were hospitably entertained
by Sir Walter de Huggeford,* who had married the sister of
Fulke's mother. From thence they went to the woods in
the neighbourhood of Alberbury, Fulke's paternal mansion,
where he learnt that his mother was dead. He next
removed to the forest of 'Babbyng,' near Whittiugton,
where he took up his abode ^vith his companions, in order
to watch the motions of his enemy Morice Fitz Roger. A
retainer of Morice saw them in the forest, and informed
his master, who went forth %nth his men to seek after
them. But Fulke no sooner saw them approach, than
he and his kinsmen rushed out of their hiding place, and,
attacking them fiercely, drove them back to the castle.
Morice was severely wounded in the shoulder, and was
closely pursued by Fulke Fitz Wariue, who approached
80 near the gateway, that he was shot in tlie leg by an
arrow from the wall. When the king was informed by the

* This Walter de Huggeford (of Shropshire) is mentioned in the
records, and appears to hate been constantly in rebellion against king
John. In September, 1207, he was a prisoner; Mandamus tibi quod
liberati facias Hugoni de Nuvillc vel ccrto nuncio suo litteras suas de-
ferent! Wahcrum de Hugcforde prison cm pro forests. (Patent Rolls,
6 Sept 1207). He was one of those who, in arms against John at the
time of that monarch's death, returned to his allegiance in 1217, the
second year of the reign of ilcnry Iff. (Close Rolls, p. 373.)

(>8 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

messenger of Moricc Fitz Roger that Fulke was in England,
he became " wonderfully wroth," and appointed a hundred
knights with all their retainers to scour the eountrj- in
search of him, promising a great reward to him who should
capture the outlaw either alive or dead. Tliese knights
separated and went into different parts of England ; but
the historian insinuates that whenever any one of them
had private intelligence that the object of their search
was in a particular quarter, he took especial care to go
in another direction, for they had not only a distaste for
Fulkc's blows, but they many of them also cherished an
affection for his person, and had no real desire that he
should fall into the king's hands. This Fulke knew well,
and he carefully avoided offering any injury to those who
were not his avowed enemies.

Fulke and his company went to the forest of ' Bradene,*
where they remained some time unobserved. One day
there came ten merchants who brought from foreign lands
rich cloths and other valuable merchandise, which they had
bought for the king and queen of England, ^vith money
furnished for the royal treasury. As the convoy passed
under the wood, followed by twenty-four seijeants at arms
to guard the king's goods, John Fitz Warine was sent out
to inquire who they were. John met with a rude recep-
tion ; but Fulke and his companions came forwards, and, in
spite of their obstinate defence, captured the whole party,
and carried them with their convoy into the forest. ^Vlien
Fulke heard that they were the king's merchants, and that
the loss would not fall upon their oivn heads, he ordered
the rich cloths and furs to be brought forth, and, measuring
them out with his lance, gave to all his men their shares,
each according to his degree and deserts, ''but each was
served with large measure enough." He then sent the
merchants to the king, bearers of Fulke Fitz Warine's
grateful thanks for the fine robes with which his majesty
had clad all Fulko's good men.

After this adventure they rcmovofl to the forest of Kent.

THE HISTORY OF LrniX>W. GO

Intelligence >vas rarricd to king John's knights who were
in search of liini, that Fnlke Fitz Warino was in a certain
wood ; and they innnediatcly raised the country about,
and came witli a groat number of })eoplc of all sorts to
surround the place where he was lodged. They placed
bands of men on every side to watch his egress; and
distributed watclnnen over the fields and plains with horns
to raise the cry if they saw hira pass from his hiding place.
The first intelligence of these movements which reached
Fiilke, was conveyed by the horn of one of his pursuers,
who was at no great distance from him. Fulke and his
companions instantly mounted their steeds, and with all
their company, horse and foot, they issued from the forest.
After several rude encounters, in which many of their
pursuers were slain, and in one of which John Fitz
Warinc received a severe wound on the head, the whole
party got clear of the snares which were laid for them, and
pursued the high road till they came to an abbey. Here
Alan Fitz Warine, having secured the iK>rter and taken
possession of the keys, sheltered the whole company within
the walls, except Fulke, who, dressed in the guise of
an old monk, took a great club and supported himself
upon it, and limping with one foot, walked very slowly
along the road side. He had not been long there before
a large body of knights, Serjeants, and their company,
arrived at fidl speed. " Old monk," said they, " have you
seen no knights in armour pass here 1" " Yes," said Fulke,
" and God repay them the hurt they have done me !" ''And
what hurt have they done you ?" said the knight who was
foremost. " Sir," said Fulke, ** I am very old and decrepit,
and with difficulty help myself. On a sudden there came
seven knights and fifteen men on foot, and because I could
not get out of the way, they made no stoppage but run
over me, and it was a chance that I had not been killed."
** Never mind," said the knight, "before night I promise
thou shalt be well avenged ;" and without more words the
whole party continued their route at full sjieed. Soon after-

TO THB HISTORY OF tUDLOW.

wards arrived eleyen other knights, magnificently mounted
on choice steeds. As they approached the place where
FiUke was standing, the chief of them burst into a fit of
laughter, and said, " Here is an old fat monk, who has a
fine belly to hold two gallons in it." Fulke, without utter-
ing a word, raised his club, and struck the knight such a
fearful blow under the ear as laid him breathless on the
ground. His brothers and their companions, who were
looking on, rushed from the abbey, and seizing upon the
knights, bound them and locked them up in the porter's
lodge, and taking the horses they mounted their whole
company, and rode without making any considerable pause
till they come to ' Huggeford,' where John Fitz Warine was
cured of his wound.

While they remained at ' Huggeford,' a messenger
arrived from Hubert le Botiler, or Hubert Walter, arch-
bishop of Canterbury. Hubert's brother, Theobald Wal-
ter, had married Maude dc Cans, (daughter of Robert
Vavasour), a rich heiress, and one of the handsomest
women in England;* and Theobald being now dead, the
lady sought protection of her brother-in-law the archbishop,
from the piursuit of the king, who, struck with her beauty,
harboured designs against her honour. Fulke and his
brother William, in obedience to the archbishop, who re-
quested an interview, went to Canterbury in the disguise
of merchants, and there, at the decree also of the arch-
bishop, Fulke Fitz Warine was married to dame Maude
de Cans. After remaining two days at Canterbury, Fulke
left his wife with the archbishop, and returned to his
men, ''who made great mirth and laughed and called
Fulke husebaunde, and asked him where he intended to

* She appean to hare been remarried by the king't license after
Folke'a pardon. ("See Patent Rolls, p. 74.) Hubert, archbishop of
Canterbury, died in l'i0>. There arose a misunderstanding between the
archbishop and the king in 1S01 (Matthew Paris pp. 205» 206) which
may have had some connection with the circumstances mentioned in
the text.

THB HISTORY OF LUDIX)W. 71

uke his wife, to his castle ov to )ii$ wood, and encouraged
one another and were very joyful."

At this time there dwelt on the borders of Scotland a
worthy knight named Robert Fitz Sampson, who with his
lady had often received Fulke Fitz Warine into his house
ivith great honour and hospitality. There was also in the
same neighbourhood a knight called Piers de Bruville,
who with a band of riotous companions used to wander
over the northern country and rob gentlemen and mer-
chants who were not on their guard, and commit many
other outrages, and all this he did under the name of
Fulke Fitz Warine, to Fulke's no small discredit. One
day Fulke came to the Scottish border, and as he ap-
proached the house of Robert Fitz Sampson, towards
night, he saw a great light in the hall, and on coming
nearer he heard frequent mention of his own name.
Having placed his companions ready at the outside of
the door, Fulke entered the hall silently, and there he
saw Piers de Bruville and his companions, all masked
and sitting at table, while Robert Fitz Sampson and his
lady lay bound in one comer of the hall, and the lady
cried piteously. — " Ha ! Sir Fulke," said she " have
mercy on us : I never did you any injury, but have always
shewn you good friendship !** Fulke Fitz Warine could
contain himself no longer ; without waiting for his com-
panions, he drew his sword and advanced into the hall,
and, with a voice of thunder, threatened that the first
who stirred from his place should be cut into small pieces.
''And now,*' said he, ''which of you is it who calls
himself Fulke T' " Sir,*' said Piers, " I am a knight, and
am called Fulke.** "By the love of God! then," said
Fulke Fitz Warine, " rise up Sir Fulke, without delay !"
Piers de Bruville, terrified at the fierce deportment of
the intruder, rose from his seat, and, without attempting
to resist, bound his companions one by one to their seats ;
and when they were all bound, Fulke made him cut oiT
their heads. Then addressing Piers de Bruville, he said

-V2 IHK HISTORY OF LL'DLOW.

'" you false knight, who call yourself Fulke, you lie ! I aui
Fulkc, and that you shall soon know, for I will now punish
you for all the ivicked deeds you have done in my name !"
and so saying, he struck off his head with his sword.

Having thus released Robert Fitz Sampson and his
lady from the hands of Piers de Bruville, Fulke repaired
again to Alberbury, and established himself in the wood
on the bank of the river. One of his companions, named
John de Rampaigne, was an excellent musician, and very
skilful 'jogclour/ who undertook to go to the castle of
Alberbury and report upon the movements of Fulke's old
enemy Morice Fitz Roger. John rolled up the leaves of a
certain herb, and put them in his mouth, and his face im-
mediately b^;an to swell and become discoloured so that his
companions scarcely knew him ; then taking a box with his
implements of ' joglerie,' and a stout club in his hand, he
presented himself at the castle gate, and was immediately
admitted: for ])erformer8 of this kind seldom found the
gates of the ancient feudal barons closed against them.
The porter led him into the presence of Morice Fitz Roger,
who asked him where he was born. " On the borders of
Scotland," was the answer. " And what is the news
there ?" " Sir, I know none, except of Fulke Fitz Warine,
who has been slain in robbing the house of Robert Fitz
Sampson." " Is that true ?" asked Morice. " Yes," said
he; ''at least all the people of the country say so."
" Minstrel," said he, " for your news I give you this cup of
fine gold." .\nd thus John de Rampaigne departed, Bficr
having leanit that the next day Morice was going to
Shrewsbury, slenderly attended. Accordingly on the mor*
row Fulke was up betimes, and having armed all his
company, he laid wait for his enemy, who soon api)eared
with his household retainers, and the four sons of Guy Fitz
Candelou of Porkington. Morice attacketl Fulke vigour-
ously, but in the end his party were entirely defeated, and
himself with the four sons of Guy Fitz Candelou, and
fifteen knights were slain. And thereby, says the nar-

THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW. 73

rater of these events, '* Fiilke had just so many the fewer
enemies."

During his wanderings, Fulke was frequently pursued
veiy closely by the king's men, who followed the track of
his horse's heels. But Fulke was crafty as well as brave ;
and he often caused the horses of his troop to be shoed the
wrong way before, so that his enemies were sent in a
contrary direction to that in which he had gone. Many a
hard adventure he suffered before he recovered his heritage.
After the slaughter of his grand enemy ISIorice Fitz Roger,
he went to Rhuddlan to Llewelyn prince of Wales, who
had married Joane daughter of Henry II of England, and
who like himself was constantly at war with king John.
The Welsh prince^ though grieving for the death of his
kinsman Morice^ gave the outlawed baron a friendly
welcome, and took him into his service. Since the times
of the Saxons, Wales had been the frequent refuge of
English outlaws. Fulke had not been long with prince
Llewelyn, before he put an end to the feud which had
raged sometime between him and Gwenwynwyn, the sou
of Owen Kevelioc, and by his pei-suasions effected a rccon-
cUiation between the two princes.

King John was at Winchester, and had not long heard
of Fulke's marriage at Canterbury, when news was brought
at the same moment of the death of Morice Fitz Soger and
of the reception of the slayer at the court of the prince of
Wales. For a few minutes the king sat still in silent
anger, unable to utter a word ; then he started up from his
seat — " Ha ! St. Mary !" said he, ** I am a king, England I
rule, and am duke of Anjou and Normandy, and all Ireland
bows before my sceptre, yet can I not find a man in my
dominions for all my offers, who will avenge me of the
injuries put upon me by one nnridy baron. But, though I
cannot catch Fulke, I will not fail to make a signal ex-
ample of the Welsli prince who has harboured him !'* He
immediately ordered writs to be issued, summoning his

74 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

barons to meet him with their retainers on a certain day at
Slu'ewsbury, to make war upon the Welsh.

Before the day thus appoint;^^ Llewelyn and Gwenwyn-
wyn had received intelligence of the hostile designs of the
English king. They assembled a great army at ' Castle
Balaham in Pentlyn/ and by the advice of Fulke Fitz
Warine, they fortified a narrow pass between the woods
and marshes, called the ford or pass of 6}'mele (le gu£
Gymele), by which the army of king John was obliged to
march. The English failed in the attempt to force this
pass, and the king, after losing many of his men, returned
to Shrewsbury.* The Welsh princes, in the midst of their
triumph, after having taken and destroyed the castle of
Ronton (belonging to John L'Estrange,t who was an active
partizan of the king), met at ' Castle Balaham,* and there
Llewelyn restored to Fulke his ancient heritage of Whit-
tington, Estrat, and Dynorben, to be held in fee of the
princes of Powis.

The king dispatched Henry dc Alditheley, or Audley,
with John L*Estrange, and a part of his army, to expel
Fulke from Whittington, of which he had immediately
taken possession. Fulke was celebrating his return to his
paternal castle with great festivity, and had with him a
large body of knights and retainers. When he heard of
the approach of the king's troops, he advanced to meet
them at the pass of * Mudle,' which he defended as Jong as
he was able %vith his inferior force, and then drew off to his

* King John was not «t Shrewtbnxy during the first four yesn of his
rcifrn; but he was on the border, at Hereford on the 4th and 5th, at
Ledbury on the 6th, and at Bridgenorth on the Hth, 12th and 13th of
November, 1200. He had been at Worcester in the preceding ApriL The
minstrel who composed the l*oem of Fulke Fitz Warine*s adTentures,
has evidently been led into errors of this kind by following popular
reports. King John was not at Winchester this year. He was there on
the 6th, 7th« and 8th of May of the year folIowiDg (1201).

t The name of John L' Estrange occurs frequently in the records of tho
reigu of king John. We find a grant to Johannes Extvanens April 16,
1200 (Charter RoUs, p. 45). He waa one of those who were to conduct
1 lewelyn to the king in 1304 (PaUat Rolls, p. 39j.

THB HISTORY OF LUD1X)W. 75

castle. In the defence of the pass, Fulk Fitz Wariiic,
as usual, performed many valourous deeds, as did also his
friend and companion Sir Thomas Corbet.* Fulkc's brothers
Alan and Philip were wounded, and one of his best knights,
Sir Audulf de Bracy, having been accidentally dismounted,
was overcome by the number of his assailants, and made a
prisoner. Henry de Alditheley ap^tears to have proceeded
no farther with his enterprise, but, satisfied with the deplo-
rable ravage which he had committed on the coimtry over
which he passed, he carried his misoner Audulf de Bracy
to the king.

Fulke was exceedingly grieved when he learnt the fate
of Sir Audulf; and John de Rampaigne was employed
on another minstrcPs adventure to free him from prison.
John as has been already observed, was skilful in all the
arts belonging to the minstrel's craft. Having, by means of
a certain mixture with which he was acquainted, stained
his hair and flesh black, he dressed himself in garments
of very rich material, but formed in a strange fashion,
hung a handsome tabour about his neck, and rode on
a fair palfrey through the streets of Shrewsbury to the
gates of the castle, to the no small wonder of the good
people of the town. He was quickly carried before the
king, whom, falling on his knees, he saluted " very cour-
teously." The king, returning his salutation, asked him
who he was. *' Sire,'* said he, " I am an Ethiopian min-
strel, born in Ethiopia." '' Are all the people of Ethiopia
of the same colour as you ?" asked the king. ** Yes, my
lord, men and women." " What say they of me in those
foreign lands?" '^Sire," answered John de Rampaigne,
'' you are the most renowned king of all Christendom ; and
your great renown has induced me to visit your court."
" Fair sir," said the king, " you are welcome." And
during the afternoon, John exhibited many a feat of min-

* Thomas Corbet is also mentioned in authentic documents of the
same period : he joined with Ihc barons ngainst John, in (he latter part of
that king's reign.

76 THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

strelsy both on the tabour and on other instruments, till
night drew on, and the king and his court left the hall
to seek repose in their beds. Sir Henry de Alditheley was
making merry with some of his companions in his own
chamber, and, when he heard that the king had retired,
he sent for the black minstrel to increase and join in their
mirth. And " they made groat melody," and dnmk deep,
till at last Sir Henry turned to a valet and said, ^* Go fetch
Sir Audulf de Bracy, whom the king intends to kill to-
morrow; he shall have one merr}' night before he dies.'*
Audulf was soon led into the room; and they continued
talking and playing till a late hour. To the muistrel was
g^ven the honourable ofRce of serving round the cup, in the
performance of which duty he was very skilful ; and, when
the whole party were nearly overcome ^nth the effects of
the liquor they had been drinking, he took an opportunity
of dropping into the cup a powder which he had provided,
and which soon threw them all into a heavy slumber.
John de Rampaigne had already made himself known to
Audulf de Bracy by means of a song which they had
been in the habit of singing ; and placing the king's fool
between the two knights who had Audulf in guard, they
let themselves down from the window towards the Severn
by means of the towels and napkins which were in the
chamber, and next day they reached the castle of Whit-
tington.

Fulke's lady, dame Maude de Cans, whose adventures
were hardly less remarkable than those of her husband,
rejoined him at the court of the prince of Wales. King
John enraged at her marriage with Fulke, had employed
spies to watch her motions, and to carry her off as soon
as they could find an opportunity. She was concealed
some months in the cathedral of Canterbury, where, pro-
tected by the sanctity of the place, she had given Urth
to a daughter, to whom the archbishop gave the name of
Hawyse. Fulke and his companions went secretly by
night to Canterbury and took her from thence to Ilug*

THE HISTORY OF LUDlXiW. 77

geford; and from thence she was caiTicd to Alberbury,
where she remained for some time in great secrecy ; but
being discovered by the king's emissaries she fled to Shrews-
bury, %vhere she took refuge in St. Mary's church, and
was there delivered of another daughter which received the
name of Joane. Her third child was bom two months
before its time, on one of the Welsh mountains, and, being
a boy, it was christened by the name of John in the stream
which ran from the " maidens' fountain." Both the mother
and her offspring were too weak to be removed far, so they
were carried from the mountain to a grange "w^hich was
tliat at Carreganant." When this child was re-christened
by the bishop, his name was changed to Fulke.

King John, disappointed in all his projects of vengeance,
now proposed a reconciliation with the prince of Wales, on
condition that Fulke Fitz Warine should be delivered up,
or at least dismissed from his service.* Fulke was made
acquainted with this proposal by the princess Joane, Llew-
elyn's wife, and, suspicious of treason, he sent his lady
secretly to Canterbury under the guidance of Bald^an de
Hodnet, and having committed her again to the care of
the ai-chbishop, he sailed with his companions to France.
Having remained there a short time, he fitted out a ship,
and took to the sea. After performing many wonderful
adventures on this element, wliich are too romantic to find
a place in a sober history, Fulke landed at Dover, and
stationed his ship in a position to be easily regained in case
of danger.

Hearing that king John was at Windsor, Fulke and his
companions directed their course thither, travelling by night
and seeking repose and concealment by day, till they reached

* We hftTe no details in the old historians concerning this brief war.
A peace was condnded between king John and Llewelyn, prince of Wales,
on the 11th of July, 1202 (Patent Rolls, pp. 8, 9). There must therefore
haTe occurred some hostilities with the Welsh during the first years of
the king's reign, which may hare called for the king's presence on the
border in 1200, and may hare been the same to which our story relates.

78 THB HISTORY OF LT7DL0W.

Windsor forest^ where they lodged themselves in an unfre-
quented place which they had formerly occupied, for they
were well acquainted with every part of the forest. They
had not been there long before they learnt by the sounding
of horns and the shouts of the foresters that the king was
gone to the chase. While his companions armed and
placed themselves in ambush, Fulke went out alone to seek
adventures. As he walked along, he met with a char-
bonnier, or maker of charcoal, who was poorly dressed and
black with the dust of the charcoal, and carried in his
hand a three-pronged fork. Having changed his dress with
this man, and disguised himself as a charbonnier, Fulke
seated himself by the pile of charcoal, and taking the
fork in his hand, began to stir and arrange the fire. While
he was thus busied, the king rode up to the spot, at-
tended only by three knights; on which Fulke, imitating
the gestures of a peasant, threw aside his fork, and fell on
his knees very humbly before him. At first the king laughed
and joked at his grim look and dirty garments; then he
said, " Master clown, have you seen any buck or doe pass
this wayT* Fulke answered "Yes, my lord, just now."
" >Vhat kind of beast was it ?•* " Sire, my lord, a homed
one, and it had long horns." " Where is it gone ?'• " Sire,
my lord, I could easily lead you to the place where I saw
it !" " Go on, then, clown, and we will follow." " Sire,"
said the pretended charbonnier, ''may I take my fork in
my hand ? for if any one stole it, it would be a great loss to
me." " Yes, clown," said the king, " if you like," and
thus Fulke led the king and his three knights to the spot
where his companions were concealed, who came out and
made them prisoners; and only sot them free after the
king had given his solemn oath to pardon them all, and
restore them to their lands.

The king was no sooner at liberty than, disregarding
his oath, he sent a party of men in pursuit of the outlaws,
under a knight of Normandy named Sir James. Fulke
and his companions slew or disabled tlic*m all, and taking

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 79

Sir James, they disarmed him, bandaged his mouth so that
he was unable to utter a word, and then put on him Fulkc's
old armour. Fulke and his men invested themselves in the
gay armour of Sir James and his foUo^vers, and thus dis-
guised rode towards the king; and Fulke having left his
men at a certain distance, delivered Sir James to the king,
and then returned, as be pretended, to pursue Fulke's
companions, for which purpose the king gave him his own
horse, which was remarkable for its swiftness of foot.
Fulke and his companions then fled to a wood at a consider-
able distance, where they dismounted to repose themselves,
and to dress the wounds of his brother ^yilliam, who had
been desperately hurt in the encounter. The king, be-
lieving that Fulke was now in his power, ordered him to be
hanged immediately ; but when they proceeded to take off
his helmet for that purpose, he discovered the trick which
had been put upon him. The king now ordered a much
larger body of knights to go in pursuit of Fulke, who came
upon him unawares in his place of concealment, and the
outlaws did not make their escape without great difficulty.
William Fitz Warine, too weak to defend himself, was made
a prisoner, and Fulke was carried away insensible from loss
of blood, by a wound which he had received on the back.
They reached their ship without further accident, and, after
Fulke had been restored to strength by the medicinal skill
of John de Rampaigne, they set out again in search of
adventures by sea.

In this voyage Fulke obtained much riches, and brought
home a cargo of valuable merchandise. As soon as he
reached the English coast, his first care was to learn the
fate of his brother William, who had fallen into the king's
hands in the encounter in Windsor forest. John de Ram-
paigne was employed upon this mission. Dressed ''very
richly" in the guise of a merchant, he went to London,
and took up his lodgings in the house of the mayor, with
whom he soon made himself acquainted, and whose esteem
he obtained by the valuable presents he gave to him.

80 THK HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

Julni ile Kainpaignc, who spoke ''broken Latin" (Latyn
corupt) which the mayor understood, desired to be pre-
sented to the king, and the mayor took him to the court
at Westminster. The merchant saluted the king *'very
courteously/' and spoke to him also in broken Latin, which
the king understood with the same facility as the mayor of
London,^ and asked him who he was and from whence
he came. " Sire," said he, " I am a merchant of Greece ;
I have been in Babylonia, Alexandria, and in India the
Greater, and I have a ship laden with spicery, rich cloths,
precious stones, horses, and other things, which would
be of great value to this kingdom." King John, after
giving him a safe-conduct for his ship and company, ordered
him to stay to dinner, and the merchant with his friend the
mayor were placed at table before the king. While they
were eating, there came two sergeants-at-mace, who led
into the hall a great knight, with a long black heard, and a
very ill-favoured dress, and they placed him in the middle
of the court and gave him his dinner. The mayor told
John de Rampaigne that this was the outlaw William Fitz
Warine, who was brought into the court in this manner
every day, and he began to recount to him the adventures
of Fulke and his companions.

John de Rampaigne lost no time in carrying this intel-
ligence to Fulke Fitz Warine, and they brought the ship as
near to London as they could. The day after their arrival,
the merchant repaired to court and presented to king John
a beautiful white palfrey, of very great value ; and by his
liberal gifts he soon purchased the favour of the courtiers.
One day he took his companions, and they armed them-
selves well, and then put on their ' gowns' according to the

* This will be eMily understood, when we consider that the king
and all the better classes of the people at this time spoke the language
known by the name of Anglo-Norman, which was one of the family of
languages derived from the Latin ; and that each of these differed from
Che other hardly more than the Bnglish dialects of diflerent count ice at
the present day. All these languages were, in fact, ' Latyn corupt.'

THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW. 81

manner of mariners, and went to the court at Westminster,
where they were ' nobly' received, and William Fitz Warine
was brought into the hall as before. The mercliant and
his party rose early from table, and watched the return of
William Fitz Warine to his prison, when they set upon his
guards and in spite of their resistance carried off the prisoner,
and having brought him safely on board their ship, they
set sail and were soon out of reach of their pursuers.

After staying some time in Britany, Fulke again returned
to England, and landed in the New Forest. It happened
that at this time king John himself was hunting in the
same part of the country, and while closely pursuing a
boar, with a slight attendance, he fell a second time into
the power of the outlaws. The result was, that the king
again pledged his oath to [Mrdon them as soon as he should
be at liberty. This time the king kept his word ; according
to the story, he called a parliament at Westminster, and
caused it be proclaimed publicly that he had granted his
peace to Fulke Fitz Warine and to all his companions, and
that he had restored to them their possessions.*

We have authentic documents relating to this last scene

of Fulke*s adventures. Tlic general pardon of the outlaws

is entered on the Patent Roll of the fifth year of king John

(in the Tower of London), for it was during the first five

years of that monarch's reign that the events we have been

relating occurred. So early as the third year of this reign

(80th April, 1SQ2), a pardon was granted to Eustace de

Kivilly, one of Fulke's band, who seems to have deserted

the company. The king was in Normandy, and not at

Westminster, when he granted his pardon to Fulke Fitz

Warine. In three successive months (August, September,

and October, 1S08), John gave three different safe-conducts

to Fulke, mth Baldwin de Hodnet and their companions,

* This muat be considered as one of the embellishmcnU of the stoiy.
The king wss not in the New Forest during the year 1203. In the
^SBiury of 1204, we find the king at different places in Wiluhire, so that
he may then hare been hunting in the forest, but it was two months after
the date of Fulke*s pardon.

S2 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

to repair to his presence. The pardon itself is dated at
Uouen, the 11th November folloiving. On the roll we hare
a list of his eompanioiis, among which we recogniae aeveral
of the names which occur in the story, and many of them
appear to be men of Shropshire and the Border. These
names are (besides Vivian de Prestecotes, who received a
separate pardon), Baldwin de Hodnet, William Fitz Fulke,
John de Tracy, Roger de Prestone, Philip Fit* Warine,
Ivo Fitz Warine, Ralf Gras, (or the Fat), Stephen de
Ilodnet, Henry de Pontesbury, Herbert Branche, Henry le
Norreis, William Malveissin, Ralf Fitz WilUam, Abraham
Passavant, Matthew de Dulvustry, Hugh Ruffiis, (or the
Red), William Gernun, Walter de Alwestane, John de
Prestone, Richard de Prestono, Philip de Hanewude,
Hamo de Wikefelde, Arfin Mamur, Adam de Creckefergus,
Walter le Sumter, Gilbert de Dover, William de Eggte-
munde, John de Lambome, Henry ' Waleng,* (probably
Walensis), John Descunfit, William Fet, William Cook,
Geoffrey his son, Philip de Wemme, Richard Scott, Thomas
de Lidetune, Henry Gloucester, Hugh Fresselle, Orune de
Prestecotes, Roger de Waletone, Reiner Fitz Reiner, Wil-
liam Fitz William, William Fitz Richard of Berton, Richard
de Wakefelde, Henry son of Robert King of Uffinton, John
Fitz Toke, Henry le Francois (or French), Walter Gk)dric,
Thomas his brother, Roger de Onderoude, (Underwood),
Roger de la Hande, William Fitz John.

In 1204, king John restored to Fulke Fitz Warine, his
castle of Whittington,* and different entries on the roUs
show that he continued to enjoy the royal favour until the
latter end of the king's reign, when he joined the party of
the barons. According to the story, Fulke after being
thus restored to his inheritance, ser\'ed in the wars in
Ireland with Randolph earl of Chester. On his return to
Whittington, he founded, near Alberbury, in a wood on the

* Rtz, Ike. ticccomiU Salopctbirw. 8ciu qood rtddidimot Pulconi
flUo Owsriai eMteUam de Wuitlatoiia cum omaibiu portiaeatiis suit, ticut
jut tt hmvdiUUn. Patent RoUf, p. 4C.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 83

bank of the Severn, a priory which was called the new
Abbey, and in which, after his death at Whittington, he
was buried. Fulke was blind during the last seven years
of his life. The prose romance ends with two lines which
are evidently taken verbatim from the metrical one, and
which tell us that the body of the lord of Whittington was
laid near the altar of the Abbey Church : —

** Joste le auter gist le cors.
Deus eit inerci de tous, vifs e mortz !*'

The date of Fulke*s death appears to be unknown, but it
probably occurred towards the middle of the reign of king
Henry III. Dugdale, who states him to be the same
Fulke Fitz Warine who perished at the battle of Leaves in
1268, certainly confounded him ni-ith his son, and thus
missed a whole generation in the pedigree. 'NVlien Fulke
was left warden of the Marches by Richard I (not later
than the beginning of the year 1190) he mxist have been at
least twenty years old, so that at the beginning of the
twelfth century he would be thirty ; if we add this to sixty-
ihxee, it will appear that according to Dugdale's statement,
Fulke Fitz Warine was at least ninety-three years old at
the battle of Lewes, which is destitute of all probability.
On the same supposition Fulke's son, born about 1S04,
would have been alive in 1314, at the improbable ago of
one hundred and ten years.*

*^*s^S^^^>f^^^^^^^^/^^^^S0^^^^^^^^f^*^Sf^^

SECTION V.
Border Antiquities of the Twelfth Century,

IN the twelfth century, the Welsh border was covered

* If the Romanco of iho Fits Warines was written durmg the life of
Fulke, it it of course understood that the details relating to his death were
added at a later period. It is howorer Tcry uncertain whcthci he did not
die some years before Walter de Lary.

84 THE HI8T0BT OF LUDLOW.

with castles aud monastic houses. A manuscript of the
earlier part of the reign of Henry III. preserved in the
British Museum^ furnishes us with a list of the most
important of such buildings then existing in Hereford-
shire and Shropshire* The list of castles in this district

* The following is the portion of this document (presenred in MS.
Cotton. Vespes. A. XVIIL fol. 159, Ac) which relates to the Counties of
Hereford and Salop.

t Bpiicopatifl. Hereford. S. Mr. et S. AthebertL Canonici sccularos.
Abbatia. Wiggemore. S. JacobL Canonici nigri.
Abbatia. Dore. S. Marie. Monachi albi.
Prioratos. Lcemenstre. 8. JacobL Monachi nigri de Rcdinge.
Prioratna. Hereford. 8. Petri et Panli. Monachi nigrt

Prioratos. Bartone. S Monachi nigii

Prioratns. CUiford. S. Mar. Monachi nigri de Clnniaco.
Prioratoi. Hereford. 8. Petri ot PaoU, et S. Oathlaci Monialcs nigr«.
Prioratns. Monemne: 8. Mar. et S. Florent Menachi nigri de Saiimer.
Pfioratns. Acemebery. S. Katerin». Moniales albc

Prioratns. Lingebroke; 8 Moniales albc

Prioratns. de Kilpek.
Prioratos. Ewyu Haraldi.

% Caatella. Hereford. Kilpek. Bwyaa Haraldu Ewyaa LacL Grosoinnd.
Skeaefireid. Caatnim Album. Moaemue. Qotrige. Wiltone. Cliffnrd.
Witesneic* Huntindone. Herdeleye. Wigmorre. Radcnowere. Keueuen-
leis. Ledebure north. Seynt BreTcL

SelqpMyrf.

f Abbatia. Salopcebery. 8.PetrietPauiiet8.MUbnrgc. Monachi nigri.
Abbatia. Beldowaa. 8. Mar. Monachi nigri.
Abbatia. Cumbemere. 8. Mar. Monachi albi.

Abbatia. Lilleshelle. 8 • Canonici nigri.

Abbatia. Hagemaa. 8. Mar. Canonid albL

Prioratos. Wenelok. 8. Milborga. Monachi nigri de Cluniaco.

Prioratos. Stone. 8.Michaelis. Monachi nigri.

Prioratos. Dudelege. 8, • Monachi nigri,

Prioratns. Bramieldi 8 Monachi nigri.

Prioratos. Wyggcmor. Canonici albi.

% Castella. Bruges. Salopesbery. Holgod. Corfham. Lndelaoo. Eiicsmere.
Cans. Blaacmoster. ij*.

THB HISTORY OF LUIiLOW. 85

includes the names of Hereford^ Kili)cck, Ewyas Harold
and Ewyas Lacy^ Grosmont^ Scrcufritb, White Castle,
Monmoutli, Goodrich Castle, Wilton, Clifford, Whitney,
Huntintgon, Eardesley, Wigmore, Radnor, ' Keueuenleis,'
Ledbury North, and St. Brieyels, and, in Shropshire, Bridge-
north, Shrewsbury, Holgod, Corfham, Ludlow, EUesmere,
Cause, and ' Blancmuster* or Oswestry. Of these castles,
those of Hereford, Monmouth, Goodrich (Castrum Godrici),
Wigmore, Radnor, Bridgenorth, and Shrewsbury, were
originally Saxon fortresses, and formed the defence of
the border previous to the Norman Conquest. Of some
of the castles in the above list no traces now remain ; but
the greater number, with others that are omitted in it,
still adorn the country by their imposing and picturesque
ruins.

These numerous castles may be divided into three or
four principal groups, of which the largest was formed by
the line of fortresses running along the Welsh boundary
of the south-western part of Herefordshire. Beginning
with Monmouth, we have in continued succession. White
Castle, Screnfrith, and Grosmont, within Monmouthshire,
and in Herefordshire, Kilpeck, with the two Ewyases,
Wilton, Clifford, Whitney, Eardisley, the chain being thus
continued to Radnor. It will be observed that the castles
on this line are nearly all Anglo-Norman; it formed the
basis of the operations of the early Norman barons in the
interior of Wales. Another line of castles skirted the
Roman road from Hereford to Shrewsbury. These, after
the entry of the Normans, became of less importance, and,
with the exception of Wigmore, the importance of which
arose iGrom its being the chief seat of the great and powerful
family of the Mortimers are scarcely mentioned in history.
Wigmore, with Richard's Castle, and perhaps Croft Castle,
were originally Saxon buildings. To this group was added
by the Normans the castle of Brampton Bryan, built by
Bryan de Brampton in the twelfth century. Ludlow
formed part of a line of castles which stretched from

86 THE HI8T0RT OF LUDLOW.

Richard's Castle along Corve Dale, and included the castles
of Corfham and Holgate, Another group^ including
Knighton, Clun, Bishop's Castle, &c. defended the Welsh
border on the north-west.

With the exception of Ludlow, the most interesting
ruins of the castellated buildings of the Norman period
belong to the first of these groups, and are scattered along
the southern and western borders of Herefordshire. In
general the remains of the castles which were built before
the Conquest are very imimportant. GkKidrich castle is a
fine and remarkable ruin; but the site of the castle of
Hereford is covered with streets, and of Wigmore castle
and tlichard's Castle the foundations and a few fragments
of the walls are all that remains. Of tlie history of
Caynham castle, which appears to have been deserted
from a very remote period, we are entirely ignorant. It
occupied the summit of a hill about two miles to the south-
east of Ludlow, which appears on the right hand side
of our view of the town and castle.

The only part of Ludlow castle which dates from the
time of Boger de Montgomery, and perhaps the only part
which that great feudal baron completed, is the donjeon,
or keep, built probably soon after the year 1090. This
massive tower, which rises to the height of a hundred and
ten feet, is a very fine example of the style which was
introduced by bishop Gundulf, as it is seen at Rochester
(built in 1088), and at Hedingham in Essex and Richmond
in Yorkshire, both erected at very nearly the same date.
The ke^p of Ludlow castle has from various circumstances
sustained several alterations which are not visible in the
others. The original entrance was on the first floor, at the
east turret, and was probably approached by a flight of steps
or an inclined plane, running down by the nde of the tower.
The old entrance still exists, but its inconvenience being
felt in the fifteenth century, the steps were taken away,
and a new entrance worked in the mass of the wall, with a
door-way of the time of Henry VII leading by a flight

THB HISTORY OF LUDIX)W. 87

of Steps to the first floor, and opening into the chief room
of the keep, at the foot of the newel staircase which runs
up the northern turret and formed the communication
between the different floors and the top of the tower. The
dungeon or vault underneath this tower appears to have
been approached by a passage which descended in the mass
of the wall from the above-mentioned entrance ; but i;i lator
times a door was made in the north eastern side, on a level
with the ground. Most of the windows and door-ways of
this tower are distinguished by their round Norman arches.
It has been already shown that this tower is not the one
which in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries went by the
name of Pendover.

When the castle was completed by Jooe de Dinan in the
reign of Henry I, it appears to have covered the same
ground as at present. The three wards of which it was
oomiiosed were, first, the keep or last strong hold in case of
extremity ; second, the castle properly so called, or the mass
of buildings within the inner moat, round what is now
popularly termed the inner court; third, the large court
without, also surrounded by strong walls and towers, and
by a moat towards the town, and intended for the reception
of cattle and of the peasantry in case of hostile incursions.
The two moats, or fosses, mentioned in the Romance of the
Fits Warines, were the one which still remains, and another
which occupied the place of the present walks on the side
of the town. The opposite side of the castle being situated
on the edge of the rock, did not require a moat, inasmuch
as, from the character of the ground, it was not exposed to
a regular approach. 'When the castle was besieged, the
attack was made from the side now occupied by the town ;
and the townsmen, who were not then numerous, and who
had probably no wall to defend them, took refuge with all
their property they could carry away in the outer ward of
the castle. The two forts erected by the besiegers under
king Stephen, doubtlessly occupied some part of the site of
the present town ; and it was from the wall on this side that

88 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

the grappling machine was thrown out by which the Scottish
prince was to have been captured. It is a mere popular
error which lays the scene of this event at the north front
of the castle.* The first important step in a successful
attacks was to gain possession of the outer court or ward.
We have seen that Uiis was effected by Joce de Dinan and
Fulke Fitz Warine^ who evidently made the assault on the
side of the town, and burnt the gateway tower. On this
occasion the walls and towers of the outer ward of Ludlow
castle were partially destroyed. When the outer ward was
taken, the garrison retired into the castle.

The foregoing observations apply, of course, only to the
period before the town of Ludlow had attained to any
importance, and therefore before it had been regularly
walled. The town, which had been reduced to ashes in the
wars between Joce de Dinan and Walter de Lacy, was re-
built after the castle had come into the possession of the
latter baron, and appears to have increased very quickly.
In 1199, as we have already stated, the church was found
too small for the population. It was probably towards4his
period that the walls of the town were built.

The chapel of Ludlow castle was probably built by Jooe
de Dinan, in the reign of Henry I. This seems to be dis-
tinctly stated in the Romance of the Fitz Warines, and we
are there informed that it was dedicated to St. Maiy Mag-
dalen, and that the day of its dedication was ** the day of
St. Cyriac (Aug. 8) and seventy days of pardon/'f All that
now remains of Joce*s chapel is the nave, a circular building
which may be classed with the four round churches at
Northampton, Cambridge, Little Maplestead in Essex, and
the Temple church in London. The chapel of Ludlow

• It it pr«t«Bdcd iluU Um fvappUas npnt wu Uitowb out of the
of Uie towtr marked 13 la oar plea.

t Joce de Dyaan lera autia; e t'ea ale 4 «e ckapeh dedeai eon
chMtel, que foit fet e dediA ea roaoor de ta If sfdaleyae, dovat le Joor de
la dedicalioa eet le jenr eeyat Cyryac e Ux« jenn de pardona. Ronaace
of Um Fill Warinee, p. 19.

THB HISTORY OV LVDLOW.

M either the eariiest, or (if the church of St. Sepulchre at
Cambridge be rightly attributed to the reign of Henry I) one
of the two earliest buildings of this description in England.
It is entered from the west by a remarkably elegant Norman
door-way, richly adorned with the ornaments peculiar to
the ityle of the period at which it was built.

On the opposite side is a large Norman arch, also very
beautifully ornamented, which once formed the entrance
into the choir, now entirely destroyed. It was formed by
two parallel walls, running nearly on the dotted lines in our
plan of the castle, and joining the circular building (o the
eaatem wall of the castle. There can be no doubt that this
dwir formed a part of the original building, from the

90 THK HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

character of the arcli, which led to it; and its position ib
intimated in the Romance of the Fitz Warines by the
mention of the '* wall running at the back of the chapel."
The round building which now remains has three semi-
circular-headed %vindows. A filleted ornament runs round
the exterior of the wall. Within it is surrounded by an
arcade, formed by small pillars with indented capitals,
supporting round arches with alternate plain and zigzag
mouldings. About three feet above this arcade is a line
of projecting corbels, carved as heads, &c., which appear to
have supported a gallery. A covered way formerly led
from the state apartments on the north to a door-way in
the wall of the chai>el %vhich afforded an entry into this
gallery. This was standing in 1768, and the place where
it joined the building containing the state apartments is
still distinctly visible. This chapel, even in its present
state, is a noble monument of the taste of Joce de Dinan.
In the time of queen Elizabeth, when it was entire, but
when the style in which it %vas built was very imperfectly
appreciated, it called forth the admiration of die poet
Churchyarde, who describes it as —

So bravely wrought, so fayre and finely fram'd,
That to world's end the beautie may endure.**

At that period the interior of the chapel was deformed,
rather than ornamented, by being covered with pannels
exhibiting the '' armes in colours sitch as few can shewe,**
which Churchyarde admired ; they began with Walter de
I^Acy, who was in possession of the castle at the end of the
twelfth century.

We ought perhaps not to pass over in silence the attempt
which has been made by the late historian of Shrewsbury,
to deprive Roger de Montgomery of the honour of having
been the founder of Ludlow castle.* Mr. Blakeway en-

* Mr BUkewfty's bypothetU wm firtt published in the ftccooBt of
Ludlow cMtle ia Britten's Architectnrml AntiqniliM, mnd lias bsea rsc«nlly

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 91

deavours with some ingenuity to show that Ludlow was
originally a possession of the Lacy family, and that it
continued so until the death of Walter de Lacy in the
reign of Henry III. The arguments brought forward in
support of this hypothesis will, however, not bear the test
of criticism. He has totally misunderstood the character of
the Romance of the Fitz Warines, which he describes as
'' entirely fabulous" and " of not the slightest authority.'*
This story, as has been before observed, was ^vritten during
the life of Walter de Lacy, the only one of his family who
is known in history as having possessed Ludlow, and it
represents the traditionary history of the castle as it then
existed in the family which had previously held it. It is
not credible that that family can have been so ignorant as
not to know whether it was an inheritance of the Lacics or
not. Although, without doubt, mixed up with exaggera-
tions and legends, the nunstrePs narrative is very straight-
forward and consistent; and the accuracy with which the
writer speaks of persons and places,* shows that he was
by no means ignorant of what he was doing. The contrary
hypothesis presents many very grave difficulties.

The most ancient monastic establishments on the Welsh
border were those of Leominster and Wenlock, which date
from the seventh century, and which were both houses

given in a more enlarfed form in the raluable collection of docnmeuts
relating to Ludlow published by the Hon. R. H. Glive, since the foregoing
sheets were printed.

* K minute examination of the records would probubly identify all the
persons mentioned in the history in question. Audulf de Bracy, the hero
of th^ story related at pp. 75, 76 (of the present volume), is mentioned in
the Abreviat. Placit p. 59, as being engaged in a dispute with Roger de
Mortimer on the subject of some lands, in the ninth and tenth of John.
The name ' Mudle' (p. 74, of the present volume) occurs in the chartulary
of Haghmon, MS. Harl. No. 446, ful. 21 ; it is the same as the modern
Middle. All these coincidences tend to show that the writer of the
Romance of the Fits Wariues had either authentic Jocumeuts before him,
or that he liTed near the time of the events which he relates, and was
weU acquainted with the families of the persons who had taken a part in
them.

9Jt THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

of nuu8. That of Leominster was founded about the year
660. St. Ethelred, king of Mercia^ is said to have been
buried in this priory.* At a later period, Leofric, earl of
Mercia, was a great benefactor to it, as well as to Wenlock.
During the Danish invasions the nuns were compelled to
seek safety by flight, and their habitation was reduced to
ruins, in which state it remained many years. At the time
of the compilation of Domesday book we again find the
nuns in possession of the monastery, for they and their
abbess are frequently mentioned in that important record.
In what manner the society of nuns was broken up and
dispersed we are not informed, but in the time of Henry I.
it had fallen into the possession of laymen.f That monarch
gave it in 1125 to his new foundation at Reading, monks
were placed in it, and it remained dependant on that house
until the time of the dissolution. A register of this priory
is preserved in the British Museum.^ The church, in its
present state, built probably soon after the priory was given
to the abbey of Reading, is a fine specimen of the English
style of architecture, in its most profusely ornamented form,
but contains some early Norman work in the north aisle.

The nunnery of Wenlock, of which the remains form a
very interesting monument of early English architecture, is
said to have been founded about the year 680, by St.
Milbuiga.|| This establishment was twice destroyed by
the Danes. It was raised from the ruins, and entirely

* Et Adelredni la loco qiii didtur at*Leomeiist«r, prop« anmem Lneg*.
List of SainU buried in BngUnd, giTen in LeUnd, CoUecUn. ilL 81. !%•
sane lUtement it made in the Anglo-Saxon Ust of Saintly piiated by
Hickea, from a MS. at Cambridge.

t Qnam abbatiam manni laica din poeeedit, are the words of klag
Heary's charter to the abbey of Reading.

{ MS. Cotton. Domit. A. III., a Tolnme of great Talne to the historiaa
of Herefordshire.

I The Aagio-Saicoa liet of 8aint% quoted aboTe» oalls her Winbaiga-
tkmne rested See. Wiabnrii on Nm myaitfe Wenlocan aeah Hf sa H
aoB Scfem hateS.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 9S

rebuilt in 1080, by Roger de Montgomery, who placed in it
a congregation of monks from Seez in Normandy. William
of Malmesbury describes the exultation not only of the
monks, but of the whole neighbourhood, when, soon after
their arrival, an accident brought to light the tomb of
St. Milburga, the position of which, amid the mass of ruins
by which the place was encumbered, had been entirely
forgotten.*

The abbey of St. Peter's at Gloucester also laid claim
to great antiquity, having been founded, as was said, by
king Osric, in 681. A part of the body of the sainted king
Oswald, slain in the battle of Maserfeld near Oswestry,
is said to have been buried here.t The magnificent church
of the abbey is now the cathedral.

The monks of St Ethelbert in Hereford possessed in
their cathedral the body of their saint. The priory of
St. Guthlac, in that city, also appears to have existed
before the Norman conquest. It afterwards became a cell
to the abbey of St. Peter's at Gloucester.

We find in Domesday book that these different religious
houses held considerable landed estates in the counties of
Hereford and Salop. After that period their riches con-
tinued to increase; and before the end of the twelfth
century numerous other monastic establishments had been
founded.

Three years after having rebuilt Wenlock, in 1088 Roger
de Montgomery founded the monastery of St. Peter and
St Paul at Shrewsbury, which also he filled with monks
of Seez. The church of this monastery still remains, a
valuable example of the earlier Norman style.

* WU. Malmib. D« Oettu Pontificum, p. 287.

t IKmne la sea. Otwaldes heafod eyninget mid tee. CaM>eitat lieha-
msn, and Ids swi^e eann it on Bebbanbyrig, and te o9er d»l la on Glewe-
eoastre on niwan mjrnttre. (Anglo-Saxon Liat of Sainta)— Then the head
of St Oswald the king ia wiUi the body of St. Cnthbert (at Durham),
and hie right arm ia at Bamborooght and the other part ia at Gtonceeter,
in the new minster.

94 THB HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

In the year 1100, William Fitz Alan of Clun founded
the abbey of Haghmon, of which the ruins are still con-
siderable. Among them is a remarkably fine Norman
gateway.

In the same year, Harold, lord of that Ewyas which
from him has since continued to bear the name of Ewyas
Haroldi, founded the priory of Ewyas, and gave it as a cell
to the abbey of St. Peter's at Gloucester.

In 1105, was founded the priory of Bromfield, near
Ludlow, as a place of secular canons. In 1155, the prior
and canons, wishing to become monks, placed themselves
under the government of the abbey of St. Peter's of Glou-
cester, and from that time Bromfield was considered as only
a cell to that great monastic foundation.* The remains of
the priory consist of a gateway of late date and some insig-
nificant ruins adjoining to the church.

About the same time, in the reign of Henry I, a cell of
Cluniac monks, subordinate to the priory of Lewes in
Sussex, was founded at Clifibrd in Herefordshire, by Simon
the son of Richard Fitz Ponce, lord of Clifford castle. This
Simon was the uncle of '' fair Rosamond" the celebrated
mistress of Henry II.

In 1134, was founded the small priory of Kilpeck, in
Herefordshire, which was given in the same year by Hugh
son of William Fitz Normand, the lord of Kilpeck castle,
to the abbey of St. Peter's at Gloucester. The little church
of Kilpeck, preserved in nearly its original condition, is
one of the most remarkable buildings of the twelfth century
that can now be shown. It exhibits a mixture of sim-
plicity in arrangement and extremely elaborate ornaments
in detail.

In the year following, 11S5, Roger, bishop of Chester,
the foundation of the great abbey of Buildwas, between

* Abbo Domini m. c. !▼. canontct de Dromfeld d«denut •cclotiam
•t teiptot «d moDftchatam eccelctia Suicti Petri GloncMtriv. Chron.
or01oiiec«t«r» MS. C<Mtoii. Domit. VIII. fol. ISO, t.

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 95

Shrewsbury and Wenlock. Its ruins are extensive and
very picturesque.

In 1136 was founded the abbey of Lantony, in the deep
Tale of Ewyas. Giraldus speaks with admiration of its
situation. It was probably rebuilt or much enlarged early
in the thirteenth century; for the ruins of this ancient
abbey exhibit the transition style of that period ; a mixture
of round and pointed arches.

Dore abbey was founded by Robert de Ewyas, in the
reign of Stephen. In the same reign, a. d. 1145, was
founded the abbey of Lilleshall, near Donnington in Shrop-
shire. It was endowed with the estates of a college of
St. Alkmond, said to have been founded by Ethelfleda the
lady of the Mercians. The remains of the abbey church
exhibit some fine specimens of Norman workmanship.

The most considerable monastic foundation in the imme-
diate neighbourhood of Ludlow was the abbey of Wigmore.
A small college had been founded at this place in the
year 1100 by Ralph de Mortimer, but of its subsequent
history we know little or notliing. Some years later (about,
or soon after, a. d. 1141*) a small religious house was
founded at Shobdon by a knight named Oliver de Merli-
mond, who placed in it two or three monks whom he had
invited over from the famous abbey of St. Victor at Paris,
but it does not appear to have been dependant upon the

* The reMons for fixing this date are these. We learn from the
History of IJ^gniore given at the end of the present Section, that the
chnrch was dedicated by Robert Beton, bishop of Hereford; that the
builder, nhen he turned his foundation into a priory, applied to Gilduin,
abbot of St. y ictor^ then very old, for monks of his house to place in it ;
about which latter period arose a great quarrel between bishop Beton and
Mtlo, earl of Hereford* Gilduin, the successor of the famous Guillaume
de Champeaus, died abbot of St Victor at a Tery advanced age in 1155 ;
Robert de Reton presided over the see of Hereford from il3i to 1148;
and Blilo enjoyed the earldom of Hereford from 1141 to 1154, and his
qaairel with the bishop preceded the close of the ciril wars, as we learn
from his life. The beginning of Mile's earldom consequently appears to
be the most probable date of the construction of the church of Shobdon.
and iiiitt best the other circumstances of the story.

96 THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

foreign monastery. Amid the troubles on the border, the
monks were driven from their resting place, and after many
vicissitudes, were allowed to settle at Wigmore, under the
patronage of Hugh de Mortimer. That powerful baron
founded the abbey of Wigmore, according to the generally
received account, in 1179.* Little now remains of the
ancient abbey .f

In the reign of Richard I, a nunnery was founded not
far from Wigmore, at a place called Lymbroke or linge-
broke. Leland describes it as " a place of nunnes withyn
ii. myles of Wygmore." By some the founder is said to
have been one Robert de Lingam : others make it a foun-
dation of the Mortimers. A member of this latter family
also founded a small religious house at ' Feverlege/ but it
was afterwards suppressed, and its endowments given to
the houses of Wigmore and L}'mbroke.

Another nunnery was founded, in the reign of king
John, at Acombury, three miles from Hereford, by Mar-

• AeeordiBg to the old chronicle of Woicetter, in If S. Cotton Cftlif.
A. X. which hat boon printed by Wharton in hit Anglia Sacra, tho
foondation of Wigmore took place in 1173. The founder died In 11R5,
aoeording to the same authority,

t Dug dale hat printod from a MS. then in the poeeeeeion of lord BniM»
two aoooonta of the foundation and history of Wigmore abbey, one in
Anglo-Norman, eompoeed apparently early in the thirteenth eentnry, the
other in Latin, much more brieC but brought down to the time of Edward
IV. I do not know what has become of the original manuscript ; but as
the interesting Anglo-Kormaa tract is printed with great inaccuracy In
Dugdale, I shall give a more correct test with a translation in an appendix
to the present Section. The chartulary of Wigmore is preserred in the
arehiToe of the earl of Oxford. There are manuscripts of a chronicle of
Wigmore ; the best copy belonged to Mr. Heber, and is now in the pee-
eeasion of Sir Thomas Phillippe. Bart al Middle HUU Worcestershire. I
have been desirous of ascertaining if there were any documenu in Prance
which might throw some light on the eariy connection between Shobdon
and the abbey of St Victor ; but the only chartulary of St Victor which I
eould find in Paris is preeerred in the ArchiToe du Royanme in the H6tel
Soubise, and the charters which it contains are neariy all of a later datig
and relate only to the abbey's poesewions in Prance.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 97

garet the wife of Wcaltcr dc Lacy. In the same reign was
founclcd the priory of Chirbury in Shropshire.

One or two otiier monastic houses are mentioned in the
early list given in a note on a preceding page/ some of
which arc erroneously placed in Shropshire and Hereford-
shire. In the remains of these buildings, we may in
general consider the parts which exhibit the Norman style
as being coeval with the date of the foundation of the
monastery, particularly in those of smaller importance ;
for the mode of building then in use seldom required con-
siderable repairs mthin a century after it was completed,
unless it wei-e destroyed by some outward accident. Tlie
number of accidents, however, to which the larger religious
buildings were subject, during the twelfth century, is quite
extraordinary. We leai-n from the old chronicle of Wor-
cester in the Cottonian manuscript, that the cathedral
of that city was destroyed or seriously damaged at least
three, if not four, times between II IS and ISOS, inde-
pendent of the injuries it must have sustained in the time
of Stephen.t In the thirteenth century the religious orders
multiplied rapidly, and the number of monks was much
increased; in consequence of which most of the monastic
houses were enlarged, and many were taken down and
rebuilt.

The insignificance of the town of Ludlow during the
twelfth century is evident from the circumstance that it
appears to have possessed no religious house before the

* See page 81.

t The following entries occur in this chronicle. —

A.D. 1113. Ciyitas Wygornia cum principali monaaterio et castello
igne cremata est, xiij. kal. Jun. One monk and twenty men were burnt
on this occasion.

A. D. 1175. Turris nova Wigom. corruit (this was, of course, the
steeple of the cathedral).

▲. D. 1189. Tota fere Wigornia igno combusta est.

A. D. 1202. Ecclcsia catlicdralis Wyg. cum omnibus a^acentibua ci
oiBcinis et magna parte ciyitatis, .xt. kal Mai. igne conflagrtTit alicno
quarta nocto Pasch.

o

98 THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

reigii of king Joliii. It was ]>robably at the close of that
reign, or certainly VC17 early in that of Henry III. that
Peter Undcrgod founded the hospital of St. Jolm the
Uaptist near the bridge which led over the Temc to Ludfoni,
and furnished it with friars of the order of St. Augustine.
Tlie site on which the house was built he bought of Walter
Fitz Nicholas. Besides other revenues, he endowed it witli
the fulling-mill which appears to have stood near it, and
which he had bought of Gilbert de Lacy, and with all his
lands in Ludford (et totam terram meam quam cmi, habui,
et tenui in villa et campis de Ludford). Tlie witnesses to
Peter Undergod's charter were Walter de Lacy, Sir John
de Monmouth, Pain (Paganus) de Ludford, Pain ' Carbnell,*
Philip Colcvile, and Edmund de Ludlow. Walter de Lacy's
confirmation of the foundation of Peter Undcrgod is wit-
nessed by John de Monmouth, Walter Omiguen, Walter
Coudcocke, Richard de Ghnvesende, William Fitz Osbert,
Henry de Hibemia, Pain de Ludford, and Master Herbert,
clerc. The charters of Peter Undergod and Walter de
Lacy have no date, but the royal confirmation is dated
the 18th day of July, 5 Hen. HL (1««1).»

We learn from these charters that in the reign of king
John there was a bridge at Ludford. It had probably
been built at the latter end of the twelfth century, and it
seems to have been known by the name of Teme bridge
(pontem do Temede).

Besides the remains of monastic edifices in the Marches
of Wales, there are numerous little churches of the twelfth
century, some of which remain in a perfect state, and
which are singularly interesting to the antiquary. The
church of Kilpeck, on the southern border of Herefordshire,
and the remains of that of Shobdon, not far from Leo-
minster, are two of the most remarkable monuments of the

• Copiw of the ehitftert of 81. John** hotpiul at Ladlow (made appa-
rently about the tame of Jamca I) are protenred in the Britiah Mnseunii
US. Harl. No. 6690, fol. 89, Ac The chartcra of Peter Undcrgod, Walter
de Lacy, and Henry III, are printed very imperfectly in Dvcdale*

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 99

kind in £i)g:land. In the cailier hair of the twelfth century,
Shubdoii had only :i cliai>cl, dei^ndeiit on the church of
Aymcstry, and built of wood, a material employed in the
roiutruction of many churches mentioned in I)omcsday-book.
The original church of Aymestry must have been of consi-
derable antiquity." Among the numerous churches which
exliibit s)>ccimcns of Norman architecture, with the distin-
sniishing semi-circuLir hcndwl dooi-s and windows, we may
mention in the more immediate neighbourhood of Ludluiv,
those of Little Hereford, Burfurd, Puddlestone, the Ileadi
chapel, the church of Eye. and the htile church of Avron.

Tlic Heath chaitel is a remarkably curious spccinieu o(
Anglo-Norman architecture ia its simplest form. It stands

• Connet of regular block* of lr»Teriinc otciit in Ihc foignts nnd ollior
part*, eipccialljr in Ibc chancel end, of (he prracnt fabric and are pviilmily
the worked up rotlerialt of ■ more ancienl church, wlijrh wu pr<>l>.il>])
luilt of that material. Moccaa church, coutiiiiing a NMnnnli niili. niul
curiout tympanum, i* built on a simitar ground plan to that of Kiliicik.
with B circular cud, and ii alloecthcr coinpo^cd "t thai malerial wlii'h
mav l>c iccu formiiif; in Ihc gruuuili atlj-niiiii):

100

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

in a very retired district at the foot of the Brown Clee Hill,
a little more than two miles to the north of the village
of Stoke St. Milborough, and is seldom visited by travellcFB.
it is a plain rectangular building, consisting of a nave
and a small chancel. The south door has a semi-circular
arch, ornamented with a rather bold zig-zag moulding,
with an unadorned tympanum. The windows, particularly
at the west end, arc mere loop-holes. Even the cai^t
ivindow exhibits the same characteristics, being enlai^cd
internally to a moderate sized round headed uvb. Our
engraving represeiits a view of this chapel from the west.

The interior is represented in our second view, and ia as
devoid of ornament as the exterior. The nave is separated
from the chancel by a plain but not inelegant round arch.
The font is also curious, and ia without doubt a work of
the twelfth century. It is placed in our wood cut on a
different spot to that which it really occupies in the church,
in order that it might be brought into the picture. It was
probably such a church as this which in the Iwclftli century

THK HtSTOKY OF I.UDLOW,

liUiud besiik- tlio f'mieniry iiiniiiiil nii i\uj smuiiiit ut' tlic Uill
nt Ludlow, niMl which in 111)!) was fimnd Xo be too siimll
for the incrciising populnttoii of the town.

Thv little church at Aston, three miles from Ludlow
on the road to AVi^ore, which also stands in the im-
mediate vicintty of two tumuli or lows, exhibits the same
simplicity of design ; but the nrcli and tympanum, repre-
sented in the cut on the present page, are more ornamented.
The latter represents the lamb with the cross, in a circular
compartment in the middle, supported by a grifHn and a
cow, both winged. Of the four Bgures on the border of
the tympanum, the two to the left were evidently intended
to represent a cow and a horse, but the others are at present
not 80 easily defined.

Early fonts are preserved in the churches of Lydbury,
the Heath chapel, Leint>vardine, Orleton, Hereford cathe-
dral, Tedstonc, Delamere, Eardisley, and Castle Frome.
Tlicy arc all interesting, and several of tliom are adorned
with remarkable and beaiitiftd sculpture.

102 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

APPENDIX TO SECTION V.
History of tfie Foundation of Wigmore Abbey,

IN the time of king Stephen, son of the count of Ulois,
who reigned in England by force after king Henry the son
of William the Bastard, there was a very noble bachelor in
England, worthy, valiant, and bold, Monfticur Hu<^h do
Mortimer by name, noble by nature and by blood, of fair
stature, courageous in arms, very reasonable in speech,
profound in council, and very rich in landed possessions^
and the most glorious knight, renowned and feared before
all who were then living in England. Of whom if we
should commit to writing all the worthy actions which ho
ix^rformcd chivalrously in England, in Wales, and else-
where, they would amount to a great volume. Moreover,
he was the most open-hearted and liberal in giving of all
who were known anywhere in his time. The noble earl
of Herefonl, Roger, rich and valiant, with a great body
of retainers, but proud and haughty, frequently made so
much ado that he was obliged to remain fortified in his
castles for fear of him. In like manner king Henry,

f^mdatienis ^futdem Bistoria.

EN !• tempt del roy Esterene, fits al countc do Bloyi, qui regna en-
Angleterre par force api^t le roy Henry fiU A William Bastardt eatoii
na tresnoble bachiler en Bngleteiro, preus, Tailant, et hardy, moimaieur
Hugh de Mortimer h nomc, noble do nature [c] de sane, de bealo et taUire,
▼aillaat en armee, renoble en parlor, parfond do consail, ei trctrichc do
terieu (SKoltes* et lo pint glorioaa cheraler, renomo et dote devant totes
que adonqne lareat en Bngleterre Tirants. De qny si nais aeistans (f)
en eaerit touts lee pruettii leequeU U fist chevalerousement en Engletcrre,
en Owalee et par allora, si amonterent-U d un graunt Tolume. Et outre
^eo, !ut-U le plu franc et liberal de diTert dons de tuts ceux qui out
conuseeyent en ton tcmpe nule part Le noble conte do IlcrcrorX
Roger, riche et Taitlant, et de graunt rctenancc dct gents, et fccrt, el
orgoilottt, tant fort demena toTcnt que & force ly coTicnt en refut dcmorcr
en tet chattcU dcmoyne pur doutc de ly. Entcmcnt lo roy Henry,

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 103

who came after king Stephen , laboiured often with his
whole army, as is fully ^vritten below.

Hoir the very noble lord Monsieur Hugh de Mortimer
made Oliver de Merlimond his chief steward, and gave
him the town of Shobdon to serve him loyally, and how
the church of Bhobdon was made.

This very noble and honourable lord, wishing to give
himself up freely to his pleasures and amusements, without
charging himself with or intermeddling in other things,
chose a prudent man, ^vise and experienced, who was
named Oliver de Merlimond, and made him chief steward
of all his land and manager of all his property. This
Oliver possessed the land of Ledecote by descent of heritage,
and his lord Monsieur Hugh de Mortimer gave him in
addition all the town of Shobdon, to serve him more
loyally and more laboriously. And to Eode, son of the
said Oliver, he gave the parsonage of the church of Ayme-
stry. At that time there was in Shobdon no church, but
only a chapel of St. Juliana, and that was of wood, and
subjected to the church of Aymestry; whereupon Oliver
was very thoughtful on the building of a new church in
Shobdon, and in honour of what saint he would have it
dedicated when it was finished. At last he selected St. John

protchen apr^s Is ro^ Etterene, sovent — od toat son host trsTailla
corns ssi plsinemsnt dssons sscrit.

Commf U trmMobie 99jfgnour moumiewr Hugh tie MorUmerJS$t OUver de
MefUmond mm ehi^ eeneeehai^ et ly dona la vile de SehMedon pur ly
leaiemetU eertir, ei eometU Vegliee de Sehobbedon fist fete.

Ce[8]ti tresnoble seygnur et honorable, Teillans entendre frtnchement Ik
les delitez et Ik ses deduts, santz soy carker ou entremettre d'autres chosez,
olnst nn sage home, coynte et averty, que out nom Olyrer de Merlymond, et
ly fist chef seneschal de tote sa terre et mestrc do tote sa possession. Ccsti
Olyrer aveit la terre de Ledecote par descente de heritage, et son seignur
Monnsienr Hugh de Blortimer ly dona 2k 9 eo tote la Tille do Shobbedon, pur
ly pins lealment serrir et plus peniblement. Et 4 Eode fitz k dit Olyrer dona-
U la personage de I'eglise de Aylmondestreo. Adonke n'esteit en Schobbedon
nulo eglise, m^s tant soulement une chapel de sainctc Juliane, ct celc fut do
fust et sogett^ hi I'egUso de Aylmondestreo ; doimt Olyyor esteit mout pensifs
de fere lever une noTelc cglise en Schobbedon, et en honour de quel seinct
t'oleyt que ele fat dedy^ quant elc fut parfoto. Aiiderrein si elust-il sainct Johait

104 THE HISTORY OP LUDIX)W.

the Evangelist, whom Jesus Christ chose before all the
other disciples, to be patron of the church.

After that, he sent for Eoile his son, parson of Aymestry,
and they took counsel together how his church of Shobdon
might be relieved from its subjection to the church of
Aymestry, by an annual payment of two shillings. When
this matter was settled, the said Oliver began the building
of the church of Shobdon. In the mean time this same
Oliver was seized with devotion and desire to perform the
voyage to St. James (of Compostello) in pilgrimage, and he
entrusted to a knight named Bernard the whole care of the
work, with the necessary funds; and he undertook the
pilgrimage in the name of God, and came to St. James safe
and sound. When he had performed his duties there,
he returned, always thoughtful of the work at Shobdon :
and when he approached the city of Paris, a canon of the
abbey of St. Victor overtook him, and very devoutly prayed
him to take up his lodgings in the abbey, and he with
great difficulty agreed to it, and entered into the abbey
with him, and was handsomely and courteously received
with great honour.

While he was therein, he examined and carefully consi-
dered all things which he saw in the hostelry, in the
cloisters, and in the choir, and particularly the service which

rEvtn^cli4, loqud Jcsu Crist dust dcvant (utz les autres disciplcj, pur caire
pnUon de Teglue.

Apr^s feo fiiA-il apeler Eode ion fiti, per tone de Aylmondestreo et entrc-
con«elerenl comcnt tt egliie de Schob)>cdon puit cilre hon de subjeclion de
realise de Aylmondestreo, par unc cmpcn^un annuele rciidaunt de .ii. a. Quant
ce[s]te chose Cut afBmii*, »c etitremist Ic dit Oliver dc ToveravDC dc Tegliv dc
Scbobbedon. De cntrc ^eo ft*aveil roeynics ccly Olyver devociun et talent de
prendre le vja^e d SciotU Jake en pclerina^e, ct baila u un chevalcr Bernard
tote la cure de Toverayne, od esfienseA nccessaires ; et empris tlepelc rinagc el
non DeUf d vynt Ik Seinct Jakes seyn et heyte. Quant tl out fet iieokes ^eo qe
fere dust, w retoma, tot dis penMf de Toverayne de Scliobbednn ; et quant it
aproachea Ik la ehk de Paris un chanoine de I'abbeye dc Seinct \'iclor ly
atteint, ct nolt devoutenent le pria dc sun hostel prendre en Pablicyc, et il k
frant peyne ly otrea» et nd ly en I'abbey entra, et fut bel ct cortciscment
re^eu A f^raunt honour.

Tarii cooie il fuileinr, Mrepanla*il ct entcntivcnicnt aviu totes chosen q'il
vi*t en Toaerie, en IVncIoystre, en le qncor, rt nomcmcnt Ic service qe

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 105

was iierformecl around tlie altar ; and his heart was much
moved at the decency which lie saw among them in all
places. Then he took leave of the abbot and the other
brothers there^ and returned to his own country. And
when his church was entirely finished, he very humbly
requested Sir Robert de Beton, bishop of Hereford, of
whose gift we have the church of Lydbury-north, that
he would condescend to dedicate his chiurch of Shobdon ;
and he granted the request, and fixed the day of the dedi-
cation. At the day assigned came the bishop, and all
the great lords of the country, knights, clergy, and others,
without number, to be present at the solemnity, and before
them all was read the composition made between Oliver
and Eodc his son, and it was confirmed by the bishop, and
witnessed by all the people. And when the church had
been dedicated, the feast was very ceremoniously laid out
for the bishop, and for the others who were invited, and for
those who might come of their own accord.

Immediately afterwards OUver heard that the parson of
the church of Burley, who was named Wolward, was de-
prived for his ill-conduct, and he prayed the bishop Robert
that he would grant him the patronage of that church; and
the latter granted his request because nobody could deny
what he desired, inasmuch as he was second after Sir Hugh

ODt fis( eotoor Tauter ; et inut \y v\ nt al queor de devocion la honest^ q*il vist
pareiitre eus en tutz lieus. Doiit il prist coiige de i*ahbe et des aulres freres
deleyns, si letiirna il sun proprc pais. £t quant sa cjjlise fut tote parfete, si
requi^-il mut humblement Sire Robert de Betun, eve>ke de Hereford, dc quy
done nus avouns Ic e^li.se dc Lyde bury -north, qu'il dei^nast sa eglise de
Schobbedon dedyer ; et il ly f^raunta, et jour dc la dedicaciun ly assigna. A
eel jour a-isignc vynt reveH]UC^ et totes les »rants sci^nieurs du pais, chivaiers,
cler.i el autre?, sans nombre, pur esire u la soilempnete ; devant queux loutz fut
Icwe la coinposicion fete parentre Oliver et Eode sun fitz, et de Tevcske fut
coiifirme, et de tote la people tesmony^. Et quant I'eglise fut dedy6, si fnst la
mangcrie mut soileinpnemenl apparile pur Pevcske, et pur autres apelez, et pur
ceus que vindrent de {;re.

Tost aprcs si oyt Oliver que la |)er!>oiic lie ro*,']i<^c de Bu\rlcy qu*out
iioin Wolward, par m?s deserts fut dejuvr, >i pria re\e>ke Robert que il ly
vousit ;:riint[er] la doiio\:>oii de ce) o^rlin^ ; il ly ;:r.-iiita pur ^eo que nul
n'osa nyer & la cho«e (pi'il desiraj c \r il oloit Ic M'rond apr^^s Sire Hugh

V

10() THE HTSTOKY OF T.VDT.OW.

(Ic Moi'tiiiier. And when Oliver had the church of Shobdoa
and that of Hurley, and his land at I^cdccotc and Lantony,
in his handy he dcteniiincd to give them to people of
religion, and he remembered the decency that he had seen
formerly among the canons of St. Victor at Paris, and sent
a letter by one in whom he trusted, named Roger White,
to the honourable and Jiged abbot of St. Victor, whose name
was Gilduin, begging that he would send him two or three
of his canons, for whom when thev came he would find all
that should be needful for them, and in abundance.

To which message and letter the abbot gave no credit
because it was sealed by Oliver's own authority, and not
bv an authentic seal : and thus for that time the mcs-
senger returned without having cfTected the purpose of his
mission. And when Oliver leanit from his messenger the
result, he went to the aforesaid bishop of Hereford, and
shewed him all his intention fuUv : of which intention and
dovotinn the bishop was very glad, and caused a letter to
be made and sealed >vith his seal and that of Oliver con-
jointly, and sent them by Roger Knoth, one of his secretaries,
to tlie same abbot of St. Victor, urging the same request
Mhich liad been made before. Whereupon the abbot
by the advice of all liis chapter selected two, namely

Je M«»[i]icinfr. Rt f|ii.ini Oliver avcit IVglin* clc Schobbedon cl dc Buyrler,
H "a lorre dc LcdecMe ci dc Laiitonc, cii sa niayn, si out en purpoj de
U*< duncr u sjeiils do religion, el se remembra de ThonoMelo qii*il viM auire
iVez enire )c< ili.inoynes dc Sei net Victor dcPHr\s, el manda par Jk'z Icflres
par ini de (|'jy il atfia, qii*out a nom Ro<;er le Blanc, al honoral>le abb^
et veN, f|iii out nom (iilwyn, dc Seinct Victor, emphaunt qii'il vou«it maunder
a ly .il. on lii. de <ez chanoine^, a* qucles qnant eu« veiii^«ent il lor irovereil
|o| veo que mejlrc lor -eniit, et fox son.

Aqitt'I ine«-aj:e t>c a«! leUre< ne donna Tabbc foy, pur ^eo que par >a
aii'li»rile deine\ nc fircnt en«eelcs el non pa» par srel autcntik ; et isji
retorna Ic iiict^ajre ado»ikc dcsc^^pleit^, D qnant Olwcr avojt enteado
par »on me»*a:re L'eu fut frt, <i aU • !*a\'antdit e\e^Ue de Hereford, et
moMra 4 l\ tut ?on pirpf-s ple!r.( inent ; «lo qnele piirpo* el dcvoriun m
fii*t l*e\e«ke nmt rei"*;, el fi*-! fere •<*< le!:re«» enM'cle< de ^un «el cl dfl ^cl
Olwer joynlentent, rt le% m.iii<U par R«;:iT Knoili, iin *\v .*cz pivo*. a
mr)inez I'abbe de .^eincl Victor, etnpriant l.i re<|Me>t [lajqnel il a\o\t avaiint
prit". Dont Tahbe par C"n*eil de tot lonr cln(»o!re cln<i .ii , c*ct-ii-$aroir

THB HISTORY OF LUDIiOW. 107

Roger and Arnold, of whom Roger was afterwards made
abbot of 'Owens6' and Arnold abbot of St. Victor. The
abbot sent these two to Oliver, to whom he gave all that he
had promised beforehand for their sustenance, namely the
church of Burley and the church of Shobdon, where he
gave them an habitation in a very decent house near the
church. He gave them in like manner his land of Lede-
cote, mth the granges full of wheat, and oxen, sheep, and
pigs in great plenty, with two carucs of land.

At this time arose a dispute between Robert bishop of
Hereford and Milo earl of Hereford, insomuch that the
bishop excommunicated the aforesaid earl, then present,
with all the city of Hereford, and caused the doors of the
church to be stopped up with thoiiis, and the crosses to be
beaten down to the ground, and came to Shobdon at the
request of Oliver, and lived among the canons at his own
expense, until the earl was reconciled to him and his party
and all the aforesaid city. Then after^vards the canon^s
were very sorrowful for the departure of the bishop from
their society, and also ver}' sad because they were so far
distant from their abl>cy, and they sent to the abbot
Gilduin of St. ^'ictor, bo<;<;ing thcit he would send others in

Roger ei Eniys, dMqneui Roger fui fet aprit abb« dc Owcnse ci Emys
mbM de Seinct Victor. Ccut .it. si manda Tabbe u Olyrcr, aqocU il batla
toiet lea cboaes qu*il '• avcit promis cndemcntres pui lor sustinauncc, c'ct-
A-earoir Teglisc dcs Buyrlr [et] Tcglise de Sckobbcdon oii il les list habttcr
en on meson asscz koneslc prcs de rcglisc. II lor dona cuscment s»a (circ
de Ledecotc, orc^kc Ics granges plcines de blocs, cl bcaHi, bcrbiz, ct pores
tt grant plcnt^' orcske .ii. carucz de tcrre.

En yccl temps .sourdy uu cuutck parcntre Hubert c%oskc Uc Hereford
ei Myles contc dc Hereford, en t:ini que Tcvcskc e\kumc(;a Tavautdit
conic adonc present, uwskc tote la cite de Hereford, ct list estoper Ics
boys dc Tcglise dcs cspynes. et les croiz abatre tot u la tcrre ct vynt a
Schobbedon par la request dc Oliver, ct vcsquit entrc les chanoincs a ce»
costagcs demeync, jcske atant que le contc fut aeorde ;i ly ct as sons, el
iuie la citi- arantdite. Puys aprc5 isteyeiit Ic:* elianoiiics niut dolenis
pur [lei departure de I'eveske de lt>r ruuipaiiic, ct rnsonieni Irop iiKairiH <
pur ^eo que cus furnit inul \*t\i\y de l»r ahliey, si iiiunderi'iil a I'.iMm-
liildwyn dc Seiiiet \ ictor, cinpriaiitz qu'il vousist luaiider autic^i eu i^r

108 THE HISTORY OF LUDtX)W.

iheir place^ who knew how to speak and understood the
English language^ and who knew the manners of the
English^ and that they might be allowed to return to their
abbey. And at the same time they sent word that the
place which they had was good and agreeable, with sufficient
goods to furnish what was needful. And the abbot granted
their request, and sent thither three brethren bom and bred
in England; and when they came to Shobdon, they were
very handsomely received, and established there, and the
others departed thence and returned to their abbey.

And soon after arose a quarrel very great and terrible
between Monsieur Hugh de Mortimer and the aforesaid
Oliver, so that Oliver quitted him, and went to Sir Milo
earl of Hereford, who was then entirely his friend. And
when Sir Hugh was aware of this, he caused him to be
sunmioned three times into his court to answer to the accu-
sations he had against him. And because Oliver feared
the cruelty and the malice of his lord, he did not dare to
appear in his court, but kept himself meanwhile in peace.
And when Sir Hugh perceived well that he would not
come, or send another in his place, he seized into his own
hand all things which belonged to Oliver, with the goods of

lyv, qui tiUMiit parler et entendre Ungtge d'Bngleterre, et qui mneni U
mnner dee EngUi, et ke ene puaeent retorner it lor abbey. Et cnecmblc-
ment manderent que le lyn q'iU eroyent fut bon et aTenant* et anea
dee bent par trover lor neceeeaxiet. Et Tabb^ granta loor reqneet, et
manda iUeoquea .iiL freree nei et norris en Engleterre; et qnant eve
Tindrent k Scbobbedon, ai forcnt mut honcetement reccoe, et ileoke plaatet*
et lea autree a'ea departirent d'ileokee 4 loor abbey.

Et bien toet aprte eoordy vn deeeord trop fraont et hidoaa parentre
Moaaatew Hugh de Moilemer et TaTantdit Olyrer, iaai qe Olyrer •*€&
departi de ly, et ala k Sire Milca conte de Hereford, qe ceteit admkee
•on amy enter. Et qoant Sire Hogh ^eo apercenet, le fist apeler troia
feet en ea conrte por retp<«ndre at qnerelet letqnelee il aveit Tert ly. Et
puT f eo qne Otyrer dota la malice et la cmeltv dc ann eeignnr, n*oea
apparance fere en ea covrte, m^ ae tynt en pees enderoentree. Et quant
8ire Hugh viat ben q*il ne roleit Tcnir, ne autre en ion lyu maunder,
priat ea ea main totee let choeet qe furrut u Olyver OTc»kc let beeaa

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 109

the canons. Nevertheless he would not do any severity to
the canons without judgment^ and he gave them respite to
dwell there a year; and after the year they were to go
where they pleased, as people who had entered on his land
without his leave, and had been brought thither by his
adversary. And as the canons neither would nor could
remain in the country, they prepared to fly secretly, for
they had neither succour nor aid from any one.

Sir Gilbert de Lacy saw this, and thought to please Sir
Hugh de Mortimer ; he came to Lantony, and took by seig-
nory all the things which belonged to the canons, and caused
their wheat to be carried away, which amounted to a great
sum of money. And because where earthly aid fails, God
comes forward to assist, it happened that there was a great
congregation assembled at Leominster for business of impor-
tance, at which assembly were the bishop of Hereford with his
attendants, and Sir Hugh de Mortimer with his, and Robert
prior of Shobdon, and many other knights, clergy, and laics,
assembled from all parts. And when the affairs were settled
for which they came, mention was made of the canons of
Shobdon, for whom the bishop and the knights there present

dea dumoinet. Nepurquani U De Toleit fere as chanoinei nule durett^
Mats jiifeineiitt ti lor dona reepit jeek'k nn an entiwani de fere demeore;
et aprte Tan alaascnt d*ileokes \k o& beal lor fat, si come cetia qe IVirent
entries en ta terre tants sun conf^, «t amenees ileokcs par tun adTersarie.
Et let chanuines no voloyent ne no poyent estre en la contr^, ae apparile-
rest de sey mettre en fuyte privement, car toconra ne aveyent ne eyde de
nnly.

Cete choec Tist Sire Gilbert de Lacy, ct Toleit (fere] plcaire k Sire
Hugh de Mortemer; Tint k Lautony, et totct les choset que forent as
ehattoines si prift.il par seineoric, et lor bles fist aporter, qe amonta A
grant somme d'argent. Et pur f eo qe par la oA tericn cide delant Dens
i BMt socours, avient qu*il y aveit one fTsnt congregacion assenbU k
Leonnestre par hautcs busoynes; aqnd assemble estett I'eTeske de
Hereford od les toons, et Sire Hu^ de Mortemer od les seons, et Robert
le priour de Schobbcdon, ct autrcs plusoor, chiralers, clercs, et laycs,
assembles dc totes parte. Et quant les bosoynes furcnt tcrmines pur
quels eus Tindrcnt, fut mcneiun fete ileokcs de les chanoincs de Scliob*
bedoBt por quels reveske et les chevalcrs qe ilcokes ostcieat prierent

110 THK HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

prayed Sir Hugh de Mortimer that he would have compassion
on them. And when he had advised with his friends^ at
last he said with a loud voice, ^* If I had/' said he, " an
abbot, I would grant them all the goods which OUver gave
them, and I would give them more thereto.'*

At these words the bishop took the prior by the hand,
and said, ''Lo, Sir! here I give you an abbot! Do what
you have promised." Whom he received at once, and
with the bishop and the other great lords led him to the
altar, chanting aloud Te Dettm laudamuSy and there he
granted to them in quit all the things which Oliver had
pven them, together with a benefice in the church of
Wigmore, which was then vacant, and he granted them
all the other benefices in the same church when they
should be vacant. He begged the lord of Huggeley, who
was then present, to give them his church of Huggeley,
and he consented; which church, as it was then vacant,
he gave at once before all the people to the elect of
Shobdon, and to the canons. At the same time he pro*
mised them the town of Cheilmers, where he. had had the
design of making them a lasting habitation far removed
from Wales. And when the elect was returned to his
house, he had good hope to live in ix?ace and quiet ;

& Sire Huf h de Moftener qa*U usi mercy de eus. El qoanC U ouC conale
od les seons, audarrain dist eD ham vutz, " Si joo ii«se/* Ji!4-ii, " tin abbe,
lull let btcns qe Olyvcr lor dona lor granleray, ct phis a fco lor dorray.'*

A ccstet paroles, priM Tevcske le priour par la main, ct dist, ** Veea,
Sire! ifi toui bail iio abbr*. fetes fro que %*ous avez promis.** Lequel il
rccufi meintenani, ct oveske Tevcskc ct aiilres i^ranles seyi^neurs le
waierent A Tatiter, ehantanU en haot voyt, Te Dtmm iamdammt, ct ilcokes
franta-il k eus t«lcs les choses que Oliver lor avoit don^ quiicment,
en«mblenenl od uim pfoveodr* en realise de Wyi^emore qe fiM adooke
vacanle, ct totaa let MIfta prormidrcs en meimet I'ei^lisc lor fraaia quant
eus fiiint vacant!. A I leignour de Hu^rj^eley, qe adonke fut ilcoies
ptcseni, pria-il qe il Ijr voumI doner sa c^ltse de Hug^^ley, ct il ly icrauta ;
laqtiele etlise meintenannt si doita>il dcrant tote le people h Tel it de
Schotbedon, ct k let chanoines, laqnel e^liic fui adonke rarante. lleoU*«
promist a eus la ville de Chetlmcrs, ou il a%-eit em|iens«* de fere A cii>
|ief|ieliiele babiiaciun lot lojns remeift'c** de Gale\s. Kl quant Ic elit fiM
rftomc il sa mcsua, ct aveit Imne e^icrauncr do vi%*rc en fee* ct en quieie ;

THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW. Ill

but in a short time after Sir Hugh de Mortimer took from
them the town of Shobdon ; and he never gave them the
town of Cheilmers, which he had promised them.

It happened after that, that the aforesaid bishop of Here-
ford passed the sea and went to a council in France, and
died there, and was brought in an ox's hide to Hereford,
and there buried. That saw the elect of Shobdon, how he
was deprived and despoiled of the advice of the bishop and
of his help for ever, and of the presence of Oliver who had
called them into England, and they were robbed of their
land of Shobdon and of I^ntony, from which lands they
derived their subsistence, and what grieved him more, how
he was often abused and vilified by Sir Hugh de Mortimer
and his people; and he left all the goods he had on his
hands without keeper, as a man who was simple and
mthout malice, and returned to his abbev.

After that, there came a canon into England who was
named brother Richard de Warwick, who was afterwards
abbot of Bristol, to visit his friends in the time of August ;
and he came to Shobdon and got in the wheat, and
stacked it and left it in the keeping of Serjeants, and soon
after went away. After him came a canon of St. Victor
named brother Henry, a man of good and soimd counsel

m^ en brief temps apris Sire Ha|fh de Moftemer lor tolit la vWe de
Schobbedon ; et la vitle dc Cheilmers, laqnel il lor promial, nnkes ne lor
dona.

At'tent apr^s ^eo qe Parantdit ercske de Hereford p«»«a la mere et Tint en
France, % un concyl, et morut ileokes, ei fut mene en un quyer de beof jesk'a
Hereford, et ileokes enter ri*. Ceo vyt le elyt de Schobbedon, q*il fut privee
del i:onsail Tevexke et de Min eyde a totes jur^ et dc^poilt'*, et de la pretence
Olyver qui lor apela en Engl«terre, et o>tes de lor lerro do Schobbedon et dc
Lantone, de quels terres cus aveyeni lour ^uMinaiincc. et qe pluis ly ;reva,
qui! fut «o\'etit leden«re et avily par Sire Hu^h de Monomer et Irs aeons ; lesM
totes les cho«c9 qn*tl .iveit ptr <icmi« se% maiii« <.in(7 «; ir io:t, mine home simple
et 9anti malice, si retorna h n abbey.

Enapr^s rynt une chanoine en Kii<rlo(ci rr i|ii*«ii nom frcre Richard dr
Warrearyk qi fiit apr^« abbi'* d«« Bri»t«»ll, piir vi-it.T ^-^ ami<oz en lemps de
Am ; et vyiit II .Schobbetlon, ct q'ly'y lc< lili-f*. ••! I<?< nu«.t m laas ct Ic*
lf*««a en le (rarde dcs srruatitz, ct tanio^t s\u Av\^Ar.i. Apr* a h vym une cha*
iioiifc dcSi'inct Victor qn'ont nom frere Henry, homo do bon con^tl ct de ie}n

112 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

and coarageous in ooort, who was well acquainted with
Gilbert Foliot then bishop of Herefinrd, and kinsman to Sir
Hugh de Mortimer, who was leoeiTed by them very honour-
ably, and took charge of the things which were left at
Shobdon. This man, when he had learnt from lus people
what things Sir Hugh de Mortimer had given to the
canons, and what he had promised, and what he had taken
from them, went to him, praying that he, for the love of
God and in aid of lus sool and of those of his very honour-
able progenitots, would restore the things which he had
taken away, and fiilfil the promise he had made ; and he
promised to do it, but always put it off with flattering
words and fair promises. But Henry followed him in
different places, and at last he granted them the town of
Shobdont

When brother Henry had the town of Shobdon in peace,
he considered that the place was very hx frtxn water, <jf
which they were much in want, and he determined to
remove thence to Aymestry, in a place they call Eye, dose
to the river Lug, which appeared to him to be a very com-
modious dwelling place for them. And then they removed
aU tlic things they had fi:om Shobdon thither, by the advice
and help of Sir Hugh dc Mortimer, and laid the foundation

ei TAilant en oovre, qu'ettoil ben acoiiite de Gilebert PoljoUi sdmike eredie
de Hereford, et parent a Sire Hngh de Mortemer, leqnel Ait recue de eoe
nittl honurablcmeni, c( prist fcard dot rhotct qe Inrent a Schobbedon leteees.
Ce[t]ti« quant il out entendu de(«) eeont quelee choeet Sire Hugh de Mor-
tcmer aveil done a[t] cbanotncc, et quclet il out promis, et qnelet il out tolet«
approcha k If. empriant qe iU pnr Tamour de Dten et en remedye de ta alme
et dee trcehonourable profenitoure, routist reetorer arere lee cboeee qn*tl
aveit Metret, et la prometee q*il fist a perimpler ; et il le proniet fere, a^t
tnti jnre le mitt en delay par blandieanlee parolee e bealee promeeeee. MH
Henry ly siwy par plseoie lyw^ et andarreia lor graata la Tille de Scbob-

bedon.

Qoant frere I lenry oat la ville de Schobbedon pcetble«enl, aTiea qe le lyn
fnt mat toyne de Tewe, de qoele eoe aveyent treefimnt deCrate, ee pntpoea
de renrorr d'lleokee jetkee k Aylaiondeetreo» en on place qe ont apele ISye, tot
pri^ de la nrvrre de 1 n|Bpe, leqnel ly futt avyt convenable i^ cue pur demorer.
Kt dotikc remiirrcnt toiet lor rhoset qu'ils a% event k Schobilon je»kn»
la, par conieil et eidc de Sire llugrh de llortemer, et mietrent le fondeoieni

THB HIOTORT OF LU1>L0W. US.

of the church, as people who proposed to fix there a lasting
habitation for themselves and their successors. In the
mean time died Peter Bald (?), canon of Lantony, to
whom bishop Robert Beton had given the church of Led-
bury-north, with the archdeacon of Salop ; and when prior
Henry heard that, he sent thither three of his canons, and
the dean of Pembridge, who put them in immediate posses-
sion of the same church of Ledbury.

After that, the prior Henry received into his establishment
more canons, and thought to live well in great tranquillity
after his labour. But it happened otherwise; for there
arose at that time a very great war between Sir Hugh de
Mortimer and Sir Joce de Dinan, then lord of Ludlow,
insomuch that this same Joce could not freely or at pleasure
enter or quit his castle of Ludlow for fear of Sir Hugh,
60 pertinaciously the latter pursued the war. And because
Joce could avail nothing against Sir Hugh by force, he
set spies along the roads where he heard that Sir Hugh
was to pass unattended, and took him and held him in his
castle in prison until he had paid his ransom of three thou-
sand marks of silver, besides all his plate and his horses
and birds (hawks). And to hasten this ransom as speedily
as possible, he requested aid of his friends on aU sides;

d« Vmgfim, eone trenCt q/t avtycol •npeniA de (tn il«okM peqwiiMl babilacioB
pur eus ct pur lor sucee«ours. EiKienentrcfl oMrut Pen k Kauf, chmnoine de
Lanionqr k ^uy Tcveske Robert Betun aveit doni Tcyliae de Lydebury-noitb,
ovetke le eroedekne de Salopnre ; ct quaot le priour Heory oyt (eo, nanda
ileokci .iii. des ses chaiiotnes^ ct le decn de Peobrugge, lequel lor mist eii
poMcsriun neiolenaiit de roeiuies ref;lise de Lyddebury.

Apr^ fco si receust le priour Heury k sa rcligiun pluis de clianoines, ti
<|uidoiit ben de vivrc en grant quiete apr^s sun travail. Mcs autrvnicnt ful ;
car il surdy en cei temps tresgraut pere parentrc Sire Huj^h de Monomer et
Joccde Dynanty adonke aeygneur de Loddelawe, en tant qe meiiuet ccly Joce
lie poeyi franchement ne baudemcnt cntrer ne raer sun chasicl de Ijoddebwe
por doule de Sire Hugh, lant fort Ic demetia-il. Et pur ^eo qo Joce reu ne ptHM
fere conire Sire Hugh par furre, si mi^ e^pyes (lar le.< chemins |>ar oiii il
enlrndy que Sire Hu^h pa&<crcit sengle, si Ic prist et le tint en sun elia:4el en
prisonc je4e<» il an fel sa raiizon de .iii. mil maio d'ar^reat, forNpri^ ti>l«* m
veMeIc et >e« chcvau^ et k*o o\«eK. i.'i pur p!u< ton hnsier rel ranion, m

Q

114 THB HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

and he desired the prior Henry to allow him to put an
assessment of money on his people of Shobdon in aid of this
ransom. And the prior to the utmost of his power denied
and opposed it, and said that a thing once given to God and
to holy church freely, could not afterwards be taxed or put
in servage for any secular aflSur, and that the custom of his
country did not suffer it. And the prior rather than in any
manner grant his request, left all the things he had in the
keeping of the canons, the same as he had received them,
and returned to his abbey of St. Victor, whence he came.

After that came another named brother Robert of Che-
resboth, and remained with the canons ; not as prior, but
forasmuch as he came from beyond sea he was in the plsoe
of a prior, because they wished to have an abbot over them,
to effect which Sir Hugh was very desirous and earnest.
While they were in this mind, they heard speak of master
Andrew who was then prior of St Victor at Paris, master
of divinity, distinguished by his many noble virtues and his
sobriety; to him they sent, praying that he would deign
to come to them and take the charge of abbot and be
governor over them, to ordain their affiurs as their prelate.
Which Andrew came to them, and was received wiUi great
reverence, and consecrated abbot by the bishop.

prU-il ckle d« UAm paiti d« tcs nmy ; ct al priour lleorie m pria-U qa*il
vottMl ^ranlcr par adtre m affatcMent d'argcnc nr ta gent da Schobbadon
en eyde 6e cd ran ton. El le prioor en qtiant il poet le nya et contrecitttl, ct
dW qe chotea ne feet donfc h Dca ct k trincie e)rlite francbemenl, ne dcH paa
autre feei ejtre tail^ ne mis en terrace pur nul bosoygna teenier, ne U eoat«
tume de tun pa)-t ne le vHTry mle. El <piant le priour en nnle nanefa ne \j
volcit aa reqaeil grannler, li lean toCci let ebotet qtt*U avoU en la ^ida daa cba-
fioinet letquent il out rcceu, ct retoma k ta abbey de Seinct Victor, dnnt U Tjnt.
Apr^ cdj vynt nn antra ^^ont noa frara Robert de Chrretboth, ct deiora
ore*ke let ehanomet! ne mye pryonr, mi» pnr fco qu*il Tynt de onlHunr, fat
e«i lyu lie prior, pur feo qu*ila voleient arer on abb^ nr cos, ct 4 cde cbece
fere tt fat Sira Hof h Bat dnirat ct duraacnt cntalcntA. Tant coate coa faraat
en tH porpttt, if oyrcnl purler de oMtlK Andrew ^ nn adonke pciof de Sciact
Victor de Parya, oMtira de diviniid, ct de noUct vertoea ct plaaan , ct anbra ;
li ■MUtdcfenl 4 lay, caprUolB qa*il deicnaM A eoa venir ct ptendra U cara de
abb^ ct cMra gOTtrnoar aor cot, lor ebeiet ordyner coate prdat. Lequel
Andrew T)nt k eat ct fut le^eu A gr«ttnt rct'crrnce, ct abb^ bcnct de revoke.

TttB HkSTOIlT cut LUDLOW. 115

Soon after the friends of Sir Hugh de Mortimer, and
particularly Sir Hugh de Lacy» obseryed the church which
the canons had erected at Aymestry, and came to Sir Hugh
de Mortimer, admonishing and advising him not to spffer
that work to be finished there at the entrance of his land,
lest his enemies might come by chance to the entrance of
his land and there haye a lodging place and strong-hold in
despite of him, and to the damage of all the country ; for
be bad then on all sides many enemies and there was great
hostility towards him. And he acted after their counsel,
and made the canons remove to the town of Wigmore, and
carry their goods with them, and begin dwellings there, as
though they were to dwell there for ever.

Then the abbot and his canons saw that the place which
they were to inhabit was too narrow and rough to
make a habitation for them, and that there was too great
deficiency, particularly of water, and the ascent to the
church was very disagreeable to them, and the language of
their neighbours was very vulgar and coarse, and they
often complained among themselves and considered to
what place they might remove from thence, because they
neither could nor would in any manner remain there, for
the reasons above stated. And when Sir Hugh de Mortimer

Tott apris Tirant let amis 8ire Hugh de Mortemer, ei nomeeaieBi Sire
Hugh de Lacy, h Tegtise Uquele let chanoyne* avoyent fet fere a Aylmon-
dettreo, ai Tindrent k Sire Hugti de Mortcmer, amnnct tanli ly ei conaeylaaU
qu*il ne aeoffresist paa ccl oTeraine ileokea eatre parfet en Tentre de aa Cerre*
que aea enemiea par cat ne Tenitaent en entrl* do aa terre et ileokea oaacnt
refui et recet en deapti de ly et al damage de lolo la pais ; car il aroit adonke
de tote parts muls dca cnvmyes ct ad%crtiti* graunU Ei il ovary aprva lor
consaila ai fiat lea chaiioyucs remucr jcakct a U vile dc Wygemore, ei porter
lour choaea oveake eua, ct com[en]cer ileokea mauaiuus, come duasent a tuts
jnia deoMrer ileokea.

Done virent Tabbe et aea chanotnea que la place oA ens abiter deveyeat
fat trop eatreit et hidoua pur habitaciun fere pur eua, et trop grant defaute,
Bosataent de ewe, et le monter aus vers reglise mut lor grera, ^ eo furent
vildnea parolea et deaboneatea de ccua qt habiterent prte de ena, et ae
entreplainderent, aovent et se purpenscrent a quel ly w ils pussent remewer
d'ileokcSp pnr f eo que ne poyent ne ne voluyent ileokea demorrer en nulc
manor par renchesuns ausdiia, Et quani Sire Hugh dc Mortemer feo

116 THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

perceived that, it was quite agreeable to him, aiid he
oommanded them that they should seek through all the
country for a more convenient place^ and one where they
would be more at their ease, to remain always there, and
that they should inform him of it. In the mean time arose
a coolness between the abbot Andrew and his canons, in
consequence of which the abbot quitted them, and left
them all at their wiU, and returned to his house of St
Victor. And forasmuch as they would not be without an
abbot, they elected firom among themselves a canon named
Roger, who was a novice in the order, but wise to govern
their temporal afairs ; whom they presented to the bishop,
and he was consecrated by him, and made prelate over the
other canons*

At that time king Henry, then newly crowned, sent to
Sir Hugh de Mortimer to come to him; and he, being
inflated with great pride and exaltation, refused to obey,
and garrisoned his castles in aU parts against him to with-
stand the king by ibroe. At which the king was very
much enraged and fiercely stirred up against him, and he
besieged him in his castle of Bridgenorth a long time, and
he caused his other castles every where to be besieged by
his people. And when Gilbert FoKoth, who was then

ipcretoc, mvfi ly rtiM k ftk^ d let eowmJi qllt fcftml — qiwwr ptr toC
•on pals phis Avcnante placv, ct plos cise, pur cos k d«iBorir k toix jort,
•I Ijr fetriaiC A saver. Emliinsnlrw acHirdjr wi dinancc parentre PatM
Andrew d ms chipoinw per ont (!) I'abM s'cn dcpaiti de eat, ci lor lessa
to( 4 tor volool^y cl retoraa k sa aMUNi de Scinct Victor. Bl par ^eo ^oe
eus ne volejreat aijr care sanit abbd, doslrsoc de cot muHmm on chaoovne
4|0*oat k 9om Rofer, qui fast noriee en Toidie, m^ safe k gowrernoi lor
temporalis ; le^od ens prrseolcrent k I'eTCske el fat benet de lj« cl fct
pedal dee ulfai Hunnlnco-

Eo yeel leaps si nMnda le roj Henry, adooke novel rpv, k Sire Ho^b
de Mnrtemfr de venir A ly ; ct it par grant orfoil d hantestd de qneor
enenSS, 4 ly venir dedci|pia, el ses chailels de tots pails conire ly
Samissa par wmtrscster le roy A foree. De «|arie cImm le roy fat moot
curooc^ ct dttrcnMol vers ly cnaewe, ct ly aas|ry en enn cbaslel
de Drit^rc north loosr leaqi«, ct tcs aatm chaMeU fiti-il aasrpr partut
par Mrs ecuti. ¥j i|ii«ni Gilebert FolioUi fco viit, qe ettck adooke

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 117

bishop of Hereford, saw that, how the king was fiercely
moved and enraged against Sir Hugh de Mortimer, and how
Sir Hugh was on all sides surrounded by his enemies, he
went to the king to complain that Sir Hugh held by force
his town of Ledbury and refused to deliver it to him. The
king, as soon as he had heard this, in great anger and spite
commanded the bishop that he should go and take back
his town with all its appurtenances. And when the canons
heard this, they sent duther two canons, namely Simon son
of Oliver de Merlimond and Richard de Blakemere, to
guard their church of Ledbury, together with the other
things which they had there. And when the bishop was
aware of that, he sent to them his servants, who at first
admonished them with smooth words, and afterwards used
threats, and at last laid their hands on them and dragged
them out, ordering them to go immediately and talk with
the bishop.

The canons were neither overcome by their fair words,
nor abashed in any degree by their threats, but held firmly
in the church, and did not stir out for any violence which
was offered them, like good i)cople of religion, loving the
profit of their house. And as soon as the abbot Roger
heard this of his brethren, he appealed to the court of Rome

•vatke de Hereford* qe le roy fiui dttremeat eamew^ et eoioiio6 v«n
Sire Hugh de Mortemer, et qe Sire Hugh fut de tote pertx eTirond de ees
enemyet, ale el roy ompUynauiit qe Sire Hugh tient k force ea vile de
Lydebury, et U dedcigna rendre. Le roy, ausi tost come il aroyt ^ eo oy,
par grant ire ct rancor comanda u Tovctke qu'il alast et prist arere sa tUo
od tutcs Ics apurtcnonccs. Et quant Ics chanoincs 900 oyrent, enveierent
ilcokcs .ii. chanoincs, c'ct-A-sarer Symond Ic Fits OlyTcr Mcrlymond et
Richard dc BUkcmcrc, pur gardcr lour egltsc de Lydebury, cnsemblemcnt
od autres choscs qo ilcokes avcycnt Et quant revcske fee apcrceust
manda a eus ccm ministres lesqucus a-dc^primcs Ics amoetcrent par blan*
disantz paroles, ct d*cn-apr^s par menaces, audarrain mistrent mains sur
eus ct Ics sakcrcnt, cucomandaiitz qu*ils Tcnisscnt tost parler a Teveske.

Lcs clianoincs jA pur lours bclcs paroles nc furcnt rcnkus, ne pur

lors manaccz ahayz en nul poynt, mcs sc tindrcnt fcrmement dedens

rcglisc, saniz rcmcwrr hors do Icyua pur nule \iolcnco qe lor fut fete,

come Imncz {cuittz dc religiiin, amantz Ic profit dc lor mcsua. Et ausi

lost come rabb«*' Uoper ^co oy <le scs Trcrcff, apcia ft la courto de Ronme

118 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

against the damages, insults, and Tiolence, which were
done to him and to his brethren and to his church of L^-
bury, and signed all his property under the protection of
the pope, and then prepared to take the road to the court
of Rome in his own person. And when the friends of
either party heard this, they interfered to make an accord
between them, and reestablished peace entirely, so that the
bishop granted to them the said church to hold for ever
in peace, and confirmed it by his letter sealed with his
seal.

The canons continued to be very much incommoded and
annoyed daily by their residence at Wigmore as is afore said,
and they went about the country on every side to seek and
consider of a place where they could make a decent and
large dwelling for themselves and others far ever. It hap-
pened one day in August, that one of the canons, whose
name was Walter Agaymeth, sat on the field of Beodune,
among the reapers, and contemplated all the country
about, and considered attentively, and saw the place where
the abbey is now situated, and marked the spot, and re-
turned to his house and told the abbot and the brethren
what he had seen; who went with him and considered
the place on all sides ; and saw well that the spot was very

dt dtiDAffet, hnnUget, et Tiolencet, qe furent fetet ik ly et « sex frcret et k
•a egUte de Lidcbuiy, et sigDA totes sei ehotes dems U protcctiun
r«poetoU, et meinteiiaDt se appanU prendre le chemin rert U courte de
Ronme en propre penone. Et qnADt se ojrent lee amis de une pert el
d'«iitre» ei entremletrent de fere ecord perentre ens, et refoamerent U pet
eaterenieDt, ieti qe Tereeke fruit* k eve Udite egUee de «Ter k tut temps
•B peet, et la coaSniiA par sa lettre enseleo de tiia teal

Unkara aateint lee chaaoinea trop malemeut encombi ea et euiyea de
j«r ea Jar par kmr deaseor k Wy^cmott^ cooie est araat dit, ai s'ea alerent
par la paia ea ehascim part pur qaarir at avyscr placa la o4 ana pnsseui
manahm kaoaala at large fere pur ens et par aatrea 4 tnta Jura. ATieat
par «B Jaar ea Aat, qe ane dee chaaoiaeap frera Watar Agaymeth A aoav
aiaC ear la dwaftp da Beodvae eatre les syoars» et ragarda lot la paya
aTiroB* et aviaa aataatiTeaieal, et viat la place o* I'abbeya eat ore asaise,
at aou la lya, at retonia k [sa] mesoa. et coata k Tabb^ et aa frerea
fao qa'il oat vaa; leaqaels aleyeat oveako ly et aTiseraat la place

THE HISTORY OP LUDIX>W. 119

good and large and convenient to make their abbey there.
And they were very joyful and glad beyond measure, and
went to Sir Hugh de Mortimer^ and told him what they
had found, and that the place suited them well to make a
perpetual dwelling by his aid. And immediately he granted
it them fully and with much joy, and promised them his
aid ; and commanded immediately that they should remove
thither the goods they had at Wigmore. And when they
had orders to do thus, they made small delay in putting them
in effect, and built themselves for the time little habitations
of wood, by the aid and advice of Sir Hugh.

Meanwhile died the parson of Meole-Bracy, which church
Sir Hugh gave immediately to the canons in perpetual
alms. And soon after that died the abbot Roger, and was
religiously buried; and immediately they held a consul-
tation for the appointing an abbot, and they sent to St.
Victor's by three of the most prudent of their brethren, to
pray master Andrew, who had formerly been their abbot, to
come and be their superior and their abbot as before, who
with much difficulty consented, and came with them and
was received with great joy, and remained abbot in the
same manner as formerly he had been.

dt toU parti, ei virent ben qe ie lyu fut astes b<m ot Urge et avenani
pur Un ileoket lor abbeya. Si fnrani miU Joyona at lai k damasora, at
alajanl k Sira Hugh de Mortemer et flrant k aarar k Ij ^aa qu'Ua avaycBt
troTei, at qa lor ploa ban la plaoa pnr perpatuala maaainn fera par aide de
ly. Et il lor granta auai tost bcnemeot et k grant joya, at lor promiit
qe il lea eidareit; et comanda ausi tost que eus ramawasani totea choaas
qe ena aveyant al Wygemore jcske Ik, Et quant eus aveyent conandemant
de ^eo lore, na targarent gercs do 1* mettre en fet, et ae fescyent enda*
mentrea patites habtiacitina da fust par eyde et conseil de Sira Hugh.

Endemeatres morut la peraone de Meolea-Bracy, laquel eglise dona
Sira Hugh aa chanoines ausi toat en perpetuele almoygnc. £t apr^a ^eo
tost momst Tabbv Roger et fust religiousement enterrce; et tantost ae
entreparlereat do una abb^ aver et manderent par .iii de lor frerea qui
lurant lea plus sagea, k Sainct Victor, pur prior k mestra Andrew, qui fut
lor abb^ pardarant, de venir et estre lor soverayn et loi abb^ coma avant,
laqnela A grant peine lor granta, et Tint oveake eus et fust receu A grant
joye, et demorra abbv en la manor que il estoit.

120 THE HISTORY OK LUDLOW.

At this same time Andrew de Stanton, lord of Bucknell,
was charged in king Henry's court with grave misdemeanors,
80 that he could not remain publicly in England ; and he
came into the chapter of the canons, and in the presence of
Walter Folioth archdeacon of Shropshire he gave them
the church of Bucknell in pure and perpetual alms. To
whom, as long as he remained thus in England in conceal-
ment, they honestly furnished all his necessaries; and
when he could no longer remain, he passed into Scotland,
and remained there in safety till his peace was made with
the king ; and then he returned to his own land. And
while he was absent, they furnished to his i^-ife Maude de
Ports what was needful for her.

After that, came Sir Hugh de Mortimer from beyond sea,
and dwelt at Cleobury. Then died Achelard parson of
Caynham, which church the canons received of the free
gift of Sir Hugh. And not long after came Sir Hugh
to visit the canons and their place; and there by the
request of his people, and particularly of Brian de Bramp-
ton and his son John, he sent for a monk of Worcester,
who, when he had marked out the site of the church,
caused the foundation to be dug and laid out; to which

En maimet eel umpt Andrew de SUnnion, Mjgnenr de BekenhnU, fbt
meamk v«n le roy Henry greToaMment* iaei que U ne poet de morer en
Baglelerre «pertement; ti vynt en le chapltre dee chanoinet, eC en U
pretence de Waller PolyoCh ereedeakne de Balopeire lor dona Tegtiae de
Bokenboll en pnre el perpeioel aumoygne. A qy, tanl come al demora iati
en Bngleterre en tapeisaant, at troverent k \y totet tea necesaaries honea-
tfemeni ; el quant U ne pont plna longea de merer, ai paaaa-U en Eicoce.
•i demora Ueokca aeurement jeakea atant qe aa peea fat fete al roy ; ct
deoke retn»a-U k aa terre demeine. Et tani come il fnt abaent, ai
tiovennt ens A aa feme Mahand de Porta fieo qoe meatre iy foft.

Aprda feo Tynt Sire Hogh de Mortemer de ontremere, et dcmorra u
Ckybnri. Adonke morut Achelard peraone de Kayham, laqtwle c^litc let
ckanoinca recenatrent en proprea hnyca del done Sire lluph. Et iic mic
loaf Icmpa aprra irynt Sire Hugh par viaitnr lea chanoines rt lor lyu ; ci
ileokra par rrqurtt de eeons, rt nomtecnt de Brian dr Bromplon ot dr
Johan can ftia, manda pur an rooyn de Wyrpcettrr, Icqtirl, quint i! out
•igtif la p!.ii«< tW \'vc\'.yi\ ii»t fuwcr ct mrtttc Ic loujitlfniciit , a i|ucl

TIIK HISTORY OF LUDIiOW. Ijjl

foundation Sir Hugh de Mortimer laid the first stone, and
promised them ten marcs in aid, but afterwards he com-
pleted it at his own expense. Brian de Brampton laid the
second stone, and promised a hundred sols; but he gave
them nothing in money, though he granted them all ' ease-
ments' in his lauds in wood and in field everywhere, which
easements aided them greatly in their work. John, son of
the said Brian, laid the third stone, and neither gave nor
promised any tiling ; but what he did not do then in
promise, he performed fully afterwards in deed, for by him
was the church of Kynleth given to the abbey.

Thereujion the canons set themselves laboriously and
vigorously to the work of their church. About the same
time died master Andrew their abbot, and was buried with
great honour. After that, they elected their prior Simon,
the son of Oliver de Alerlimond, to be their abbot, but he
died before he had been consecrated by the bishop. After
the death of Simon, they elected brother Randolph, their
sacristan, a man humble and fearing God; in the time of
which abbot. Sir Hugh gave to the abbey the manor of
Caynham, with all its appurtenances along with its body,
in pare and perpetual alms; but a lady continued to
hold the town of Suytton in the name of dower. After

fottadcf III Sire Huyh de Mortimer^eocha le piCBicr pere» ct lor prpmifl dys
muTM en eyde, ni^t enapret ii Tachevy A tea coiUfet demeine. Brian de
BnMnplon cocha la fecumle pere, et promist cent snaa; m^ ren ne dooa
d*ar|tcnl, n^t il lor crania toies eiaemeiitz eo sa terre en boys el en champs par
loC» letqueles eyscmentz eidereiit graunlmenC k lour overaine. Johan le flts
al dii Brian coclu U icrce pere, el reii ne dona ne promM ; m^s ^eo qu*il ne flu
mye adonkes en prom4*^«<*, tl le iierfouriny ben apr^s en eovre, kar |iar ly fui
rexli^^e de Kvnleili doiic u Tabbcv.

Enaprcs les rhanoiues sVntrcinisirvnl durement et vi{*rouAenicnt de Toverayne
de lor e^ li«e. Kndcinenlr«*« si morutt mcstre .Andrew lor abb^, el fiit euierr^
4 grani honenr. Apres ^eo «i elurcnl-eiis SyOHind lor prionr, fit h Olyver de
Merhnound, pur e>ire lor abbir, leqitel morust avant v<^ qu*il ful lienei de
reire«kc. Apres la niort Syinond, si elurvnt-eus frere Randulpb lor aef re«te}-n,
boase humble et Peu d4tt;int ; rn t^mps dequel «>«be Sire Hugh dona a Tabfye
le maner de Kay ham, ovMe tole< Irs apporienanri«s en«emblement nd mn
corp«, eu pure et |M*r|H'tMfl anmoync : mc« unc diime t\nl uiiLore la vilr de
Sn)tton en nonm douor. Apr^t ^co rscheereni k ru* Iesrgli9es et chapeles

122 THE HISTORY OP LUDIXiW.

that, there fell to them in a short time the churches and
chapels mentioned below by the gift of Sir Hugh de Morti-
mer, namely the church of Leintwardine, the church of
Aymestry, the church of Cheilmers, the chapels of Downton,
Borcton, Elton, and Leinthall, and the church of Kynleth,
and the mill of Leintwardine, and land of the yearly value
of twenty sols which Sir Hugh de Mortimer bought of
Herbert du Chastel, and the land below Wigmore, and the
land of Newton, and the rent of the mill of Boriton, and the
rent of Elton and of Brinshop.

In the midst of these afiairs. Sir Hugh de Mortimer was
very inquisitive and took much pains about the work of
their church, which he completed at his own expense ; and
when it was entirely finished, he caused it to be dedi-
dated by the hand of Sir Bobert Folioth, then bishop of
Hereford, in honour of St. James the apostle. And when
the church was dedicated. Sir Hugh de Mortimer renewed
and confirmed to the church all the gifts which he had
before made to the canons, and particularly the manor of
Cayoham, with its appurtenances, which manor he gave to
the canons in presence of all the people who were there
assembled, and confirmed by his charter. After that he
gave to the church a chalice of fine gold, and a cup of gold,

to put the eucharist in, and two candlesticks of silver gilt ;

•

d«pig-ditrt par doun Sire lliiicb de Mortiner en bref tempt, c'ct-ii««f«r,
I'tfirliK de Lvin«-arJ\n, l*ri;li«e de Aylmofidetfre, I'ei^life de Chcilaert, let
eha|ielef de Oounton, Dorcinn, ticion, et Leynthale, el l*e|(li«e de Kynldb, d le
■M>l)n de l>intwardin, vi vint foiide de lerre la<piel Sire Hugh de TllnrHTr
•k«U de Ilrrcberte du Cbtitcl, ct la Icne dcMg Wiffemore, et U lenv de la
Newton, <t la reuir del molyn de Boriloa, ct la feme de Eleion ct de Bruntbop.
O'entre cesie» clio r« >i fiii Sire Huyb de Mortimer miit curious ct ptnible
emear Toveraine de lor e;:life, laqiirle il Sit loie parfrre & cet cuiUset ; et
^piant ele fat loie parlrte, li la liM dcd>er par U ma>n Sire Robert Kolyoib,
adoiike evr>lie de Hereford, en le boonr de Seim Jale t*apocile. Cl ^oial
Tesli** fwt dcdye, li iM Sire llui:b de Mortimer renoveler ct coitfirmer loati
lctd<NMi k*il avoM ki a« chanotnet pardevairt A Tajsluic, el nom^ment te maacr
da Kabam, nd le* apofienaneet, le^iiel maarr docia<il a le» chaaoincs deeaal
Mle la pvofile ^ic illeokrt ful avembl^. ct le coiiAfma |iar m cbartre. Apr^
feo dona. il b Vt$\ »e un rb4lii d*or An H on cot**f« d'nr, pur aieitre dcdeim
r, et deoa ebaondelers d*arfet4 dorrei : n Atf IVtetke ef Tabb^ od lul

THE HISTORY OF LUDI-OW. IgJ

and the bUhop and the abbot with all the convent and with
all the priesto who were present pronounced sentence of
excommunication against all those who should alienate any
of these jewels from the house, except only for hunger (?) and
fire : and he then gave to the bishop a goblet of silver full
of pimenty which he received as a great gift. And the
bishop gave to the same church a cape of purple leather for
the choir, very becoming and richly adorned with orfrey.

And when these things were all well ordered, each
according to its convenience, died Sir Hugh de Mortimer at
Cleobury at a good old age and full of good works, after
professing himself a canon in the presence of abbot Randulf,
who gave him the habit of canon with some of his brothers
before his death. The corpse was carried thence to his
abbey of Wigmore and honourably buried before the high
altar; whose soul, as we believe, rests with the elected of
God in everlasting joy. Amen. For the soul of which
Hugh a mass is chanted every day by a canon, and every
week the office of the dead, that is. Placebo and Dirige,
once of nine lessons in the convent with the mass of matins
the day following; and every week bread and ale with
other meats arc distributed to the poor by the hands of the

W coTCBl ct od tolt Ics prcitrei <|e presentes furrnt excumciiKcr luts ceut quy
nal dcf ecus jeveus alloynaiieat dc la aMtuo, for uuot Mulemeot par fcya ct
aistto : ct II dona adonkct k Tevcikc une June d« argent pleine de pyfaiciil»
laqiiclc U rcceusi pur praani douo. El revcske dona d oMiniCf Tcflisc
VDC chape dc qucor pourpre, attci hoocaia el ricbeneni aouro^ det
orfrpys.

El quani celcs choscs furcnl ben ordines clicican a sun avanaunt,
■Mrust Sire Hugh de Monincr k Clebury en bone velesCe ct picine des
bones covres, ct chanoyiic profes en la presence de Tabb^ Randulpb,
leqiiel Ir baila Tabit de chanoine od aakuns de ses frert*s devaot sa aMit.
D*ilcolies fut le corps port^ jeskes k sa abbeic de Wygemorc, ct honour-
ablcnenl enlcrre pardcvani le haul anier; ralme de qney, sy cooc bus
creomf, re)>n9e od elitz de Dieu en joye perdurable. Amen. Pur ralme
dc quel Hugh si cM cliaunte cbescun jour une niesK par chanoine el
cheseon symaignc Toflicc de mortz, c*ct-A-dire Plaeeho ct Dirig€, une feet
dc Dcof lessons en coveni, oveskc la messe matinale t'endemain ; ct chescun
nmjigne pain ct cervovN: ove altrc* vyaun<lo.'i partie< as porere^ |»ar U

124 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

almoner, besides other distributions which he had directed
to the poor and strangers in the course of the year. And
on the day of his anniversary a hundred poor persons are^
plentifully fed, and each shall have a loaf and two her-
rings and pottage, because his anniversary hapjiens in L^nt.
The other charities which he had established for himself
each day to beggars and strangers in the hostelry, and
elsewhere, and the spiritual benefits which are done by the
canons for him, and which will be done hereafter, no man
can number them; but to Jesus Christ they are fully
known.

And forasmuch as Roger his son and heir was held in
the king's keeping for the death of one named Cadwallan,
whom his attendants had killed, the king's servants held
the castle of Wigmore with its appurtenances ; in which
time thirteen Welshmen were taken in battle, and were
held in prison in the castle of Wigmore firmly shackled ;
who one night while their keepers were asleep escaped to
the said abbey, and were devoutly received and encouraged
to eat and drink, and the shackles with which they were
bound fell from them by miracle; which shackles were
suspended publicly in the church, and the Welshmen
there in peace till they had leave to go to their

main d« ranmoner, cttre antret parttionei qe OQt fet par my Tan as
pOTtrtt et k Mtranget. Et en le jour dc sun anniTcrsarie si «ant rrat
poTeret piiyt ■offytonamit, ct chcscun avcra uuc michc ct Jcux !i«r..nkea
•t potage, par fco que sun anniTcrsarie chect en qnarcroe. Lea am ret
awnoynes que out fet pur hiy chcscun jour as cstas et as cstranfre en le
eetelerye, et par aUoon, ct lea bienfei espirituels qe sunt fet par ciianoynea
pvr ly, et sernint fets A remenaitnt, nombrer ne poit nul home; m^a A
Jheeo Crist snat pletnement conews.

Et pur feo qne Roger son fis ct heir fat tenns en la garde le roy pnr la
Bort de an Cadwallan k noun, leqnel lr[s] Hcnns lucreni, let niitiesttes le
roy tyndrent le chastcl de \Vyir{;emore od les ap]»nrtci>nmis; en quel
temft treese homes Galeys forent pris cu b^taile. c-t lurent triini i n i>rU«>n
en le chastel de Wjremore fermrmcnt fyrpca; U')iqtu*U pnr une luiyi lant
come lor gardeins di>rmtteat Vf '....pistut jr<kki» a !4 on .ihbe\r. vi hini i
dcvottlemenl rcreus et rihcitft dc uiaiipcr ci biuit*. tt Icnr in^iy «•«•
chcicrcnt dunt cut funiit lyci pir ii<irii v, !«»qii«tf. t.tn •> li..*: : i < t ' a
«*%ertement en rcgbsc, et let Galcys demorcrent ileokes en pea jeskea 4

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 125

onii country without hindrance. Several other similar
cases happened at this same abbey^ which are not written
in book, but have been omitted by negligence.

And when Sir Roger de Mortimer was set free from the
king's custody 9 he came to the abbey, and was received by
the abbot and convent with great joy, and led by the abbot
and prior into the church before the high altar ; and when
he had worshipped at the altar, he kissed all the convent,
promising them safety and good peace. But as soon as the
mass was finished, at his issuing from the church, he began
to challenge fiercely their right to the manor of Caynham,
and commanded that they should restore it to him, and said
that they held it wrongfully. And the abbot and convent
placed their hope in God, and would not suffer a single
foot of the manor to be taken from them. Thereupon Sir
Roger was enraged beyond measure, and persecuted them so
much by himself and by his friends that towards Christmas
day the abbot and convent were obliged to go to Shobdon,
except a few canons who remained to guard the church;
and there they remained till after Christmas, when at the
command of king Henry they returned to their abbey. For
the king sent his commands to Sir Roger, that he should

Uni qe arent grmce de aler k lor p iit tantt di*»tourber. Plusun antret
cases •emblablei tont aTenns k mcime ceic abbey, letqueut ne tiut ny
escriis eii ti^re, ni^« sunt par itcplipt uce lc«seez

Et quant Sire l«u^cr dc .NJurtcnicr fut Icue hort dc la garde da roy
franchemcut, si vynt & l*abboy, ct fut rcccu de l*abb^ ct del covent k
graunt juyc, et inene par I'abb^ ct Ic priour en Teglise jeskes dersDt le
haul auter; et quant il seo avoit a ore (?) u Tauur, si bei«a tote le coTent,
en prumcttaut seurte et bone pvcs. Mi^s ausi u *\ com la messe Alt fynie,
k sun issir hors dv ri*(:li>e, «t ronicr.sca de lor chalcnger durement pur
lour maner dc Knyham, ct ru»mr<la qc ens le rendi»seut k \y, et diet qe
eus k tort le tindrent. Kt ruMK* i*t \v ruvent ci«trent loor esperaac*
en Ueti, ct ne soffrircnt pi9 qo lor fui io!< t t-.n |«l«'io p^e del maner. De
feo fut Sire Kof:«*r mut coronet* u li'mcsiMo. it i*« |M»nivy tani par ly et
par left seuns, qe rontrc )v juur do N(•\^t'l rot<*.«iritt u Pabb^ et lecoTenl
d*aler jeskes a Scbubbcduu. foi«pris pn\<: de cliai.oinea qui deniorerent
pur garder Teglisc; et illcokts di snoiiTiM ji«ko» apr^s Nowel, qe par
conaundement ie roy Henry retomerent k lor abb^« Car le roy comanda

126 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

do no harm or damage to the canons^ but leave them ia
peace under God's protection and his own^ to serve God
in quiet.

Then the canons desired much to have the love and
good-will of Sir Roger, and they prayed humbly for a
reconciliation by their firiendsy that he would agree to be
their friend for the love of Grod, and they were in great
hope to have his friendship. But soon after died the lady
who had the town of Snytton in dower, which town Sir
Roger at first granted them freely to hold. But in a short
time he was urged by evil counsellors to take it from
them into his own hands, and so it was done ; for they said
that this place was very private and agreeable to have
his dwelling between Wigmore and Cleobury. And when
the canons saw that, they held themselves quiet, as people
who greatly hated to quarrel with their, lord, and placed
their right in the ordering of Grod.

It happened after that, that lady Isabel de Ferrers, the
wife of Sir Roger de Mortimer, was with child, and passed
through Snytton, and there lodged, and was taken ill, and
in her illness was delivered of a male child, which died as
soon as it was baptized, and was buried in the church of
Cleobury. Whereupon the said Isabel at the suggestion of

it Sire Roger, ^*U ne feiet mal ne damife at cbanotnee, mH lee leeeast en
peee deeot U protection de Den ei U eowc, pur Deu eerrir en qaicte.

Dttttk deeirercnt lee chanotnes mut d'aver amour et beuTotlauiice de
Sire Roger, et acord le priercnt dcTuottmeut par lors amites, <|U*il Touaut
cetre lor ami pur Tamour de Deu. ct ti aveyent grant eepertnce de e*ainiei«
aver. MH toet apr^ morut ccle dame qe avoit la vile de ttnitton en
dower« Uquele Tile granta Sire Roger devant A eut de la franchemont aver
▼eit eut. U^ en bref tenpe fut-il brocM par mauvcyt conailcre pur la
prendre de eve Teie Ij, et enst fut fet; ear eue diacycnt qe eel lyu fut
BSt prtfi et eiee pur eon recet aver pareatre Wygemore ct Cleybury. Et
qnaat lee cbaaoiaee rirent ^ eo. ei tindrent en peee eome gents qe baireat
mot eontAer od fan aTowe, et mbtrent lor droit k rordiaaunee de Den.

Aviaat enaprda qe dame Itabelte de Ferrers, la feme d Sire Roger de
MoitcmeT Int enceynta, et paeea par Snytton, et illeokee borbiga, et
deviant malade, et an ea maJadye fut deliYre de un enfant awdle, .'eqoel
ii toat eome fut bapus^ moruet« et fut enterr^ en Teglise de Cleibury.
Dent Indite leabeHe par procurement dee tagas genti pria it aun aeigneur

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 121

prudent people prayed her lord humbly and devoutly in
tears that he would give back to the canons their town
of Snytton, wliich he held wrongfully, and said that by
reason of that she had suflfered great pain in child-birth,
and when she had hope of great comfort by the life of her
son, she had had great sorrow for his death. At whose
request, he commanded immediately to be restored to them
the town freely, with the manor of Caynham, to hold
for ever.

The lady Isabel de Ferrers was of good and clean life ;
and after the death of her lord she built a good house for
monks at Lechlade, for the soul of her lord and her own
soul, and endowed it plentifully with fair lands and rents
for ever ; and there she is buried.

The aforesaid Roger de Mortimer, son of the founder,
was according to the character of his age, a gay youth, and
very changeable of heart, and especially headstrong, and
he had about him many men of light counsel, who advised
him often to his pleasure, and not to his profit, as is the
manner of many sychophants who have an eye to the
pleasure of their lords, which often falls to their disad-
vantage. This same Roger de Mortimer, at that time by
evil advisers, and by his own will, inflicted in various

InuBblMaeBt ct d«Toteiii«nt en UmMnt, qa'il vonsift rendra arere u
ehaaoiBM lor vile de Snitton, laquel il tynt A tort, et dist qe per eocbeson
de f eo si eveit grant torment en enfaniant, et areit etperance de aver en
grant solas de la wye de sun fii, si avcit ele grauut tristure de sa mort A
la request de quy, coniman Ja tost rcndre k eus U vile franchement, oretke
le manor de Kayham, de aver ii remenant.

Cole dame Isabelle de Fcrers fut de bon vyc et de nctte; laquele apr^s
la mort de sun seigneur tist fere unc bone mcsun de gents de religion k
Lecbelade pur Talme sun scygueur et la sowe, et la feffa plentivousement
de beles terres et de rentes ii remenant, et ileukes est ele enterri.

L'avantdtt Roger de Morlemer, fit al founder, esieit solunc la denaonde de
sun age, Jolyf juvencel et mult volages de quoor, et aukes volunlrif a-de-
primes, ct aveit pr^s de ly plusurs de Irgcr consail qe ly coiisilerent sovent &
son pleiaeri et non pas A sun proftt, come le manerc est de ptusurs losengers
qui portent oyl sus pur plere k lor seygneurs, t^c lor chct sovent k damage.
Meimes celj Roger de Moitenier, en icel icmp^ par mauve) s conn lers, et par
M volumA demetne, to trop grann durestf y «t grrvaocc^ Hiversements k Tabb^

l!i8 TlIE HISTORY OF LUniX)W.

manners very great hardships and grievances on the abbot
and convent and on their people, against the franchise of
their church. Whereat good men on all sides were very
sorrowful^ but there was none who could or dared aid them,
so they placed all their hope in God Almighty, praying
humbly and devoutly night and day that of his pity he
would deign to effect a speedy reformation of the error
of their lord, so that he should not remain long in peril of
his soul by reason of theiu, and that they might have in
peace and quiet and for ever the things that were given to
them, in alms.

While this persecution continued, it happened, by God*s
ordering, that Sir Roger de Mortimer was journeying one
morning after his pleasure, with his company, on the
day of the anniversary of his father, of which at the time
he had no thoughts ; and as he rode between the house of
the sick and the town of Stanway, he observed the fields on
each side which his father had given to the abbey, and saw
on one part the wheat sprouting well and green and pretty
thick, according to the season. And he called some of his
companions, saying spitefully, ''See, fair lords, how my
father advanced himself and entirely forgot me, who was
his eldest son and heir, to whom by all reasons he ought
to have left his whole heritage, without dismembering

ct covent el k Inr ^et\\t centre la franclii«« de liir r^W^. Dimkr Icf bones (»entt
ti tentirenl de iii(c» part 7 dure dr mfiir, ci nul rMeil qi eider lor piia ne o«««t, n
miMrent lote lor r»per4tince eti [X*u toi pu«<>anl, nu\t et jour liurobleinent et
derouiement emprianic c|ii'il pur m ptti* dcisrna^ meitre htMif amendeoienl k
Terrour de lor a%'oui>, t«M qii'il iie deni«ira«( lonjrf^s en peril d*alroe |>ar enrl.ejan
de eus, el qe eii« aver puv<ent en iM^en el en qtiieie let choie» qe k eus furenC
dooet c( k lolet jurt en auino\noz.

Endemenlret Unt come rcie periiecuciiin dura, avi[n]i par Pordinance de
Diea, ke Sire Hotrer de Mortimer fut cheminani par un matin vers ton dedu%i,
ore%ke m mcf ne, te jour de Tannt versa rie de »iin piere, de qiiel ly oe tov\ n(
pait adonVes : el come il chevaurhout parent re la inesun de malades el la vile
Si4n«e>e» »i re^arda le$ rhjmp«, d*aaibefi4rti le%|iieus nin |iere out don^ A
Tabbeje, ri \ist Ics blert de tine pari l»en creui el %'eirt et aues cx;>cf soliin la
teMtn. Si A|iela auk>in» d«r(*l *eon«, en di»ant 4iis;ui«^«niiieni«nt, ** Veei, beaU
*exofUf« mment roon p^r m* tcMnoblia et «» »> df tut iniM en nbliarirr, qiiy fu
•on 6*1 r»|»Mr <l h«'ir et ai<^i(ere (*) ii •!'•» p«f toir* re%un« du*t 4vrr \ourhe*

THB fllSTOKY OF LUDLOW. 1^

these fields which you see here, >5'ith other lands and
tenements, iu disinheriting of me, to give them to those
clowns of the abbey !" And he uttered many expressions of
regret, and as he rode along thus in bitterness of heart, all
the bells of the abbey began to ring as it were a funeral
peal, and when he heard that, he called a canon of the
same abbey who was then his chaplain, and asked him
why the bells rang so loud. And he answered and said,
'^Sir, to-day it is so many years since your father, the
founder of our house, died, and to-day is his obit, for which
they make great solemnity especially for his soul, and will
always do so, and justly.

Then Sir Roger asked him what were the good works which
they did for him in the course of the day ; and he recounted
to him one by one all the good works which were done for his
soul in the same abbey, as is before written. And when he
had very leisurely listened to the whole, he was visited by the
Holy Spirit, and said to all his company, " I>ct us go in
the name of God to the abbey ! and let us sec tlie service
and solemnity which they will make there for the soul of
my father.** And they rode up to the abbey. And as
voon as the abbot wixs aware of their arrival, he led out all
the convent with him, and they went towards him in form

Miif to( sun lieritage, yanti dcnM»inbrer ces dmnips qe yci voos rtcn, ove»kc
atitr«* terret cC tenemcnix, en desbcrtUuncc de iii«y ; m nd-il doo^ A ceu«
vUcyntda I'abbeye !** El ccte cbow r^rMta toTent. El t«il euoi U ri aoguis-
aous de queor chevaucha, si sonerent tolct les cloches de Pabbey en manere de
glaas ; eC quant il ^eo oyt, si apela iin chanoyne de meynies l*abbe}-e qu'esicyt
aJonke tira chapele>*n, el ly dcmaunda pur que[i] Im rlocbcs tonereni lani fori.
Ki il ly respoundy et di^t, " Sire, hion a tanix des anx moral vostre pere,
funduur de nosire mesiiii, et buy est sun obil, pur qu[e]t ont fel granl aollcmp-
iiiti'e pur s'almc es})eciabnctit, el h tutt jurs fra, et i^ resun.*'

Dune dcmaunda Sire Ro$rcr A ly qtiux furent les benfces qe on i fisi pur ly
a la jomeye ; el il ly counta de chef en chef tolt le^ bcnfees qe fureni fefer piu
«*aluie en la dile aliliey**, mmo c«i par.lrvani c«cri|it. El quant il avoit tot »
erant lcl«ir paroyce, fnl viMttf par ic !%iMiiclc K«piri^l, el di«t h lote u mcyi^tK*,
*' Almi9-nns en le nom dc Dicn u I'aliU'yc ! et a%*i«4m«>nus le tcTv'n et la
%*k*m|mii£ qe om fra tloolkC« pur Paliitc muii |H?re.'* El clievaiKlioyent
K>li'> a ral>lM*ye. El qti.iiit TiiblM* fnl .i|ii*rrcu tic ^.t veniK*, ti aniena tni
le cuveni ovc«Le ly, el ale>cni coiiirc ly en l*i mancrc dc procc«iiui ; rar

S

ISO THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

of procession, for he did not enter the house for some
time, but they received him honourably and with great
joy, in the hope of obtaining his love and good-will. Then
the abbot chanted the mass, and with loud voice and great
devotion they sung the service which belonged to the occasion.
To which service Sir Roger paid great attention throughout,
and how the hundred poor people were served, and he was
wonderfully well satisfied and very repentant of his error.
And when they had finished chanting the mass, and the
whole service was over, he called the abbot and convent
into the chapter, and begged their pardon with very humble
heart for the grievances which he had done them, and pro-
mised amendment by the help of God, and was reconciled
to them, and absolved of his trespasses, and he and the
convent kissed one another with great gladness on both
sides.

After that, he caused to be read all the muniments
which his father had made them of lands, tenements, rents,
woods, meadows, pastures, commons, moors, and other
franchises, and likewise of the churches which he had
given them, and of the others which he had procured to be
given them .by his feudal dependants. And when the
charters were all read, he agreed to all that his father had

il D^nitra mye U oiesun grvn pece panlcrMi, co lor rectMrenl (f ) honora-
blameot d grant joy eti e*perance 4e s'aaiare aver H -n beaTcilaneo.
Atant le abbe chanta Ic mmo, et Ic covent a haute voyw d 4 grant
dcrocion chanterent la oftu-e qe apent. De qucle ofllce Sire Ro:rtr prtti
lre»boitr gard[e] m toCt'z |»niiiu n coiiietit l«s centi poven furcnt turv)ei,
M- fut tt iDCrvc}l« b(*n pa\c ft mm re|)entauiii <ie sun ermr. El i|uaiit U
mesM fut tot perchant^, ct tnte te oflice parfet, ti apela-il Tabbd H Ic cownt
cii lor cbapitre, et le« pria panJon mut ile bomble coer dc lor grevaoce*
f)u«u« tl k eu* ave>t fri, rt promi^ |>ar l*eiJe «le Dieo amende laeut, et fut
aconJi k e«i«, ef auoui Je «aii trr^|.«z, ct efiir«lie\ M.*y 1) ct le covaiit & grant
t«*«'«ti^ d*«mbeiianiez.

Apr^t fro flit-tl lire (uit le« niunimrnfi qe mn |ierc avrit fet k t»% de
terrc#, tenement t, rentei, bt»it. preei, panore*, commune*, moffe<» et dcs
auirei fraocbiv^, et eniemcnt dri cgli^es le«]uel» il lor donna, et de« auinr*
lo^loeU il procura eMre danc d ci.« de res genit deme>n«*. Kt ifiiairt le*
rlurfrc* fiircni |oic^ |».irU«r>. ^'% ajrra •|ii4nl Ic ^m \nru* «•! fii, li coiiArma par

TUB HISTORY OP LUDLOW. 131

given, and confirmed by his charter, sealed with liis seal,
all that his father had done, with various easements and
franchises which he then and afterwards gave them by his
charters sealed. After that, he received the benediction,
and took leave of the abbot and convent, and returned
joyfully to his castle of Wigmore.

The news was soon spread through the country, how he
had been at the abbey and what he had done there; at
which good men had great joy, and the wicked very great
spite ; and among the spiteful was a steward of his, who
was angry beyond measure, and said to his lord, '^Sir,
have you been to the abbey, and confirmed all that your
father did to the canons, and made away more of your land
to them, so that there now remains nothing near them,
land, meadow, pasture, nor moor, which they do not
possess, of the gift of your father or of your own, except
the Treasure of Mortimer?*' and he added in mockery,
''Now it is good that you give that land to them, that
notliing of yours remain to you or your heirs near to
them !••

These words he said meaning that he did not wish him
to give that land to them, but that he should* retain it in
his own i)08session. And when Sir Roger had heard his

n chutrt, cmd^ dc wo kI, lot la fd de warn ptft, ofsiki plosun
frannchiwt, leti|afus il lor doaa adooke d •prte par an chartres
Aprvs 9C0 pri9l*il beneyton et congi dc l*abM eC du eoTcnti si retoroa
juyowsement k sun chaAel de Wygenore.

Tost fut la Doveic n|iandcwe |)ar mi la pays, coMaiii il ouil etlA it Tabbeye,
ct quel chose il out ileokes fet, duot Ics booei gonts en aveyeol sraot joye, ci les
mauveys treii^nuit eiivye : entre queus enryoas si esieil un sun wnesrhal trop
rorouci* h, dtmewre, si disi k sun seyirneiir, " Sire ! aves-vous e»4v A Tabbcye,
ct confenuc tolc la fc( VMtre pere & let chanoines, el plus de voslre lerre A eus
aroyt«i, inn* qe ne remcini ore endreit pr^ dc eu«, terre, prve, pasture, ne
miuc«, qc ens nr unt del ilun de vosire pere el dc vosire, ror«prin le Tre^r de
Morteiner f** el disi en moskeis, *' Ore est bon ke vous doi^^net ctrle terre a eus,
ktf ren no rcmeyne a voiis ne ik vos hdres du vosire pr^s dc eus !**

Cdcs |Nirole:» d'K-\\ en sa nucni« qii*it ne voteit mic qn*il dtma^ rele lerre k
iMM, mmS «|m*iI U riiinH*M«l vvr* ty niiMnM*<. Kl «|iianl Sire Ro«;cr avcil e^nle se*

132 THE HISTORY OF LUDIiOW.

words, he inquired of the others what tliat place was
which they called the Treasure of Mortimer. And it was
told him that it was a croft adjoining to the abbey, ver>'
good land and large, and marvellously fruitful. And when
he had heard that of the others, he said to the aforesaid
steward, "By my head, fair friend, you have said and
advised well, and after your council will I work ; and since
that place is called the Treasure of Mortimer, I will deliver
it to such treasurer to keep for my use, who will place
it in a treasury where no thief will steal it nor moth eat
it, and where it shall not be trodden under foot by beasts,
but it shall bear fruit to my soul.*' And immediately
he took with him {)eople who knew the place, and they
showed it him. And when he had seen it, he entered
into the abbey and gave it in pure and perpetual alms
to the house for ever, for the souls of himself, his ancestors,
and his successors, and confirmed it by his charter, sealed
by his seal, before all the people.

parolet, denuinda det antrct qoele Ait cele pUc6 qe ont ap«l& le Tresor d«
Mortimer. Et ly fut dtst, qe f eo fat one croufta jojiuuit k I'abbeye, a«cs
bone terre ct Urge, ct h manreile ben Ihictiflante, Et quant 11 aveit ^ co
oye des autret. si di$t k Tavantdit aeneechal, ** Par miin cheC bealt amya.
ben ni*aTeit dit et consil^, et apr^t voctre conaeil voU-jeo orcryr ; ct pur vco
ke cele place ad ii noum le Tresor de Mortimer, jco le baudmi u tcl trcsorer
por garder u mun cops, qui le mcttra en tele tresoric oii nul Uruii l'ciublcr.i
na artetun la mangera, ne dea bestet defol^ aerra, m^s & m*alnie rruciiliera.*'
Et auai toat prisi-il oveske ly genu qui connsacycnt la i>I.ioc. ct la
demuetrerent k ly. Et quant out fet la tewe, cutra en rabbcyc, ei l.« doua
en pure et en perpctuelc aunioyue a la mc»un it tuli jour« pur •'alnic ct
si't aunceatra< et scs succci»curt, et la coufcnna par sa chartre cnscK* Uc
Run ieel devant tote le people.

THE HlaTORY OF I.UIIUnv.

SECTION VI.

The liftroiihf Wa

THE thirteenth century is one of the innst iinjmrtaiit and
inteiestiiig periods in our national annala. In Uie reign of
the cunning and worthless John began the great struggle
for the English liberties, (o which the course of events had
long tended. The period to which more particularly be-
longs the title of Aiigfo-Norman was now ended; during
the first ccnlur}' afVcr the conquest, the king and his Nor-
man barons had been closely tied together by their conunon
<qip06ition to the native English ; but in the latter end of
the twelfth century the two races were already joining in •
community of interests and blood, and the alliance waa
completeil and rciuleml dunble by the continual attempts
of king John to strengthen his ]>ower by the introduction
of strangers. After tliJN lime tli<: dcMeiidanls uf the Xur-
man bnrons who lin<l come in with duke WilH.ini railed

184 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

themselves Englishmen, and became distinguished by their
hatred to " foreigners."

On the accession of John to the throne^ the country was
filled with gloomy apprehensions; he neither loved, nor
was he loved by his people, who already anticipated the
evil days which were approaching. Even the doctors of the
church were carried along by the general feeling, and went
about preaching that the thousand years of the Revelations
were now completed, and that the old dragon was about to
be let loose upon the earth; if the world, they said, had
suffered so many evils in the time during which he was
bound, what might be expected now that he was set at
liberty ?* Nothing shews us more distinctly the unsettled
state of the kingdom in the time of king John, than
his constant movements from one part of the island to
another, for during the whole of the eighteen years of
liis reign he scarcely ever remained more than a few days
in one place. During this period the Welsh were in a
continual state of hostility, either among themselves or
with their neighbours, and the king frequently approached
the border, but our account of lus transactions there la very
imperfect. At the end of October, a. d. 1200, he went to
Gloucester, and he was at Hereford in the first days of
November ; on the 6th of that month he was at Ledbury,
on the 7th at Upton Bishop, on the 8th and 9th at Fecken-
ham in Worcestersliire, and from the 11th to the ISth
at Uridgcnorth, from whence he returned to Nottingham,
and he spent the three follo^nng years in Normandy. In
the latter part of 1301, or early in 1203, fourteen pounds
eighteen shillings and five pence were exi^nded out of the

* Doctorw notiri pnHicavenmt tolatiiai cMe dncoBcm illuii anU.
quom, qui est diabolof et SatbABM. dietnttt ▼«! vc ! ▼• habitenlibiis in

um ! qaonUm solutus est antiqaus draco, etc Ataerabaiit itaqne

doclorcf BOttri illoa nillc annos jam ett« coosumptot, et diabolum tolatum.
Vn> trmr at babiuntititit in ca! quia ti dinboliu It^lns tot ct tanta
iniulrrit mala mvado, qnoi ct quanta inferel solnloa? Rof. de Hovcdrn,
Aunat. lu an. 1201, p. bit).

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 135

royal treasury in repairing the castles of Hereford^ Gros-
mont. White Castle, and Screiifrith,* and it was probably
on this part of the border that the Welsh were most
troublesome. John repaired to the border immediately
after his return from the continent, and was at Worcester
on the ISth and 14th of March, 1204. On the 11th
of August, 1204, he again arrived at Worcester, where
he remained till the 20th.t In the December of the
same year he was at Bristol for three days, and from the
20th to the 24th of March, 1205, he was a third time at
Worcester. In the September of the year last mentioned,
he passed two days (the 9th and 10th) at Bristol; and
between the 21st and 24th of January, 1206, he was again
at Tewkesbury and Worcester, from whence he returned to
pass over into Normandy. There can be no doubt that
on the last mentioned occasion the king was called to
the border by the turbulence of the lords of the Marches,
and more particularly of William de Braose, >vith whom
he had a quarrel at this ])eriod. While at Worcester, on
the 2Srd of January, William de Braose made his peace
with the king, and gave him, among other things, three
steeds, and ten greyhounds, in return for which his castles
of Screnfritli, Grosmout, and * Lantely ' were to be restored
to him.^ Some circumstiince, as it apjiears, occuiTed to
hinder the delivery of the castles, as we learn from the Close
Rolls that twenty marks were afterwards given out of the

* In emcndationc caateUonim de Hcrcforde et Grosmunte ct Blanch-
CMtell, ct Schcncfrid, .xiiii. li ct ,\r'i\i. s. et .v. d. Rotulus CaucclUr. iit.
Johan., p. lOG. In the same roll (p. 12*2) under the head Shropshire, wc
have the following entry. Et A^inioui do Lens .iiii. ni. ad sustcnta-
tiooem aoam ad qusrendum utlapitos homines. He was probably one
of the men employed in looking aAcr Fulke Fttz Wartnc and his
companions.

t On the 15th he went to I'crshorc.

X Trr» do\tri(ri«»9 ••! (|uiiii|iic « !i"i?ui'- « I .wuij. >"U*«»> cl .x. lcpuraii'»s.
Close Rolls.

136 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

royal treasury to Hubert de Burgh, (who had beeu ap^
pointed in the third year of John's reign to be warden
of the Marches, with an attendance of a hundred knights),
to fortify them. It was not till the latter end of the same
year that king John was reconciled to this powerful baron,
and on the 18th of December Walter de Clifford, then
sheriff of Herefordshire, received an order to put into the
hands of William de Braose his three fortresses.* About
the same time Walter de Lacy likewise incurred the king's
displeasure. On the £7th of May, 1206, Ludlow Castle
was in his possession ;t but towards the end of that year,
or early in 1207, it had been seized by the king, and on
the 5th of March, in the latter year, William de Braoee,
into whose custody it had been given, was ordered to deliver
it to Philip de Albeny,^ in whose custody we find it a few
days afterwards (March 10),§ and who restored it on the
18th of July following to WiUiam de Braoee, in whose
keeping the castle and town were to remain during the
king's pleasure.|| On the 19th of March, 1208, the
castle of Ludlow vras still in the possession of William
de Braose.ir On the 19th of July, 1207, king John gave
the castle of Knighton to Thomas de Erdington,^ his
favourite, and whom he chose shortly afterwards to be the

• Psuat BoUt, p. 57.

t Close Rolls, p. 71.

I Patent Rolls, p. 69.

4 Close Rolls, p. 79. EigfateeD days afterwards, If arch 2^ the con*
stable of Bristol was ordered to send three hofiheads of wine to Lndlov
to store the castle. Rex constah. Bristol!, etc. MandaaiM tibi ^od asitti
facias tria dolia Tiai asqne ad eastmn de Lndelawe ia wamistiuaai, el
rompatabttnr tibi ad scaccartum. Close Rolls» p. SO.

I Patent Rolls, p. 74.
^ Patent RolU, p. HK
•• Patent RolU. p. 71

TUB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 187

chief of a secret mission sent to the Mohammedan emir of
Spain to obtain his assistance against the pope.*

On his return from Normandy in 1207, the king had
again visited the border of Wales. On the S2nd and 2StA
of August he was at Worcester, and Tewkesbury; he
immediately returned to Winchester, but on the 17th of
September he had again approached as far as Bristol, where
he remained till the 19th, and returned to Westminster.
Two months later John was again in progress towards
Wales; on the 12th and 18th of November he was at
Tewkesbury ; on the last mentioned day he went to Glou-
cester, where we find him signing documents on the 18th
and 14th ; from the 15th to the 17th he was at St. Brievel's ;
and from the 18th to the 22nd we find him at Hereford,
from whence he returned direct to Mahnsbury, and towards
London. On the 5th of March, 1208, John came again to
Bristol, where he remained till the 7th, when he appears to
have been suddenly called away ; but in the month following
he returned, and we find him successively at Tewkesbury
from the 19th to the 21st of April, at Gloucester on the
S2nd and 2Srd of the same month, at Hereford from tlie
24th to the 28th, from whence he returned by Tewkesbury
(where he was on the 28th and 29th), to Woodstock.
From the 26th of Jime following to the end of the same
month the king was again at Hereford,* from the 1st to the
3rd of July he was at Worcester, whence he returned to
Woodstock. On the Srd of October in the same year he
was again at Tewkesbury; we have some difiiculty in
ascertaining his movements during the following days, but
on the 8th and 9th he was at Shrewsbur}', and on the 20th
he was at Oxford on his way to Westminster. The king's
progresses towards the border were no less frequent in the
year 1209 ; on the 20th of January he was at Gloucester,
he was at Tewkesbury on the 21st and S2ad, at Worcester
on the 23nl, at Shrewsbury from the 20th to the 29th, and

* The detAiUof ihit mission arc given bj Matthew Paris, sub an. 1215.

188 THE HI810RY OF LUDLOW.

at Worcester from the 1st to the Srd of February, from
whence he was called to Lambeth ; he came again to Glou-
cester on the 8th of May ; he was again at Bristol, Glou-
cester, and Tewkesbury from the 7th to the 17th of July ;
he came a fourth time in September, on the 25th of which
month he was at Bristol ; and he made a fifth progress to
the same part of the kingdom in November, being at
Tewkesbury from the 26th to the 28th of that month, and
at Gloucester, St. Brievel's, and Bristol, in the first days of
December. These frequent visits are an evidence of the
unquiet state of the Welsh border; they were probably
caused as much by the turbulence of the English lords
of the Marches as by the hostilities of the Welsh. On
one of these occasions Gwenwynwyn prince of Wales
is said to have come to confer with the king's council at
Shrewsbury, and was there detained a prisoner, whilst
Llewellyn prince of North Wales invaded his territory. In
the latter part of 1209 king John was probably drawn to
the border by the rebellious conduct of the families of
Braoee and Lacy, who fled to their possessions in Ireland.
From the 14th to the ITth of May, 1210, the king was
at Bristol with an anny dra^rn together for the purpose of
pursuing his fugitive barons ; he was at Si^'ansca on the
28th and 29th, and at Haverfordwest on the 3 1st, from
whence he passed over to Ireland at the beginning of June,
and was engaged in hostilities there during tliat month
and July. On the 27th of Augxist he was at Haverfordwest
on his return to Bristol.

The courage of the AVelsh appears to have been raised by
the absence of the king, and they commenced hostilities
against the famous Ranulph earl of Chester. It was pro-
bably on this occasion that the earl being attacked suddenly
was obliged to take shelter in the castle of Rhuddlau in
Flintshire, where he was besieged by a numerous army of
Welshmen. Tradition has cotmected la-ith this event the
origin of a siii«rular office or di;;iiit y which long existoil in tlio
principality of ('hector, of nliich the title may be tnui^latod

TIIE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 139

into English by master of the rogues and strumpets, and
which seems to have had some affinity with the office of the
J2ea: Ribaldamm in France. According to the story, when
the earl of Chester found himself in danger of being taken
by the Welsh, he sent for aid to his constable of Cheshire,
Roger de Lacy, baron of Halton, who by his fiery courage
(and perhaps for other causes) had obtained the surname of
Hell. It happened to be the time of one of the great fairs
held at Chester (in Midsummer), where was assembled a
vast concourse of people of the class above mentioned, who
came to join in and profit by the festivities of the occasion,
and among them no small number of wandering minstrels,
who were considered as belonging to the same class. Roger
de Lacy collected these people, and hastened ^vith them
to Rhuddlan ; and the Welsh, astonished at the numerous
army (as they supi)osed it to be) which was approaching,
raised the siege. The earl, we arc told, in gratitude for his
constable's timely arrival and as a memorial of the event,
made Roger de Lacy ' master of the rogues and stnunpets
of Cheshire,' an office which he or Iiis successor transferred
to their steward, Hugh de Dutton, and his heirs.* This
singular office was continued up to a late period. In the
14th Henrj' VII (a. d. 1498), Lawrence Dutton, lord of
Dutton, in answer to a quo-warranto on behalf of prince
Arthur as earl of Chester, claimed that all minstrels inha-
biting or exercising their office within the county and city
of Chester ought to appear before him, or his steward, at
Chester, at the feast of St. John the Baptist yearly, and
should give him at the said feast four flagons of wine and
one lance ; and also every minstrel should pay him four-
pence half-penny at the said feast; and that he should
have from ever}* strumpet residing and exercising her calling
witliin the county and city of Chester four-pence yearly
at the feast aforesaid ; for all wliich he pleaded prescription.

* The wortU of the charter are, MafriAtcrium omnium leccatonim et
roeretricun) totius Cestrrshire, sicut libcriu^ ilium mnpistcrium icnco de
comile, talvA jure men mihi ct hn>redibus mcis.

)

140 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

It is also certain that the Duttons used to keep a court every
year upon the above feast, being the fair day, where Jill the
minstrels of the county and city attended and played before
the lord of Dutton or his steward, upon their several instru-
ments, to and from divine service, after which the old
licences granted to the minstrels, &c. were renewed, and
new ones granted.*

The hostilities of the AVelsh continued during this year
and the year following. In the month of March, 1^11,
king John marched to the Borders of Wales ; we trace him
by the signatures on the records, at Bristol, on the 4th of
March, at Gloucester on the 6th and 7th, at Hereford on
the 9th, at Kilpeck on the 11th, at Abergavenny on the
ISth, again at Hereford on the 16th and 17th, and at Led-
bury on the 18th, from whence he returned to London.
The official records for the remainder of the year and a part
of the year following, appear to be for the greater part lost,
and we can only ascertain from what remains that the king
was at Hereford on the ISth and 18th of November. This
is the more to be regretted, as some of the most important
events connected mth the history of Wales in this reign
occurred during that year. According to the Welsh ac-
counts, the king at the urgent solicitations of the Lords
Marches, came to Chester with a great army in the spring
or in the beginning of summer of that year, and marched by
the coast to Rhuddlan, the Welsh retiring to the moun-
tains as he advanced. John pursued his course, crossed the
river Clwyd, and encamiied under the castle of Digiinwy,
which had been built by the earl of Chester in the prece-
ding year. Tlierc his army suffered much from fatigue and
disease, and being surrounded by the Welsh and in danger
of being deprived of provisions, he was obliged to make a
hasty retreat into England. From the English chroniclers
we have a more accurate account of what followed. John
enragetl at the failure of his first attempt, assembled a

* See Du|k1a1c*« Baronage, and Uloonl'i Ancient TciinriS Cir I'urthet
iafonnaiion concernins I hit tinsiiUr custom.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 141

numerous army at Oswestry (Album Monasterium) the
castle of John Fitz Alan^ on the 8th of July, and marcliing
into Wales, devastating the country over which he passed
in the most cruel manner, he crossed the river Conway
and encamped at the foot of Snowdon. The Welsh
princes were compelled to submit, and Llewellyn obtained
peace by the intercession of his wife Joane, who was king
John's illigitimate daughter,* and by the delivery of twenty
eight hostages, and the king returned in triumph to Oswestry
on the 25th of Augustf

Towards the end of the year the Welsh were again in
arms. At the beginning of 1212, they issued from their
strong holds, made themselves masters of several castles
and put to death tlie garrisons, plundered and burnt a
multitude of small towns, and then retired with their booty.
The intelligence of these hostilities was brought to the king
while engaged in festivities at London; and in a fit of
violent anger he ordered a vast army to be collected, and
swore that he would lay waste the whole of Wales and
exterminate its inhabitants. On his arrival at Nottingham,
he ordered the twenty-eight children of Welsh chiefs whom
he had taken as hostages to be hanged before dinner. He
then sat Aovm to table; in the middle of his meal he
received a message from the king of Scotland, warning him
of a conspiracy against his person; before he rose from
table, another messenger brought a letter from his daughter
Joane princess of Wales, also warning him of treasons medi-
tated against him. The king despised these warnings, and
continued his progress to Chester; but he was there met
by other messengers, who brought him more distinct inti-
mations, that if lie proceeded with his enterprise he would
cither be killed by his o>vn soldiers, or Iw delivered up
to his deadly cr.emios the Welsh ; and J^truck with sudden

• And not his J»i.>tcr, n^* Jias been ^t.'\lff^ in a former part of the present
work, p, 73

. Mattlit \v I'ariSi j^til' ai.n.

i:

148 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

consternation he disbanded his anny and returned to
London. It was at this moment that the pope was excom-
municating the contumacious monarch, and offering his
kingdom to the king of France ; and shortly afterwards
John, distrustful of his own people, surrendered his crown
to the papal legate, and consented to receive it again as a
vassal of the Romish see.*

After his apprehensions had been calmed by the exaction
of hostages from his barons, the king returned towards
the Borders of Wales, but with what retinue we have no
information. He was at Tewkesbury on the 80th of July,
1212, at Worcester on the two following days, at Bridge-
north on the 2nd and 8rd of August, at Shrewsbury on the
4th, and at Bridgenorth on his return on the 5th. He
again came to Bristol in October^ and was there on the
18th and 19th of that month. He made a third progress
towards Wales in the beginning of November, and was at
Flaxley in the Forest of Dean on the 8th and 9th of that
month, at St. Briavers from the 10th to the 12th^ at
Flaxley again on the latter day, at Tewkesbury on the 18th,
at Hereford from the 18th to the 18th, and he went from
thence by Tewkesbury to Warwick and London. King
John did not again visit the border till November 1218^
on the 20th and 21st of which month he was at Tewkes-
bury, and he was at Hanley Castle from the 22nd to the
24th, at Hereford from the 25th to the 27th, at Kilpeck on
the S6th and the 27th, at St. Briavers on the 28th and
29th, at Monmouth on the 29th and SOth, and on the
latter day he returned to St. BriavePs on his way to Lon-
don. One of the most important events which occurred
on the borders at this period was the restoration of Walter
do Lacy to all his lands and possessions except Ludlow,t

* Matthew Paris, sub ann.

t Plcnariam saUinam de onmilms terns titis et tenementif

pi.rttr I.MtlcUwc, ipiAni in manuni uotMm rctiuuiatts quamdiu nobis
placuciit. Close Koll», p. 147.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 14S

on the 29th of July, 121S, that great feudal baron having
given four hostages for his fidelity. The castle of Ludlow
was then in the custody of Engelard de Cygony, an active
agent of king John. On the 23rd of October^ 1214, the
king ordered Engelard de Cygony to deliver the town of
Ludlow to Walter de Lacy ;* but Engelard appears to have
expostulated with his royal master, and to have represented
that the place was too important to be trusted out of his
own hands, for the king wrote to him again on the 2nd
of November, approving of his conduct, and authorizing
him to retain the casile, " although it were better to give it
up than pay forty marks a year to keep it," but ordering
him to deliver up the town to Walter de Lacy, in accor-
dance with the convention which he had made with him.t
Shortly afterwards the king appears to have placed entire
confidence in the loyalty of Walter de Lacy, for on the 12th
of April, 1215, he ordered Engelard do Cygony to deliver
^'his (Lacy's) castle" of Ludlow (castnim suum de Lude-
lawe) into his custody.^ At the time when Walter de
Lacy was restored to the king's favour, John Fitz Alan of
Clun, among others, became an object of distrust, and all
his lands with the churches of Oswestry and Shrawardine
were seized by the king and, June 10, 1213, delivered into
the hands of John Mareschal, then warden of tlie ISIarches,
who held them till the 11th of July, 1214, when by the
king's direction he delivered them to Tliomas de Erdington,
one of John's creatures, who was son-in-law of William
Fitz Alan, the elder brother of John Fitz Alan.§

In the great struggle between the king and the barons

• Close Rolls, p. 175.

t Res Engelardo do Cygon, salntcin. l)c kiiis qiix niaiidaatiii vos
feciate de porcis, bene fccUtU. Bt licet plus valcai rctldcrc castnim do
Lodelawe quam dare pro custodia caslri xl. m. per annum, rctcnto
lamen in mtnu nostra casiro illo, viilam M'altcro dc* Lasov habere facias
secundum conTcntionem inter nos ct ip^um far (am, quia a conventione
ilia nolumns rc»ilirc. Close Rolls P' 17ri.

^ Talcnl RoU^p. I3i. ^^ r*atcii( I:'.*IIf, pp |(i>», IlK

144 THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

during the latter years of John's reign, die Welsh entered
into a close alliance with the baronial party. Immediately
after his return from Normandy in 1214, John repaired
to the border; from the 14th to the 17th of December he
was at Gloucester; he was at Monmouth on the 18th;
at Kilpeck on the 18th and 19th ; at Hereford fitxm the
2l8t to the 2Srd ; at Worcester from the 25th to the 27th ;
and at Tewkesbury on his return on the 27th. Some of
the most powerful of the border families, as the Mortimers
and the Lacies, were staunch adherents to the royal cause,
but many others, and among the rest the Fitz Alans and the
well-known Fulk Fitz Warine, were as firm adherents to
the baronial confederacy. John upon this occasion, appears
to haye seized on many of the castles of his enemies, and
garrisoned them for his own use ; before he left the border
he gaTe the castle of Grrosmont,* and probably Screnfrith
and the other fortresses in the neighbourhood to John de
Monmouth. He had previously given a strong castle in
the Marches to Falcasius de Breauti, one of the most
violent and cruel of his foreign meroenarie8.t

In the spring of 1215 the barons were in aims, and
Llewellyn marched with his Welshmen to Shrewsbury and
took possession of that town. The bishop Giles de Braose,
as well as the earl of Hereford, joined the barons, and
White Castle, Grosmont, Hay, Builth, Clun and other
castles were seized and strongly garrisoned by their adhe-
rents. The bishop of Hereford soon afterwards made his
peace ^rith the king.

On the 15th of June the king signed Magna Charta.
At the end of the next month he made another brief visit to
the border, and was at Shrewsbury on the 30th and 81st
of July, at Bridgenorth on the 1st of August, and at Wor-
cester the next day. Tliroughout the records of this year
we trace the king's anxiety to store the castles which were
in his hands, and to place them in safe custody against
iho impending contest. On the 10th of July the ra*itk» of

* ClMt RoUf, p. XVX t Matt. I*«rif» Hut. M«j. tub ann. 1212

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 145

Hereford was committed to the custody of the graud jus-
ticiary Hubert de Burgh; on tlic 14th of August, at his
petition, it was transferred to the younger Walter de Clif-
ford;* and in the October following wc find jmyments
made to Clifford for lus expenses in fortifying it.f About
this time the bishop of Hereford died, and on the 18th of
November the king ordered his castles to be delivered into
the hands of the younger Walter de Clifford.^ The king
appears also to have obtained possession of the casdcs on
the south-western border of Herefordshire, for he restores
Grosmont to John de Monmouth on the 1st of December.§
It was not till the summer of 1S16 that king John, after
having ravaged with fire and sword a large portion of his
kingdom, came with his foreign mercenaries to the border,
which wc may suppose to have suffered all the worst etkcta
of their cruelty. On the 19th and 20th of July wc find the
king at Bristol and Berkeley, on the Slst he was at Glou-
cester, on the 22nd and Sdrd at Tewkesbury, and firom the
24th to the 27th at Hereford. At this time he ordered
Thomas de Erdington to deliver up the castle of Bridge-

* Patent Rolls, pp. 119, 153. The family of the Cliffords potsesscd
Urge estates on the border. The Walter de Clifford here mentioned was
tlie brother of Rosamond de Clifford, the mistress of Henry II, better
known by the more celebrated name of *' Fair Rosamond." Among his
estates were Corfham and Cnlmington, in the neighbourhood of Ludlow.
(See the Rot Fin. 1 John.) Another sister, Lucy, was married to Hugh
de Say, lord of Richard's Castle and Ludford (who was the direct de-
scendant of " Richard the Scrub,*' baring changed the fiunily name of Fits
Osbom for that of Say), and, aAcr her husband's death, she married
Bartholomew de Mortimer. Their grand-daughter, Margery de Ferrers,
inherited Richard's Castle, and conrcycd it by marriage to Robert dc
Uortimer.

t Close Rolls, p. 231. Honey was still a very important portion of the
produce of lands on the border. It appears by an entry this year, that
Stephen D'Erereux (de Ebroicis) held Badlingham of the king by the
tenure of paying thirty -two gallons of honey yearly to the king's use in
the castle of Hereford. Close Rolls, p. 219. This probably formed part
««f the stores for the U4c of the g«irrisou.

; Taleni Rolls, p. IjU. >' raicnl RulU, p. IGO.

146 THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

north aiul the county of Salop to the custody of tlie earl of
Chester.* From Hereford he is said to have written to
Llewellyn prince of Wales and to Reginald de Braose
(brother of the late bishop of Hereford, and third son of the
famous William de Braose), offering them favourable terms
if they would join him against Louis of France, who had
been called in by the barons. Being unsuccessful in his
attempt to detach them from the alliance of the baronial
party he marched to Hay Castle, which he took and de-
stroyed. He was at Hay on the S7th and 88th of July,
and on the latter day he wrote again to some of the Welsh
nobles, inviting them to an interview, and declaring that
he was come to the border for their benefit, and not with
any intention to injure them.t From Hay Castle the king
xetuxned to Hereford, where he remained from the S9tfa to
the 81st of July. On the latter day he went to Leominster,
where he was on the 1st of August On the Snd day of
August he was at Badnor, where also he destroyed the
castle, and he went the same day to Kingsmead. On the 8rd
he was at Kingsmead and Clnn, and on the 4th at Shrews-
bury. From the 6th to the 10th of August the king was
at Oswestry, the castle of John Fitz Alan, which he burnt
to the ground. From this place, on the 7th of August,
John sent another safe-conduct to the Welshmen to repair
to his presence.^ From the 1 1th to the 14th the king was
again at Shrewsbury. On the 12th he granted to Robert
de Mortimer a market to be held weekly, and a fair to be
held yearly on St. Owcn*s day (March 4), and the five fol-
lowing days, in his town of Richard's Castle.fj From the
14th to the 16th of August the king was at Bridgcnorth,
and on the latter day he gave into the hands of the carl

• Pateat Rolls, p. 175.

t Sciatit quod propter commodum Tettnun ft bob dimintttionem
Tettiam Tel dampnnm Tcnimos in partct isut, quod per opera nostra
manifette perpendcre potcritis rslcnt Rolls, p. 191.

; Paieni Rolls, p. V.n. ^ Ch*^r Rolls, p. 2^1.

I
■

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 147

uf Chester th« custody of Shrewsbury, Bridgcnorth, and
the county of Salop.* From Bridgenorth John went to
Woioester^ where he was on the 16th and 17 th of August,
and thence to Gloucester, which he reached on the latter
day. The whole of the king's movements on this occasion
show that his chief object was to tamper with the Welsh,
and with the lords of the Marches, in whom lay his last
hope of raising an army sufficient to afford any solid
prospect of opposing the progress of his enemies. He had
taken the opportimity of wreaking his vengeance on a few
of the barons on the immediate border who were opposed to
him, and before he left this part of the kingdom for the
last time, on the 18th of August he took the castle of
Hereford firom Walter de Cliffi)rd and gave it to the keeping
<tf Walter de Lacy, with orders for fortifying and storing
it,t and on the 20th he again gave to John de Monmouth
the castles of Ghrosmont, Screnfrith, and Lantely4 From
Gloucester king John proceeded on that progress which
ended at Newark upon Trent, where he died on the 10th
of October. At his own request his body was carried to
Worcester, where it was deposited in the cathedral. One
of his last acts connected mth the border of Wales was his
grant, on the 10th of October, of three carucates of land in
the forest of Acombury to Margaret de Lacy for the founda-
tion of her monastery.^

After John had been buried, his son Henry was carried
to Gloucester to be crowned, and he remained there till the
middle of December. Tlic hostile parties continued still in
the same position, and it was not till the latter end of the
year following that the kingdom was restored to peace.
On the Srd of November, 1S16, Hugh de Kilpeck received
orders from the king to pay immediately the usual panagc
of his pigs in the wood of Trivelle to Walter de Lacy to

* Patent RolU, p. 193. t Patent RolU, pp. 193, 194.

t Patent Rolb, p. KM. \ Patent RoUt. p. 199.

148 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

store the castle of Hcrefiml.* By the treaty with Louw
and his adherents in the September of 1217, Llewellyn
prince of Wales, who, with his barons had been excom-
municated, were to deliver up to the king all the fortresses
on the border which he had taken during the baronial
contest ; and he came to Hereford on the Octanes of St,
Martin (Noyember 18), probably for the purpose of nego-
tiating on that subject. As the king could not meet him
at that time, Llewellyn received a safe-conduct to come
to the court at Northampton ;t but this he appears not
to have used, and the king sent him another safe-conduct
to meet him at Worcester on the second Sunday after Ash-
Wednesday (March 11), 1S184 Accordingly, we trace the
king in his progress to the place of meeting by his signature
on the documents of the period : he was at Gloucester on
the 8th of March, and at Tewkesbury on the 11th, which
day he probably reached Worcester, where he remained
till the 17th. Llewellyn came there at the appointed time,
and bound himself by an oath to certain conditions of peace
and alliance which were then agreed upoQ.$ During his
stay at Worcester, on the 16th of March, the king directed
the market-day at Leominster to be changed from Sunday
to Thursday; and the same day he ordered the Sheriff
of Salop to assist Jolm L'Estmngc in* strengthening liis
castle of Knockin.ll The king was again at Gloucester on
the 20th of April, and at AVorcester from the 20th to
the2Srd.

* CI<MC Rolls, p. 293. Panagc (pasnagium porconim) was the fe« paid
for the p«nnttium to turn pigi into the forests to feed ; in this instance,
and ia many others, it was probably paid in kind, for baron, as we hare
btfora observed, p. 21, wan the principal article In the larder of the
barons.

t Rymcr's Frdera, new cdittou. rol. I, p. I to. | Frdera, toL 1, p. 150.
f A copy or the oath in printed in the Tardera, ib.

I Close RoIIk, p. 3o5. It appear* by ulker entries on the Rolls, that
|trrtivu« lu lhi» iiiii«* in in.my towh^ m ihi» part of the kine«loD). Sundav
was Ibc n-^ual uarkii'day.

THE HI8TOIIY OF LUBLOW. 149

Tlie feuds bct^vcen the Welsh and the lords of the border,
%vliich had originated, or been cherished^ during the baro-
nial contest, were not, however, easily extinguished, and
many years passed away before this part of the kingdom
ceased to be the scene of a continual succession of predatory
warfare. At the commencement of the year 1£20, these
hostilities had taken a character which called for the active
interference of the king. On the 1st of May in that
year, the king wrote to Llewelljrn inviting him to meet
him at Shrewsbury on the Monday after the Ascension ;* on
the £5th of April he had ordered sixty pounds to be paid out
of his treasury to defiray the expenses of his joumey,t and
wo find him at Shrewsbury on the 7th of May, where it is
probable that the Welsh prince sent excuses for not attend-
ing to his invitation. On the 9th the king returned to
Bridgenorth, where he granted licenses to the burgesses of
Shrewsbury and Bridgenorth to cut down timber in his
forests for the strengthening of their respective towns.^
On the 10th he had reached Worcester, and on the 17th
he arrived at Westminster, where he appears to have taken
immediate measures for raising a considerable army. The
especial objects of Llewellyn's enmity were William Marcs-
chal, carl of Pembroke (the son of king Henry's guardian),
and Reginald de Braose, and he was preparing to invade
their lands with a powerful army. Henry appeared again
on the border in August ; he was at Berkeley on the 15th
and 16th of that month, at Monmouth on the 17th, at
Scnmfrith on the 19th, at White Castle on the 20th, and at
Striguil on the 81st, where he appears to have heard first
of the real extent of Llewellyn's preparations, and he
learnt that he was then marching against Reginald de

* Fttdera, p. 159.

t Liberalo ctiam dc theMuro nostra cidcm Willclmo texAginta lihras
dcferendaa nobiscuni ad expen^a!* nottras rcrtuf Salopesbir. Clone UoWs
1>. 11 G.

I CKmo U»IK pp. IK, 11^.
X

150 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

Biaoee.* On the SSrd, the king was at Bristol on hii^
retom from the border, and the Welsh proceeded ^rith
their hostilities^ but before the end of September their
progress had been arrested by Henry's interference, who,
on the 6th of October, wrote to the Welsh prince, citing
him to appear before him at Worcester on the Octaves of
St Andrew (December 7).t It does not appear that this
meeting took place, but Llewellyn had agreed to make
amends for the damages he had committed. A new ap-
pointment was probably made and kept in the year following,
as the king came to Shrewsbury on the 28th of June, when
a truce, if not a recondhation between the hostile parties,
was agreed upon. Early in the following year the Welsh
appear to have again assumed a threatening attitude, and
we find the 'RngliA monarch at Screnfiith from the 4th to
the 7th of March, but the truce was finally prolonged on
the 80th of April.

Llewellyn appears to have taken advantage of the truce
to prepare on a larger scale for a new invasion of the
English border. In the JMywnttig of March, 12SS, the
king was called from a progress in the northern part of
England by the intelligence that the Welsh prince was
besieging Whittington, the castle of Fulkc Fitz Warine.$
Henry reached Shrewsbury on the 7th of March, and on
his approach it is probable that the Welsh retired ; and he
proceeded by Bridgenorth, Kidderminster, Worcester, and
Gloucester, towards the capital. After the king's departure
the Welsh renewed their hostilities ; a letter of safe-con-
duct, sent on the 22nd of June to Llewell}!! to meet the
king at Worcester on the Monday after the feast of St.
John the Baptist,^ was disregarded; and when the king
arrived kt AVorccster with an army at the beginning of
July, he loamt that the Welsh had taken AMiittington as
well as the castle of Kinardsley, or Kiiuicr^Iey, belonging

• CloM RolU» p. 126. t Kctdcrm, p. |r»|.

t Closo Hull?, p 537. ( FrT<{er4. i, p. ]ft>^.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 151

to Baldwin de Hodiiet. lie immediately sent orders to
put Shrewsbury in a state of defence, and after staying at
Woicester till the 16th, and at Gloucester till the £2nd, he
retiumed to Windsor, where, on the llSth of September, he
received intelligence from Reginald de Braose that he was
closely besieged in his o>vu castle of Biiilth, and that the
English foix^s were insufficient to withstand the progress
of Llewellyn and his AVelshmen.* The king immediately
called together a powerful army, which was to meet at
Gloucester, and on tlie 19th of September he reached
Hereford in i^erson. He caused the fortifications of that
city to be put in a good condition, and remained there till
the 25th ; on the 26th he was with his army at Leominster ;
on the 29th he was at Shrewsbury; and the next day
he marched with his army to Montgomery. Here, having
terrified the Welsh by the greatness of his preparations,
and by the ravages which he began to commit upon them,
he received hostages from Llewellyn for their future sub-
mission.f But the king determined to put a check uiion
their incursions on this part of the border, by building a
new and strong castle at Montgomery. Immediately afler
his arrival he wrote to the sheriff of Shropshire for arms,
and to Hereford for stores. At the same time he restored
to Baldwin de Hodnet and Fulke Fitz Warine their castles
of Kinardsley and Whittington. On the 7th of October,
he sent for twenty ** good miners" from the Forest of Dean,
to make the fosses and lay the foundations.^ Having
remained at Montgomery till the 11th, he returned to
Shrewsbury on that day or on the 12th, and imssed through
Brid^cnorth (on the 13th), and Kidderminster (on the
14th), to Worcester, where he remained from the 14th to

* rccdcra, i, p. 170. Matt. Paris, Ilitt Maj. sub ann. 1221. The
historian is entirely wrong in the date he gives to these occurrences.

t Fvdera, i, p. 170.

X Ad opcratioucs raslri uostri q.iod iMdrm conslniimus fariendas.
CMuse ItoU^ p. 000.

152 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

the IGthy and from thence he went to Gloucester. From
both these cities he sent to Montgomery money and mate-
rials for the works^ with abundance of stores and arms.
On the 18th of November he ordered six hogsheads of
gascon wine and fifty '' bacons" to be sent from Bristol to
the castle of Hereford. On the 28nd, he sent to Mont-
gomery six thousand quarells, or cross-bow arrows, which
had been made at St. BriavePs, where there appears to
have been an extensive manufactory of these weapons. Ou
the SSrd, the king appointed a chaplain to serve in the
'new castle ' of Montgomery. During the whole of the
year 1224, the king was occupied in strengthening the
border, and in building his castle, which appears to have
been finished in September. On the 19th of that month
he arrived at Worcester, where he was met by his sister
Joane, Llewelljm's wife;* on the 21st he was at Kidder-
minster, on the 22nd, at Bridgenorth, and from the 24th to
the 80th at Shrewsbury, where he strengthened the fortifi-
cations of the castle. On the let of October the king
visited the castle of Montgomeiy, which he entrusted to
Baldwin de Hodnet. On the 2nd of October he was at
Ludlow, on the 4th at Hereford, and on the 7th at Gloa-
cester.

At this period the family of the Mortimers was increasing
fitft in power and importance; and their possessions on
the border were repeatedly enlarged by alliances with the
heiresses of the old lords of the Marches, whose families
were becoming extinct. Three successive lords of Wigmoro
intermarried with the house of the Braoses; Hugh dc
Mortimer, the grand-son of Soger who founded Wigmore,
married Annora, the daughter of William de Braose ; Ralph
dc Mortimer married the widow of Reginald dc Braose;
and his son Roger dc Mortimer married Maude the daughter
and co-heir of Reginald's son, the second William de Braose.
All these barons wore distingttished by their loyalty, and
by their hostility to the Welsh. IIu|;h do Mortimer diod

• Cl««c n«IU, p. 622.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 168

in November, 1227, in consequence of wounds which he
had received in a tournament. His brother Ralph, who suc-
ceeded to his estates was remaikable throughout the whole
of his life for his hatred towards the Welsh, which appears
to have been founded partly on resentment for personal
injuries. In 1231, according to a chronicle of the abbey of
Wigmorc,* while Ralph was a prisoner in France, the
Welsh invaded his estates, and carrying their ravages as far
as Wigmore, they entered the abbey on the first Sunday in
Lent, plundered it of every thing worth carrying away,
and then burnt all the houses and offices to the ground,
leaving no part of the building entire except the church.

The year after that in which the new castle of Mont-
gomery was completed, we find Llewellyn again in arms.
While William Mareschal was absent in Ireland, the prince
suddenly invaded his lands, seized upon two of his castles,
and, having massacred the defenders, garrisoned them with
Welshmen. William Mareschal returned in haste, and
soon recovered his castles ; and in revenge he invaded the
lands of Llewellyn, who raised a large army to oppose him.
Tlie hostile parties engaged on the banks of the Tivy, and,
according to the English chronicles, the English obtained a
decisive and sanguinary victory .f But the earPs success
must have been partial, for Llewellyn continued to harass
the English during the remainder of the year. He was
probably encouraged by the inability of the king, who
was occupied with other afiairs, to come to the assistance of
the barons. Henry cited the Welsh prince to meet him
at Worcester fifteen days after the feast of St. John the
Baptist (July 9tli) ;X in June he sent to inform him that
other matters of iiniK>rtancc then occupied him, and he
changed the day of meeting to the Assumption of the
Blessed Virp^n (August 15th).§ In spite of tlie king*8

* 111 the BJouasticon, last cUiUoii» vol. vi, p. 3^

ft

t Matthew Vutts, ulio jilaccs these transactions in the year 1223.
1 Firtlcia, I, p 171). { F<rclcra, i, p. ISO.

154 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

threats and expostulations, Llewellyn proceeded witli his
hostile preparations, which had assumed so serious a cha*
racter in the autumn of the same year that Henry obtained
from the pope a bull of excommunication against the person
of his refractory kinsman.* This war appears to have been
partly excited by Hugh de Lacy aiid some other barons,
who had withdrawn their allegiance from the king, and
joined their forces with those of the Welsh.f According to
some accounts, a peace was at length concluded between
Henry and Llewelljm, who met at Ludlow.^

But at this period no peace between the English and
Welsh was lasting ; and for many years the border was the
scene of continual strife. The grounds of the great baronial
confederacy were already laid, which soon afterwards hum-
bled the crown at its feet During the thirteenth century
the turbulence of the Welsh was in no small degree a
safeguard to the liberties of England. When the defenders
of the great charter were defeated or overpowered, they
found a never-failing refuge in the mountains on the other
side of the border, and they oould there hold their ooundls
and raise their forces for friture operations ; while the first
notice of an insurrectionary movement among the Bnglifh
barons was the signal for a rising among the Welsh, who
were led by the love of plunder to join their banners. In
1826 feelings of mistrust arose between the king and
William Mareschal, who retired to his castles in Wales ;
and on the 88th of July in that year we find Henry at

• F<rd«n. i. p. 18a The bull i* dated in October. It ii there Mid of
the priace of Wales, Nuae vero idem, tanquam homo prv?mrieationi
aaMietaa et tadUt ad IhllcBdiim, te aimol, et famam et pfomina cob*
faadeaa, Regi obedire fecvaat* ei castra tibi ab eo rommina dtmoBi^ araa
contra ipeum Rcgem erexiC, et ei et qjoa fidelibua, prvciptte aobilt viio
W. comtti Penebroccnti, baliro refrio, guerram moret.

t Matthew Paris.

I Caraduc of Llaacarran. As the Rolls of this period have not yvt
been printed, mc are no lunger able Iv trace the king in his progrcs.'*e«,
escept by a few isolated document « printed by Rymcr

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 155

Worcester, sending a safe-conduct to Llewellyn to meet
him at Shrewsbury.* During the next year the border
appears to have been more tranquil, but it was the scene of
new troubles in 1228. They are said to have originated in
an attempt of the garrison of Montgomery to clear the
woods on a public road in the neighbourhood which was
infested by robbers who murdered and plundered the pas-
sengers. The Welsh assembled in large numbers, and,
fidling suddenly upon the English, drove them back into
the castle, to which they laid siege. The garrison imme-
diately sent intelligence of their perilous situation to the
grand justiciary Hubert de Buigh, whom the king had
just before this event invested with the district and castle
of Montgomery. Henry himself, mth a small army,
hastened to the spot, and compelled the Welsh to raise the
siege; and then, having received large reinforcements, he
proceeded to clear the wood in question, and marched
as far as Kerry in Montgomeryshire, where he laid the
foundations of a strong castle. But his workmen and
soldiers were continually interrupted, and many of them
slain, by the repeated attacks of the enemy ; some of the
king's best knights were slain in the attempt to fetch in
provisions for the army ; and his eflforts were paralysed by
the disaffection of his own army. After a great expen-
ditttie of money and time, he was obliged to make a
disgraceful treaty with the Welsh prince, by which he
agreed to destroy the castle which he had begun.f

Among the prisoners made by the Welsh was William
de Braose, the son of Reginald de Braose, who was retained
in captivity after the treaty, and whose fate has since
become the subject of many a ]K)pular legend. It is said
that William de Braose, confined in the castle of Abcr,
captivated the affections of the princess Joane ; and that
her husband, becoming acquainted with their intimacy
after his prisoner had l)ocn set at lil)orty» treaclierously
invited him to an Eastrr festival, ami then* ( .:iisod him to

• Fcrdcra, i. p IS'2. 1 Matthew rati» &uU Ann. VtIK

156 TUB HISIOKY OK LUDLOW.

be seized and hanged upon a gallows. The legends add
tkat the princess was also put to deaths after having been
shown the corpse of her lover.*

Early in 12S1, the Welsh began to ravage the lands
which had belonged to the unfortunate William de Braose,
but on the approach of the king they retreated to their
strong holds. Henry was at Worcester on the 27th of
May, on which day he sent to Llewelljrn a safe-conduct
for his messengers to meet his council at Shrewsbury on
the Tuesday after the quinzaine of the Holy Trinity.f The
king' then proceeded towards the south, leaving to Hubert
de Burgh the care of negociating with the hostile moun-
taineers; but no sooner had he left the border, than the
Welsh recommenced hostilities, and began to plunder the
neighbourhood of Montgomery. The knights who had the
guard of the castle, irritated at being thus bearded within
their own waUs, issued suddenly and fell upon the inva-
ders, and, after inflicting upon them a severe defeat, sent
numerous prisoners to the grand justiciary (Hubert de
Burgh), who ordered them to be executed as rebeb and
their heads sent to the king. This act of severity was
the signal for a general rising amongst the Welsh ; LIewell}*n
assembled a numerous army, invaded the lands of the lords
marchers, and committed the most frightful ravages, burn-
ing even the churches and monasteries, and in them seveml
noble ladies and young maidens who had taken refuge
there. The king of England was indignant at the tur-
bulence of his feudal de|iendant. He immediately prepared
to inflict a severe punishment ; on the Soth of June he
sent orders to the justiciary of Ireland to make war on the
Welsh from the sea, and, on the ISth of July, he assembled
a great army at Oxford, where the English bishops and

• Th9 UtUr ffttt of tho ttoi^ do6t not appoor to have any hittoricat
fotrndatioB. Tho ouuuior and came of tho execution of William de Braoae
are mentioned by Uatthew I*ari«, tnb ann. 1230.

t Ftfden, p. VHK

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 157

prelates solemnly anathematized Llewellyn and his accom-
plices. The king then made a rapid march to Hereford^
where he learnt that the Welsh were encamped in the
neighbourhood of Montgomery, and that Llewellyn lay in
ambitsh to entrap the garrison of the castle. They were
relieved from their perilous situation by the advance of the
king ; who rebuilt the castle of Matilda (castrum Matildro)^
formerly destroyed by the Welsh, and placed in it a strong
force to repress their future incursions. On the SOth of
November, a truce was agreed upon between Llewellyn
and the king, which waa renewed on the SOth of February
following.* The Welsh were however only pacified for a
moment; during the year IZS2 they were continually
infesting the border. On the 20th July we find the king
on his way to Shrewsbury to meet Llewellyn^ to whom
he sent a safe-conduct to last till the vigil of St. Lawrence
(August 9); and, after further hostilities, the king was
at the same place on the 7th of December, making a
'provision' with the Welsh prince.f Tliis provision,
like all those which had preceded, was of little effect or
duration.

The troubles wliich marked the rear 1233 arc said to
have been preceded by extraordinary uatiural phenomena;
when the sun rose over the counties of Hereford and Wor-
cester on the morning of the 8th of April, the inhabitants
of those districts were astonished at beholding it accom-
panied by four other suns, arranged in a visible circle
wliich appeared to embrace within its circumference the
whole of England, this larger circle being cut by four
smaller ones, the four false suns forming the |)oint$ of
intersection.^ The ap]>rehen$ion$ excittMl by this prodigy
were heightened by the knowledge of the distrust which
already appeared between the ill-adns^Hl monarch and his
barons.

• Fflcdcra, pp. fOl, 20-2. Mm t hew l».iri!«, «ub ann. 1232.

f Fotdcra, pp. 2115. 2in;, 2<i6 I Matthew Parts, $ub ann. 123^1.

Y

158 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

Henry daily inclined more and more to his foreign fa-
vourites, to the injury of his subjects, and the great and just
Hubert de Burgh had already fallen a sacrifice to his own
integrity, and was a close prisoner in the castle of Devizes.
The English barons began to confederate together^ and the
king, full of fears and suspicions, invited them to a grand
meeting at London on the kalends of August. He had
already deprived several barons of their estates to bestow
them on the Poitevins who surrounded his coiurt, and
Richard Mareschal was now the object of his jealousy.
The wife of Richard earl of Cornwall (the king's brother)
was the earl Mareschal's sister, and when he paid her a
visit on his way to the appointed meeting, she took him
aside and informed him that a plot had been laid to seize
upon his person. The earl immediately turned back, and
never stopped till he found himself safe on the border of
Wales, where he was joined by others who had fallen
equally with himself, under the king's displeasure, amongst
whom were Gilbert Basset, Richard Suard, and Walter
de Clifford, with many other knights distinguished for
their influence and ])ersonal bravery. The king then
summoned the refractory barons to appear before him at
Gloucester on the Sunday before the Assumption of the
>'irgin Mary, and on their refusal to obey, gave orders
to invade and ravage their lands as the possessions of
traitors to his crown. At the same time he declared them
outlaws, and gave their confiscated estates to his Poitevins,
on wliich Richard Mareschal and his friends entered into
an alliance with the prince of Wales.

Tlie king inunediately marched to Hereford with a
formidable army, consisting cliiefly of foreigners, more
csiMxrially of Flemings. He vms at Hay castle on the
2ud of September, when he sent messengers to Lcwcllyn to
try to detach hiin from the confederacy.* From Ilcrefonl

• r*Td«r.T. |» 'i\ ». 1\\v kinc had bcfor*.* been .il Tewkt^bury «!u-
>far, «»n ihc 2**th of M.iy. VnAi ra, \*. 7*^J

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 159

lie sent his defiance, or declaration of war, to the earl
Marcschal, and laid siege to one of his castles^ hut with
so little success that he saw himself on the point of being
obliged to retire from before it. Humiliated by this cheeky
he opened negociations with the earl, offering, on condition
the castle should be immediately placed in his hands, to
t<akc him again into favour, and to reform the corruptions in
the government of which the barons complained, or to
restore the castle in a fortnight. On these conditions the
earl gave up the castle, and the king appointed the Sunday
before Michaelmas to receive the outlawed barons at West-
minster. When that day arrived, the king had fulfilled
none of his promises, and in defiance of the advice of his
best counsellors, he treated vrith contempt the earl's claim
for the restitution of his castle. The latter took up arms
and, after a very brief siege, made himself master of his
own fortress. At the same time the aged justiciary, Hubert
dc Burgh, was carried away by force from his prison by
some of his friends, who armed him according to his rank
and conducted him to the border, where he joined the
revolted barons, and strengthened their cause by his expe-
rience and influence, as well as by the sympathy excited
by his injuries.

The king was furious M'hen he received intelligence of
these events. He assembled in haste a formidable army
at Gloucester, and marched with it to Hereford; but the
barons had carried all their cattle and other effects from the
open country into their castles, and, unable to support
his vast host in a country which thus afforded no pro-
visions, he retired to the castle of Grosmont, intondin^^ to
remain there some days, and, confident in his numbers,
encam]>e(L negligently in the fields ^-ithout the castle. The
barons, who had gootl intelHgrnce, were informed of his
position ; the earl Maresehal refused to join in an attack
uix>n the person of the king, but the other confederates
marched during the nljjht with a numeruus army of Kn^Iish
and Welsh, and at davbrcnk on the feast of St. Martin

(Xofember 11;, fell g|>33 the royal camp, diore away
the knights and soldieTS without strudng a blow, and made
themsehes mastent of abore five hundred hoises, and all
the equipage and baggage of the camp. The king was
safely lodged in die castle of Grosmont, but he lost all
his money and provisons, and many of his principal men
were oUiged to ily almost in a state of nudity.

After this refene the king felt himself no longer secure
at Gbosmont, and retired to Gloucester, hatring garrisoned
an the castles in his possession on the bender with bands
of hungry Poiterins and Flemings under the command
of John de Monmouth and Baoul de Thony , to the latter of
whom he had gi^en the castle of Matilda. These garrisons
of stnmgets soon became the tenor of the peasantry, for
they did nothing but plunder and ravage the country
round* But Henry's departure increased the boldness
of the confederate barons, who now retaliated by invading
the lands of John de Monmouth and the other partisans of
the king. Richard Mareschal, at the head of the united
anny of the outlaws, marched towards Monmouth at the
latter end of November, intending to lay siege to the castle,
which was entrusted to the care of a Flenush knight named
Baldwin de Guines. AMiile the army was moving to its
quarters, the carl, attended only by a hundred knights,
approached to reconnoitre the castle. He was observed and
recognised by Baldwin do Guines, wlio assembled a thou-
sand of his bravest warriors, and sallied out to capture his
enemy. The com]>amons of Richard Mareschal advised
him to make his csca]M? M-ith as much speed as possible;
but their gallant leader told them that he had never yet
turned his back on an enemy who offered him battle, and,
ho added, " I shall not change my custom to-day.** For
se%-eral hours, in spite of the inequality of numbers, the
earl Mareschal and his men defended themselves ^-aliantly
with their s])cars and swords. At length, despairing ot
ovcrroming the whole party collectively, lialdwin do Guines
chose twelve of lii« i^ni|iaiiioiis to single out the MareschaK

THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW. 161

^hile the rest were engaged in the attack upon his knights ;
and, although the earl slew most of his assailants, his
horse was at length killed under him, and he was thrown
in his heavy armour to the ground. Baldwin de Guines,
furious at his obstinate resistance, threw himself on the
earl, and tore his casque from his head with so much
violence, that Richard's face was covered with blood ; then,
having placed him on a horse, he drew it by the bridle
towards the castle of Monmouth, while some of his men
held him and pushed him from behind. At this critical
moment one of Richard Mareschal's arbalestriers, seeing
the danger of his master, aimed an arrow at Baldwin dc
Guines, which pierced through his armour, made a dan-
gerous wound in his breast, and stretched him apparently
lifeless on the earth. His men, believing him dead, left
their captive to attend to their lord ; and at the same time
the earl Mareschal's army, having received intelligence of
the combat, arrived at the spot. The soldiers of Baldwin
de Guines now sought safety by flight, but when they
came to the river which they had to pass, they found the
bridge broken down, and a few only with their wounded
leader reached the castle. The rest were either drowned
in attempting to pass the river, or were slain by their
pursuers, or were taken prisoners and obliged to pay heavy
ransoms for their liberty. The field of battle was covered
with the dead. " From the time of this skirmish," says
Matthew Paris, who is our authority for this episode in tlic
border history, " the carl Mareschal, Gilbert Basset, Richard
Suard, and the other exiles and those who were in league
with them, laid fatal snares for the Poitevins who occupied
the castles of the king of England, so that whenever one of
them issued forth to pillage the countr)*, they laid hold
of him and would acce]>t no other ransom thcin his head.
It soon came to that point, that the roads and other places
were strewed with the bodies of these foreigners, in such
numbers that the air was comijitcd by them.*'

The king, humiliated by ihcso rovcr»i*s, endeavourcil

l&Z THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

vainly to entrap the earl Mareschal by s]iecious offers of
pardon. His failure in this attempt, and the represen-
tations of his foreign favourites, embittered still more his
hatred against the confederate barons. Henry held his
Christmas at Gloucester, with a small attendance of English
nobles, for he had been abandoned by most of the barons
who had been ^vith him at the memorable defeat at Gros-
mont. On the Monday after Christmas-day, John de
Monmouth, the king's most zealous partizan in these parts,
collected a large army to attack the earl Mareschal by sur-
prise. But his vigilant antagonist had received intimation
of his design, and when the soldiers of John de Monmouth
was making their way with difficulty through the intricacies
of a forest they had to pass, the confederates fell upon them
suddenly with terrible shouts, drove them oat of the forest,
and pursued them with so much fury, that John de Mon-
mouth was almost the only one who escaped. Richard
Mareschal, emboldened by this success, invaded the lands
of John de Monmouth, and ravaged them with such perse-
vering hostility, that '' from a rich man he became suddenly
poor and needy." At the same time his partisans carried
on a similar kind of destructive warfare against the other
royalists. Richard Suard burnt the lands of the king's
brother, Richard earl of Cornwall, near Brchull, rooting up
and destroying utterly even the woods and single trees.
Tlicy treated in the same manner the domain of Segrave,
belonging to the grand justiciar}* Stephen dc Segrave, and a
manor near it belonging to the bishop of Winchester, who
was one of Henry's evil counsellors. In the midst of these
ravages, the confederates made a rule to injure none but the
evil advisers of the king.

Soon after these occurrences, a little before the octaves of
the Epiphany (January ISth), Richard Mareschal and
prince Llewellyn, with their united armies, marched to
Shrewsburj', destro}*ing the country in their way. After
having collected an immon«* iKwty, and ha^inj* burnt a larjjp
part of the town of SlinMvsbury, thoy returned into Wales.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 163

The king, finding it impossible to put a stop to these
ravages^ left Gloucester and went towards Winchester.
Unable to succeed by open force, he had recourse to trea-
chery, and a plot was formed in Ireland against the earl,
who, called thither to defend his positions in the sister
island, became a victim to the treachery of his o\vn friends.
When the king heard of his death, he is said to have burst
into tears, and to have declared that the earl of Pembroke
had not left behind him a knight who was worthy even to
be second to him in courage and military skill.

The death of this able baron was followed by a recon-
ciliation between the king and the rest of the exiles. Among
the first of those who were restored to favour was the aged
justiciary, Hubert dc Bui-gh. On the 16th of June, 1234,
the king, then at Tewkesbury, took into his grace Gilbert
Mareschal, Richard's brother and heir ; and on the 30th
day of the same month he concluded a truce with Llewellpi*.
This was followed by a treaty of peace between Henry and
the Welsh prince towards the end of November.

During the remainder of Llewellyn's life, his transactions
with the English king were of a more pacific character. It
appears, indeed, from a document bearing date t)ie 18th of
February, 1236,t that the Welsh prince liad infringed the
peace, or rather truce, concluded in the preceding year;
but a new one was signed by the king at Tewkesbury
on the 11th of July following,* when Lie well jti came to
Shrewsbury and Wcnlock to renew his oaths of allegiance
and fidclity.55 The truce was prolonged at the beginning of
June, 1337, and again in March, 1238, the king being
then at Tewkesbur}*, and in the July of the same yoar.||
In the follo^nng year the king a^ain quarrelled with the
family of the Mareschals, who retired to their ])o$sessions
on the lx>rder. Soon aftcnvards the king treated with equal
indignity Simon de Montfort, who was destined shortly

• Focdera, pp. 212, 213. t Fo^Ucra, p. 223.

t F<riler.i. p. 229. t FocdcM, p. 230. il Focdcm, pp. 232, 235.

1G4 THE HISTORY OF LVDLOW.

to play so distinguished a part in the history of the time ;
and the same year Henry brought a new accusation against
the aged Hubert de Burgh^ which served as a pretext for
extorting from him four of his castles, White Castle, Grroe-
mont, Skenfrith, and * Hanfeld.'* The two following years
were still more fruitful in events which influenced the
fate of the border. On the 11th April, 1840, Llewellyn
died, and left his principality to be contended for by his
children, David and Griffith. The former called his brother
to a pacific conference and there ti-cacherously seized upon
him and committed him to close prison. Early in 1241,
died Walter de Lacy, overcome with age and infirmities,
leaving his extensive possessions to be divided among
heiresses. Near the same time Gilbert Mareschal was
slain at a tournament, and was succeeded in the title and
estates first by his brother Walter l^Iareschal, and then by
the remaining brother Anselme, who died at the end of the
year 1£45. Thus two of the most powerful fiunilies on the
border became extinct.

At the latter end of October, 1240 (the Tuesday after
St. Dunstan*8 day), the king renewed with David the truce,
or peace, which had been made with Llewellyn, and in the
following month wc find the king and the prince deciding
by arbitration a dispute wliich had arisen between them.
The domestic quarrels of the Welsh, as might be expected,
did not fail to affect the ])cace of the border. In the
following spring Dnnd was at war with Ralph de Mortimer,
and attempted to seize a ship belonging to the city of
Chester.f At the same time Griffith and his friends were
urging the king of England to interfere in his behalf, and
release him from his chains. On the 11th and 12th of
February, Henry was at Worcester,^ called thither doubt*
Icssly by the affairs of Wales, for not long after^nrds he
summoned all his fiefs who held of the crown by military

* MaUlicw Parif tub ann. 1239. f Fordcra, pp. 212, 213.

I li*ucfl of the Exrhrqiicr, cd. 1*y Uctun, 1S3S, pp. 17, IS.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 165

servicOy to assemble Avitli unixs ami baggage at Gloucester
at the beginning of autumn. On the 2nd of August he
held a council at Shrewsbmy, and, Da^-id having refused to
attend, he ordered the aimy which he had taken mth him
to Shrewsbury to advance against his refractory nephew.*
We find the king with his numerous and well provisioned
host, at Rhudlan on the 31st of August.f The prince,
terrified by the formidable preparations of the invader,
made no attempt to resist, but gave up his brother, mth an
earnest recommendation to the king to keep him close
confined, if he wished to retain Wales in peace. Henry
willingly agreed to this condition, and Griffith ^vith the
Welsh hostages were sent to London and committed to safe
custody in the Tower. David himself came to London in
November, and took a solemn oath of allegiance and fidelity
to the English crown.

Griffith remained in confinement till the year 1244, when
David, having sufficiently strengthened his power in Wales,
conceived the idea of withdrawing from his dependence
on the crown of England. He appears to have been partly
urged to this mcasiure by the pope, who was dissatisfied
with the English, and absolved the Welsh from their oath
to the king. Negociations had been opened for the purpose
of obtaining Griffith's liberty, but these ha\dng failed, he
and the other hostages made an attempt to escape from the
Tower. His companions succeeded in their enterprise, but
Griffith fell from the wall to the groimd, and being fat
and heax-y, he was killed on the spot. This event occurred
at the end of April ;J it was followed by an active war be-
tween the A^'clsh and the Knglish lords of the Marches wlio
were encouraged by the promises of the king to assist tlieni.
On the 15th of July, a truce a)>i)car$ to have been niade,§
but it was of short duration, for innnediately ai'torwards, to
use the words of Matllicw Paris, " the Welsh issuing from

• Matthew I'sirU sub aim. ]'2l\. f nr.ltrn, j.. '213.

/

166 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

their retreats like a swarm of bees/' spread desolation over
the border. The king, who was just returned from
Scotland with a powerful army, instead of hastening to
repress their rebellion, sent an insufficient force imder
Herbert Fitz Matthew, dispersed the rest of his host, and
resigned himself to idle repose at London. On his arrival,
Herbert found that Ralph de Mortimer and the earl of
Hereford, who had joined their forces to withstand the
invaders, had sustained a severe defeat. The next day he
made an attempt to retrieve the honour of the English, but
with no better success; his army was almost destroyed,
and he sought a precarious asylum in his castles. From
this time the audacity of the Welsh knew no bounds.
David formally mthdrew himself firom the allegiance of the
king of England, and placed himself under the protection of
the pope ; and Henry, in return, caused him to be excom-
municated by his bishops on the 29th of November, and
prepared to invade Wales in the following year.

On the 6th of January, 1245, the king summoned David
and his adherents to appear in his court at Westminster, to
make amends for the devastation which they had caused on
the borders of Wales.* On the 10th of the same month he
sent orders to the justiciary of Ireland, Maurice Fitz Gerald,
to invade the Welsh coasts. In March, an ineffectual at-
tempt appears to have been made to negotiate.f But
hostilities continuing, during lent, a body of Welsh fell into
an ambush in the neighbourhood of Montgomery, and above
three hundred were slain by the garrison of that place.
Dand nn'cnged this check by a long series of sudden and
sanguinary incursions, scarcely a night passing in which the
Welsh did not enter some part of the border and put every-
thing they met to fire and sword. In these invasions they
were frequently repulsed by the borderers; and on one
occasion, the English ha^dng engaged the Welsh in a
wooded pass, the brave Herbert Fitz Matthew was slain.^

* Do li Willie t<lii9, inccndiit, dcprvdalionibus, &c. Fa*dcr«, p. '2*)*^.
f Fffdcra. p. 251f. | ftUtthow ParU, tub ann. 12 Ki.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 167

Another party of Welsh were surprised near Montgomery,
and put to the sword ; and from one outrage to another, the
struggle gradually became a war of extermination.

On the 7th of June, we find the king hastening his pre-
parations for the invasion of Wales.* About the beginning
of July, he summoned all his nobles and military fiefs to
assemble on the Border ;t and on the 20th of August he
was at Chester.^ Instead of marching into the interior,
Henry began by cutting off all communication between the
Welsh and their neighbours ; and by this measure, assisted
with the ravages of war, he reduced a great portion of the
country to a state' of extreme misery. He encamped on the
northern coast at ' Gannoc' (the name given by the English
at that period to Diganwy, in Caernarvonshire), where he
spent nearly three months in fortifying a strong castle,
which became, as Matthew Paris observes, a sore in the
eyes of the Welshmen. At the approach of winter he left
the castle well stored and garrisoned, and returned to
London. The campaign had been most disastrous to the
Welsh; vast numbers had fallen by the swords of the
English and of the Irish who had been landed on their
coasts, and the numbers who perished by starvation and
by the hardships of war were scarcely less numerous.
The greater part of those who remained were reduced to
the greatest distress. On the 10th of November, the king
was at Worcester, where he issued a new proclamation
forbidding his subjects to hold any communication with his
enemies the Welsh.§ At the beginning of spring, David,
the cause of all these disasters, died, heart-broken, as it
was said, by the misfortunes of his countrj'mcu. His
nephew Grif&th, son of that Griffith who had been killed
in his attempt to escai)c from the Tower of London, was
chosen by the Welsh to succeed Iiim. His countrymen
were too much exhausted to continue their hostilities against

* Foeden. f Matthew Paris, sub ann, 1245.

i Forden, p. 26.'). ( Fee Icra. p. Sol.

168 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

the Englishy and, for two years the whole of North Wales
remained in a state of extreme desolation.

The Welsh were moved by a two-fold incitement to take
part with the English barons in the great struggle which
was now approaching. The plunder of the lands and pos-
sessions of the adverse party was a sufficient temptation to
them to join in the quarrel, as they had done before on
similar occasions ; but at the present time the extortions and
oppressions under which the English themselves suffered,
pressed with double weight on the imfortunate inhabitants
of the principality, who had been placed at the mercy of tlie
king and his favourites by their disastrous war under David.
The country was distributed like Turkish pashaliks, to the
highest bidders, who ground the wretched inhabitants to
dust, that they might extract from them their last piece
of money to pour into the king's treasury, and into their
own. It was thus that Alan de la Zouche, who had suc-
ceeded John de Grrey in the government of the country
bordering on Cheshire, drew in 1251 eleven hundred marks
of annual revenue from a district which, in the time of
his predecessor, had paid only five hundred. In the year
following, when Alan de la Zouche passed through St. Albana
with a number of carriages heavily laden with the produce
of his extortions, which he ivas carrying to the treasury, he
declared publicly that the whole of Wales was now at
length reduced to absolute obedience to the English laws,
and that it was in a state of profound tranquillity.*

But this peace, although it lasted for two or three years
afterwards, could not be of long duration — ^it was the
silence of dispair. After having supported the tyranny of a
succession of paltry exactors, the patience of the Welsh was
at length exhausted, and in 1S56 they were forced into
rebellion by the oppressions of Gcofiry de Langeley, then
collector of the revenues for the king. At first the rising
appears to have lioen partial, and it was disowned by their

• Matthew r«m. «u1> ann. r/5l-«2.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 169

prince Llcwellyiiy who demanded a personal interview with
the kiugj who was at Gloucester on the 2^nd of July,*
probably on his way to the border for that puq)ose. But the
meeting did not take place, and as winter (the season most
favourable to the Welsh) approached, the insurrection
became luorc 3 ::icir.l. They began by attacking the posses-
sions of prince Edward, to whom the government of Wales
had been entrusted. Their first efforts were attended with
complete success, for they were not only favoured by the
unusual humidity of the weather which rendered it impos-
sible to enter Wales with a r^ular army, but they appear
to have been secretly assisted and encouraged by the
English barons. Nevertheless, it was Peter de Montfort
(one of Simon's sons), who was governor of Abergavenny,
who made the most vigorous resistance against their inroads.
On the Thursday after the feast of St. Matthew (Sep-
tember SIst), the Welsh advanced in considerable force
against the castles held by this baron, who, assisted by
John de Grey, Roger dc Mortimer, Reginald Fitz Peter,
Humplirey de Bohun, and other lords of the Marches,
defeated them in several encounters,t yet not many days
after Peter de Montfort gives the king an account of these
successes, he ^vrites another letter, begging for speedy
assistance, and describing his o^^oi position as being ex-
tremely critical.^ The retreat of prince Edward increased
the courage of the Welsh, who crossing the northern border,
carried tlieir devastations up to the walls of Chester. At
the same time they drove from his lands their countryman
OrifHth de Bromiield, who had meriteil their hatred by his
obsequiousness to their English opprcs^^ors. During the
winter and the following spring the Marches of Wales
continued thus to present a scene of rapine and bloodshed.

It is said that at first the king refused to pay any atten-
tion to the messages of his son Edwanl and the barons of
the l)ordor, nllcdginjj that they oujrht to be able to take

• Foril.Ta, i. p. Ill t F»rH.ra, i. p X\\i ; Fopdcw, i. p. 311.

170 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

care of what was their owii. But, on the 18th of July,
he summoned a great army to assemble on the border in
two divisions, one to join the English barons on the borders
of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire, while the other re-
paired to Chester, where he was to join them in person,* and
on the 11th of September we find him encamped at Diserth,
in Flintshire.f The Welsh, however, had carried into the
most inaccessible parts of Snowdon their families and flocks,
and Henry's expedition had so little effect, that his disap-
pouitment threw him into a fever, by wliich he was con-
fined to his bed for some time after his return. During
the remainder of the autumn, and the following winter, the
Marches continued to be in a lamentable state of distrac-
tion, and several castles on the southern borders were taken
and plundered, and some of them occupied, by the Welsh.}
Even Griffith de Bromfield, who had suffered so much for
his fidelity to the English, found it necessary to desert the
king, and was received into the confederacy of the Welsh
barons. At the beginning of the year 1258, the Marches
of Wales were literally reduced to a desert.^

Tlie time was now come when the English barons found
it necessary to make open resistance to the king and his
foreign favourites; and the supposition that the Welsh
were in secret league with the former seems to be confirmed
by the circumstance that they now made eager proposals for
peace. It may be observed that their ravages had extended
chiefly to the lands and possessions of prince Edward and
of some of the lords Marchers who were zealous royalists.
In the spring of 1258, Henry again summoned his ba-
ronage to attend him into Wales, but they answered with
complaints of the fatigues and losses which they had already
sustained in this service. Yet, after a brief and stormy
meeting at Westminster, they all came in warlike army to
the parliament held at Oxford in July, with the excuse that

• Fadera, i. p. 361. Uatthow Paris. f Foedcra, p. 3C3.

I In X'l^i**, Willmiii lie Al)Ctot wa> nlain at the <iv'^v uf Ewya^ ('n«(U.
\ Matthew Pari)*, *uh ann. ri'i*.

TUB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 171

it was tiecesaary they should be in readiness to march
against the Welsh. This parliament may be considered as
the proclamation of war of the barons. The messengers of
prince Llewellyn were conducted to it by Peter de lilontfort,
and a truce for one year was concluded on the 17th of
July.* Yet on the 18th of August, the Welsh had already
infiinged the truce, and Peter de ^lontfort and James de
Alditheley were sent to require amends.t After this the
peace was observed with little interruption during two
years.

In the summer of 1260, while the English parliament
was sitting at London, Llewellyn again invaded the
Marches, laid waste the lands of prince Edward and many
of the lords Marchers in the most cruel manner,^ and took
Roger de Mortimer's castle of Builth, while that feudal
baron was absent with the parliamcnt.§ On the 1st of
August the king summoned his barons to assemble with
their retainers at Shrewsbury on the Nativity of St. Mary ;
the place of meeting was afterwards changed to Chester,
where Hcnrj' remained vrith his army during the whole of
the autumn, but with little success. || A truce was after-
wards made, which was renewed at different times till the
end of the year 126S. AVlien the king landed at Dover on
the 20th of December of that year, he received intelligence
of a new insurrection of the Welsh. Llewellyn had at-
tacked Roger de Mortimer, one of the most staunch of the
king^s adherents, and the Welsh, after taking the castle of
Knockin, burnt and plundered the border up to Weobley,
Eardislcy, and the x^alley of Wigmorc. At the end of

• Foedcra, i. p. 372. t Fofdem, u p. 377.

I Eodem anno LcwcUnus filtus Grifllni junctis in auxilium Walensibus
terras regis Anglis ct Edwardi filit sui per totam marrliiam ccrpit Tattare
ct destnicrct pucros jaccutes in cunis ct mulicn s in pucrpcrio dccubantes
sine misericord ta inhumane occidcndo. Chronicon Abendon. ed. Halli-
well. p. 12.

\ Fit- Jcra, 1. p. yyj, 4 I'u'di'ra, i\ pnrmn profcii', CUrou. Abcndon, p. 12.

17-2 THE HISTORY oF LUDLOW.

December the bishop of Hereford, one of the king's foreign
favourites, wrote in haste to the king that Hereford itself
was in danger, unless the garrison were strengthened.*
Henry immediately ordered Ralph Basset, of Drayton, to
repair to Hereford; and at the same time he summoned
the principal barons of the border Roger and Hugh dc
Mortimer, John Fitz Alan, the elder and younger John
L*Estrange, Hamo L'Estrange, Thomas Corbet, Griffith
ap Wennewin, Fulke Fitz Warine, Ralph le Botiler, and
Walter de DunstanyiUe, to meet James de Alditheley at
Ludlow on the octaves of the Purification (9th February).
Prince Edward repaired in person to Shrewsbury, and we
find him there on the 15th of ApriLf After a severe
contest, the Welsh were driven to seek refuge in their
strong holds in Snowdon ; but before Edward could make
any satisfactory conclusion of the war, he was called away
to help his father to make head against the barons. A
truce was made with the Welsh in autumn, Simou de
Montfort being one of the negotiators.^

The war between the king and his barons began on the
border, where the partizans of each had numerous castles.
Roger de Mortimer raised his tenantry, and invaded and
ravaged the lands of Simon de Montfort. The bitter, who
had akeady made an alliance with Llewellyn (who after-
wards married his daughter) sent also a ][)ortion of the
baronial army to retaliate on the possessions of the Mor-
timers, and they laid siege to Wiginorc castle. They
seized upon Macy de Bezile, a foreigner whom the king
had made sheriff of Gloucestershire, and the obnoxious
bishop of Hereford, whom they dragged from the altar of
his cathedral church, and imprisoned them both in tlie
castle of Eardisley.^ Macy do Bezile was taken in the
castle of Gloucester, after an obstinate defence ; Simon de

• Foedcn, i. i». 4*23. t Fffdrra, i. p. 42.'). * Tcrdera, i. p. \:kl

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 17S

Moutfort, who had directed the siege, then marched with
his army to AVorcester, which, already taken and rudely
tzeated by Robert de Ferrers, earl of Derby, willingly
opened its gates to the barons. From thence Montfort
marched to Bridgenorth and Shrewsbury, both of which he
garrisoned against the king. The citizens of Shrewsbury
shut their gates, and at first defended themselves stoutly,
but hearing that the Welsh were approaching on the other
side, they gave up the town.

Towards the end of February, 1264, Edward, with an
army consisting in a great measure of foreigners, hastened
to the border, to relieve Roger de Mortimer, who was
closely besieged in Wigmore castle. Edward came to
Hereford, and took the castles of Hay, Huntingdon, and
Brecknock, which he gave to Roger de Mortimer, who fled
secretly from Wigmore to join him at Hereford ; but Wig-
more castle fell into the hands of the barons,* who then
pursued the prince fitnn Hereford to Gloucester, where he
took refuge in the castle, which was delivered up to him
by Roger de Clifford. The barons immediately took pos-
session of the town, and after some bickerings and nego-
tiations, Edward ngreed to make his jx^ace with them,
and swore to obser\'e the statutes w*hich had been made at
Oxford. The baronial armv then moved towards London.
No sooner were they gone, than Edward showed how little
he intended to keep his engagements; as a punishment
for having received his enemies, he trcjichcrously imprisoned
many of the burgesses, severely amerced the to^vn, and
liangcil the {lorters who had opened the gates, one of wlioin
was named Ilobkin of Ludlow ;t and then he marched
towards Northampton, ravaging the lands of the barons a<

* Chron Abandon, cd. Ha Hi well, p. IG.

t Sir Itogcr of CHflfurd the porters vatte iium
Tliot poiterx were Attc gnte tho Jon Cjiirunl ii; i"in,
At lluhekin of Liidluwe, ami i : filawc^ aUo,
And kl h'»m uyn !]i«' wt^^f cm- an-ho:.-. |i. i.. i.,

/i'«»'»t I f ..f ii' ft*.', if t , ft '> i J

174 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

he went. On the other hand^ Llewellyn and his Welsh-
men, who had beqn called to the aid of the barons when
they marched against Roger de Mortimer, laid waste the
lands of prince Edward, and took and destroyed his two
castles of Gannoc (Diganwy) and Dissert. A little before
Easter they defeated, near Kerry, the younger John L'Es*
trange, who held Montgomery for the king; but shortly
afterwards they received a severe check at Clun.

These events were followed by a short cessation of arms,
during which some of the barons deserted their cause,
and the king again b^an to take courage. Next came the
attack upon Northampton, the siege of Rochester, and the
decisive battle of Lewes, which placed the king and his son
Edward at the mercy of the barons.

After the battle of Lewes, the Marchers were the first
to raise their heads in opposition to the party who were
now in power. In the autumn of 1264, the most influential
of the border barons, Roger de Mortimer, James de Alditbe-
ley or Audeley, Roger de Leybume, Roger de CliAnd, Hamo
L'Estrange, Hugh and Roger de Turbeville, and t>ther89
were in arms, and were encouraged and supported by
the earl of Gloucester. Simon de Montfort immediately
marched with his army towards the border, taking with
him the king and prince Edward, who had been kept a
prisoner at Dover. They were at Worcester on the 15Ui of
December.* From thence Simon de Montfort marched to
Hereford, and joined himself with the Welsh under Llew*
ellyn, his ally. They took Hay castle, and Simon de
Montfort invaded the lands of the Mortimers, captured
first Richard's castle, which he 'delivered to his partizan,
John Fits John, and afterwards the castle of Ludlow, and
pursued Roger do Mortimer to Montgomery castle, where
the latter was obliged to make his peace.f On the 2nd of
April, 1£65, the castle of Montgomery was given to the
custody of John L*Estrangc.^

♦ Fo'Jrrn, i. p. 119.

t HithangcriClironiilc, oU. IliiU^^cli, p X». KjiuJ. coutiu. Mnt. raii>

t Fordcra, i. p. 16 1.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 175

Simon de Montfort then moved with his royal ptisoners
towards the souths but he was soon called back by new
movements on the border. The carl of Gloucester had
entirely broken his alliance with the party in power^ and
was, with John Giffard, gathering strength in the forest of
Dean; Roger de Mortimer again raised the standard of
revolt at Wigmore ; Robert Walerand, Warine de Bassing-
bum, and others seized upon the castle of Bristol; and at
the same time two powerful nobles who had escaped from
the battle of Lewes, and taken refuge on the continent,
John de Warren, earl of Surrey, and William de Valence,
carl of Pembroke, landed at Pembroke and joined the con-
federacy. Simon de Montfort, after holding a council at
Oxford, marched again to Worcester. The barons of the
opposite party attempted to oppose him, and broke down the
bridges over the Severn, but the prince of Wales had also
called together his army, and the borderers were obliged to
make their submission, and were again deprived of many of
their castles. A temporary reconciliation was at the same
time effected between the earl of Gloucester and Simon de
Mortimer. But this was of very short duration, and Simon
was soon recalled to the Marches.*

Simon de Montfort was again at Worcester in May, and
on the 18th day of that month he was at Hereford, with the
king and prince Edward, and he remained there till the
latter end of June.f A plot was formed by the Marchers
to deUver the prince from his confinement Roger de
Mortimer, one day towards the end of May, sent the prince
a present of a very swift steed, vriih. a private intimation
that he should ask permission of his keepers to trj* it on
a certain day on the Widcmarsh (Wydmcrsh), and tliat the
moment he saw a person on a white horse make a signal
from the hill towards Tullington, he should leave his
attendants and ride in that direction at his utmost speed.

* RUliangcr, ut supra. Robert of Glottrcslor, pp. 551, 552.
t Fa*«li'ra, i. pp. 45r», IJC, |.*»7.

176 THB HISTOBY OF LUDLOW.

The required permission was easily obtained, and on the
day appointed the stratagem was carried into effect, and the
knight who made the signal, who was the lord of Croft,
led the prince to the park at Tullington, where Boger de
Mortimer, with Roger de Clifford, John Giffiird, and five
hundred men in arms, were waiting to receive him. The
prince was closely pursued, for the whole country (tota
patria) was up to guard him ; but when the pursuers saw
the forces of Roger de Mortimer, they returned in dismay.
Edward was conducted to Wigmore, where he was received
joyfully by dame Maude de Mortimer (Roger's wife), and
from thence he went to Pembroke, where John de War-
renne and WilKam de Valence were raising forces.* The
borderers were encouraged by the success of their stratagem,
and soon raising a large army, they took successively Ches-
ter, Shrewsbury, Bridgenorth, and Ludlow,t and shortly
afterwards Worcester and Gloucester. The earl Simon, in
retaliation, took the castle of Monmouth and levelled it
with the ground, and then joining with the army of prince
Llewellyn in Glamorganshire, proceeded to ravage and lay
waste the lands of the confederates. Inmiediately afterwards
he prepared to return into England to strengthen his party,
and came to Hereford.

In the mean time prince Edward and his friends, being

* llUtory of tho MortimcM in the MonasUcoii, tom. ri. p. 351. Coat
Rishanger and Robert of Gloucester.

t It appotn probable that the last and tucccttftil inrarittetion against
Simon do Bfontfort was planned at Ludlow. Simon do Montfoxi waa
revorcncod aa a saint after his death, and wo are told, in tho collection of
his miracleSfe that he appeared in a dream to tho vicar of Warden, telling
him to ware Gooffroj de Stalares that if he did not repent and make
amends for his seditious plots at Ludlow against tho earl Simon, ho would
Ikll into some sudden misfortune (ut OaUridum de Stalares militem ex
parte sua moneret, quod scditioncs et machinamenta quM contra comitem
Symonem et suos complices spud Luddelow feccrat, emcndaret). Geoffrey
neglected this admonition ; and soon after, being on his «*ay to London,
he was burnt ^ith nil hi< retinue in a house where he had taken up his
(•'•l»:in{;s ll.\ni«(.ll» Ki^haii;:!'?, ^t y»

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 177

at Worcester, learnt that the younger Simon de Montfort,
with many of the influential men of the party, were at
Kenilworth, and by a forced march from Worcester, they fell
upon them by surprise, and made the greater number pri-
soners. The earl Simon, >vitli the king in his company, was
on his way to join his son, and arrived at Kempsey, near
Worcester, on the feast of St. Peter-ad- Vincula (August
Ist), when he learnt that prince Edward was arrived at
Worcester with forces far superior to his own. He marched
the same night to Evesham, where on the 5th of August,
was fought the celebrated battle which ruined the baronial
cause, and in which Simon de Montfort, with two of his
sons, and most of the leading men of his party, were slain.
The body of the earl was barbarously mutilated, and his
head was carried to Worcester, and presented to dame
Maude de Mortimer, who Avas staying there. Among the
prisoners were John Fitz John, the younger Humfrcy de
Bohun, with two sons of Simon de Montfort, and several
other barons.

The king, now at liberty and restored to power, was
at Worcester on tlic 7th of August, the second day after
the battle.* He removed thence to Gloucester, where, on
the 24th of August, he levied a heavy fine on the citizens
of Hereford for their attachment to the baronial cause.t
On the 88th of November following, a tnioe was made
with the Welsh ; but they still continued in arms for many
months. On the 21st of September, 1266, the king was at
Shrewsbury, negotiating with Llewellyn ; and on the 25th
he was at Montgomer>% where, four days afterwards, a
peace was agreed to.$ Tliis i)eace vms confirmed at Mi-
chaelmas, 1268, when Henry again went to Shrc^vsbury
xnih an army ; yet, on the 21st of May, in the year fol-
loiving, we find Edward once more obliged to meet the
Welsh prince at Montgomery.

Although the })avty of Simon do Montfort was destroyed

• FuMlcra, i. p. r>«». * f r«C'lcra, th. * Ttr^lcra, i. p. 173.

178 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

in the battle of Evesham^ the civil war was not ended.
The temains of the great baronial confederacy held out at
Kenilworth, Chesterfield, and especially in the Isle of Ely.
Even the earl of Gloucester, whose defection had been the
causb of the overthrow of the barons, turned round again,
and forced the royalists to give ground before the popular
feelings of the nation. The immediate consequences of
this great revolution were large confiscations of estates, and
changes of possessors of landed property. None benefitted
more by these confiscations than the borderers who had
stood firmly by the king, and particularly the already
powerful femily of the Mortimers, who, after a few gene-
rations, wiU be found contending for the crown itself.
Roger dc Mortimer of Wigmore, the bitter enemy of Simon
de Montfort, received immediately after the battle of Eve-
sham, grants of lands in Wales, of which, in the troubles
whidh preceded, he had taken forcible possession, and his
extensive territory was increased by the addition of Kerry
and Kedewyn, and the castle of Delvoryn**

As far as England was concerned, the liberties for whidi
the barons had fought were not lost in the carnage at
Evesham: they not only survived the slaughter of their
defenders, but they triumphed even in their defeat. During
the struggle between the king and the barons, a party
which had lain dormant during the times of Anglo-Norman
t}Tanny, the commonalty, stcpi^ed into the field and gained
an influence which no victories or intrigues could afterwards
destroy: in the destruction of the barons, it was partly
relieved from a power which might have been more fetal to
its interests than that of the most despotic of monarchies.
The feudal aristocracy of the Anglo-Norman barons had
ceased to exist in the force which it possessed in the twelfth
century, but the aristocracy itself siurvived a little longer to
perish by the sword in the sanguinary wars of the Roses,
or by the axe under the peaceful but no less sanguinary
reigns of the first Tudor*.

• History of the Uortimrn, |>rifiteU in the Monatttcoa, vi. p. 3&1.

THB HISTORY OP LUDLOW. 179

It is thus that the fatal conflict at Evesham closes a
distinctly marked period of English history. Its effect on
the history of Wales was still more remarkable. Since the
reign of the Conqueror the Welsh had enjoyed a precarious
independence, which was equally useless and equally inju-
rious to both parties, English as well as Welsh. Wales, as
the smaller power, lived only by the internal quarrels of
the greater power; and it lived in a state of existence
which could only be tolerated because the greater power
had too much to do at home to bring a remedy to it.
When the power of the English barons was even partially
broken, the fate of Wales was decided. From the time of
the Norman conquest to the battle of Evesham, Wales
had an historical importance which probably it had never
had before. But in Aat battle its importance was lost. It
made a fruitless struggle in the follomng reign, whicli
ended in the extinction of its native princes.

«^AAMA^^«'^^A^«AAA^«MMMMMMMM^^^#VW

SECTION VII.

QmditioH of (he Border at the beginning of the Reign of

Edward L

POLITICAL events may be traced on the face of the
ground where they occurred, as well as in the pages of the
chronicler, and it is by no means an wiim][)ortant part of
the historian's task to obser>'e their local effects at the time
as well as the marks which they have left behind them.
The appearance of the border in the latter jiart of the
thirteenth century, after the long continued warfare which
has been recited in the preceding chapter, must liavc
contrasted strongly ^vith its appearance in the twelfth cen*
tury, and in the time of the Anglo-Saxons. In the first
place, the towns had been increasing greatly in ini][K)rtance ;

180 THE HISTOKY OF LVDLOW.

amid the shock of contending parties, they were beginning
to obtain rights and privileges which gave them a new
existence. They became corporate bodies acknowledged
by all parties; little republics in the midst of an aimed
aristocracy, which elected their own governors in the form
of what are now called corporations, and took care of their
own safety; they were defended from the jealousy of the
aristocracy by strong waUs manned with their own soldiers,
and by the protection of the crown. In many cases the
hamlet which had originally been formed under the pro-
tection of the baron's castle, perhaps by his own serfe and
retainers, now lifted its head with scorn against its former
masters. In the TVelsh wars of the thirteenth century^ the
border towns suffered far less than the border castles. It
was a step towards a new and better state of things.

At the close of the great baronial contest, the open
country on the border of Wales must have presented a
fearful picture of desolation, such as we can now with
difficulty conceive. Even much of the forests had been
destroyed by the effects of war, cither cleared away that they
might no longer serve as a retreat or place of ambush for
crafly enemies, or cut down to (iimish wood for the continual
repairs of the fortification of castles and towns, destroyed
by designing or accidental incendiaries.* The M-oods which
remained were long afterwards the haunt of thieves and out-
laws, who not only robbed and murdered tlie |>assctigcrs on
the high roads when they travelled singly or weakly armed,
but even at times associated together to attack and plunder
the fairs and markets. The position and extent of these
forests may be traced by the modem wood-lands, and by
the magnificent old forest-trees which have been spared
by the axe to adorn our parks and fields. Few parts of
England are so rich in noble trees of this kind as the border
of Wales. Among the most remarkable specimens of such

* Wc lc.\ni from tlir llundrcU RulU of 39 Henry III (>••!. ii. \\ iM,
Ikat a «*M)il ai Toritt* (|tulcinni ndDu-*, iit ir'iiuiii vi intcztuni) lind licvii
rnlircly rut d«»mit l>y tin- btirfrcsics uf Slirc«>l>iiry, with the kiiu'*^ liccmi*.

THB HISTORY OF LUULOW.

trees in the neighbourhood of Ludlow, may be mentioned
the aged oak on the brow of the hill at Nomiptoii, or >' imV
Upton, near the village of Little Hereford, which vcax
ptolwbly Uanding there previous to the Norman Conquest,
end then surrounded by a thick forest. It would ap|x?ar
by its name that the manor formerly belonged to one of the
border cotiTents. The tree is hollowed by decay, and its
branches mutilated by the effects of time; the circuinfcrem-c
of the trunk, near the ground, is fifly fci't; and ut the
height of a yard and a half from the ground, it is thirty-
three feet.

After the arrival of Edward I in England, one of liis first
cares was to put a atop to the numerous cases uf oppression
and injustice which had boon suffered to arise and con-
tinue amid the troubles of his f.illier's rci};n. F^ir this
purpose inquisitions were made throughout ilie llnudti-ds

182 THE HISTORY OF LUDtOW.

in every county, the results of which have been preserved
in the Hundred Rolls, documents of singular importance
for the light which they throw on the condition of the
country at this period. The laws and customs of the forests
were the source at all times of injustice and oppression,
and these roUs afford us instances of the violence with
which they were then put in force by the border barons.
The principal forests were retained in the hands of the
king, who appointed foresters and granted them lands or
the tenure of keeping guard over them. The yeomanry
and the burgesses of towns were allowed to keep their swine
in them on the payment of a certain fee, named pannage ;
and the foresters themselves were allowed certain privil^;e8
and perquisites. Robert the forester of Wellington held
freely of the king half a virgate of land for keeping the
wood and common of Wellington, The cattle of the town
of Wellington were allowed to go in during the whole year,
except the month in which occurred the feast of St. John
the Baptist, and the i)eriod from Michaelmas to Martinmas,
the swine paying every year two pence for those above a
year old, and one penny for those which were under a year,
and for the young pigs nothing. The forester was allowed
as his perquisite, all retropanage, and dead wood, and oaks
blown down by the mnd to the number of five (those above
that number going to the kin;:), and also all branches blown
down by the \vind; and he rented of the king four acres
and a rood of purpresturc or enclosed forest-land, for which
he paid eighteen pence an acre.* The foresters of Walter
de Clifford claimed as a fee from every house in the baili-
wick of Clee a hen at Cliristmas and five eggs at Easter,
and if they were not readily given, they treated the inhabi-
tants with great rigour.f Tlie foresters api^ar to have
been in the general habit of levying fees of tliis kind.
Goats as well as pigs were kept in the forest lands by the
fore^ter^ themselves, and also by the poor, who paid a

•Hun4r«a Relit, vol li. p 5< f lb. p. 83

THE HUTORT OF LUDLOW. 183

^reiy small acknowledgement. This was the case in the
manner of Stretton, when the inhabitants declared that,
unless they were allowed as heretofore to have their goats
^' going in the woods and in the mountains without
woods,** they could no longer live there.* At the time of
the inquisitions above alluded to, numerous encroachments
had been made upon the king's forests on the border, by
inclosures, &c., without any regular permission from the
crown.

The Hundred Rolls give us numerous remarkable in-
stances of the insecurity of person as well as property at
this period. The jealousies between the lords of the castles
and the landed proprietors, and the towns, and even
between one to^vn and another, gave rise to frequent scenes
of violence. In the year preceding that on which the
inquisition was made, on the Sunday after the feast of St.
Matthew the Apostle, (127S) Richard Russel constable of
Salop, gave four pence to a certain lad named William de
Somerset to pass through the village of ' Christcsheth*
shouting out all the time, wckarc ! wekare ! '' to the shame
of man and woman." It is not at present clear in what
the insult consisted. But the lad performed his task;
and as he was going through the village a woman came
out and said, ** you say iU !" on which he struck her with
his knife, and she cried out, and one William Madoc came
and asked him why he struck her. The lad struck him
also and cut off his thumb, and, seeing him fall dowix as if
he were dead, he quitted the high road and fled. Then the
woman raised the cry upon him, and the whole rillage
joined in the pursuit, and in the end one was slain by an
arrow, but it is not quite clear whether it was the original
trespasser or one of his pursucrs.f

On another occasion, Lucas the beadio of Cloobury mth
two of his townsmen came to Ludlow fair, on St. Law-
rence's day (1274). and bought some oxen, and because

* Hundred Rolls, rol. ii. p. 81. t lb« |t. 92.

184 THE HISTORY OP XUDLOW.

they refused to observe the customary rules in passings
through Goalford gate (porta de Caldeford), the gate-
keeper, Roger Tyrel, refused to let him pass. A quarrel
ensued, and the Cleobury men beat and wounded the gate-
keeper, and took from him a Danish axe of the value of
twelve-pence. At this moment came Thomas de Wul-
verslow, bailiff of Ludlow, and his servants, who foimd the
men of Cleobury dragging away prisoner the gate-keeper,
and proceeded to stop them. But they also were attacked
by Hugh Donville, bailiff of the hundred of Stottesdon,
who happened to be there with a considerable body of his
men, and who attempted to carry off the bailifis and their
servants, but being unable to do this, they took from them
by force another Danish axe of the value of eight-pence.*

The townsmen of Ludlow appear to have been frequently
ill-treated by their neighbours, particularly by the retainers
of the lords of Wigmore and Corfham. The foresters of
Wigmore on one occasion came to the mill on the.Corve,
and seized upon the miller and carried him to Bromfield,
where they extorted from him six-pence and his knife and
girdle. On another occasion the same foresters seized on
Elias Millar of Ludlow, on the liighway between Ludlow and
the Sheet (La Setc)» and took from him his sword and bow,
and having tied his hands behind Iiim, they led him in that
condition to Stevcnton, where they further extorted from
him two shillings, and then let him go.f One day as the
bailiffs of Castle Holgod were bringing six quarters of oats
towards Ludlow, in passing by Corfliam they were attacked
on the high road by the bailiffs of John Gifford of Corfham,
who led the horses iuto the demesne of their lord, and
there immediately sowed the oats and harrowed the ground
with the horses which had carried thcin. At another time,
when a love-day had been ap))ointc*d to arrange a quarrel
betwccit John Burden and Hugh de Bulledon, the constable
of Corfham, who appears to have been a friend of the latter,

• MmidrH Hn\\%, vol. ti. p. 1>9. t lb. p. 99.

THE HISTORY OF lATDUOlf. 185

attacked John Burdon treacherously as he was going to the
place of meeting, knocked him down, and compelled him
unjustly to pay a fine of twenty shillings as the price of
reconciliation with his opponent.* On another occasion, a
cart of John Gifford, passing through the town of Ludlow,
broke a chaldron belonging to Richard de Orleton, one of
the burgesses, and the carter not having wherewith to make
good the damage, left one of his horses in pledge. The
constable of Corfham as soon as he heard of this, ordered
the cattle of dame Sibil de Orleton to be seized, and kept
them a week, till Richard de Orleton (who was probably
her husband) not only gave up the horse, but consented to
pay a fine of sixty shillings, of which he was obliged to
pay down forty shillings and seven-pence, apparently all
the ready money he had in hand. In a similar manner the
constable of Wigmorc seized forty head of cattle belonging
to burgesses of Ludlow, as they were passing through the
barony of Clun from Montgomery fair, and drove them
thence to Wigmore castle, where he retained them eight
days, on account of a piece of cloth of a woman of Wigmore
which he pretended had been cut and sold in the town
of Ludlow.f

Such instances of oppression as the above are of frequent
occurrence in these Rolls, and show us in a remarkable
manner the uncertainty of justice on the border at that
period. Assaults and robbery, and even manslaughter,
were common, and when perpetrated by the servants
and retainers of the barons, appear to have been seldom
punished efToctively. A remarkable instance occurred just
before the inquisition in the hundred of Condover. Alice
de Ilaumon ( ? Ilngmon), dwelling at Biriton broke open
the door of the church of Biriton (Ikrrinjj^ton), and stole
thence a cloth belonging to Richard de Bath, which had
probably been dc]K)sited there as in a i>larc of security. At
his complaint she was imprisoned in Shrewsbury jail, but

• Hundred RolU, voi. ii. p. 101. t lb- V- ^«

186 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

escaped without judgement by the iavour of William de
Munslow, whom she had bribed by the gift of a cow ; and
at the time the inquisition was made, she and her husband
Nicholas were threatening Richard de Bath to kill him or
lame him and bum his house.* The entries on these im-
portant documents form a practical commentary on a popular
song of the time, in which the venality of the law courts is
satirically described ;t and in which the servants and officers
of the judges are represented as thirsting greedily after the
money of the poor —

*' Ad pedes sedent clericiy
Qui velot famelici

sunt, donis inhiantes;

et pro lege dantes.
Quod hii qui nichil dederint,
Qnamvis cito venerintt

eront expectantes."

Equality of laws, and the liberty of the people, were things
as yet but imperfectly understood.

Among the names of the barons and more powerful
landed proprietors on the border in the latter part of the
thirteenth centur}% wc still find many of those of the ori-
ginal Norman settlers. Wc have already obsen-ed that the
change among them caused by the domestic wars of the
reign of Henry III was not great. Tlic chief families
in the north of Shropshire were represented, in 1255
(S9 Henry III),^ by James de Aldithcley, Robert and
Roger Corbet, John and Hamo L'Estrange, William and
John Fits Abn, John de Verdun, Giles de Herdington
(lord of Wellington), Robert de Lacy, Robert de Say, Fulke
Fitz Warinc of Whittington, Odo de Hodnet, William
Mauduit, %vho was lord of Castle Ilolgod in the neighbour-

* Hundred Rollt, yoL tL p. 92.

t Print c«l in the Politiral Sonr« (Camtlcn Society rublii'aii<»n). p. 224.

{ The following information i« taken thicfly from tha Hundred Rolla.

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 187

hood of Ludlow^ Ralph de Botiler (lord of Weni), and the
family of the Wan-ens. William Mauduit of Castle Holgod
had alao the manor of Steventon, and' large estates in the
Clees. Robert de Lacy held Walton and Onibury; John
de Verdun (who had married one of the heiresses of Walter
de Lacy) had Stokesay, Stanton Lacy, and other manors ;
John Fitz Alan was lord of Clun, and also held Shelderton
and the View, then called Weho. To the west, Thomas
Corbet held the greater portion of Chirbury hundred ; and
John de Alditheley was lord of Ford. In the southern part
of the county, Ludlow, with the other heiress of Walter de
Lacy, had gone to the family of the Genvilles, from
whom it afterwards passed, by an heiress, to the Mortimers.
The country round about was divided among a multitude of
lords. The Ashfords, and lands in the neighbourhood, were
held by Hugh Carbonell, Henry de Budlcrs or Bowdlers,
and William de Stuteville, the latter being lord also of Bur- '
f<nrd ; Ledwich belonged to Simon de Hugford ; Roger de
Mortimer possessed Cainham, the Sheet, Hope (held under
him by Robert Baghard), and further to the east Cleobury
Mortimer, and other estates in its nei<>libourhood ; Brian
de Brompton held some lands under him in this part of
the county; Hopton belonged to Robert de Waire. On
the other side of Ludlow, Acley (Oakley Park), with
other lands, was the property of Simon de Halton;
and Corfham belonged to Walter de CUfford; while the
family of the Bumells held the miudle of the county.
The way in which the Cliffords had obtained the castle
of Corfham was not the most honourable; it appeared
by the inquisition of 1^74, that Henry II had given
it to Walter de Clifford for the love of his daughter
Rosamond.* The changes M*hich had taken place at the
date last mentioned were not great, most of the principal
families still held their ground ; but Richard carl of Corn-
wall (the brother of luhvard 111) had estates about Bridge-

* HundieH Rolls, toI. t. p.93. Sec before p. 11') of the present volume.

188 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

north and in Condover hundred, and had also obtained of
William Mauduit the manor of Castle Holgod, which he
had subsequently giyen to the Templars. At this time
Geoffirey de Genville held Stanton Lacy. One half of
the town of Ludlow belonged to John de Verdun, the
other to E. de Eturville ( ? 6. de Grenyille). Cainham
had been given by Boger de Mortimer to the abbot of
Wigmore ; and Ledwich had passed into the hands of the
prior of Bromfield.

We have only an abstract of the Hundred RoUs for Here-
fordshire of the third year of Edward I. The most powerful
baron in that county was 'Eioget de Mortimer, who possessed
Wigmore and Radnor, llie two estates of Simon de
Montfort, Lugwardine and Mawardine, had been seized by
prince Edward after the battle of Evesham, and had passed
the latter to Roger de Mortimer, and the other to Robert
Waleraund. At this time, John Grifford had Clifford ; John
and Roger de Clifford, Eardisley ; and Humfrey de Bohun,
Huntingdon. Hugh de Mortimer of Richard's Castle was
recently dead, and that manor was in the hands of the
king's eschaetor, who soon afterwards delivered it to his
son Robert de Mortimer. Some of the juries eihibit
in their answers to the questions of the judges, strong
feelings of jealousy at the increasing power and encroach-
ments of Roger de Mortimer, after the battle of Evesham
(post helium de Evesham).

All these estates were held, and under-let, by various
tenures, the most frequent of which was military service
to keep guard at and aid in the defence of the border
castles, or to accompany the king in his invasions of Wales.
Most of the estates in Chirbury hundred had to ftimish
soldiers to keep the castle of Montgomery. Part of Purslow
hundred was under the same kind of obligation to the
castle of Wigmore. Similar service was also paid to the
towns ; Robert IXnilc held land in Wigley, by the tenure
of guarding tlic Totrrr of Ludlow fifteen days in time
of war. Many houses, &r. in Ludlow were bound by

THE HISTORY OF LXmLOW. 189

similar tenures to funiisk different articles to Ludlow castle.
William Millar of Ludlow held the old fish-pond (vetus
vivarium) by paying at the feast of St. Mary Magdalen a
pound of wax to the castle of Ludlow. At Bridgenorth, the
manor of Little Bridgenorth was held by a similar obliga-
tion to furnish coals for the castle whenever the king should
happen to be there. Godfrey de Thorpe held the hamlet of
Aston Major, dependent on the manor of Edgemimd, by the
service of presenting to Henry de Alditheley on Christmas-
day a pair of gloves of the value of one penny.

Amid all these changes, the names of places alone were
permanent, and at the present day almost all names of
places in England are Anglo-Saxon. In most cases even
the manors retained the names of their Saxon possessors.
In a few instances they received, about the time of which
we are now speaking, adjuncts which indicate their Norman
lords. Thus we have Stanton Lacy (a manor of Walter de
Lacy) and Ewyas Lacy; Ashford Carbonel and Ashford
Bowdler, from the two families whom we have seen located
there; Hopton Wafers, which belonged to Robert de
Wafre ; Stoke-Say, from the family of the Says, to whom it
belonged ; Hope Baggot, wliich belonged to the family of
Baggot or Baghard ; Brampton Brian, the manor of Brian
de Brampton ; Cleobury Mortimer, one of the chief castles
of the Mortimers, &c.

The thirteenth century was the period at which origi-
nated most of our common family names. Before that time,
people possessed only the name which they had received at
the baptismal font, individuals, where there happened to be
more than one of a name, being distinguished among their
friends and neighbours by what we should now call nick-
names. As population increased, the nick- names thus
required were more numerous, till gradually and almost
imperceptibly the nick-name of the fatlier became a heir-
loom of the family, and descended to his children, thus
becoming a family name. Tlie simplest mode in which
these names were fonncd was that of adding the name of
2<

190 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

the father to that of the son. Thus^ if there were three
men living in the same place whose names were Richard,
Stephen, and John, and each of them had a son called
William, the three Williams were distinguished by the
names of William son of Richard, William son of Stephen,
and William son of John, or in the shorter phraseology of
the time, WUUam Richardson, William Stevenson, and
William Johnson. This is the origin of all our modem
names ending in son. Many persons took their nick-names
from the places at which they resided, or from whence they
came. These were often names of towns : Ludlow seems
to have been populous, for we find frequent mention of
people of the name in difierent parts of England, in the
various ranks of society. We have already seen Hobkin
of Ludlow, a gate keeper at Gloucester; we often meet
with clerks and monks of the name in the monastic hooaes
and ecclesiastical benefices on the border ; and we even find
one or two knights who went by the same appellation. In
the Hundred Rolls we find a freeholder in Oxfordshire
of the name of Richard de Lodelawe (ii. 7SS), a John de
Lodelawe at Coventry (ib. 229), a Nicholas de Lodelawe in
Northamptonshire (ib. IS), a merchant of London named
Nicholas de Ludelawe (i. 406), a William de Lodelawe in the
hundred of Ford in Shropshire (ib. 96), &c.* It thus
happens that there are many distinct families of the name
of Ludlow remaining at the present day. In the same man-
ner, at Ludlow we find in the thirteenth century men of the
name of Leominster, Orleton, Burton, Stanton, &c as having
come from those places. In the country the nick-names
of people were more frequently derived from the places at
which they were resident, as at the wood^ at the stream.

* W« Snd a Lavrencc d« LodcUw (ntmcd of conne after th« |Mtroii
Saiat of the dnnch) conacctod wtUi Uio celobniod IlaUan meieaiiUle
iMmso of tho Ricardi of Loeca, in the nineteenUi year of the reign of
Edward I. (Defon't Iteuet of the Exchequer, p. 102). Walter dc Lodclowc
wa» preccnior of the Abbey of Wigmore, in the thirteenth ccntur)-. (5e«.
farther on in the present Tolumc, p. 195.)

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 191

at the hill. Sec,, from which come our common names of
Wood, Hill, and the like. Thus we find in the Hundred
Bolls many such names as Johannes de la HuUe and
Simon de la Hulle (of the Hill, answering to the present
names of John and Simon Hill) ; Ricardus de Aula and
WUlehnus de la Hall (of the Hall, or Richard and Wil-
liam Hall) ; Henricus de Bosco (of the Wood, or Henry
Wood); Johannes de Molendino and Martinus de Molen-
dinis (of the Mill or Mills, or John Mill and Martin Mills) ;
Johannes ad Boscum and Gilbertus atte Wode (at the
Wood, Atwood); Simon ad Fontem and Robertus atte
Welle (at the Well, Atwell) ; Johannes atte Wey (at the
Way, Atway); Ricardus ultra Viam (beyond the Way);
Johannes atte Grene (at the Green, this name was very
common, because every village had its green, about which
the houses of the peasantry were built); Rogerus ad
Montem (at the Hill) ; Walter atte Strem (at the Stream) ;
Alice atte Tunishende (at the Town's-end, Townsend);
Walterus ad Portam (at the Gate). Many of these nick-
names were given on account of some personal charac-
teristic of temper, form, size, colour, &c. Thus we have
John le Wylde (the wild, John Wilde) ; Nicholas le Lung
(the long, Nicholas Long); Peter le Blake (the black,
Peter Black); Jacobus Hardheved (hard-head); Adam le
Bole (the bull, Adam BuU); Alicia le Hane (the hen,
Alice Hen) ; Walterus and Isabelle le Gous (the goose) ;
Willelmus le Enfant (the child, William Child) ; and such
common names as Ghrim, Grodswayn (the good swain),
Godknave, Godman, Godhosbonde, Godheved (good head),
Gtodegrom (the good groom), Godeson, Bademan, &c. In
towns, people took their family names from the trade or
profession of the first who received the nick-name, which
was the more naturally transmitted to his descendants, since
professions were generally continued from father to son:
thus wc have Ricardus le Massun (the mason, Richard
Mason) ; Jacobus Ic Cok (the cook, James Cook) ; Johannes
le Porter (the porter, John Porter) ; Robertus Clcricus (the

192 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

clerk^ Robert Clark) and Johannes filius Clerid (the son of
the clerk, John Clarkson); Johannes le Franchome (the
free-man, John Freeman) ; Robertus le Paumer (the palmer,
Robert Palmer. To exemplify the foregoing observations,
it may be stated that, in the time of the inquiation befiwe
alluded to, the following names occur as burgesses of
Ludlow: Reginaldus filius Stephani (Steven's son), Ri-
cardus de Orleton (of Orleton), Willelmus le Gkurdiner (the
gardener), Robertus Clericus (the derk), Galfiidus Leo-
minstre (of Leominster), Rogerus Monetarius (the coiner or
money-dealer), Ricardus de HuUe (of the hill), Reginaldus
le Fulur (the fowler), Elyas Molendinarius (the miller),
Stephanus le Grrindar (the grinder), Thomas Cyrothecarius
(the glorer), GhJfiidus Aurifaber (the goldsmith), Nicholans
filius Andree (Andrew's son), Wxllehnus Pistor (the baker),
Thomas de Capella (of the chapel), Reginaldus Tinctor
(the dyer), Hugo le Mercer (the mercer). There can be no
doubt that diese names belonged literally to the persons
whom they designated, that two of them were really sons
of Stephen and Andrew, that three came from Orleton,
Leominster, and the Hill, and that the others exercised
the trades and callings alluded to; perhaps one of them
was a clericus attached to the church of St Lawrence ; but
it is no less certain that these names answered to what
at the present day would be, Reginald Stevenson, Richard
Orleton, William Gardiner, Robert Claik, Geoffiney Leo-
minster, Roger Coiner, Richard Hill, Reginald Fowler,
Elias Millar, Stephen Ghrinder, Thomas Glover, Geoffrey
Groldsmith, Nicholas Anderson, William Baker, Thomas
Chappel, Reginald Dyer, and Hugh Mercer. These names
help to show us the number and character of the trades
then cxerdsed in Ludlow ; there were without doubt many
more than here indicated. It is probable that rqpe-maldng
was carried on here, and the little island formed by the
winding of the Corve (Lyneye, L e. island of flax), appears
to have produc<Nl the materials. The occurrence of the
name in its present form in the Romance of the Fits

e :

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 193

Warines, shows that it is too ancient to admit of any of the
more ingenious derivations which have been proposed.

While these great changes were taking place in the cha-
racter and political condition of the people, their language
^* and literature were also undergoing important modifications.

>s ' During two centuries after the Norman conquest, the Ian-

I- guage spoken by the better classes of society was what is

i- called Anglo-Norman, a dialect of the French tongue ; and

[it- the Anglo-Saxon was laid aside, except as the language

of the lower orders, and in a few books written in that
language in order to be understood by them. During the
7 baronial wars a great revolution was eflfected; and, after

:&- the middle of the thirteenth century, the Anglo-Saxon

05 language, much altered in form, and mixed with numerous

Anglo-Norman words, came again into general use, and
r from the shape imder which it then appeared it has been

c gradually moulded down into the modem English. It is

I to the mixture of Anglo-Norman and Anglo-Saxon that we

i owe most of the modem English words which have an

affinity with the Latin. Several books are still preserved
which show that the border of Wales had as important a
connection with early English literature, as with English
history. On the banks of the Severn, was composed one of
the earliest important poems in the EngUih language, the
Brut of Layamon,^ a native of the hamlet of Emley. It is
a long poem, and is extremely interesting as a spedmen of
the transition period of our language, even the versification
being a mixture of the Anglo-Saxon alliterative couplets and
the Anglo-Norman rimes. A few lines, giving an account
of the fabtdous origin of the^ name of the Severn, from
Abren the daughter of Locrine who, with her mother, is
said to have been drowned in it, will serve as a specimen
of the language spoken by the borderers at the beginning
of the thirteenth century. The same legend is alluded to
by another poet who wrote on the border at a later period,
when he speaks of, —

* This work is ediud by Six Frederick Madden.

194

THB HISTORY QF LUDTiOW.

'' Severn swift, guilty of maiden's death/'

After relating the war between Locrine and his discarded
consort Gnendolena, in which the king was slain, Layamon
proceeds to say, —

"Onendoleine hefde fe afere

hond
and i-ahnede hire al this lond :

and heo ferde to yuk castle

^r JBstrild wes inne ;

heo nom JSstrild and Abren,

and lette heom i-bindin,

and lette heom wrpen,

in ane dcope watere,

fer heo adronken,

and yet heo deat^ ^leden.

pa wes Ouendoleine

leodene Isefiii,

^ hehte heo ane heste

mid haigere wttte

^t men scalden yoi ilk water

|per Abren wes adnanken

depien hit AvrsBf

for ^ane mseidene Abien,

and for Locrine*s lofii

fe wes hire kine*loTerd,

|pe streonede Abren

uppen .£strild«

pa hefde heo i-sctawen |»cne

king
and fe neowe qaene and heora

child;
and Arren hatte get thas se,

«

at Cri9tcs*chirc1ic heo failed i
^re $m.

Gaendolena had the npper

hand,
and possessed herself of all this

land:
and she went to the castle
where JSstrild was in ;
She took JEstrild and Abren,
and let bind them,
and let throw them
into a deep water,
where they were drowned,
and where they saffered death.
Then was Gaendolena
mistress (Udj) of the people,
then she ordered a command
with lofty wit,
that men should that same

water
where Abren was drowned
call it Avenip
for the maiden Abren,
and for the love of Locrine
who was her nataral lord,
who begat Abren
npon iBstrlld.
Then had she slain the king

and the new qneen and her

child;
and that river is still called

Avren,
it falleth into the sea at Cliri^t-

Chnreh.

THE H18TQRY OF LUDLOW. 195

Among the manuscripts in the library of Corpus Christi
college, Cambridge, is a copy of the early English Rule of
Nuns (translated from the Latin of Simon de Ghent), which
is a valuable example of English prose of the age of
Layamon, and which formerly belonged to the library of
the abbey of Wigmore, to which it was given by John
Percel, at the instigation of Walter de Ludlow, who was at
that time precentor of the abbey.*

Among the Harleian Manuscripts in the British Museum
(MS. Harl. No. 27S), is a book which belonged at the
end of the thirteenth century, or beginning of the four-
teenth, to the church or to the college attached to the
church of St. Lawrence, at Ludlow. From a calendar at
the beginning we learn that the church of St. Lawrence
was dedicated on the ISth of February,! but the year is not
stated. The greater part of this volume b written in the
Anglo-Norman knguage, which continued to be in use
till late in the fourteenth century, and its contents are
of a mixed theological and literary kind, illustrating the
class of reading then fiEishionable with a man of taste of the
clerical order. It contains first a calendar, in which is the
entry concerning the dedication of the church ; S, a copy of
the early Anglo-Norman prose version of the Psalms ; S, a
metrical Anglo-Norman version of some parts of the
Psalms; 4, the Bestiaire d' Amours, a poetical description
of animals, &c. with curious mondisations ; 5, the rules
given by Robert Grrosteste for regulating the household
and lands of a nobleman ; 6, the French version of Turpin's
History of Charlemagne; 7, a F^nch treatise on confes-
sion ; 8, various fragments, among which are many charms
and a treatise on chiromancy ; 9, the Manuel des Pech^, a
well-known religious poem attributed to Robert Grosteste ;

• M 8. C. C. C. Camb. No. 402. The paiticulan tutcd abofe are giTea
in an ioaeiiptioii on the llrtt leaf.

t Idas Fcbr. Dcdicacion dc 1a rglisc Seint Laurence Ac Lodclawc.

fol. 1 T«.

196 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

10, an account of St. Patrick's Purgatory, in French verse ;

11, a French poem entitled La Pleinte d' Amour; 1£,
Tarious religious matters, in Latin.

In the reign of Edward I, Kved Robert of Gloucester,
the author of a chronicle of England in English Terse, who
may be considered as one of our earliest known border
poets after Layamon. A few lines will serve as a specimen
of the language of this writer; it will be seen that it is
rather a strong dialect, bearing some resemblance to that of
Somersetshire at the present day. Robert of Gloucester
says of king Stephen, —

** In the serene yer of hys kynedom the kyng the castel noukf
Ac the empeiesse ne vend he nogt, tho he yn oom.
Mache robberye me dade aboate in ererycdi touiy
And bounde men and enprisonede, vorte hii fynede rmunioiin.
Hii ne sparede namore olerkes than lewed men y-wys ;
So that the byssopes vorte amendy thys,
In the eygtethe yere of the kynges kynedom
At Londone hii hnlde a parlement, that many man to com.
And the kyng hymsolf was therate; hii amansede tho
AUe thalke that clerkes such daspjt dude and wo,
That no man, bote the pope one, hem asoyly ne mygte.
So that me hold cleAcs dierafter bet to rygte.'*

One of the most interesting manuscript collections of
early English poetry known, preserved in the Harleian
library in the British Museimi (No. 2253), appears to havo
been written in Herefordshire, and most probably by a
' ckrk' of the priory of Leominster. It comprises a great
variety of matters, in English and Anglo-Norman verse,
and was written soon after the year 1S07, but contains
pieces composed during the reigns of Henry III. and Edward
I. There are some political songs in it;* and that against

• !%• MBp htn alladtd to, v printed ia Um PolUicml SoBfi^ (edited
by the writer of the preeeat volume), pp. €% 1S&, 137, 149^ 1&3» l&ft»
183, 187, 212, 231, 237, 241. Sone ofthe nieeelhuieoai poems from thie
manufrnpt arc printed in the RelK|iit» Antiqur, edited by Thomas Wriflii
and Jamet Orchard HalliweU, 2 Tola. 6ro. |H|I, and 1812.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 197

the king of Almaigiie^ the Lament of Simon de Montfort,
the Order of Fair Ease, the Song of the Husbandman,
another against the Pride of the Ladies, a Satire on the
Consistory Courts, the Song against the King's Taxes, the
Songs on the Flemish Insurrection and on the Execution
of Sir Simon Eraser, the Outlaw's Songs of Traillebaston,
the Song against the Retainers of the Great People, and
the Lament on the Death of Edward I, show how much
interest the borderers took in the passing events of the
time. Among the more interesting parts of this volume
are the lyrical pieces,* from among which we will select
as a specimen of tha lang^uage of the border at the begin-
ning of the fourteenth century (a hundred years after the
date of the lines quoted above from Layamon), a love-song,
in which mention is made of the beautiful river Wye.

*^ Ichot a bnrde in a bour ase beryl so bryht,
Ase saphyr in selver semly on syht,
Ase jaspe the gentil that lemeth with lyht,
Ase gemet in golde, ant mby wel ryhty
Ase onycle he ys on y-holdcn on hyht«
Ase diamannde the dere in day when he is dyht ;
He is coral y-cnd with cayser and knyht,
Ase emerande a-morewen this may havcth myht.
The myht of the margarite haveth this mai mere,
For charbocle ich hire ches hi chyn ant by chore.

Hire rode is ase rose that red is on rys.
With lilye-white leres lossom he Is ;
The primcrole he pa^seth, the parvenkc of pri?,
With alisanndre tharcto, ache ant an ys ;
Covntc ase columbinc« such hire cunde vs,

* The lyrical pieces from this rolume have been edited by the writer
of the present work in « traall collection entitled Specimens of the
Lyric Poetry of England in the reign of Edward I (published by the
IVrcy Society). In the preface to that book arc jsi.itnl the reasons for
believing the MS. to have been written at Leominster.

2u

198 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

Glad under gore in gro ant in gry8»

He is blosme opon bleo brihtest under bis»

With celydoyne ant sauge, ase thou thi self syt.

That syht upon that semlj, to blis he is broht.

He b solsecle to sanne ys for-soht.

He is papejai in pyn that beteth me my bale.
To trewe tortle in a tour y telle the mi tale ;
He is thrustle thryven in thro that singeth in sale.
The trilde laveroc ant wolc ant the wodewale ;
He k faucoun in friht demest in dale.
Ant with eTeruch a gome gladest in gale,
From Weye he is wbist into Wyrhale ;
Hire nome is in a note of the nyhtegale.

In annote is hire nome, nempneth hit non ;

Whose ryht redeth, ronne to Johon*

Muge he is ant roondrake, thouh miht of the mone ;

Trewe triacle y*told with tonges in trone;

Such liooris mai leohe from lyre to lone.

Such Sucre mon seeheth that saveth men sone.

Blithe y-blessed of Crist that bayeth me mi bone ;

When deme dede is in dayne, deme are done ;

Ase gromyl in grene, grene is the grone ;

Ase quibibe ant comyn cud is in crone.
Cud comyn in court, canel in cofre.
With gyngyTre ant sedewale ant the gylofre.

He is If edieme of miht, mercie of mede,

Rekene ase Regnas resoun to rede ;

Trewe as Tegen in tour, ase Wyrwein in wede ;

Baldore then Byrne that of the bor bede;

Ase Wylcadouo he is wys, dohty of dede;

Feyrore then Floyras, folkes to fede ;

Cud ase Cradoc in court carf the brede ;

Hendora then Hilda that havoth me to hede.
He haTeth me to hede, this bendy anon,
Gentil ase Jonas he joycth with Jon.''

The allusions to Ihc popular romanci*^ of the time iu thr

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 199

last Unes of the foregoing song, show that they were fami-
liar to the ears of the people of the borders of Wales.

The next great border poet whom we hear of is the
author of the remarkable poem entitled Piers Ploughman,
written soon after the middle of the fourteenth century,
and one of the most popular works of the middle ages. Its
influence on the minds of our forefathers paved the way for
the Reformation.* The history of its author is very obscure ;
but there can be no doubt of its being written at, or in the
neighbourhood of, Malvern. The following are the open
lines of this poem ; they form a link in our sketch of the
changes of the language spoken by the people of the Welsh
Marches. The alliterative verse of the Anglo-Saxons had
again come into use : it marks a new revolution in the
public mind.

*• In a somer seson
When soft was the sonne»
I shoop me into sbroudes
As I a sheep weere,
In habile as an heremite
Unholy of worket,
Wente wide in this worlde
Wonders to here ;
Ac on a May morwenynge
On Malveme hilles
Me bifel a ferly,
Of fairye mc thoughte.
I was werv for-wandrcd,
And wentc mc to teste
Under a brood bank
By a bournes sydc ;
And as I lay and Icnede,
And loked on the watres,
I slombred into a slepyng.

It sweved so mnrre."

* •

* An edition of thi^ rcmarkaMo poom has been rccenllx edited 1»y
the writer of the present Tolumc, 3 vols, foolicap Sto. rickerins, 1842.

900 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

About seventy years after the date of Piers Ploughman,
in the beginning of the reign of the unfortunate Henry YI
(▲. D. 14£6), another border poet named John Awdlay (a
blind bard), wrote in the monastery of Hagmon, a religious
work, or perhaps rather a series of religious poems, preserved
in a manuscript in the library of Mr. Douce (now in the
Bodleian Kbrary at Oxford),* which, though inferior in
merit and importance to Piers Ploughman, is still curious
as a moniunent of the language of Slm^hire in the earlier
part of the fifteenth century. The following lines, which
were almost prophetic of the misfortunes which fell upon
that iU-fi&ted monarch, may serve as a specimen.

'< Pray we that Lord is lord of all.
To save our king, his reme lyalle,
And let never myschip nppon him falle,

Ne false tray toore him to betray f
I praye youe, sens, of year gentr^,
8yng this carol reverently ;
Fore it is mad of king Herr6,

Oret ned fore him we han to pray !
Gif he fare wele, wele schul we be,
Or cUis we may be ful sor^ ;
Fore him schul wepe mon^ an e.

Thus prophecis Uie blynd Awdlay."

The book concludes ivith the following lines,

** No mon this book be take away,
Ny kutt owte noo leef, y say for why,

For hyt ys sacrelege, sims, y yow say,
[And] beth a-cnned in the dede truly ;

Oef ye wil have any oopi,
Askos leeve and ye shal have.

To pray fi>r hym specialy
That hyt made, yoor soules to save,

« MS. Douce, No. 302. See HaDiwell, Introd. to Waikworth't Chfo*
nii'lc, p. xiT. Foi Ik detailed dwrrirlion of Ibi? MS sec \hv tccently
published Catalogue of the Douce Libimry.

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. £01

Jon the blynde Awdelay,
The fnrat prest to the lord Strange he was ;
Of thys chauntr^ here in thys place.
That made thjs bok by Goddos grace,

Deeff, sick, blynd, as he lay."

Contemporary, or nearly so, with '^blynde Awdelay,"
lived John Myrk, or Myrkes, a regular canon of the mo-
nastery of Lilleshul, who also was, if not a poet, at least a
versifyer. His poem on the duties of a parish priest (along
with a prose English Liber FestivaUs by the same writer)
is still preserved in the British Museum ;* and is a curious
picture of the manners of the time, little flattering to the
learning or private character of the parish priests on the
border in the fifteenth century. The following are the
opening lines of this poem.

*^ Ood seyth h3rm self, as wry ten we fynde.
That whenne the blynde ledeth the blynde,
Into the dyche they fallen boo.
For they ne sen whare by to g^.
So faren prestes now by dawe,
They beth blynde in Ooddes lawe,
That whenne they scholde the pepol rede.
Into synne they do hem lede.
Tfaos they have do now fiille yore.
And alle ys for defawte of lore.
Wharefore thou preste curatoure,
6ef thou plese thy savyonre,
Gref thow be not grete derke,
Loke thow rooste on thys werk ;
For here thow myhte fynde and rcdc,
That the behoveth to conne nede,
How thow shalt thy parescbe preche,
And what the nedeth hem to teche ;

« MS. Cotton. CUudiuB, A II. In the mmuscript tho aatkor is
described fts, 'fratcr Jonnncs Myrcu?, canonicus rcpUaris monaster u dc
LyUethuL*

202 THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

And wLyche tbou xnoste thy self be.
Here also thow myght by t se ;
For Inytel ys worthy thy prechynge,
Gref thow be of evyl lyvyngc/'

The foregoing extracts present the skeleton of the history
of Old English Poetry, — ^in Layamon, in the poems of
what we will call the 'Leominster Manuscript/ and in
Piers Ploughman, it is full of spirit and rigour ; but after
Chaucer, as it progresses towards the middle of the fifteenth
century, the darkest period of English history, it becomes
continually heavier and duller imtil it degenerates into the
prosaic rhymes of Awdelay and John Myrk.

It will be seen by these specimens that the English
language had gone through a great change since the days
of Layamon. It is unnecessary to trace it ftuther, for the
alteration since the days of '' blind Awdelay'* is compara-
tiyely small. Among the Harleian manuscripts (No. 30S8),
is preserved a book in Latin, which was written for the
abbey of Buildwas in 1176; some borderer in the fifteenth
century, who appears to have suffered ftom the agents of
the law, has written on a fly leaf the following lines, the
burden of which is that '' two executors and one overseer
make three thieves.'*

** Wise mon if thu art.
Of thi god take part

or thn hcnse wyndc ;
For if thou leve thi part
In thi secaturs wardy

thi part non part at last end.
Too secaturs and an overseere make tlirc thccvcs."

Many other interesting manuscripts, which belonged
originally to the border monasteries, are probably extant
in our public libraries. A fine monument of border science
is preserved in the larpc map of the world, mndc npparcntly
nltont the I)cginning of the thirteenth century, now in

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 203

Hereford Cathedral. The original is fast going to decay ;
but a careful facsimile has been made for the Royal Society
of Geography in London (at wliose rooms it may be seen)^
and another copy more recently has been deposited among
the collection of early maps in the Bibliothdque du Roi
at Paris.*

In the thirteenth century the monasteries were seats
of literature. We do not find much increase in the
number of religious houses on the border after the twelfth
century, but they increased rapidly in wealth. From the
twelfth century to the fifteenth, there was a continual
transfer of landed property finom the laity to the monastic
houses, imtil their united riches exceeded those of any
other class of the community. Although the monasteries
were originally the schools of learning, the ad¥Bnce of
science did not, unfortunately, keep pace with the increase
in monastic wealth and influence ; the monks, with their
riches, became luxurious and worldly minded ; their desire
was to stifle knowledge, rather than diffuse it, because
Uieir own false and anomalous position in society was not
calculated to bear the light. They had even drawn within
their influence, and sdfled, the universities, which had
been the fertile hotbeds of science during the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries.

In Shropsh]xe,t the principal houses founded during the
thirteenth century, were, Brewood, a priory of white or

* Hut cuxioui map it cosfixmod by tho Pope as being a true pictim of
the earth. It is stated in the following metrical description to hare been
made by Richard of Haldingham and LafTord.- -

Tus hi cest estorie ont.

On oyront, on Inront, ou veront ;

Prient A Jhcsn en deyt^»

De Richard de Haldingham c dc Laiford eyt pitd,

Ki I'at fet e compass^*,

Ki joye en eel li sett done.

t In our list of the earlier mcnAstcrUs, in a furmcr section, we \itK\c
omillci that d Wcin'ridirc. fcwidcd in thi iwcSf'h icuiur} l») WUliaiu
FiUAlan.

204 THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

Cistercian nuns^ founded about the beginning of the oen*
tury, the site of which is now named White Ladies, and is
celebrated as having been a place of refuge to Charles n^
after the battle of Worcester; the abbey of PnemonstFa-
tensian canons at Halesowen, founded by Peter de Rupibus,
bishop of Winchester, about the end of the reign of king
John; a priory of black canons, founded by Robert de
Bowdlers at Snede, or Snet, perhaps as late as the begin-
ning of the reign of Henry IH, and removed before the end
of that reign to Chirbury ; a house of grey friars established
at Shrewsbury in the reign of Henry HI; a house of
Augustine friars, founded at Woodhouse, near Cleobury
Mortimer, in the sarnie reign ; a house of black monks of
the order of Grandmont, at Alberbury, founded by Fulke
Fitz Warine. There was also a house of the order of
Grandmont at Diddlebury in Corve Dale. At Ludlow,
there was a house of Augustine (or Austin) friars without
Gh)alford Gate, founded a short time before the year 128S,
where it is first mentioned ; in the 9th Edward H (▲. d.
1S£6), Robert Dobyn gave them two acres of land to
enlaige their dwellhag.* At a later period, about the
year 1849, a house of white friars was established without
Corve Grate; its founder is said to have been Lawrence
de Ludlow, lord of the castle of Stoke.

In Herefordshire, the new religious foundations were not
less numerous than in Shropshire. There was a priory at
Barton at the beginning of the twelfth century. The
principal monasteries founded in the reign of Henry III
were, Wormcsley (formerly named De Pionia), a priory of
black canons, the foundation of Gilbert Talbot ; Flanesford,
near Goodrich castle, another priory of black canons,
founded by Richard Talbot, who was lord of Goodrich;
a priory of the order of Grandmont, at Cresswell, or Cares-
well, near Ewyas, supposed to have been founded by Walter
de Lacy; Home Lacy, an abbey of Prvmonstratcnsian

TH8 HIBTOBT OF LUDLOW. J05

M, founded by William Fitz Swain. To these we
may add a hospital at Ledbury, founded by the bishop of
Hereford, in 123S. The house of the grey fzian to Here-
ford was founded by William de Pembmgge in the rei^ of
Edward I. The friars preachers were settled in Hereford in
the beginning of the same reign.

Besides these chief monastic houses, there were numerous
smaller foundations, as cells to the others : among which
may be mentioned, — in Shropshire, Morfield, or Momerfield,
a cell of the abbey of Shrewsbury ; Batlingcope, Rot-
chinchop, or Rotelynghope, a cell to Wigmore, established
about the time of king John ; Prene, Preone, or Prune, a
priory of Cluniac monks, a cell to Wenlock. In Here-
fordshire there were several alien priories, as Monkland,
a cell to the abbey of Conches in Normandy ; Adey, a cell
of the abbey of Ljtc (Lira) ; Titley, or TuteW, a cell to the
abbey of Tyrone in France. To this long list of religious
houses niight be added several smaller cells, and numerous
hospitals.

A considerable number of the chtuthcs on the Welsh
border were collegiate, and some of them were richly en-
dowed. One of the most remarkable of these churches
was that of St. T^wrence at Ludlow, which, in its present

£06 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

shape, was built probably in the reign of Edward JI, or early
in that of Edward III. The college, which belonged to a
gild of palmers (gilda palmariorum), was founded by
Edward III, probably in 1SS9, when their first charter
appears to have been granted.* One of its main objects,
as stated in the early documents relating to it, was to
proyide by association and from a common fund for the
protection of the members when robbed or oppressed by
others ; and it may therefore be supposed to have had its
origin amid the personal insecurity occasioned by the
continual troubles on the Welsh border. Such was the cha-
racter of all the more ancient gilds, though in course of time
they became mere charitable establishments. Richard II is
said to have augmented this gild ; and its charters were con-
finned by Henry VUI. The college consisted of a warden,
seven priests, four singing men, two deacons, six choristers,
to sing divine service in the church of St. Lawrence ; and its
revenues maintained also a schoolmaster for the firee-gram-
mar school, and thirty-two poor almspeople. This statement
shows that the grammar school at Ludlow is one of the
most ancient in this kingdom.

The Knights Templars and the Hospitalers were settled
on the border early in the thirteenth century. In the 89th
of Henry III, the former were seated at Kil, or Kel, and at
Lidlay, in Shropshire, and possessed lands in various parts
of the county. Between that time and the beginning of
the reign of Edward I, Richard, earl of Cornwall, having
obtained from William Mauduit the castle and manor of
Holgod, gave it with other lands to the Templars, who
frx>m that time made it one of their principal seats. But
when that order was suppressed, this went like their other
possessions to the Hospitalers of St John of Jerusalem.
This last mentioned order had previously had settlements

• la th« priotod Ctlcaaar of tbs PAteat BoUs (whkik to cxi
impOTlbetX tilers m i&diestioM of thrc« catriM rtUtins to Ui« Pfthntr**
Gild Bt Ludlow dnring the reign of Edward HI, namely in tbi! .^rd, l^th.
and 3Ut ytan of his rcifn, a. d. 1329, 1314, and 1357.

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 207

at Dinmore Hill, in Herefordshire^ and at Bridgenorth, in
Shropshire. The Hospitalers of Dinmore possessed the
hamlet of Turford, in Shropshire, and had a hospital in
Hereford ; they had also possessions in Ludlow, given them
by Hugh de Lacy, which ''they had assigned to the
support of a certain chaplain of the chapel of St. Leonard
in Ludlow."*

Few new castles had been erected since the twelfth
century, but the existing fortresses were frequently enlarged
and strengthened. The few rolls of expenses in reparations
and building, still proserved in some of our record offices,
throw much light on the manners of the age in which they
were composed. A fragment of one of these rolls, con-
taining aocoimts relating to the town and castle of Oswestry,
written apparently about the end of the reign of Edward I,
or in that of Edward II, gives the following account of the
expenses of building '' the New House*' of the king '' in
the middle of the town." A carter, with his cart, was
employed three days in canning stones and gravel to fill up
the foss (probably dug for laying the foundations) at the
rate of five-pence each day. A man who was employed to
help him had three-halQpcmce a day. Three men occupied
in making the foundations had also three*halfpence each
during the three days. Another carter had also five-pence
a day during two days for bringing wood for the building,
and had a man to help him at three-halfpence a day. The
carpenter had seventeen shillings for all his works. The
laths for the waUs cost six-pence ; and two men employed
three days in making these walls with the same laths
received three-halfpence a day each. A thousand planks
cost eight shillings; and their carriage, one penny. The
sawyers and carpenters received twelve-pence a hundred for
making planks out of the king's timber. Four hundred
spike-naUs cost sixteen-pcnce ; four hundred board-nails,
twelve-pence; a thousand lath-nails, ten-pence; and five

« Httndred Rolto, p. 69.

5N)8 THB HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

hundred '' single nails/' ten-pence. Moreover, sixteen-
pence was expended in ** gumphs" and hinges ; and a carter
receiyed five-pence a day during four days for carrying day
to plaster the walls ; a man who dug the clay had three-
halfpence a day during the same period ; and the man who
plastered the walls received two shillings and two-pence for
the entire work. The whole cost of huilding the house was
forty-three shillings and eleven-pence.* It appears by this
statement that the chief labour of building a house fell, not
upon the mason, but upon the carpenter. The common
wages of a labourer appears to have been three*halfpence a
day. In the same roll four pounds and fourteen-pence
halfpenny are paid for pulling down ruinous buildings in the
castle, and repairing others, and building a new kitchen
and sheds; eight-pence to a smith for making spikes
and hinges for the jail; three-pence for making with the
king's own lead a vessel for warming water; five shillings
to a carpenter for covering the ''foiles" with boards; twelve-

* lUm, eompot. ia ttipciid. j. eareeUr. cam ctrset* loa yn .ig. diat ad
cariftnd p€tnf et argUhim ad implead. foMtm tab nora domo domini in
medio TiUe, .xt. d. capient. per diem, .t. d. Et ia mercede j. homiais
Juvaiit diet, carectar. per dictos tret diea .iiij. d. ob. captent. per diem
g. d. ob. Et in mercede .iij. hominum ad faciend. rab told, predicta,
Tidi. fundament per .iij. diet, .xiij. d ob. capient. per diem j. d. ob. Et
in ttipend. J. carectar. cam carecta ana carienU mereminm ad dictam
toldam de noro faciend. per .ij diet, .x. d. Et in mercede J. hominia
jQvant. eidem per dictot dnot dift, .iij. d. Et in ttipend. carpen. &c.
dictam domom ad tatc. .XTij. t. Et in virs* empt. pro paiietibna, .^i. d.
Et in ttipend. ij. hominnm facient. dictat parietet cnm dictit Tirf • per ig.
diet, .ix. d. cap. per diem .j. d. ob. Et in j. mille tindell. empt. de Johanne
Lojt, iij. t. Et in cariag. dictaram tindellaram ad dictam domum, .Q. d.
Et in ttipen. tarratoram et carpen. facient. oecc. tindelL de meremlo
domini .iiij. a. daad. pro. c. xij* d« Et in .ccce. tpiking. empt ad idem
xvj. a. fet in xccc bordnail empt. ad idem .xy. d. Et in mille tatbeoail
empt. ad idem .x. d. Et in .t. c tingelnail empt. ad idem .z. den. Et in
gumphit et Tertinellit emp. ad ideoi, .xv). d. Et la ttipen. J. carectar.
carient. argiUam pro dictit parietibot plattraad. per iig. diet, .zx. d. cap.
per diem .v. d. Et in ttipen. J. hoaiialt fodieat diet ar^ per .lig.
diet .vj. d. Et ia ttipen. .j. bominii ad plattrand. diet paiiet ad tatc
IJ. t .ij. d. Summa .xltij. • xj- Fragment of a bill of Accounts of a
BatUff of '* Otwaldettrt," temp. Edw. II., at tbt RoUt Hoate.

THB HItTOBT OF LUDLOW. £09

pence for the boards used for that purpose; two shillings
and nine-pence for eleven hundred board-nails^ and two
shillings and six-pence for sixteen hundred single-nails,
also for the same object; two-pence for repairing the pin-
fold, and the same sum for a lock for the pinfold-door;
two-pence for a lock for the chamber in the tower ; three*
pence for mending the wall of the '^brutage/* and two-
pence for a lock for it ; two shillings for a week's wages of
a carpenter employed in building a small house beyond the
well; three shillings and four-pence for tiles for covering
this house, and eight-pence for two hundred spike-nails for
that purpose ; two shillings for a week's wages of a car-
penter for preparing the tiles and covering the house;
three-halfpence each for four men employed one day in
removing stones; and five-pence for plastering ''the foiles"
with lime.*

* Item, eompuU in dlTers. •xpesiu stipend, circa depotidonem domo-
nun in castro, quia niinos., a fetto Sancii Mich, usque ad fattum Sancti
Nidiolait et ad reparand. Teteres camera* ultia portam castii eapelle ei
pontit caslxi, et ad odificand. coquinara caatri et partem toldaxun de nore»
et parcos reparand. .iiij. IL .ziiy. d. ob. ut patet per billam ezaminat per
sen. et tigillo tuo eignat Et in stipend, labr. Client gumphos et Tertinellos
corur. gaiole ad tasc. .viij. d. Et in factor. J. plumbi de plnmbo domiai
pro aqua califlcand. .iij. den. Et in stipend .J. carpentar. eoopertent le
ffoiles cam aindell. ad taac .t. t. Item ia sindelL empt ad iden^ .xij. d.
El ia miUe bordaail empt. ad idem* .y. s. .ij. d. pvec. .e. ay. d. Et in
mille et cccc singol nail empt. ad idem< .y. a. .iiij. d. prec x. .ij. d.
£t in reparacione del puntfield .ij. d. Et in semr. ad hoetium ejusdem
.iJ. d. Et in serur. empt. ad cameram in tnrr. .y. d. El in rtparae.
pariet. del bmtag. .iy. d. Et in eerur. empt. ad dietom bmlef. .y.d. Et
in stipen. .j. carpent. fiicient. parram dumum nltra putenm per j.
septim. .y. a. Et in .Ix. tabul. empt. pro. coopertor. dicte domna
•iy. 8. .iiij. d. Et in .cc spiking, empt. ad idem .Tiy. d. Et in stipend,
dicti carpen. per .j. septim. ad pariend. diet, tabnlas et ad eooperiend.
dactam domam .y. a. Et in stipend, .iiy. homiaam ad remorsad. petraa
de area mercand. per .J. diem .ij. d. Et ad plastrand. pariet. de le foilee.
cvm calce .t. d. Summa .c .y. s. .is. d. ob. iM.

TUX HISTORY OF LUDLTW.

SECTION VIII.

7%« MorHHuri of Wtgrnore.

AFTER the battle of ETeshsm, the English counties en
the Welih border were delivered from the inrokdz of Qa
Webb. Their prince Llewelyn obaerred with good ftith
daring the tenuunder of Henry'i leign the tretty which he
hid made with the Engliah monarch after the erent alluded
to; but on the accession of his son to the throne, he
appeu* again to have entertained hopes of establishing hi*
own independence. For some time he aroided open hosti-
lities. King Edward was crowned at Westminster on the
19th of August, 1274, immedialeljr after his arnTml in
England. Llewelfn had been soinmoned to attend the
king on that occasion, in order to take the tame oath of
allegiance by which he had been bound to king Henry;
but he treated the snmnons with contempt, as ¥rell as
another in the year folbwing to attend the king's first
parliament in Londoo. The abbots of Dore and Hagmm)

THB HISTORY OP LUDLOW. 211

were then directed to meet Llewelyn at the ford of Mont-
gomery, and there receive his oath: they went to the
appointed place, and waited, but the Welsh prince did
not come. He afterwards excused himself on the ground
of troubles on the Welsh side of the Border and the
danger in which he stood from his domestic enemies;
whereupon he was again summoned to meet the two
ecclesiastics at the same place, on the first Sunday in May,
1275, and they waited a second time in vain. After
this, Edward appointed successively as places of meeting,
Shrewsbury, Chester, Westminster, Winchester, and other
towns ; but his messages were all dvaded, and after a slight
attempt at negociation, the prince of Wales placed himself
in a hostile attitude, and on the l£th December, 1876, the
king summoned his army to meet at Worcester on the
octaves of St. John the Baptist (July 1, lUi).

At this conjuncture a circumstance occurred which em-
barrassed Llewelyn in his plans. Before the battle of
Evesham, he had been betrothed to Alianora daughter of his
fiiend Simon de Montfort, on whose death the countess fled
with her daughter to a nimnery at Montargis, which had
been founded by the sister of her husband. At the begin-
ning of 1277, not aware probably of the hostile feelings then
existing between Llewelyn and the king of England, the
countess of Leicester sent her daughter to Wales, escorted
by her brother Aimery de Montfort, in order that the
marriage might be solemnized ; but in passing round the
point of Cornwall the ship which carried her fell in with a
Bristol fleet, and they were seized and carried before the
king, who committed Aimer)* to sure custody, and retained
the lady at his court as his ward.

The king having assembled his army on the border,
arrived at Chester early in the autumn of 1277. His
presence on this occasion is said to have been rendered
necessary by the invasion of the lands of the lords Marchers
by the Welsh. We find him at Flint on the 23rd of
August. After having driven the Welsh to their strong

212 THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

holds in the mountains, and cruelly ravaged a considerable
extent of country, he returned to Shrewsbury, which place
he again quitted on the 16th of October. He soon obtained
possession of the castle of Rhuddlan, where we find him on
the 10th of November. He was then negotiating with
Llewelyn, who had retired to Aberconway. In the pacifi-
cation which was soon afterwards concluded, the Welsh
historians accuse their prince of sacrificing his patriotism to
the desire of obtaining possession of his wife, which vtbb
one of the chief articles stipulated in the treaty, in all other
respects extremely galling to the Welsh. The king remained
at Bhuddlan till about the middle of November, and returned
slowly towards London. On the 6th of December he had
proceeded no further than Worcester. The marriage of
Llewelyn with Alianora de Montfiirt took place soon after
the ratification of the treaty.

About three years after the marriage of Llewelyn and
Alianora de Montfiirt, the struggle began in which the in-
dependanoe of the Welsh was finally destroyed. Llewelyn's
brother David, who had been Edward's ally in his former
wars, was accused of being the principal instigator of the
rebellion of 1S82. On the night of Palm Sunday in that
year (which was the S2nd of March) he surprised the castle
of Hawardine, slew the knights who had the care of its
defence, and carried away captive the justiGiary of Wales,
Roger de Clifford. He then joined with his brother in
laying siege to the castles of Flint and Bhuddlan. King
Edward was celebrating Easter at Deviies, when inteU
Kgence was brought him of the rising of the Welsh, and he
immediately determined to enter Wales with a large army.
On the 6th of April he summoned his batons to march
towards the border; on the ISth of the same month we
find him giving orders to the barons of the Cinque-Ports to
fit out an expedition against the Welsh by sea ; and on the
30th he arrived in person at Gloucester. We can trace the
kingN movrmcnf< slowly along the border, while he was
arranging hi^ extensive plan of operations. On the SOth

THK HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 218

of May, being then at Worcester, he appointed his army to
meet at Bhuddlan ; on the Z4th he was at Hartlebujy, in
his progress towards Chester, where we find him on the
8th and 10th of June. He was at Rhuddlan before the
15th of July, on which day he wrote to the Sheriff of
Gloucestershire for a hundred good caupu^ores (cutters, or
pioneers) to cut down trees and clear the roads through
which he was prepared to march. The Welsh had retreated
on his approach.

The progress of the English king was slow, but sure.
In a few months he had overrun North Wales, and pene-
trated into the recesses of Snowdon. But the approach
of winter checked his progress, and restored courage to
the Welsh. At this moment the barons of Herefordshire
and Gloucestershire invaded the country from the south.
Llewelyn, leaving his brother to keep the English in check
in the north, hastened to oppose them. He had reached
the banks of the Wye near Builth, when he was attacked
by the conjoint forces of Edmund de Mortimer and John
Giffard of Brimsfield. The accounts of the engagement
are obscure, and differ from each other ; but it appears that
Llewelyn being separated from his army i^-ith a few atten-
dants, was slain in the scuffle by one Adam de Francton,
who did not know, till he returned and found his victim
dying, that he had killed the Welsh prince. After his
death, which occurred on the 12th of December, 128S, they
cut off his head, and scut it to king Edward, who ordered
it to be placed on the Tower of London. The arch-bishop
of Cantcrbur}', who was present at Llewelyn's death, wrote
an account of some of the circumstances connected with it
in a letter to the king, which is still preserved.* It apjicars
that Maude de Longesj^oe, the ii-ife of John Giffard, im-
plored the arch-bishop to absolve the Welsh prince, and
render to him the last services of the church, which the
prelate refused on tlie gro\ind that lie had shown no si«j(iis

o ,.

214 THE HISTORY OK LL'DIjOW.

of repentance in his last monieuts^ although her charitable
request was supported by Edmund de Mortimer, who as-
serted that he had heard Llewelyn call for a priest before
he died.* In Llewelyn's pocket were found private papers
which are said to have implicated so many of the lords
Marchers in his rebellion, that they were studiously sup-
pressed.

Early in November the king had retired to Rhuddlan,
where he remained during the winter. In the following
March, Edward again advanced into the wilds of Snowdon,
in pursuit of David, who continued in arms till June, when
he was betrayed into the hands of his enemies, and carried
a jmsoner to Rhuddlan. The capture of David completed
the subjugation of his country; and the king, finding no
further oppoaition, returned slowly towards England. He
reached Shrewsbury at Michaelmas, to meet the parliament
which he had summoned there for the purpose of passing
judgment on *' his traitor*' David, who was condemned to
undergo the cruel and revolting punishment which con-
tinued for ages afterwards to be inflicted for the crime of
high treason. On the 28th of December king Edward was
at Chester, still occupied in securing his new conquest.

By this campaign, the Welsh appeared to be sufficiently
tamed ; yet few years had passed by when, supposing that
the king had quitted England to conduct in person his
war in France, they again rose in arms. This i«-as in the
summer of 1S87 ; under Recs ap ^lercduc and other popular
leaders, the mountaineers attacked the lords of the Marches,
and obtained possession of several castles and towns. The
most active of the borderers on this occasion were Gilbert de

* The Udy hsre nestiosed wu davshter sad hcirsti of Walter dc
Clifford, lord Af Corfton and Calmington, the nephew of Fair noaamond.
She waa the widow of William Longcfpee, and had been forcibly carried
away from her manor •honae by John Giffard,.who afterwards obtained the
kinf*a allowance of hia marriage, which had been contracted without
licence. On the Cih of November, 12S0, a licence was given to this John
(!itf'.tr<I /'I /'/'(/ ir-»/ri» irith thuj% ai.tl mtf in all forests in KmcIauiI
Foedera, li. p. 597.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

£15

Clare, who had been driven from his estates in the county
of Glamorgan, and Edmund do Mortimer. The ^yel8h,
however, were mistaken on one point: the king had not
quitted the English shore when he received intelligence
of their insurrection, and he liastened into Wales ^vith a
powerful army. This was the last great struggle of the
Welsh for their independence, and it ended much in the
same way as those which had preceded it; after their
country had been ravaged with fire and sword, they were
driven by famine to an unconditional surrender, and their
chieftains were carried away into captivity. But the king
was obliged to pass his winter in Wales, where he cele-
brated the festival of Christmas at 'Aberton.' Before his
return to England he built the castle of Beaumaris; and
further to ensure the obedience of the Welsh he is said to
have cut down and cleared the principal woods which had
served for a refuge to his enemies. From this time, if we
believe the ancient chronicles, the Welsh laid aside much
of their rudeness, and, settling peacefully in towns, they
began to amass wealth and indulge in the luxuries of life,
until their manners became assimilated to those of their
English neighbours.* In subsequent years the more warlike

* A quo tempore werne in Wallia qnieTenint, et Wallenset more
An^iooram pene viTere inocepenmt, thetaiizoe congreguitec et remm dtmna
de cctero formidantce. The. Welaingham, p. 63. A similer accoont of
the change in the manners of the Welah is given in the lythmical
f/wtoHM^ printed among the poems of Walter Mapesi L 185 :—

Mores bmtales Britonnm
jam, ex convictu Saxonum,
commutantur in melius,
ut patct luce clarius.
Hortos et agros excolunt ;
ad oppida sa conferunt ;
et loricati equitant,
et calceati pcditant ;
urbane sc reflciunt ;
ft sub tapctis dormiunt :
ul ju«lircn!nr An?li« i.
nunc potius quam W.illi< t

Hinc si qusratur ratio,
quietiui qnam solito
cur illi Tivant hodic ;
in causa sunt divitic,
quas cito gens hcc pcrderet
si passim nune confligcret.
Timor damni hoe retrahit ;
nam nil habens nil mctuit,
ct, ut dixit Satyricus
i-nntat viator Tacutw
• ••lam latroiu* tniioi
qium plinlcMtus dttior

%

216 THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

part of the population was drawn off to serve in the Scottish
expeditions.

At this period the three most powerful families on the
English side of the horder were those of Clare^ Bohun, and
Mortimer. Gilbert de Clare, earl of Gloucester, who
fought at Evesham on the royal side, although he had
fought at Lewes for Simon de Montfort, contrived to reap
advantage from the defeat of his old colleagues. He was
high in favour with Edward I, whose daughter, Joane of
Acre, he married. He had the command of the army
which invaded South Wales in 1287. He died in 1295;
and was succeeded by his son Gilbert, who was slain in
1818 at the disastrous battle of Bannockbum, when the
earldom of Gloucester became extinct.

The Bohuns, during several generations, had been dis-
tinguished by their patriotism. Henry de Bohun was one
of the firmest supporters of the baronial party in their
opposition to king John, and was one of those excommu-
nicated by the pope for the part he took in extorting the
Magna Charta from that monarch. His son, Humphrey
da Bohun, earl of Hereford, and his grandson, Humphrey,
who died, before his father, were staunch adherents of
Simon de Montfort, and were both among the prisoners
taken at the battle of Evesham. Humphrey do Bohun, tlie
son of the latter, who succeeded to his grandfather's titles,
was equally distinguished by his courageous opposition to
the unconstitutional measures of Edward I. He died in
1298, and his son, also named Humphrey, who married a
daughter of Edward I, Elizabeth Plantagcnet, fell a sacrifice
to bis attachment to the popular cause in the reign of
Edward n.

The power and wealth of the Mortimers had been con*
stantly increasing since the leign of Henry III, when
Roger de Mortimer had contributed so greatly to the final
triumph of the crown. He was eminent among Iiis con-
lenii><>rario^ fi>r lii^ s|>l<'ii«lom- ami innmiifi* rnrf. Wliri*
his tlircf* M>n*, Eflmund, William, and (•iHiffrrv. were

THE UlSTOUY OF LVDLOW. ^^17

knighted by king Edward I^ he held a great tournament ut
Kenilworth^ and a ' round tabic/ entertaining sumptuously
for three days a hundred knights^ Avith as many ladies, at
his own expense ; and having himself gained the prize of a
lion of gold, on the fourth day he carried all his guests to
Warwick. The fame of Roger's gallantry was Kpread
through distant lands, and the queen of Navarre is said
to have fallen in love with him, and to have sent him to
the tournament at Kenilworth, which had been according
to custom proclaimed in foreign countries, wooden vessels,
bound with gilt hoops and wax, as flasks of wine, but
which, when opened, proved to be filled with gold. These
' flasks * were long preserved in the abbey of Wigmore :
and for the queen's love Roger de Mortimer added a car-
buncle to his arms during his life.* He died in 128S, and
was buried in Wigmore abbey. His son Edmund was,
like himself, actively engaged in the Welsh wars. Previous
to the death of Llewelyn, at which he was present, his
relationship to that prince caused him to be suspected of
conniving at his rebellion. In ISOS, or 1304, in a battle
with the Welsh near Builth, in the same neighbourhood
where IJewelyn was slain, Edmund de Mortimer received a
mortal wound, of which he died soon after in his castle of
Wigmore, and was buried in the abbey.

Roger de Mortimer, the eldest son and successor of
Edmund, was only sixteen years of age at the time of his
fethcT*s death, and was given in ward by the king to Piers
Cravcston, to whom he subsequently paid two thousand five
hundred marks to redeem himself and obtain permission to
marry at his own pleasure. He married Joane de Gcncville,
by wliich union he added to his vast possessions the
castle of Ludlow. Tlio castle of Wigmore continued,

* Ad dicta hasliludia in dictis rcgnis prsconizata, flaKulat ligneat,
deauratis banris ct ccra ligatos, rini sub specie, auro tamcn plenos, in dicta
Abbatliia de MTyggcmore a<11iuc habitos, cidom Ropcro ferlur tmnsmisissc;
ipsoqur d'>niir.u* K«'j«'rMs rj\;c.l, n: r» {rln.^- oK nmorcn, r.iiYiunrMlum .irmi-.
stiis ad totam vitAm ^tnin aiMi'Us^c noscitur. Monastu on. ri. p. 3^].

S18

THE HtSTOKY 07 LUDLOW.

however, to be the chief scat of the Mortimer family : and
the few mouldering nuDS which still remain are sufficient
to show the strength and importance of this once princely
residence.*

The three great border lords, R<^er de Mortimer, Gilbert
de Clare carl of Gloucester, and Humphrey de Bohun
carl of Hereford, were all actively engaged in the Scottish
war. Gilbert dc C'lnrc and Humphrey de Bohun led the
attack at the battle of Itaiinockbum, where the former was
slain, and the latter immediately afterwards was made •
prisoner by the Scots in Dothwell castle, where be had
taken shelter. He obtained his liberty by exchange, and
rctumcd with Roger de Atortimer to protect their own
estates from the threatened invasion of the Welsh. In
1515, a Welsh chief named Llewelyn Bren, collected to-
gether a great number of his countrymen, and invaded
Gloucestershire, cruelly deraslating the country through
which he passed. One of the banms most active in this
war was John dc Cherlton of Cherlton, or Charlton, in

brturen Wifm-'rr iin<l l.ii-Miw.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 219

Shropshire, who had manied the heiress of the lordships of
Powys and Pool. This war was not finished till the year
following, 1316, when Llewelyn Bren was sent prisoner to
London. In the same year Roger de Mortimer was ap-
pointed lord lieutenant of Ireland.

The barons of the Wekh border acted a prominent part
in the civil dissension which ended in the deposition of
the weak and unprincipled monarch who now sat on the
English throne. Gilbert de Clare had been one of the
most active among the persecutors of Edward's first fa-
vourite. Piers Gavestone ; and the king gave to his second
and no less unpopular favourite, Hugh Despenser, with
Grilbert's daughter, his estates and honours in Glouces-
tershire and Wales. This was a signal for the borderers
to take up arms. Humphrey de Bohun, Roger de Mor-
timer of Wigmore, his great-uncle, Roger de Mortimer of
Chirk, and others, invaded the lands of Hugh Despenser,
fought several battles, took Cardiff, and carried the governor
a prisoner to Wigmore castle, and then seized upon the
castle of Clun. The pretence for these hostilities is said to
have been a quarrel concerning a piece of land which Roger
Mortimer had agreed to purchase, but of which he was
deprived by Hugh Despenser's influence.*

This partial outbreaJc was but a prelude to a more for-
midable insurrection. The earl of Lancaster, with a powerful
force and numerous friends went to the border, and nearly
all the lords of the Marches joined him, and marched in a
body towards London. The result of this movement is
well known. The barons overawed the king for a while,
and obtained the banishment of the Dcspenf^crs ; but the
tide turned, and at the battle of Borouglibridge, in IS'22,
Humphrey de Bohun was slain, and Henrk* of I^ncaster
taken and put to death. Among the prisoners on this
occasion were the two Rogers de Mortimer, John de Chcrl-
ton, and many other 1x>nlorers. John do C^horlton obtainetl

• See Tb. WaUlnsbam, p. ILL

llM THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW.

liis pardon ; but the Mortiinei*s were cominitlod to rigorous
confinemeut in the tower, where the elder died soon after.

It is said that the king had ahneady condemned Roger de
Mortimer of Wigmore to the scafibld, when he was unex-
pectedly deprived of his prey. On the feast of St. Peter
ad Vincula (the 1st day of August), 1328, Roger de Mor-
timer gave an entertainment to the constable of the tower,
Stephen de Segrave, and they passed the evening in drink-
ing and making merry. As the night advanced, Roger
seized an opportunity of throwing a soporiforous drug into
S^;rave's cup, and while he was labouring under its effects,
escaped from his place of confinement, by connivance (as it
is said) of his keeper, passed through the several wards of the
tower^ and reached the river, where he foimd a boat ready
to convey him away. He immediately sailed for France,
where he was received by queen Isabella. On the 6th of
August, as soon as Mortimer*s escape was known at court,
several proclamations were issued, commanding the king's
subjects to raise the hue-and-cry afiter him ''our enemy
and rebel ^ (inimicus et rebellis noster), as he is termed in
them.* The king appears to have been long uncertain of
his having left the kingdom. On the 1st of October
another proclamatioti appeared, forbidding any one to har-
bour or encourage him ; and as late as the 14th of November,
letters were addressed to the lords of the Welsh border,
commanding them to raise the hue-and-cry after him in all
directions, as though it were supposed that he lay concealed
there.f In this latter document, among other crimes, he is
charged with having risen in arms against the king, and
having taken castles, &c. in Wales and England. The
history of his criminal intimacy with the queen, and of the
part which he took in bringing her back to England and
dethroning the king, are too well knoivn to be detatlc«l
here. On his return to England, as a memorial of his
c«ra]K», he built a chapel in the outer ward of the castle of

• FccKm, \"1 ii. pin I, p. b^K f ru'<lrr.«, 'A p '*\7

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 2&1

Ludlow, which he dedicated to St. Peter, on whose festival
he had escaped from the Tower, and placed in it a chantry
priest.* The ruins, as it is supposed, of this chapel were
remaining in the last centiuy.

One of the most ardent partisans of Roger de Mortimer
was Adam de Orleton, bishop of Hereford. He had been
raised to that see in 1S17 ; and as the parish of Orleton,
from which he took his name and of which he was probably
a native^ was part of the possessions of that great baronial
family, it is probable that he owed his elevation to Mor-
timer's influence and protection. After the defeat of the
party of the earl of Lancaster, he shared in the disgrace of
his patron, and, in spite of the complaints and expostula-
tions of his brother ecclesiastics, he was condemned for
high treason, and deprived of his temporalities. The
principal circumstance of the charges against this prelate,
as it was related in the depositions at his trial, affords a
curious anecdote of border turbulence.f It is there stated
that in the months of November, December, and January,
in the fifteenth year of the king's reign (a. d. 1321, £),
Roger do Mortimer of Wigmore, having raised a great
number of armed men (horse and foot), marched with them
in warlike array about the border. When they came to
Bromyard, where they passed one night, they robbed and
plundered divers inhabitants of the town and neighbour-
hood of goods and money to the amount of forty pounds ;
of John de Masonne of Stancford, they took brazen pots and
platters, and linen and woollen cloth, of the value of twenty
shillings; and of John le Shepherd of Bruncestor, they
took a cow of the price of eight shillings. From thence
they went towards licdbury, and stopped at Bosebury»

* Unde ct in bonorem S. Petri capelltm in ultcriori warda castri do
LodoUwe, illam capolltm S. Petri Tocatam, cum unitia capellani ibi
peipetvo celebraturi cantuaria noscitur coottnixi&sc. Accmint of tbe
Ifortimei*. in tbe Monaslicon, vi. p. 351.

t UolU of Parliament, \ol it. p. 1*27. One ot' the pcricn^ ^lio made
tbli deposition bore (be sinpiUr nnme of Adam ilalfcnaked.

2o

I

2ii THK HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

where they had a long consultation with the bishop of
Hereford. They then went to Ledbury^ where they robbed
diflEerent persons to the amount of more than a hundred
pounds. Among the rest^ they took from Roger Fortherath,
beef^ pork^ bread, beer, and brazen pots, to the amoimt of
twenty shillings. Two days afterwards, Adam de Orleton,
who was still at Boeebury, sent them a body of his own
men and retainers, well mounted and armed ; and with this
addition to his army, Roger de Mortimer marched direct
towards Gloucester.

On the arrival of the queen, Adam de Orleton joined her
standard, and at Oxford he delivered a public discourse
from the pulpit against the king's government, taking for
his text the words Doht miii caput, and representing that
since the sickness of the head affiscted the whole body, when
the head was found to be unfit for government, it was
requisite that some eflfective remedy should be applied. It
is said also that this prelate instigated the queen to the
murder of her husband : and, aooording to a popular story,
it was he who fabricated the ftmous message which, by the
diflferent placing of a comma, admits of entirely opposite
interpretations : —

ff

<« Edirardum occidere oolite Umere bonum est.

It was prelcndc<l that if the receiver of this message placed
the stop after the word Umere, and obeyed the order thus
conveyed to put the king to death, the sender would be
excused by placing the stop after the previous weed, as
having intended to forbid the evil deed.

One of the first acts of the parliament caUed by Mortimer
and the queen, vtub to reverse the judgment against Adam
de Orleton. In the same year we find this prelate involved
in a dispute with the crown, by having ambitiously obtained
his election to the vacant see of Worcester. Yet he was
finally allowed not only to retain WonostiT, but a few
voars afterwards, in 1S33, he was further advanced to the

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. '22S

bishopric of Winchester, in the possession of which he died
in 1845. This promotion was also the fruit of his political
intrigues^ and contrary to the wishes of the king, in whose
fiivour he appears never to have stood very high. Adam de
Orletou had been sent as an ambassador to the king of
France, and through that monarch's influence with the
pope he obtained the vacant see in spite of king Edward's
xecommendation to the sovereign pontiff of another claimant.
Edward was angry at the pope's decision ; he accused
Adam de Orleton of misconduct in his official capacity,
alledging that he had neglected his master's business to
ingratiate himself with his enemy the king of France ; and
he vented his humour against the pope^ who had listened to
the French king sooner than to himself. In this part of
his complaint he had with him the sentiments of his people,
who were beginning to cry out bitterly against foreign
interference in the affairs of the English church. The king
^^c^cordingly, seized upon the temporalities of the see of
Winchester, and retained them in his hands during several
months, until the other prelates petitioned in parliament
for their restoration.*

When the unfortunate king found himself deserted by his
subjects, he fled directly to Wales, but he met with so few
fiiends that he was obliged to conceal himself among the
woods in the neighbourhood of Glamorgan. Roger de
Mortimer with tlic queen hastened to the border; and
INisscd the last days of the year 1SS7 at Hereford. Thither
tlie unfortunate king was brought a prisoner; and before
they left that city several of his partizans were beheaded or
hanged. The favourite, Hugh Despenscr, was condemned
to the same cruel punishment to which the Welsh prince,
DaWd, had been subjected at Shrewsbury ; with this dif-
ference only, that the English 'traitor,' was suspended on a
gallows fifiy feet liigh.

Within u few months after tlic deposition of Edward II,

* Tho. WnUiiighJini, 11 bt. Aiigl. p. IXX

224 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

Roger de Mortimer was created an earl^ by the title of earl
of March. Immediately afterwards he imitated his grand-
father in holding a '' round table ;" and he conducted the
queen and the young king (Edward III) to the Marches of
Wales^ where he welcomed them with magnificent festivities,
accompanied with tournaments and other princely recrea-
tions, in his castles of Ludlow and Wigmore^* Hoger de
Mortimer was now blinded by Us ambition, and set no
bounds to his ostentation. He scarcely took pains to con-
ceal his familiarity with the queen; he usurped all the
powers of the government, and offended many of the nobles
by his haughtiness. It is said that his own son GeoflBrey
was accustomed to speak of him as the '' king of folly/*
A conspiracy was formed against him, headed by the young
king, who was desirous of taking the government of his
country into his own hands ; and the powerful nobleman
was captured by surprise in the castle of Nottingham, and
having been convicted of high treason by a parliament
called for that purpose, in ISSl, he was hanged on the
common gallows in London. The sentence was perhaps
one rather of vengeance than of justice : the chief charge
brought against him was that of having usurped the so-
vereign power, and of having injured the country by mal-
administration. In most of the particular cases specified the
accusations were general and indefinite ; in a few he had
perhaps adopted the best measures which the circumstances
would admit.t Several of Mortimer's fiiends were con-
demned along with

• Bzinda ttx Bdwaidna ttrtim ad Muchiftm Iranitit, el in eaitiif dicti
Rogni comitis, de Loddelow ei d« Wjgfemore, forestii^iM M
pMcia. emB maximit expentU In oommiiniis, hMtiludiis, ei aliif ■olaeUa,
wnauBdaqmb donaiiis tSbi M Mb bfglter cAmIs^ ragdiler par nonanUoa
diaa tneUCai» 4e. Manaaticon, vL p. SftS.

t The chargea asatnai Roger da Mortimer apaciiled in the RoUa of Par-
liament, 4 Edward III, are, that he had been, by hia intrignca, inatrumental
in the f.tll of Edward II ; that he bad cau«o<l htm to be removed from
Kenil worth to Berkeley eattlr, where he had been at loatt privy to hia

THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW. 225

There appears to be some doubt as to the place of burial
of this powerful baron. The history of the family printed in
the Monasticon states that he was interred with due respect
in the church of the Friars Minors at Shrewsbury, on the
eve of St. Andrew (S9th November), 1331, from whence
some years afterwards his body was removed to Wigmore.
This statement, however, seems to be contradicted by a
document printed in the FoederS, by which the king on the
ieventh day of November, in the same year, orders the
Fiiars Minors of Coventry to deliver up the body of the
earl, which they were said to have in their possession, to
his widow and eldest son, in order that it might be carried
to Wigmore for interment.* He left four sons and seven
daughters ; one of the latter was married to John de Cherl-
ton, the son of the baron of that name who had obtained
the lordship of Powys.

None of the direct descendants of Roger de Mortimer
made the same conspicuous figure as their forefieithers. Most
of them were left minors, and died at an early age. Edmund

murder ; that h« OTorawed the parliament anembled at SalUbury by force
of armi, and obtained by undue means large grante from the crown, and
the title of earl of March; that he had opprened and perMcnted the eari
of Lancaster and other peers of the land, because they opposed themselTes
to his tyranny and ambition ; that he had* by his intrigues, urged the earl
of Kent Into open rebellion* and then procured his eondemnation and
execution for high treason ; that, usurping the royal power, he had caused
the king to bestow on his ISunily and friends, castles, towns, manors^ and
franchises in England, Walesa and Ireland, to the pr^dice of the crown ;
that he had turned to his own uses the taxes raised for the war In
Gascony ; that he had stirred up discord between the late king and his
queen ; that he had expended the royal treasure for his own private usee;
that he had used in the same manner twenty thousand marks paid by
the Scots ; that he had fiiTOured the Irish who had attacked and opposed
the ministers of the late king; and that he had caused the person of the
young monarch to be surrounded by hit own creatures.

• Rex delectis sibl gardiano et fratribus Minorum de CoTentr. sal.
Quia de gratia nostra speciali concessimus Johanns, que fuit uxor Rogeri
de Mortuomari nuper comitis Uarchia, et Edmundo flli<^ ejusdcm comitls.
quod corpus ipsius Rogeri usque Wypgcmorc duccrc rt illud il>i<lcn tradcrc
possint ecclesiaslkm sepuUurv. Fsdera, ii. p. 928.

226 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

de Mortimer^ Roger's eldest son^ survived his father a few
years^ and left a son, named Roger, only three years of age.
His castles in the Marches of Wales were committed, during
his minority, to the custody of his step-father, William de
Bohun, earl of Northampton. The greater portion of
Roger's after life was spent in France, where he was en-
gaged in the wars of Edward III, who created him a knight
of the garter. In 1S54 he obtained a reversal of the at*
tainder of his grand-father, and it was declared in full
parliament that the charges on which Roger de Mortimer
had been condemned were false, and his sentence unjust.
Roger de Mortimer, now restored to the title of earl of
March, was subsequently made constable of Dover castle
and warden of the Cinque Ports. He died in Burgundy in
1860, in command of the English forces in that country,
and left a son, Edmund Mortimer, then in his minority.

Young Edmund de Mortimer was distinguished above
his years by his prudence and manly abilities, and he was
employed at the early age of eighteen to treat with the
commissioners of the king of France for a peace between
the two kingdoms. Early in the reign of Richard TL he
was made lord lieutenant of Ireland, in which oflke he died
in 1S81. He married the lady Philippa Plantagenet,
daughter and heir of Lionel duke of Clarence, by which
union he gave to his descendants theb title to the Eoglish
crown, the cause of so much bloodshed in the following
century. Besides his heir and successor, Roger de Mor*
timer, he lefl two sons and the same number of daughters,
all of whom were more or less involved in the intrigues and
conspiracies of the following age. Edmund, his second
sou, married the daughter of Owen Glyndwr. Jchn de
Mortimer, the third son, was condemned and executed for
treasonable speeches in the reign of Henry VI. Of the
daughters, Elinbeth, the eldest, was married to Henry
Percy, Shakespeare's Hotspur.

Rojjcv ^fortiinor, fourth carl of March, wav only «rvrn
ycar^ old at the time of ht* father's death, and hr was

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 227

given in ward by the king to Richard earl of Arundel. He
was made by Richard II lord lieutenant of Ireland, as the
successor of his father, and was slain in a battle there in
1S98, leaving two sons and two daughters. In the parlia-
ment held in the ninth year of the reign of Richard II,
A. D. 1385, this Roger de Mortimer was declared heir
apparent to the crown, by his descent from Lionel duke of
Clarence. His eldest daughter, Anne, was married to
Richard Plantagenet duke of Cambridge, younger son of
Edmund duke of York, and therefore the grandson of
Edward UI.

Edmund Mortimer, fifth earl of March, was left an orphan
at the age of six years, and was cominitted in ward to
Henry prince of Wales. After having distinguished him-
self in the French wars, he died childless in 1424, and the
male line of this branch of the Mortimer family, with the
title of earl of March, became extinct. The baronies of
Mortimer, and the other dignities and estates, were inherited
by his nephew, Richard Plantagenet duke of York, the son
of Richard duke of Cambridge, who married his sister.
This was the same duke of York who was subsequently
put to death after the battle of Wakefield.

^>»>^»>^*>^^/V>^^^/V><^>/W^>^^W^^^<^'V

SECTION IX.

7^ Wekh Border during the fourteenth and early pari of

the fifleentli cetiturics,

THE condition of society in England undenvent no
great variations during the fourteenth century, although it
%vas in a continual state of fermentation. Tlic lower orders
were oppressed and miserable, and during the whole of the
]icrio<l ju!»t mentioned thry wore cither passively or actively
at war with their suiwriors. Thr country was overrun l»\

S28 THE HISTORY OF LVDUOV/.

bands of armed robbers, encouraged by the political troubles
of the time ; and the peasants themselves seldom missed an
opportunity of slaughtering a wandering knight or defence-
less merchant. In return the peasantry were oppressed by
the purveyors of the king and of the barons ; who violently
carried away their provisions, treated them with contempt
and rudeness, and frequently beat them and ofiered violence
to their wives and daughters. In addition to these evils, the
people were burdened by foreign wars, and more than deci-
mated by destructive pestilences. The impressions of the
purveyors and taxers on the one hand, and Uie turbulence of
the peasantry on the other, form frequent subjects of com-
plaint in the parliaments of Edward III and Richard 11.

The borders of Wales not only bore their full share of
these grievances, but they had also to suffer firom the vidnity
of a people of a diflSerent race, who, though nominally in
peace and alliance, cherished the hostile feelings and recol-
lections of several centuries. The two peoples, although
now placed under the same government, were separated
not only by different customs of old standing, but by the
inequality created by new laws. The Welsh were in many
respects treated as a vanquished people; and by repeated
enactments during the fourteenth century they were de-
prived of many social rights, particularly that of buying
and possessing lands, more especially on the English border.
One reason assigned for this law was that, by the " procu-
ration, help, counsel, and favour of Welshmen buying and
possessing lands in the English counties on the border,
divers malefactors of Wales of their acquaintance in great
multitudes, sometimes a hundred or two hundred, and at
other times three hundred and more, suddenly entering
these counties in warlike array, perpetrate Uiere daily
divers mansUughters, felonies and oUier transgressions and
enormities, and then retreat in haste to the other side of
the border, beyond the jurisdiction of the magistrates of the
counties in which tho offences were committed.*** The

• Rolls of rarliuaent, rol. iii p. 391.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 229

different laws and customs relating to merchants and traders
were also the source of much injustice and continual dis-
putes. Merchants and others^ passing from one jurisdiction
to another, were frequently arrested under false pretences,
and were not set at liberty until they had satisfied the
avarice of their persecutors. The particular privileges of
the county palatine of Chester served also as a cover and
encouragement to similar violences and injustice. In dif-
ferent parliaments of Richard II, these privileges were the
subjects of earnest complaint on the part of the commons,
it being stated that not only the counties of Salop, Hereford,
Worcester, and Gloucester, but even those of Lancaster,
Derby, Leicester, and York, were daily disturbed by the
inhabitants of Cheshire, who " come sometimes by day and
sometimes by night, ^vith great routs of armed men in war-
like array, and there commit various felonies, trespasses
and extortions, namely, they slay people, bum houses,
ravish ladies and damsels, and other people they maim,
beat, and other^^dse wound, and maim and kill their oxen,
to the great destruction and oppression of the aforesaid
commons, for which no punishment is inflicted, or forfeiture
ordained of the goods and chattels which they have within
the aforesaid county of Chester, because of their franchise.'**
At other times they carried away the daughters of gentle-
men and men of property, and if their fiienda would not
consent to redeem them for exorbitant sums of money,
or to give with them their dowers, in marriage to their
ra^-ishers, thoy not only ill treated them, but they made
these and other causes of quarrels Mith their families, and
suddenly entered and ravaged their lands, and then returned
and took shelter under the same franchises.

The records of the dissensions and political troubles of
this period furnish many statistical notices illustrati%*e of
the social condition of our forefathers. The accounts of
the tax of a fifteenth of personal property raised in 1301, as

• Ko'.li of raruaiuri.t, vol, in. j-p. \\J. -'"I, *>»>

2 II

S30 THE HI8T0KT OF LUDLOW.

far as it concerned Colchester, give us an account of the goods
and chattels of every inhabitant of that township. We
observe few persons who had more than one article of fur-
niture in their houses, and a large number had none at all.
The richest houses of the burgesses must have been very
scantily furnished, generally, with one or two beds in the
chamber, and a three-legged table (tripos) in the sitting room
Chairs are not mentioned; people probably sat on stone
seats by the side of the wall. The number of persons who
had money in their houses is comparatively small ; and few
of the tradesmen possessed a large stock in trade. Articles
of clothing appear to have been most expensive. The
following instances will give a general idea of the whole.
As persons whose property amounted only to a few pence
were subjected to the taxes at this period, they must have
weighed heavy on the lower classes of society. — ^William
the miliar had, in money, a mark of silver ; in his cup-
board, or chest, one silver dasp, of the value of 9d. and one
ring, valued at 18d. ; in his chamber, one robe, price 10s.,
one bed, price Ss., one napkin 9d., one towel, 6d. ; in his
kitchen, one brass pot, 2s., one brazen platter, 12d., one
brazen saucepan (pocinatum), 8d., one ander (an instrument
for arranging the fire), 6d., one tripod, or table, 4d. ; in the
granary, one quarter of wheat, 4s., one quarter of barley,
8s., two quarters of oats, at 8s. the quarter; two pigs, 6b.
each, two porkers 18d. each, one pound of wool, Ss., fagots
for the fire, 2s. 6d. — Alice Maynard possessed one brass
saucepan, lOd., and one towel 5d. — ^Matilda la Base had in
her house, one cup of mazer (a kind of wood), 12d., one
mantle, half a mark, one old robe, 4s., one bed, 4s., one
brass pot. Is. 6d., one old brass platter, 6d, one quarter of
fine wheat, 8s., one quarter of barley, 8s., one heifer (afrus),
8s. 4d., one bullock, 6s., one weak cart, 8s., one ander and
one gridiron, 8d., one tripod, 8d. — ^Philippa de Brome had
in her house, one robe, 8s., one bed 5s., one table-cloth,
12d., one towel, 6d., one brazen pot, 20d., one brazen plat-
ter, 8d., a washing bowl and a basin, 12d., a triixxl, 4d.,

THE HISTORY OF LUDIOW. JtSl

two quarters of fine wheat, 3s. the quarter, one quarter of
oats, £0d., one mare, 3s., two oxen, each 6$., two bullocks,
each 2b., two cows, each 5s. — Nicholas le Coupere (i. e. the
wood cutter), had a super-tunic, or frock, 2s., and a pig,
12d. — John Scott, butcher, had an old worn robe, valued at
Ss. ; in his chamber, ''nothing;*' in his shop, meat, suet,
and fat^" to the value of 5s., a knife and an axe, together
valued at 6d. — John Orpede, another butcher, had in his
house, a silver clasp, 3|d., a bed, old and crazy, 2s. 6d., a
robe, in a similar condition, 5s., a brazen platter, 17d., two
carcases of oxen, 4s. each, seven flagons (l^^i^s^)? worth 6d.
each. — John de Tendringge, who appears to have been a
tanner, and to have been one of the richer burgesses, had
in his house a silver clasp and a ring, valued at 18d. ; in
the chamber, two robes, 15s., two beds, 3s. each, two table-
cloths, 2s., two towels, 8d. each ; in the brewhouse, a brazen
pot, 20d., a saucepan, lOd., a brazen platter, 12d. ; in his
grange, one quarter of fine wheat, Ss., two quarters of
barley, 8s. each, two quarters of fine oats, at 20d. per
quarter, one heifer (affirus), half a mark, hay, 2s., one cow,
Ss., two pigs, 18d. each, one piece of russet cloth, 8s. ; bark
in the tannery, half a mark, hides, two marks, tubs and
' algese' for tanning, half a mark ; a gridiron and a tripod,
6d. ; in all £5 : 6s. : lOd. — ^William Gray, apparently a
mercer, one clasp, 12d., two silver spoons, 8d. each ; in his
chamber, two robes, 7s. 6d. each, two beds, 2s. 6d. each,
one table-cloth, 12d., two towels, 6d. each ; in the kitchen,
one brazen pot, 28., one saucepan, 12d. ; one cow, .5$., two
pigs, 2s. each, one hackney, 4$., hay, 12d. ; one piece of
russet cloth, a mark ; one quarter of barley, ds., one quarter
of fine oats, 20d., fire wood, 12d. ; in gloves, purses, j^rdles,
wax and other small things in his mercer)*, 16s. ; two tubs,
18d., two barrels, 12cl., two small tubs, 6d., two *algcjc/
6d. ; one fire-iron, 3|d., one triixxl, 2id. — ^Cristina la
Glovere had one bullock, valued at 2s. 8d., and " no other
chattels.'* — Ajmes the miller had in moiiov, 2s. ; in her
treasury, or cupboard, one silver clasp, lOd., and one ring,

iSft THE HI8T0RT OF LUDLOW.

6d. ; in her chamber^ one robe, Ss., two beds, 58., one table-
doth, 12d., one towel, 6d. ; in tbe brewhouse, two small
brazen pots, 18d. each, one brazen platter, lOd. ; one
quarter of wheat, 4s., half a quarter of a different quality,
18d., one quarter of barley, ds., one quarter of oats, 2s. ;
stones for hand mills, 4s., divers cords, 5s., oil, lis., a
tripod, 4d. — ^Roger, son of Lettice (or Lettison), who ap-
pears to have been a waterman, had one mark in money, a
robe, valued at half a mark, a bed, 2s. 6d., a cow, 5s.^ a
pig, 18d., a brazen pot, 18d., a brazen platter, 8d.j half a
quarter of wheat, 18d., a quarter of barley, 3s., a quarter of
oats, 20d., a boat, 10s., a tripod, Sd. — Sir Robert Fitz
Walter, had in his manor at Lexinden, ten quarters of
wheat, 8s. the quarter, twenty quarters of oats, SSs. 4d.,
six mares, worth Ss. each, four oxen, lOs. each^ sixty ewes,
l£d. each, forty lambs, 6d. each.

We may compare these prices of articles with the value of
land at nearly the same period. From an inquisition con-
cerning the manor of Combes in Suffolk, taken in 1824, we
find that there was in that estate a capital messuage with a
garden, worth 12d. a year ; six score and ten acres of arable
land, worth by the year 4d. an acre ; five acres of meadow,
worth per annum 2s. an acre, " and not more, because full
of rushes ;" eight acres of wood and undcnu'ood, worth 6d.
an acre per annum ; three acres of pasture, worth 6d. an
acre per annum; half a water mill and half a windmill,
estimated at 10$. a year, " and not more, because weak and
ruinous.'** In 13G3, when poultry was scarce and extra-
vagantly dear, an act of parliament was passed, fixing the
highest prices of a young capon at Sd ; an old capon, 4d. ;
a hen, 2d.; a chicken,. Id.; a goose, 4d.t In 1382, the
highest retail prices of wines were fixed at 6d. a gallon for
the best wines of Gascony, Oseye, and Spain ; 4d. a gallon
for the best wine of Rupelle; and 6d. a gallon for the best
Rhenish wine.^

• Rolls of Parliament, toI t. p. 420. f Ih. vol ii. p. 2W.

I Rolls of ParlumcBl, vol. iii. p. 392.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 238

In addition to the constant petty depredations of the
Welsh, the border was frequently disturbed by quarrels
arising out of the extensive and often clashing privileges
and claims of the lords marchers. The kind of service on
which these feudal cliieftains were employed in the earlier
times of Norman rule, and the mode in which they obtained
possession of their lordships, were rewarded and compen-
sated by feudal tenures and rights of a much larger and
more comprehensive nature than those of other estates.
Long after the Principality of Wales had been placed under
the English crown, the lords marchers continued to claim
and exercise within their particular jurisdictions the same
rights which, frequently unjust and indefinite, were equally
troublesome to the crown and to the people. Successive
monarchs endeavoured in vain to abolish them. When the
justices of Edward I attempted to enforce the writ of Quo
Warranto in the case of John de Warren earl of Surrey, and
questioned his title to his lordships of Bromficld and Yale,
that haughty baron brought forth an old rusty sword, and,
unsheathing it, " behold," said he, '' my title : by this sword
my forefathers, who came in with William the bastard,
obtained their lands, and by it will I hold and defend them,
against whomsoever shall endeavour to dispossess me." It
is not to be wondered if we find that men, thus disposed to
try their claims against their sovereign, used the same
argument against one another. The quarrels which arose
out of these disputes, and in which the native Welsh were
generally led to take a part, sometimes ended in open
rebellions. Wlicn John de Cherlton claimed through liis
wife the lordship of Pow}'s, he was allowed to establish his
rights in this manner. The feud continued unappeased
many years, during which period we have no information
as to the bloodshed and heart-burnings to which it gave
rise; but they were still engaged in open war in 1330 (the
fourth of Edward III), when, as we learn from the Rolls of
Parliament, ''our lord the king understanding, that by
reason of tlie feud wliirli linb long time been between

%

S34 THB HISTORY OF LXmi/>W.

Monsire John de Cherlton and Monsire Grriffith de la Pole
(of Pool), they on both sides assemble men of arms and
collect force of war, whereby great evils and breach of the
peace, and peradventure war may easil j happen in Wales
and on the Marches," formally ordered them to desist,
adding to his admonition, ''that if either of them were
aggrieved by the other he might lay his complaint before
the king, who would administer a speedy remedy.*'* In
the same year John de Cherlton, who it appears had been
instrumental in the seizure of Edmund Fitzalan, earl of
Arundel, and lord of Clun, Oswestry, and Shrawardine,
executed at Hereford in the beginning of Edward's reign
(or rather at the end .of that of his fother), was engaged
in another feud, on that account, with his son Richard
Fitzalan, restored the same year to his father's estates;
and the two barons were only hindered from making war
on each other by the king's interference. Two generations
afterwards the fiunilies of Cherlton and Fitzalan inter-
married.

The protection afforded by the fieudal privileges of the
lords marchers was as destructive to the tranquillity of the
border, as the peculiar jurisdiction claimed by the county of
Chester. In the parliament of the ninth year of the reign
of Edward III, petitions were presented by the lords
marchers in defence of their rights ; who represented that
the magistrates and courts of the counties in which their
estates lay were in the habit of intrenching upon them. But
the king, who was little inclined to favour their claims,
returned the cold answer, that ** any one who felt himself
grieved, might come to his chancery, and have his remedy. "f

Edward III appears to have been ever suspicious of the
fidelity of the Welsh. In 13S4, he issued orders for
examining and putting in proper state of defence all his
castles in Wales. Similar orders were given in the year

* Rolls of Parliament, vol. it. |v 59.
t Rolls of Parliament, \o\ ii. p. 91.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 235

following^ when the king was engaged in his wars in Scot-
land, and was apprehensive that the Welsh, of whose levity
and turbulence he complains ^*ith much bitterness,* would
seize on that occasion of breaking the peace. The same
orders concerning the visiting and storing the castles were
repeated, under similar circumstances, in ISST.f

In the transactions of this period, the castle and town of
Ludlow are seldom mentioned. In the second year of the
reign of Edward III, R(^r de Mortimer and Joane his
wife obtained license to hold a fair in Ludlow on the eve of
St. Katherine (the 25th of November) and the four days
following, for ever.$ The second Roger de Mortimer, earl
of March, became possessed of the whole of the manor of
Ludlow, by exchange with William de Ferrers, to whom
he gave his manor of Crendon for the moiety of Ludlow
which had descended to him from the Vemons.§

In November, 1375, his son, Edmund de Mortimer,
enfeoffed the castle and manor of Ludlow, with other manors
on the border of Wales, to William Latymer, knight, of
Daneby, Richard Lescrop, knight, Nicholas de Caireu,
Peter de la Marc, knight, John de Bisshopestone, clerk,

• Ex quorum effncnata leTiUte tim sunt pluriet mala plurima proTcntro.

t Fcedera, it. pp. 895, 913, Ac. A singular occurrence it alluded to in
a doeiim«nt of the year 1336 fiL p. 937). It appcan that Edward 1 1, in his
flight Into Wales, had carried with him his treasure, which, in his last
perils, he had huried. The document just mentioned is an order for an
Inquisition relating to the discoTery of this treasure, *' in florenis, denariis
numeratis, rasis aureis et argenteis, jocalihus, armsturis, Tictualibus, et
alits rebus," to the amount of sixty thousand pounds, found ** in partibus
de Glamorgan et Morgannok in Wallia," and dispersed and carried away
by " diTers malefactors.'*

t See the Calendar to the Charter Rolls, p. 159. and the Libtr Ki^tr of
Wignore, MS. Harl. No. 124Q, fol. 24. to.

f The charters relating to this transfer are enumerated in the raluable
Libtr Niftr, or Black Book, of Wignore, mentioned in the foregoing note :
unfortunately the leaves which contained the copies of them, hare been
•mt out

2S6 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

Walter de Colmptone, clerk, and Hugh de Borastone, for
the term of their lives, with reversion to Simon bishop
of London^ William bishop of Winchester, William bishop
of Hereford, Boger de Beaudiamp, knight, and John de
Bridwode, clerk, for the term of their lives, after which it
was to revert to the Mortimers. Edmund de SIortimcr*s
charter of this grant is dated at Hereford, on the 25th
of November.*

During the rest of the reign of Edward III, the Welsh
seem to have continued in quiet obedience to the English
laws. They api)ear in history chiefly as furnishing con*
tiuual levies to increase the English armies in Scotland and
France. The materials for border history during this period
are very scant, yet they afford evidence that the submission
of the Welsh did not altogether insure the tranquillity of
the English marches. It appears that towards the middle
of the fourteenth century the English counties beyond the
Severn were overrun by bands of outlaws. In Gloucester-
•hire they had joined together and elected themselves a
chieftain, to whom they gave sovereign power^ and in
whoee name they issued proclamations; and, setting in
defiance the king and his laws, they infested equally the
sea and the land, capturing and plundering the king's
ships on the one element, and murdering and robbing his
tabjecta on the other. In 1S47 the king sent a commission
to Gloucester to concert means of seeking out the offenders,
and bringing them to justice.f

The kkig's suspicions of the fidelity of his Welsh subjects
appear, however, not to have decreased, and we find him
ordering frequent measures of surety against a rebellion.
The border fortresses were kept in a good state of defence.
In 1309 an order was issued forbidding the men of Shrews-
bury to quit their houses on the pretence of attending the

•

• See the Liber Nigrr of Wi^roore. MS. llarU No. 1210, fol id, to.
t FcrilrM, %ol. in, p. I2^»

THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW. 287

foreign wars, lest by their absence the town should be
weak of defence in case of a sudden rising of the Welsh.
In 1370 the sheriff of the Welsh counties were ordered to
put the castles in Wales in a state to support sieges, and to
arm the English population, for the purpose of withstanding
the French, who threatened an invasion towards Christmas,
with the hopes of diverting the king from his conquests by
raising up enemies nearer home. In 1377 the same fears of
a French invasion appear to have been entertained, and
similar orders were repeated for the defence of the coasts of
Wales.*

We have no means of ascertaining how far the borderers
took part in the popular insurrections of the opening years
of the reign of Richard II. These movements were chiefly
confined to the eastern parts of the island : but we have
many reasons for believing that the inhabitants of the
English counties on the borders of Wales shared largely in
the reforming spirit of that age. Even before the preaching
of Wiclyfie, this neighbourhood had produced the bold
satirical poem already mentioned, which is so well known
under the title of Piers Ploughman. In the reign of
Richard II the border had already become the strong-hold
of the Lollards. One of the most remarkable men of this
sect, the history of whose persecutions in 1393 will be
found in Foxe's Acts and Monuments, was a native of
Herefordshire; his name was Walter Brut, or Bright,
probably a member of one of the families of that name
which still have their representatives in Herefordshire and
Shropshire. The mode in which his contemporaries spoke
of this early champion of the reformation may bo seen in
the following s{)ecimcn of a political poem, resembling in
style the Visions of Piers Ploughman, and probably, like it,
written on the border, under the title of the Creed of Piers
Ploughman.

** Alle that permeation
In pure liif jsiiflTroiu

• Fopdcra. vol. iii. pp. 869, fK)l, 1075.

2 I

888 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

They han the benison of God,

Blissed in erthe.

I pray» parceyve now

The punnt of a frere.

In what mesure of a mekenesse

Thise men delcth.

Byhold upon Water Brut

Hon bisiliche thei purenedeny

For he seid hem the sothe.*

Hy may no mo marren hem.

But men telleth

That he is an heretik.

And yyele byleyeth.

And precheth it in pnlpit

To blenden the pnple.

They wolden awyrien that wight

For hit wel dedee.

And ao they chewen charity.

As chewen ahaf bonndea/'f

A few yean later, the celebrated Sir John Oldcastle Qotd
Cobham), the head of the Lollard party, took refuge on the
Welsh border from the enmity of his persecutors, and was
there discovered and arrested by his pursuers.

King Richard appears to have used all occasions of
showing favour to the Welsh, and to have looked to them
for support and aid in case of need. He also placed great
dependance in the people of Cheshire, who were governed
by one of his creatures, Thomas Molineux, constable of
Chester. We have already seen how obnoxious the people
of Cheshire were at this time to the inhabitants of the
neighbouring counties. It is probable that the favourable
eye with wliich Richard regarded them tended not a little
to render him unpopular on the border. In 1387, when

* t. •. b«caiiM he told them the troth.

t They would rnrsc thii creature (Walter Bni!) for his p^od dfed?
and to they Mchcw chanty, at dop eschew chaff.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 239

the great barons had begun to enter into hostile league
against the king's favounte^ Robert de Vere^ then newly
created duke of Ireland^ Hichard and the favourite repaired
into Wales in order to consult with more security on means
to crush the conspiracy. They returned from thence to
Nottingham^ ivhere a parliament was called^ and the barons
were cited to appear and answer the charges which were
brought against them. But they called together their tenants^
and prepared to meet the favourite in arms. The duke of
Ireland raised the men of Cheshire, and joining >vith them
some Welsh levies, he marched into Oxfordshire, where he
was met by the barons at Radcote Bridge, on the Isis. But
the courage of the favourite forsook him in the moment of
danger, and, seeing no other way of escape, he quitted his
armour, threw himself into the river, and swam down the
stream. His army was easily put to the rout, and the
leader of the Cheshire men, Thomas Molineux, was slain
by one of the baronial party named Thomas de Mortimer.
The duke of Ireland escaped to the continent ; and in his
absence he was attainted and outlawed.

In the last melancholy act of Richard's history, he again
sought help in Wales. In 1398 a parliament had been
held at Shrewsbury. In the same }*ear, Roger de Mortimer,
earl of March, was slain in a battle against the Irish. The
king immediately declared his intention of going in person
to chastise the rebels in Ireland, wliich he put in effect
towards Easter, carrying with him an army raised chiefly
in Cheshire. While the king was engaged in the Irish
war, Henry of Lancaster landed in England ; and the
king's creatures, Bushy, Bagot, and Greene, fled imme-
diately towards the border of Wales, two of them taking
shelter in Bristol castle, while the other hurried to Chester.
Bristol was soon taken by the Lancastrians. Tlie sequel is
well knoitii. King Richard left Ireland and landed in
Wales; after wandering about the coast deserted by his
friends, and not findinjr the support he ex]>ected from the
Welsh, he threw hinii^elf iuio Cunwav cu>tlc. rrom thence

240 THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

he removed to the castle of Flint, and there he surrendered
to his victorious rival. The interest which the people of
the Welsh border took in these events is proved by a
political poem in alliterative verse (written in imitation of
the Vision and Creed of Piers Ploughman), on the deposition
of Richard II, which is a strong declaration of the prin-
ciples and motives of the party who placed Henry lY on
the throne. It appears to have been composed at Bristol.*
In the first parliament of the new monarch, the commons
presented a vigorous petition against the outrages com-
mitted by the people of Cheshire against their neighbours^
and they were probably, after this, efiectually restrained.
It is certain that the complainants had found little redress
during Richard's reign ^^ and the men of Chester appear
to have been in open rebellion at the beginning of that
of his successor.}

The Welsh, who had remained quiet while king Richard
was in need of their assistance, took up arms in his cause
after his death, and remained during several years in open
rebellion against king Henry. They were probably first
urged into action by the disaffected party in England ; and
they looked for assistance not only to the Scots in the
north, who pretended that Richard was aUve in their
hands, but to the French, who were to land upon some
part of the coast. Nevertheless, this last great insurrection
of the mountaineers bore much less the character of a
patriotic movement, than of a combination of resentments
for personal offences added to the love of plunder. Among
the persons most earnestly engaged in the struggle, few speak
of any other griefs than some old feud with a powerful

* This poem has been publiihed by Um Camden Society.

t The eonunont, in Uieir petition for redreta of this grieTtace, 1
Heaiy IV, tay, **coiiie eoTeat atmat let henree ad eet6 puieaes ei montisa
en pluaoun parlementi en tempe Richard le Sccounde jadyt roy d'Engle-
terre, sans ancuoe remedie.'* Rol. Pari. toL iii, p. 440.

I Sec Nicbola»'« Trocccdlngt of the Privy Council, vol. i, p. 113.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 241

neighbour^ or some recent mark of personal disrespect ; and
they write letters in English which may be compared with
the effusions of John Ball and the insurgent peasantry at
the beginning of the preceding reign. Gryffyth ap David
ap GryfFythy one of the most active of the insurgents, who
is characterised as ^' the strongest thief in Wales," closes a
letter of defiance to Lord Grey of Buthyn, in the following
rude rhymes. —

" We hope we shall do the a privy thing ;
a ropCy a ladder, and a ryDg ;
high on gallows for to hynge.
And thus shall be your endyng :
and he that made the be ther to helpyng :
and we on our behalf shall be well*willyng,
for thy lettreis kuowledging."*

The same person in another letter, says, " Hit was told me
that ye ben in purpos for to make your men bran (burn J
and sle in qwatesoe%'er cuntr^ that I be, and am sesened in.
Withowten doubt as mony men that ye sleu and as mony
howsin that ye bran for my sake, as mony wol I bran and
sle for your sake ; and doute not I wollc have both bredde
and ale of the best that is in your lordschip."t

The rebellion began in the sununer of 1400, and was at
first directed chiefly against lord Ghrey of Ruthyn, who was
commissioned by the king to repress the '^misgovemanoe and
riot'* which ** he heard was begun in the Marches/' In
his answer to the king, lord Grey represented the difficulties
which surrounded him, and the lukewarmncss of many of
the officers and families on the border.^ About the same

" BUU*t OrigiDAl LetUra, second ■crici, toU i, p. 5. f /i(. p. 7.

} '* Ther been many officers, snmc of oar liege lord the kynges lond,
same of the erles of the Marchers lond, sums of the erlers lond of Atondele,
some of Powise lond, some of my lond, same of other lordes londes here
nbottte, that ben kynnc nnto this nictgnce that be risen ; and tyll ye putte
thos officers ill betl«T covfrn.iu**-, \\\'\^ cunt re ^f N'Tih Walr«» <hall ncrcrr
hare peese." EUis, ib. p. 4.

242 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

time the chamberlain of Carnarvon, in a letter of intelli-
gence, speaking of the " governance of the Walsh peple,'*
says, ''they selleth her catell, and byeth hem hors, and
hameys, and sume of hem sCelleth hors, and sume robbeth
hors, and purveycn hem of saddles, boives, and arowes, and
other hameys, &c. ; and recheles men of many divers
cuntries voiden her groundes and her thrifty governance,
and assemblen hem in dissolate places and wilde, and
maken many divers congi'cgacioncs and metynges pryvely,
though her comisailc be holdcn yet secrete fro us, wher-
throgh yong peple are the more wilde in governance.'*

The English court api^ears to have considered the re-
bellion of the Welsh as partial and carrying with it no
serious danger, during several months. At last, on the
19th of September, 1400, the king, who was then at
Northampton, received intelligence that the Welsh were
assembled in much greater numbers than he supposed, that
they had already taken castles and towns, and that they
were spreading devastation in every direction. On the
same day he issued his writs to the sheriflb of the tfii^lanH
counties of England to assemble tlieir men at arms and
join him at Coventry, and to the bailiffs and men of
Shrewsbury to put their town in a state of defence.* The
king however, instead of going in |)crson against the
Welsh, met his parliament at Westminster; but prince
Henry repaired to Chester, and tlience, towards the end of
November, he issued a proclamation, offering a general
pardon to all the insiugents who would submit and return
to their obedience. Early in January an order was issued
to the towns on the border and the ports of South Wales,
to provide armed ships and barges to defend their coasts
against a foreign invasion.f In the parliament which was
now sitting the commons petitioned that the lords Marchers
should be requested to act against the Welsh with vigour,
each in his own district; and it was ordained that no

* Fotdcn, old edit* vol. iii, p. l*>t* f Fu'dcra, vol ui, p. I'jO.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 24S

Welshman should in future be capable of buying or holding
lands in or about the towns of Chester, Shrewsbury,
Bridgenorth, Ludlow, Leominster, Hereford, Gloucester,
Worcester, or other market towns on the English side of
the border, or of being a freeman or holding any franchises
in them, and that all those who already enjoyed such
possessions or privileges should be made to give security for
their good behaviour.* On the 18th of March, 1401, an
oppressive ordinance was published against the insui^nt
Welsh, one article of which was that ^' the minstrels, bards,
rhymers, wasters, and other vagabond Wekh in North
Wales, be not suffered henceforth to overrun the country,
as has been done before ; but let them be entirely forbidden,
on pain of a year's imprisonment."t Previous to this, on
the 10th of March, another general pardon had been offered
to the rebels who would submit, excepting three, Owen
Glyndwr, Rees ap Tudor, and William ap Tudor.|

This is the first mention of Owen Glyndwr in the docu*
ments relating to the insurrection of the Welsh at this
period, lue personal history of this remarkable man is

* Rolls of Parliament, toU iii. pp. 472, 476.

t " Item, quo les ministrcbc, bardes, rymours, et wastoun, et aatrea
Tasabnndea Galeya deinx Nortbgmlea, ne aoient desorm^s ioeffrex 4e sor-
charger le paits, come ad ett6 derant; maia toient-ila outreaent deffmidiii,
tor peine d'emprisonement d'lin an." Feedera, p. 200.

The following items oociir among the petitions of the commoca in this
parliament, RoL Pari. vol. iii, p. 308.—

Item, que nulle west ours, et rymours, mynstrales, ou racabundes, nc
soient sustenuz en Gales, pur faire kymorthas'ou quyllagres snr le commune
poeple, Icsqueuz par lour diTinationes, messonges, ct excitations, sount
concause de la insurrection et rebellion q'or est en Gales. R4»p<m»io.
Le roy le voet.

Item, que nulle commauTaes ou congregations soient fiitz ou soeffres
estre faitz par les Galoises, pur ascuns counseill ou purposes faire, s*il ne
soit pur cTidente cause, et par licence de les chiefs ministres du aetunri^
et en lour presence, sur peyne. Rttptrntio, Le roy le Toet, tor peyaa
d*emprtsonement, et de faire fyn et ranceon a la volent^e da toy.

{ FoMlcra, vul. iii, p. 106.

844 THE HISTORY OF LUDIX)W.

obscure. He is said to have been bom about the middle of
the fourteenth century, and, when in the height of his
power, he pretended to a direct descent from the ancient
Cambrian princes. If we believe the contemporary chi-o-
niders, he was bred in an English Inn of Court, and was
an esquire of the body to king Richard II ; it is even said
that he was one of the few persons who remained mth that
monarch when he surrendered to the duke of Lancaster in
Flint castle. He was afterwards for a short time esquire to
the earl of Arundel, and then retired to his estate in
Wales, where he was living in 1400, when he petitioned
the parliament for redress against his neighbour, lord Grey
of Ruthyn, whom he accused of usurping a portion of his
paternal inheritance. The parUament decided against
him; and when the bishop of St Asaph, who appears to
have been friendly disposed towards him, urged the parlia-
ment not to despise altogether Owen's claims, it was
answered that the legislative body would not condescend to
be awed by a set of ''bare-footed clowns." It does not
appear that Owen Olyndwr immediately attempted to
obtain forcible possession of the land he* claimed, or that he
took an active part in the Welsh insurrection at first.
Perhaps he was only induced to place himself at the head
of the movement when it had gained sufficient strength to
promise some chance of success. From this period, how-
ever, it began to take a more serious character ; and even
the Welsh students in the English universities, and those
who held offices or places of emolument, quitted their
studies and their gains to return to their native mountains.
The king seized Owen*s estates in South Wales, and granted
them to John earl of Somerset*

In the spring of 1401, William ap Tudor and his brother
Bees ap Tudor had obtained possession of the castle of
Conway, where they were immediately besieged by Henry
Percy, so well known to the readers of Shakespeare by the

• Calcndai to the Patent Rolls, p. 2li.

THK HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 245

name of H6t6pur^ who held the office of justice of North
Wales and Chester.* On the 4th of May, Percy writes to
the privy council from Caemarvony that all North Wales
was quiet and submissiye, with the exception of Conway
castle^ and those who were with Rees ap Tudor in the
mountains. Soon after this the Welsh garrison of Conway
appear to have entered into ncgociations with Percy and
the prince of Wales, who had joined in the siege, for
conditions of surrender. On the 17th of May his position
had become more gloomy; he speaks of the pride and
intractability of the insurgents, and complains of the diffi-
culties and expenses of his office, which he subsequently
resigned. On the 4th of June Percy again complains of
the increasing turbulence of the country in which he was
stationed ; he speaks of having defeated the insurgents in
Cader Idris, complains of receiving little aid from any of
the lords Marchers except the earl of Arundel and Sir Hugh
Bowe,t and sends news that the lord of Powis (Edward
de Cherlton) had fought and defeated Owen Glyndwr in
person.}

Glyndwr appears to have been occupied at this time in
invading the English side of the border; and his pro-
ceedings were of such a threatening character that the king
thought it necessary to march against him in person. In
his letters to the sherifb of counties for the assembling of
his army, he states that he had received intelligence on the
26th of May that Owen Gl]mdwr and his Welsh rebels had
assembled in the Marches of Caermarthcn, and that they
had proclaimed it as their intention to enter England with

• DcTon's Pell Rolls, p. 283. Proceedings of the Priry Council,
▼ol. i. p. 147.

t The king gave about this time to Hugh Bowe all the lands in
Cheshire and Salop which had belonged to Robert de Pulesden, who had
joined himself with Owen Glyndwr. See Calendar to the Patent Rolls,
p. 242.

I Proceedings of the Priry Council, toI. x, pp. 150, 151, 152.

246 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

an anned force for the purpose of destroying the English
people and language.* The king was then at Wallingford,
and with his characteristic activity l^e prepared to move
towards the border on the following day. He was at Wor-
cester on the 8th of June^ on which day he wrote two
letters to his privy council^ one directing them to prepare a
fleet to repel an invasion, the other informing them that on
his approach the Welsh had retired from the border^
although they were increasing in numbers, and that he waa
determined to advance.f The king returned from Wales
late in September or early in November; but we have no
narrative of his operations. Some of the Welsh chiefs
stood firm to their allegiance ; others had submitted, and
received pardon ; and many of the castles w^re strengthened,
and put into better hands.} But Glyndwr still stood out,
and with him the larger part of those who had taken up
arms. After his return, the king appointed Percy's uncle,
the earl of Worcester, captain of Cardigan castle, and his
lieutenant in Wales.

At this time the afSurs of the insurgents wet^ certainly
npt prosperous, for our next intelligence of Owen Glyndwr
is, thatt as winter approached, he was in ** good intent**
(bon entente) to return to his allegiance to the king.$ In
a report from the earl of Northumberland (Henry Percy's
father), we learn that Owen had sent to the earl to say that
he had a great affection for him |)ersonally, and that he
would willingly speak with him ; with respect to the insur-
rection and mischtef done by the Welsh, he said that he
was not the cause of it, and that he would willingly have

* ProeeediBgi of llis Priry Council, toL ii, p. 54.

t Pfoooodinfi of the PriTj Coancil, roL i, p. 133» and toI. ii, p. 56.

t At tUt time the fiunoni LoUerd, Sir John Oldceetle, wet made captain
of BnUth : in the year foUowing (1402) be had the command of Kidwelly
cattle.

( Proceediaft of I'nvy Council, Minutee of Council, ^ol. i, p. KJ.

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 247

peace ; and as regarded the heritage which he claimed^ he
stated that he had possession of the greater part of it^ but that
there was a part remaining for which he was willing to
oome to the English Marches to negociate. This declaration
of Glyndwr appears to support the notion that the insur-
rection did not originate with him ; and his advances at this
period^ in which he seems only to have had regard to his
personal safety and that of his estates^ do little honour
to his patriotism. His offers appear to have been favourably
received by the English court, but it is probable that other
circumstances^ of which we know nothings rendered them
ineffectual. The English council gave orders for strengthen-
ing the border castles; and the Welsh spent the winter
(the season which had always been favourable to them) in
preparing for active operations at the first break of spring.

In 1402 the insurrection had reached its greatest force.
At the approach of spring the operations of Glyndwr had
become more extensive. A fortunate accident made his great
enemy and most active opponent, lord Grey of Ruthyn,
his prisoner, and there remained but a few ill garrisoned
castles to hinder his crossing the border. Early in the
year tlie prince of Wales had been sent to Shrewsbury,
where he was organizing an army to hold North Wales in
check. A letter wliicli he wrote* to the privy touncil on
the 15th of May, and of which the foUo^ving is a translation,
gives a curious picture of the kind of warfare carried on
between the rival parties.

*• Very dear and entirely well beloved, we greet you earnestly
with our entire heart, thanking you very dearly for the good
care which you have had of the businesses which concern us in
our absence, and we pray you very affectionately for your good
and friendly continuance, as our trust is in you. And for
news in this part, if you will know, among others, we were
lately informed that Oweyn dc Glyndourdy assembled his forces
of other rebels, his adherents, in great number, purposing tu

• The original is in Ficnth.

S48 THE HISTORY OF LX7DL0W.

ft

make an incanion, and to fight if the English would resist him
in his purpose, and so he boasted to his people. Wherefore we
took our forces and went to a place of the said Oweyn, well
built, which was his principal mansioni named Saghem, where
we expected to haye found him, if he had had will to fight
in manner as he said; and at our coming thither, we found
nobody, and therefore we caused the whole place to be burnt,
and several other houses thereabouts of his tenants. And then
we went straight to his other place of Olendourdy, to seek him
there, and there we burnt a fair lodge in his park, and all the
country there about. And we lodged ourselves by there all
that night, and certain of our people sallied forth there into the
country, and took a great gentleman of the country who was
one of the said Oweyn's chieftains, who oflTered five hondrad
pounds for his ransom to have had his life, and to have paid
the said sum within two weeks; aevertheless it was not ao-
oepted, but he was pat to death, as well as diyers others of his
oompaniona who were taken in the said expedition. And then
we went into the Commote of Edeymion, in the ooonty of
Merionnyth, and there we ravaged with fire a fair country, and
well inhabited. And thence we went into Powys, and there
being a scarcity of provender for horses in Wales, we caused
our men to carry oats with them, and we remained • • • • daya.
And to inform you more fully of this expedition, and of all
other news here at present, we send to you our very dear
esquire, John de Waterton, to whom you will be pleased to give
entire fidth and credence in what he shall report to you from
us touching the news above mentioned. And may our Lord
have you always in his holy keeping. Given under our signet,
at Shroueabury, thia 16th day of May.''

Soon after the return of their prince from thia '' foray,*'
Owen Olyndwr, whoae atrength waa evidently increasing,
approached the Engliah border, with the intention of ravag-
ing Herefordshire and Shropshire. Edmund de Mortimer,
the uncle of the young earl of March, hastily levied the
men of Herefordshire, and met the Wclah on the hilla in
the neighbourhood of Badnor, at Maelienydd. In thia
battlr, which was fought on tlir l**tli of Juno, the men of

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 249

Herefordshire were entirely defeated, and Mortimer himself
taken prisoner. The contemporary chroniclers give us no
particulars of this battle beyond recording the savage bar-
barity of the Welsh women who followed their country-
men/ but it was afterwards the tradition of the place that
Edmund de Mortimer was taken after a long and desperate
personal combat with Glyndwr himself. The victors are
said to have advanced as far as Leominster, where they
established themselves, and from whence they issued to
plunder and lay waste the neighbouring country. The
house at Leominster is still shown in which, according to
tradition, Glyndwr deposited his prisoner; and he is said
to have robbed the priory church, as well as several churches
in the vicinity, some of which were nearly destroyed by his
men. He appears to have returned in haste into Caermar-
thenshire, to collect there his forces for the reduction of
the strong places in that county which were still in the
hands of the English.

The state of Wales at this time will be best pictured by
two or three other contemporary letters which have escaped
the ravages of time. The first was written to John Fairford,
receiver of Brecknock, by John Scudamore, who held the
castle of Carregcennen for the king.

** Worscbipfiil Sir, I recomand me to yow, and forasmocbe
as I may nought spare no man from this place away fro me,
to oertefie neyther the king ne^ my lord the prynce, of the
myschefs of these countrees aboote, ne no man may pas by no
wey hennes, I pray yow and require yow that ye certefie hem
how al Kermerdyn schire, Kcdewely, Camwakham, and
Yskenyn, ben sworen to Owcyn yesterday, and he lay to night
3m the castel of Drosselan, with Rees ap Gruffiith. And ther I
was, and spake with hym upon truys, and prayed of a sauf-
conduyt* under his seal to send home my wif and her moder
and their mayn^,' but he wolde none graunte me. And on this

• See Thomas WalBinghaoi, Hist. Angl. p. 365.
(ilossnrtf.'»'i Ni«r. 2 S.ifc-c«»n'lii« I .1 lIuusch^M.

S50 THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

day he is about the towne of Kermerdyni and ther thinketh to
abide til he may have the towne and the caste! . And hia
purpos 78 from thehnes into Pembroke schire ; for he halt hjm
stker' of all the castell and towns in Kedewelly, Gowerslonde^
and Glamorgan, for the same countrees have undertaken the
sieges of hem til thei ben wonncn. Wherfbre wryteth to
Sir Hugh Waterton» and to alle thilke that ye suppose wol
take this matter to hert, that thei excite the kyng hederwardes
in al haste to vengen hym on summe of his false traytors the
whiche he hath overmoche cherischid, and to rescewe the
townes and casteles in these countrocs; for I drede ful sore
ther be too fewe trewe men in hem. I can* no more as nowe ;
but pray God help yow and us that thmken to be trewe.
Written at the castel of Carreckennen, the .t. day of Juil.
yowresy John Skydmore."

The attack upon Caennarthen was sucoeaafuL On the
7th of July^ the constable of Dynevor caaUe, " Jankyn
Hauard,'' writes thus to the reodyer of Brecknock r

** Dears frende* I do yow to we^' that Oweyn Olendonr,
Henri Don, Res Day, Res ap Griffith ap Llewelyn, and Res
Gothin, ban y-won the town of Kermerdyn, and Wyg^or,
constable of the castell, had yeld up the castell of Kermerdyn
to Oweyn : and [they] ban y-brend^ the town, y-slay' of men of
[the] town more than fifty men ; and thei budd in purpo^ to
Kedweli ; and a siege is ordeynyd at the castell that I kepe,
and that is gret peril for me, and all that buth wyddein f for
thei ban y-tnade bar aTow* that thei will algate^ haye us dead
therein. Wherfore I pray yow that ye nul not bugil us, that
ye send to us warning wythin schort time whether schul we

• The data of this letter (tlM test of St, Thomss the Meftyr) orast be
inteaded for the test of tlie TreasUtion of St. ThoniM. July 7.

t WU^B OrigiAel Letteis. eeeond leriee, toL i, p. 13. la theee letten
I haye {Mutlj aioderaiied tbe speUiaf .

OlMMfy.— 1 Holds himself sore. 2 Know. 3 I giTe 700 to koow.
4 Bornt. 5 Slain. 6 Remiiin in pnrpoM, i. e. continue in the intention to
^. 7 AU tLat arc within [the castle]. 8 Made tlu ir 1 o w. U At ail ci cuts.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. ^1

have any help or no : and but ther be help coming,* th'at we
haye an answer, that we may come bi night and steal away to
Brecknoc : cause that we faylyth vitals, and men, and namely
men. AJso Jenkyn ap Llewelyn hath yeld up the castell of
Endyn wyth free wyll ; and also William Gwyn, Thomas ap
David ap Griffith, and moni gentils ben in person wyth Owen.
Warning herof I pray that ye send me bi the berer of this
letter. Fareth well, yn the name of the Trinitie. Y-wrigt at
Dynevour, yn haste and yn drede, yn the feast of Seint Thomas
the Martir."

The following undated letter from the same person^
appears to have been ^vritten a few days later.

** Deare frynd, I do you to wetyn that Owyn was in purpds
to Kedewelly, and the baron of Carewe was that day comyng
wyth a grete retenu toward Seint Cier, and so Owyn changed
hb purpos and rode to-genes* the baron; and that nyght a
lodged hym at Seint Cler, and destroyed al the contrie about.
And m Tuesday they weren at tretys* al day ; and that nyght
he lodged hym at the town of Locharn, six miles out of the
town of Kermerdyn. His purpose is, if so that the baron and
he aeordeth in tretys^ than a turneth agein to Kermerdyn for his
part of the goods, and Res Duy his part; and mony of these
grete maisters stond yet in the castell of Kermerdyn, for they
have not y-made har ordinance whether the castell and the town
shall be brend or no, and therfore, if ther is any help comyng,
haste hem with al haste toward us, for they mowe have goodes
and vy telles plentie ; for every hous is full aboute us of her*
poultrie, and yet wyn and hony ynow in the contrie, and
wheat and beancs, and al maner of vytells. And we of the
castell of Dunevor had tretys of ham* Monday, Tuesday, and
Wedynsday, and now a woll' ordeyn for ns to have that castell,
for there a casteth to ben y-circled thence, for that was the
chef place in old tyme. A.nd Oweyn's muster a Monday was,
as they seyen hcmselven, seven thousand and twelve score
speres, such as they were. Other tidyng I not^ now, but God

OlMfary.-^l And if there be no help c«>mincr. 2 Ajrriinst. 3 At
trcatisci i. c. a-trcatiug. 4 Their. 0 Thcui. 0 He will. 7 Know not.

252 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

of hevene send yow and us from all enemies. Y-wryten at
Dynevor, this Wedynsday, in haste."

The next letter is written from Hereford^ on the 8th of
July^ by Richard Kingston, archdeacon of Hereford. It
is addressed to the king, and gives us a singular picture of
the fears of the people on the English side of the border,
who had already suffered from Olyndwr's incursion in the
preceding month. Tlie original of the archdeacon's letter
is written in French.

** Our Tcry redoubted and sovereign lord the king, I recom-
mend myself humbly to your highness as your lowly creature
and continual bedesman. And our very redoubted and so-
vereign lord the king, please you to know that from day to day
letters come from Wales containing intelligence by which you
may learn that the whole country is lost, if you do not come as
quickly as possible. For which reason may it please you to
direct yourself towards oar parts with all the power you can,
riding day and night for the salvation of these parts. And
please you to know that it will be a great disgrace, as well as
loss, if you should lose or suffer to be lost, at your commence-
ment, the country which your noble ancestors have won and for
so long a time peaceably held ; for people talk very ill-favour-
edly. And I send to your highness the copy of a letter which
came from John Scudaroore this morning. Our most redoubted
and sovereign lord the king, I pray to the Almighty that be
grant you a good and holy life, with victory over your enemies.
Written in haste, great haste, at Hereford, the 8th day of
July.'

f*

The archdeacon's postscript, written in English, is still

_ __ .

more pressing.

** And for Oodes love my lyge lord, thinketh on yourself
and yoare estate, or by my truth all is lost ellcs, bat an ye
come Toureitolf with haste, all other wuUe folwen after. And
now on Fry day la^t Kcrmcrdyn town it taken and brent, and

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 253

the castell yolden^ by Robert Wigmore, and the castell Emelyn
18 y-yolden, and slayn of the town of Kermerdyn mo than 50
penonea. Writen in ryght gret haste on Sunday ; and I crye
you mercy, and patte me in youre hye^grace, that I write so
schortly, for, by my truthe that I owe to you, it is needful."

The last of these letters of intelligence that I shall quote
is from the mayor and burgesses of Caerleon to those of
Monmouth ; it gives us a curious trait in the character of
the Welsh leader^ who is introduced consulting a " master
of Brut)" as he is called, or a common prophet or soothsayer,
concerning the fate of his undertaking. Hopkin ap Thomas's
prophecy turned out false.

*^ Gretyng to yow, our gode frendes and worschipful burgeis
of Monemoothe, we do yow to understonde of tydynges the
whiche we have y*herd of Owein Glyndor, that is to wet^, of
lettres under seel the whiche were y-sente to us by the capteyne
of the lowno of Kedewelly ; and in the lettres were y-wrete*
words that there was a day of batell y-take bytwyxt the worthy
baron of Carewe and Oweine Glyndor ; and we do you to
understonde that thys day of bataill schuld have be do the
•xii. day of Jule ;* and the nyght before that thys bateil schnld
be do, Oweyn was in purpos to have avoided hym to the hull^
ageinward. And foP he wold y-wete^ wher his wey were clere
enowe to passe, yf be hede nede, to the hull, he sente .vii. .c.
of his mein^^ to serche the weyes, and these .vii. .c. menne
went to serche these weyes, and ther these .vii. .c. menne were
y-mette with the barons men of Carewe, and y-slay up every
one, that ther was not one that scaped alive. And these words
beth y-do us to understonde, that it is sothe* withoute lesyng.*
And forthermore we do vou to understonde that Oweine the
[••••••] was in the towne of Kairmcrthcn, he sent after

Hopkyn ap Thomas of Gower to come and speke with hym
upon truce} and when Hopkyn came to Owcin, he praicde
hym, inasmoche as he hold hym maistcr of Brut, that he schud
do hym to understonde how and what manner hit schold bcfullc

G know. 7 Host, company. ^ true 'J faUchooil.

Si.

S54 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

of hym ; and he told hym wittliche' that he scbold be take
withinne a bref tyme; and the takyng schold be betwene
Kayrmerthen and Gower ; and the takyng schold be under a
blak baner : knowelichyd that this blake baner scholde dessese
hym, and not that he schold be take under hym. No more
con we say to yow at thys tyme ; bote beth glad and mery, and
dreede you nought, for we hopeth to God thai ye haye no nede*
And we do yow to understonde that al these tydynges beth
sothe withoute doute. Par le Mimre et les Burgeu de
Kakrlycnr

The king prepared slowly for his expedition into Wales,
for his attention was diverted to other quarters. The Scots
attempted to favour the Welsh by an incursion into the
northern counties of England : and the French were threat-
ening a simultaneous invasion* Henry's first proclamation
declaring his intention of marching in person against
** Owen Glyndwr and the other rebels of Wales" is dated
on the S5th of June, when he had just received intelligence
of the capture of Edmund Mortimer.* On the Slst of July
he issued another proclamation, fixing the 8Tth of August
for the day of meeting of the army at Chester.f A letter
fifom Edward Cherlton, earl of Powys, dated from the casUe
of Pool on the 5th of August (apparently of this year),
represents the Welsh as becoming ever}* day more active
in their incursions on the border in his neighbourhood,
and presses urgently for assistance.^ The chronicIers§ state
that the king moved towards Wales just before the feast
of the Assumption of the Virgin (August 15) ; the insur*
gents retired at his approach, and left the English army
to pursue a course of plunder and devastation uninterrupted

1 Of a certainty.

• Pttd«fm, Tol. !▼, part 1, p. 30. ProcMdiast of tiie Privy CoaBcil*
▼ol. U f. 1S5. t Pcedtia, A. p. 33.

X ProcecdinsB of the Piiry rovBcil, vol. ti, p. 70.

\ Sec Thomas of WaUinsham, p. 105

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 255

except by the elements. These appeared as though they
had conspired with the Welsh; so tempestuous a season
had not been witnessed for many years ; and the English
army^ after considerable loss^ although it had committed
terrible havoc and carried away much plunder, was obliged
to return without having effected much of that for which
it was called together. It is said that the king himself
was on one or two occasions exposed to personal danger
by the inclemency of the weather. This check con-
firmed the common jieople in a behef which had already
gained some ground, that Owen Glyndwr added to his
other qualities that of being a powerful magician, and they
attributed to his unholy incantations the storms which had
baffled his enemies.* Immediately after his return from
Wales, on the 10th of October, the king gave orders for the
payment of the ransom demanded by Glyndwr for the
release of lord Grey of Ruthyn.f

Edmund Mortimer remained still a prisoner: it is said
that the king was unwilling to pay his ransom, and that in
revenge he entered into a confederacy with the Welsh
chieftain. On the ISth day of December, Mortimer pro-
claimed to his tenantry that he had taken up the quarrel of
Owen Glyndwr, and that his design was to dethrone king

* Shakespeare puts these words into the mouth of Glyndwr:-—

•' Atroyhirth,

The front of heaTon was full of fiery shapes ;

The goats ran from the mountains, and the herds

Were strangely clamorous to the frighted fields.

These signs hare mark*d me extraordinary:

And all the courses of my life do shew,

I am not in the roll of common men.

Where is ho living, — clipp'd in with the sea

That chides the bounds of England, Scotland, Wales,—

Which calls me pupil, or hath read to me ?

And bring him out, that is but woman's »on,

Can trace me in the tedious wavs of art.

And hoM mo pare in dopji cspcrimrni«.'*

t Fcedera, vol. iv, part 1, p. 'Wj.

256 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

Henry in favour of his nephew^ the rightful heir of the
house of York, and secure at the same time the indepen-
dence of the Welsh.* This alliahoe was cemented by the
marriage of Edmund Mortimer and Glyndwr^s daughter.
The accession of Edmund Mortimer probably was rather a
nominal than a physical addition to the force of the insur-
gents ; but a few months later their success appeared to be
rendered certain by the addition of the powerful family of
the Percies to the confederacy. A triple league was formed
between Glyndwr, Henry Percy (Hotspur), and Edmund
Mortimer. The latter fought no longer for his nephew:
he laid claim to his own share of the spoils. It was agreed
that if it should appear, by the success of their enterprise,
that the three parties of the league were the three persons
who, according to the prophecies of Merlin, were to obtain
possession of the isle of Britain and divide it between them,
the partition should be made in the following manner.
Owen Glyndwr, as prince of Wales, was to have the whole
of Wales and the adjoining border up to the banks of the
Severn, Trent, and Mersey; the Percies were to have in
their sovereignty all the counties north of the Trent, with
those of Leicester, Northampton, Warwick, and Norfolk ;
and Edmimd Mortimer was to take the remainder for
Iiimsclf and his successors.t

The less important events of this period have been
forgotten amid the great events which followed. A letter
is extant addressed by the inhabitants of Shropshire to the
privy council, and dated on the 21st of April, probably in
1403, by which it appears that the Welsh where then
threatening the border with devastation.^ We learn that
the custody of Ludlow castle at this time was considered of

* Tbt orlgiaAl procUmsUoB it priatsd in EUit'i OrisiBAl Letters*
second icriet, toL i, p. 24.

t See Uie p«rticttUn of this treaty elated in en eztncl from a BIS.
Chronicle printed in EUi«, A. p 27.

I rroceedingt of ibe Vtirj Council, toL ii, p. 77.

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. £57

sufficient importance to be entrusted to the eaxe of Sir
Thomas Beaufort, one of the most eminent statesmen and
soldiers of the age, afterwards earl of Dorset and duke of
Exeter;* while Richard's Castle, as well as the castle of
Montgomery, were in the charge of Sir Thomas Talbot.t On
the 16th of June, the kiitg ^^n-ote to the sheriffs of the
English counties on the border, that he had learnt that Owen
Gl}'ndwr '* and his other rebels" were marching in great
force towards the English border, to carry away the stores,
bum the country, and destroy the inhabitants.^ Henry was
himself preparing to visit the north, when, in the xoiddle
of July, he received certain information of the great con-
federacy formed against him, and learnt that young' Henry
Percy was marching to join the Welsh with an army of
English and Scots, which, when increased by the men of
Cheshire led by his uncle, the earl of Worcester, amoimted
to nearly fourteen thousand men. The king was then at
Burton upon Trent; with singular rapidity he marched
towards the border, and entered Shrewsbury when the
army of the Percies was already near the town, and before
the Welsh had time to join them. The decisive battle of
Shrewsbury, fought the next day, in which not less than
ten thousand men are said to have fallen, destroyed the
hopes of the confederates. Most of the leaders of the ijebels
were killed or taken : Henry Percy was slain in the battle;
and his uncle and one or two others were captured and
immediately beheaded.

The king quitted the border immediately after the battle,
in order to secure the northern counties. Early in the
spring he had appointed prince Henry his lieutenant in

* PeU. RoUt, p. 295. 7th December. To Sir Thonut Beaufort, knight,
keeper of ' Lodelowe' cattle, in money paid to him by the hande of Mathew
Penketh, Ac for the wages of himself, his men at arms, and others dwelling
with him in the garrison of ' Lodelowe castle in Wales,' to resist the
invasion of the rebels there, £88 : 18s : 9d. t /^. p. 293.

I F«dera, xoU iii. part I, p. 46.

i

258 THE HISTOHY OF LUDLOW.

Wales ;* and now, in quitting the Marches, on the 25th of
July, the king (then at Stafford) gave him authority to
pursue and punish the rebels, as well as to receive into
his grace and pardon those who would return to their
allegiance.f Although Glyndwr had not succeeded in
joining the Percies before their 'engagement with the king's
army, he had invaded English counties with a formidable
army. It is probable that he entered England, as on other
occasions, by way of Radnor and Knighton, and tradi*
tion says, that, as he retired before the victorious troops of
prince Henry, the rival armies encamped within a short
distance of each other in the neighbourhood of Leominster.
Although it is said that the Welsh were defeated in several
unimportant engagements, it does not appear that the
English did more than drive them over the border, and the
king returned to direct the operations of his army in person,
after he had repressed the presumption of his northern
bajons. We find him at Worcester on the 8th of Sep-
tember, giving orders for the strengthening of the Welsh
castles, the neglect of which, he asserts, had been the cause
of Glyndwr's success.^ On the 10.th of the same month he
was still at Worcester; from whence he proceeded to
Hereford, whore we find him on the 14th, giving power to
William Beauchamp to take into his grace the rebels about
Abergavenny and Ewyas Harold. From Hereford the king
marched directly into M'ales. On the 15th of September
he was at Devynock, in the neighbourhood of Brecknock,
granting a commission, similar to the one just mentioned,
to Sir John Oldcastle, John ap Henry, and John Fairford,
clerk, to pardon and disarm the inhabitants of the districts
of Brecknock, Builth, ' Cancresselly,* Hay, 'Glynboug,*
and Dynas.S On the 27th of September the king pro-
claimed a general imrdon, ^rith a few exceptions, to the
people of Cheshire, who had been active in the rebellion,

t ib. p. 55. i Ih. p. .y,.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 269

and had fought against him at the battle of Shrewsbury.
A considerable number of the persons excepted were par-
sons.* On the 29th of September king Henry was at
Caermarthen, where he seems to have remained till about
the 8th of October,! when he returned by way of Glou-
cester.

The old chroniclers inform us that the king had been
called to the border by the great destruction which the
Welsh continued to commit since the battle of Shrews-
bury, in spite of the presence of his son ; and that Henry's
own endeavours to repress them were equally unsuccessful,
which they attribute to his want of money to carry on the
war.$ It is probable that, as on former occasions, the
insurgents retired before him, and immediately resumed
the offensive when they were relieved from his presence.
At the beginning of November they had laid siege to the
castle of Llanbadam, in South Wales, which afterwards fell
into their hands.§

During the year follo^ving (1404) Owen Glyndwr appears
to have been almost undisturbed master of Wales, with
the exception of the stronger castles that were garrisoned
and provisioned by the English. According to Thomas of
Walsingham, ''all this summer he plundered, burnt, and
destroyed the districts around him, and by means either of
treachery or open force made many prisoners, slew many of
the English, and took many castles, some of which ho
levelled with the ground, while he fortified others as strong-
holds for himself.'*|| The king seems to have satisfied him-
self with keeping a small force distributed over the counties

• Foedera, toI. iv, part 1, p. 57.

t Proceedings of the Privy Council, to), i, p. 217.

X Thomas of Walsingham, p. 561.

^ Proceedings of the Privy Council, vol. i, p. 210.

I( Walsingham, p. ri02.

260 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

of Hereford and Salop to protect the English side of the
bordet. As summer approached this force was foimd insuf-
ficient^ and prince Henry repaired to the border in person.
On the 10th of June, the sheriff, escheator, and gentry of
Herefordshire write fix>m Hereford that the Welsh rebels
had invaded and plundered ' Inchonefelde* (Irchingfield) in
that county, and that they threatened a more general inva-
sion the foUomng week with a force which the few English
troops there were unable to withstand.* They appear to
have effected their threat, and were only driven back by the
arrival of prince Henry. On the 26th of June, the latter
writes to the king, who was then marching towards Soot-
land, that he had just arrived at Worcester, where he learnt
that the Welsh had entered the county of Hereford in great
force, burning and destroying on every side, that they were
provisioned for fifteen days, and that they had already
committed great havoc, when his approach had compelled
them to retire; but he states that the insurgents were
threatening to enter the county again in still greater num-
bers, and that he had called the chief men of the border
to meet him at Worcester for the purpose of concerting
measures to avert the danger.f Hie prince appears to
have made Worcester his head quarters ; and we trace him
there €fr in other parts of the border during the summer
Old autumn.

In this year the English monarch was threatened by
another confederacy. When the battle of Shrewbury had
deprived him of the alliance of the Perries, Owen Glyndwr
began to fix his hopes on assistance from France ; and in
the course of the year 1404 a treaty was concluded between
him and Charles VI, by virtue of which the Welsh were to

* Pioc— dingi of th« PriTj CoimcU, toI. i, p. 2*2.1.

t 4h. p* 229. **Je feu ceiUffiet que Ics Galoyt fcurcnt dctccndut en Ic
n>nBtf« de Hereford ftrdanti ct dettraantt mesmc \c count «'-c en ircKcraiiilt
poviiirt, ct frurcni vitftillez pur xv .i«mr% 91 \*'\t< v^x <| Ts «-gt at/ cl ini*
gfaa4 dcHiiicciottn en Ice bordures du dit countt'f /*

THB HUTORT OF Lin>IjOW. 261

be assisted with a force of serenl thousand Frenchmen.
Glyndwr's first letter to the French king is dated at Dolgelly,
on the 10th of May, 1404, which he caUs the fourth year
of his principality (et principatus nostri quarto) : in this
document he stiles himself prince of Wales. The treaty
itself, which is worded as being a league between the king
of France and the '' prince of Wales'* against the usurper
Henry duke of Lancaster, is dated at Paris on the 14th of
June. Glyndwr's ratification of the treaty bears date the
12th of January, 1405, in " his" castle of Llanbadarn (in
castro nostro del Lampadam).* During the latter part of
the year 1404, the French had made some ineffectual
attempts to carry over an army to Wales, which were frus-
trated by storms and other impediments ; and the promised
aid did not arrive till the beginning of the year following,
which was perhaps the cause of the delay in Glyndwr's
ratification of the treaty. A French army, said to have
amounted to twelve thousand men, was then landed at
Milford Haven, from a fleet of one hundred and twenty, or,
according to some accounts, one hundred and forty ships.

The arrival of the French auxiliaries struck consternation
into the English inhabitants of the border. They first took
and burnt the town of Havcrford West, but were defeated
in their attempt upon the castle. They then marched
towards Caermarthen, burning and destroying on the way.
From a letter written from Conway on the Saturday after
the Epipltany, we learn that the French were then preparing
for a second attack upon the town of Caernarvon, having
failed in their first attempt. Letters from Chester dated a
few days later (15th and 16th of January) describe Harlech
and' Conway castles as being likewise in great danger of
falling into the hands of the Welsh.f In March their
successes were iutcrrupted for a moment by a severe defeat

* Fttdeta, toI. it, part 1, pp. S5, 69, 75.

t TliMC letters »re printed in EUU't Original Letters, sup. cit pp.
30—38. Tbcy ccruinly belong to 1405 and not as there sappoiod lo UOL

S62 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

on the borders of Herefordshire. A body of eight thousand
Welsh had come suddenly to Grosmont, where they burnt
part of the town; the prince, who was at Hereford, col-
lected a small body of men, marched rapidly against them,
and, on the 11th of March, defeated them with great
slaughter. Eight hundred or a thousand of the Welsh are
said to have been left dead on the field, amongst whom
was Glyndwr's brother, Tudor; and his eldest son, Griffith,
who commanded the expedition, was taken prisoner.* It
appears that the king, alarmed by the successes of his
enemies, intended to proceed in person against the Welsh
about the end of April, and that he was at Worcester on
the 8th of May ; but he was called off to the north by the
rebellion of the earl of Northumberland and the archbishop
of York, and was again compelled to leave the prosecution
of the war against Owen Glyndwr to the management of
hiB8on.t

At Caermarthen the French were joined by Glyndwr
with about ten thousand Welshmen. The combined army,
after having gained some other advantages in Wales, ad-
vanced towards England; and prince Henry, pressed by
superior numbers, was compelled to retreat to Worcester,
pursued almost to the gates of the city by the invaders.
This was late in the summer. The king, who had reduced
to obedience his rebellious subjects in the north, hastened to
the relief of his son. On the 8th of August he had sent
directions to the sherifis to raise the forces of the border
counties, and meet him at Hereford. On the 27th of
August he was at Worcester.^ The Welsh and French
retired before him, and we find him with his army at
Hereford on the 4th of September. It appears that there

^ The Utter of prince HeoTj to hit latlier, deecribiiif tliis affiur, is
printed ia the P«d«>rm, toL !▼» pert 1, p. 79; in EUis. A. p, 38, and ia
the Proceedinst of the Priry Cooacil. toL 1, p. 248.

t rrorecdinfTs of the Privj Council, rol i, p. 251.

I I'otdciA, id. PI*. bO. bi.

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. £68

was some fighting, in which the French suffered considerable
loss ; and it is said that on one occasion the hostile armies
lay in view of each other during eight days^ separated only
by a deep Yalley, but that the French and Welsh were at
length obliged to retreat by want of provisions. King Henry
made but a short stay at Hereford^ for on the 10th of
September we find him again in the north, at Beverley in
Yorkshire. The French appear to have reaped little satis-
faction from the kind of warfare in which they were en-
gaged: they had hardly landed in Wales^ when the ships
of the cinque ports attacked and partly destroyed their fleet,
and every attempt of the French government to send them
stores and provisions had been defeated: and now, dis-
heartened probably by a painful retreat, they re-embarked
and left the Welsh to their own resources.

The latter, more habituated to their mountain warfare,
defended themselves bravely, but they were no longer able
to act on the same extensive scale. The English army had
penetrated into Wales, and, by the 22nd of September,
it had laid close si^e to the castle of Llanbadam. The
king, in a document of the date just mentioned, describes
this as the last strong-hold of the rebels, the fall of which
would ensure the pacification of the country, and he speaks
of hb intention to proceed thither and push forward the siege
in person.* Accordingly, we find him again at Worcester
on the 6th of October. In the course of the month he
entered Wales, but we have an indistinct and confused
account of his operations. On the Std of November, he
was at Dunstable, on his return to his capital. According
to some accounts, he had been compelled to retreat by want
of money and provisions ; others say that he had experienced
a rude check from the enemy by incautiously invohing his
anny among the mountain passes. It is certain, however,
that after this year the Welsh insurrection never presented
the same formidable character whir)i it had previously
a««imcd.

• Ficdera. lA. p. 9U.

S64 THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

But Owen Glyndwr still preserved his independence^ and
for several years he kept prince Henry constantly occupied.
It appears that he had nourished the hope of obtaining, by
means of his French allies^ a formal acknowledgement of
his independence from the English monarch, whose weak-
ness and embarrassments were much overrated by his
foreign and domestic enemies. In 1406 the Welsh were
again encouraged by the prospect of assistance from France,
but they were, as before, disappointed in the results which
they anticipated from it A fleet of nearly thirty ships put
to sea, but many of them weie taken or rudely treated on
the way, and those which succeeded with difficulty in
reaching the Welsh coast exerted little influence on the
war. Fifteen ships laden with provisions, which followed
them, were aU captoxed by the English. Prince Henry
drove the rebels gradually out of South Wales, and many
of Glyndwr's most faithful partaans were taken and com-
mitted to prison. In April we find the king issuing more
general orders for taking the rebels into grace, and a few
months later the inhabitants of South Wales were ordered
by proclamation to return to their houses. Prince Henry
established himself at Caernarvon, from whence he directed
this petty but desolating warfare, which was continued
without interruption during the following year. We learn
from the contemporary chroniclers that in the summer of
1407, the prince besieged and took the castle of Aberys-
twith, which was however almost immediately retaken by
Glyndwr.* In the latter months of the same year king
Henry held his parliament at Gloucester.

In 1408, some kind of an insurrection appears to have
taken place in Shropshire in favour of Glyndwr, for it is
stated that John Talbot, lord Fumival, who went at that time
with two hundred men towards Caernarvon against Owen
Glyndwr and his adherents, was stopped at Shrewsbury by
the constable of the castle and town, who shut the gates

* ThomM of WaUuigluni, p. 568.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 265

against them.* In the year following Shropshire became
the seat of still greater troubles. On the 16th of May the
king directed letters to Edward de Charleton^ lord of Powys,
and other barons on the border, stating that he had heard
that Owen Glyndwr and "John the 2)retended bishop of
St. Asaph" had collected together many rebels and traitors
and joined themselves with " our enemies of France, Scot-
land, and other parts in the principality of Wales, continuing
their rebellion and committing great hayoc."t The Welsh
chieftain, about this time, sent a strong party headed by
Rhys Ddu and Philipot Scudamore, his nephew, who overran
and plundered a great part of Shropshire, till they were
entirely defeated by the English. Rhys Ddu was taken,
and executed in London.

From this period we know very little of Glyndwr's
personal history. It is clear that he continued to hold a
certain degree of precarious power, though tradition repre-
sents him as being frequently reduced to the most distressing
expedients to escape the pursuits of his enemies. In the
last year of the reign of king Henry IV, the English
monarch authorised John Tiptoft, seneschal of Brecknock,
and William Botiller, receiver of Brecknock, to treat with
Owen for the ransom of David Gamme, a Welsh gentleman
who has rendered himself famous in tradition and history as
the enemy of Glyndwr.} Tet at this period the hardy chief-
tain must have felt severely the desolation attendant upon
civil strife ; his bravest and most faithful friends had been
slain in battle, or they had perished more ignominiously
on the scaffold ; even his nearest relations, the members of
his o^vn household, were lingering in English prisons. As
early as 1408 we find his own secretar}- and his son Griffith
prisoners at Nottingham, in the custody of Richard Grey of
Codnor ; and wc Icam among the records of the first year of
king Henry V, that on the 27th of June in that year (1413)
thirty pounds were paid to John Wcale " for the expenses

• MS. Aildit. MiH. Brit. No. i:>00. art. 3«\

t Foedera, vol. iv, part 1, p. 154. I lb.

S66 TUB HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

of the wife of Owen Glpidwr, the wife of Edmund Mor-
timer (Glyndwr's daughter), and others their sons and
daughters, in his custody in the city of London, at the
king's charge."* On the 19th of February following, one
pound was paid to " a certain Welshman, coming to London,
and there continuing for a certain time, to giTC information
respecting the conduct and designs of Owen Glyndwr.'*t

The manner and place of Glyndwr's death are extremely
doubtful, but that event is said to haye occurred in 1416.
Twice in that year Sir Gilbert Talbot was commissioned to
negotiate directly or indirectly with him and the other
insurgents who had not yet submitted, for their pardons.

The results of this long insurrection were visible in Wales
and on the border for many years. During more than
a century afterwards, the inhabitants of the walled towns
and castles pointed out the ruins which had been made by
Owen Glyndwr. The people of Herefordshire and Shrop-
shire had suffered much from the parties of marauders who
carried off every thing that they could find in the shape of
plunder, and destroyed what they could not remove. In
the parliament held at Gloucester in 1407, the people of
Shrewsbury presented a petition setting forth their losses
and grievances, by which it appears that all the sheep
and other Uve stock in the neighbourhood of the town had
been repeatedly carried away by the Welsh; and that
Glyndwr had burnt no less than eight villages within the
liberties of the town, as well as the suburbs of the town
up to the gates, from whence he had been driven by the
exertions of the burgesses.

On the other hand, the Welsh had lost in the war all the
advantages of social position which they had gained during
the preceding century, lliey had become again a per-
secuted people — and were placed under severe laws, which
deprived them of most of the political rights of Englishmen,
particularly the capability of holding lands or offices in the

• D«Ton •% i*cll ItolU, \K ^•i\, t PcU. Rolls, th.

THE HISTORY OK LUDLOW. 267

Englifih counties. Their condition was a frequent subject
of petition and debate in the ensuing parliaments. Many
Welshmen who had served the king in the war^ and dis-
tinguished themselves by their attachment to the English
party, and others who had since gained the good will of the
court, obtained marks of freedom emancipating them from
the restrictions under which their less fortunate countrymen
laboured.

The border remained long in a state of excitement. Many
Welsh and Englishmen joined together as outlaws and
bandits, and infested the woods and highways. The
restless inhabitants of the mountains persecuted the people
of the counties of Hereford and Salop in the same manner
as the people of Cheshire had done in the reign of Richard
II: — ^they crossed the border in small parties, surprised
and carried away prisoners men of substance, and retained
them in captivity for months, till themselves or their friends
procured their redemption by the payment of a heavy ran-
som.* A remarkable instance of such personal attacks is
related in the Rolls of Parliament of the fourth of Henry Y
(a. d. 1416). As Robert Whitington, Esq. and his son
Guy were riding home from the city of Hereford to their
own house, in company ^vith their three valets and two pages,
on the Monday before the feast of St. Simon and St. Jude
(the latter end of October), they were suddenly attacked in
the village of Mordiford by about thirty men ' armed and
arrayed in manner of war,* among whom they recognised
Philip Lyngeyn, John Crew, Richard Loutley, Laurence
Smith, William Kervere (Carver), Walter Bradford, John
Bradford, and Walter Walker, who arc described as the
servants of Richard Oldecastle, Esq. These men led them
forcibly to " a moimtain named Dynniorchillc,'* where they
robbed them of their horses and harness and retained them
tiU night, when they carried them on foot to a chapel which
their prisoners did not know, at a distance of about two

* Rolls of Parliament, toI. it, p. 52.

268 THE HISTOKY OP LUDLOW.

leagues, and in this chapel they imprisoned them all night,
threatening them vehemently either to kill them imme-
diately or to carry them prisoners into Wales. On the
Tuesday they carried their prisoners from one wood to
another, all of which were equally unknown to them, till
they came to an old miU, where they passed the second
night, and there they renewed their threats of carrying
them into Wales, unless they freed themselves by sufficient
sureties in the county to the amount of six hundred pounds
to cease and let fall all personal actions against the parties
concerned for this or any other personal trespass. Guy
Whitington was sent in search of the necessary securities,
whilst his father and the others were kept prisoners in the
mill, and at length he found three gentlemen of Gloucester-
shire, John Brown, John Paunton, and John Rich, who
each of them gave a bond of a hundred and eleven pounds
that Robert Whitington should, after his release, give under
his seal to the said Philip Lyngeyn and his companions,
and to Richard Oldecastle and Walter Hackluyt, Esqrcs.
two general acquittances and releases of all manner of
personal actions from the beginning of the world to the
feast of All Saints foUoM-ing, upon which they were set at
liberty.* Tlie petition of the parties aggrieved gives us no
information relating to the origin of this border feud.

* RoUt of ParliaoMBtt toU W, p. 99-

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 869

SECTION X.
The Wars of the Roses.

AS we have before observed, the borders of Wales
continued in an luisettled state during many years after the
suppression of Glyndwr's insurrection. The war had sunk
into that which had originally given rise to it, a compli-
cation of personal feuds and jealousies. The first parliament
of Henry V, iu 1413, passed an act against such of the late
rebels and their friends as were guilty of prosecuting and
attacking the king's loyal subjects to revenge the individual
acts of hostility which the latter had committed in his
cause during the war f and this act was renewed in 1427,
twenty years after the suppression of the rebellion, it being
then expressly alleged that the Welshmen concerned in the
late rising, still continued to prosecute the feuds arising out
of it against the king's faithful subjects.!

It may perhaps be not altogether out of place to give
here one or two other incidents, taken from the Rolls of
Parliament, which tend to show the state of the border,
and the manners of the times^ at the eve of the sanguinary
war between the two rival dynasties. In the twentieth
year of the reign of Henry VI (1442), bitter complaints wei6
made by the Commons of the counties of Hereford, Glou-
cester, and Salop, of *' the great oppressions and extortions
which the people of Wales and the l^Iarches committed daily
on the inhabitants of the said counties, by taking and car-
r}'ing away their horses, cattle, and other goods and chattels
into the Marches," and there retaining them till the persons
to whom they belonged ransomed them or compounded
for thcm4 A law was made to punish those malefactors ;
but it appears to have been of little cflTect, for they were

• Rolls of Parliament, yo\. ir, p. 10. f Ibid. p. 329.

I Rolls of ParliAincnt, vol. v, p. 53.

2 X

270 THK HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

protected by the troubles of the time and by the peculiar
jurisdiction of the lords marchers within whose lordships
they dwelt. The privilege of the benefit of clergy, by
which an offender who could read and possessed any degree
of learning might appeal from a secular to an ecclesiastical
courts began to be extensively abused in the reign of Henry
VI ; in the parliament of 1449^ the Commons represented
to the king that ''murdres, manslaghters, robberies, and
other theftes, ^vythinne this your rewme dayly encrecen
and multiplien, by thoo felons that ben clerkes and can
rede, by cause of the grete- boldnes of their clergie ; whech
felons of thair robberies leven a certeyn somme of money
with their recetteurs or (rendes, savely to be kept, and
sent unto thaym at what tyme hit shall fortune hem to be
taken for the felonyes doon by theym, and therof to be
atteynted or convicte, and commytted after the lawe of the
churche to the ordinarie, to be dispended for thair pur-
gation ; and what t)'me the seid felons been so purged,
they murdren, sleen, and robben youre liege people, withoute
any drede or mercy, and kcpen of thair robberies doon after
their seid purgation another somme of money, to make
thair purgation agcyn, yf it fortune theym to be attaynted
or convicte cftsoncs of any suche felonye, yn fynall destruc-
tion of your seide people in every part of this rewme, yn so
mochc that tho pcrsoncs that been so robbed, nowthcr the
frendos of thajm, nowthcr the frcndes of thaym that ben so
sla}*!!, darcn not take upiK)n hem to labour aycnst suche
felons, for drede of deth, seyng howe bold manaces and
thrctnyngos the seide felons after thair seid purgation, and
also before thair purgation, putten unto your seide people.***
It was referred to the church to find a remedy for this
enl. The same records furnish many individual instances
of the insecurity of person and property at this period. Wc
learn from a petition of John Stuche of the county of
Salop, in 1439, that " oon Thomas Dunstorvyle, of the

* KuUs of rurliamcnt, \ul. v, p, 151.

THE HI8TORT OF LUDLOW. £71

same counts, for his title and right in certeine londes and
tenementis in the towne of Spondesley, in the shire of Salop,
sewed assise of novel disseisine, agayns on Phelip Eggerton
late of Spondesley aforeseide ; which assise hangyng tindis*
cussed, the same Phelip desired often tymes of the seide
Johan, for to have made the seide Thomas, because he is
his cosyn, for to relees unto the same Phelip al his seide
right and title in the seide londes and tenementis. And
forasmuche as the seide Thomas wold not relees unto the
seide Phelip his seide right and title in the same londes
and tenementis, the seide Phelip, for that cause and noon
other, hath contynuelly sithen bi the space of v. yere made
werre unto the seide Johan, as in lyggyng often tjrmes in
awaite to slee hym and his tenauntis, servauntis, and
cosyns, and many of thaym hath beten and mayheimed,
and the seide Johan and othre therefore dryven oute of
oontrey, with grete ryottis of the people of the counts
of Chestre ; and diverses houses, sithen the recovere of the
seide londes bi the saide assise agayns hym, hath broke,
and som of thajrm brent ; so that the seide Johan, and his
seide tenauntis, dar not menure thaire cattcll, nor tille theire
londe, but as compellid for drede hath leide downe viii.
plowes, and the seide Thomas in like wise hath Icide downe
ii. plowes ; whcreappon the seide Johan many tjmes hath
made diverse meeves and tietice, for to have pees with the
seide Phelip, unto the which there can no pcrsonno bi any
raisounable wcy that can be devised make the same Phelip
to enclyne; wherefore the seide Johan also hath sued
diverse letters of the kinges privee seal, for to have made
the saide Phelip to have append biforc the kinges counscill
at a ccrteyne dai, under grevous and gretc poyncs, which
he hath obstinatly disobeyed at al t}*mes, so tliat the sci<lc
Johan can not see nor fynde no wey bi lawc nor othre wise,
for to have this open and ryoteux wrong and opprcssioun
remedied, unto the verry and uttercst undoyng of the same
Johan, and hi« ^iidc tenauntis : the which PhoHp \n lawc-
fally cndittMl and oittlawo<l nf «Hvitm' niunlri^, frlDuicff, and

278 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

trespasses in the counteeS of Stafford and Salop above saide,
and of othere grete injuries^ oppressions, extortions, riots,
and wrongs manyfold, which the seide Phelip of long
tyme hath contynuelly don in the seide counts of Salop,
and yut daily doth."* In this same year, 1439, Margaret,
widow of Sir Thomas Malefimt, knight, makes a complaint
against one Lewis Ljrson, ** oderwyse called Lewse Gethei,
late of Glomorgan, yn the Marchc of Wales, that wheras
the seide Lewse was of consayll and toward the seide sire
Thomas hur husbond yn his lyf, and founden by hym to
courte, and was wyth hym atte hes deth, and most tristed
of any man ner to hym; after whoos deth, for grete trist
and affection, Jane Asteley, that was the wyf of Thomas
Asteley, moder of the seide Margaret, hadd yn hym, and
be cause he swore that he was weddid, and that he wold
bryng the seide Maigaiet safly unto her moder to London,
she send letters and tokens by the same Lewse unto here.
And the seide Lewse by sotiU and unlawfiill menes, pur-
posyng and ymagenyng to rayysshe the seide Margaret, and
to have hure to hes wyf, die seide ' letters brake, and
countrefeted yn hur seide husbondis name, as he hadd ben
on lyf, after hes oune conseit, prayng and desiryng by the
same, her to come unto London yn all the hast that she
myght, for hes grete confort yn hes scknes ; and therapon the
seide Margaret bcyng in Goddes pese and our soreraigne loid
atte Oucketon in Penbrokeshir, not knowyng thenne of hur
seide husbondcs deth, on Wytsonday, the xvi. yere of the
regne of our seide soreraigne lorde, come the seide Lewse with
the seide countrefiet letters, declaryng Griffith ap Nicholas
and dyverse other of hur enmyes to lye yn awaytc for hur,
and put hur yn grete fere, promyttyng nerthelcs and swear*
yng that he wold safly bryng hur to hur husbond to London,
or els to die therforc. And she tru8t)'ng yn hes grete and feyr
promyse, for the comfort of hur seide husbond, acoordyng to
the desire by the seide letters and other tokenes, came forth

• Do) It of Parliament, toI. t, p. 17.

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 27S

with hym with diverse of hur oiine servantes^ supposyng
safly to have gon ; and so thei went and travayled all that
day, and all the morrow after til evyn, that they came by a
parke side, called the park of Prys, mthynne the lordshepe
of Gowere ; wheras there came oute of the same park a
grete bushement, ther beyng by the assent and ordinaunce
of the seide Lewse yn maner of werre arayed, and came
with swerdis drawen, and made a grete affray and assaute
apon the seide Margaret, and ther smoten hur apon hur
arme, and ther beaten hur senrantes ; and the seide Lewse
ther thenne made non defence, bote seid she shold go with
hym, and he wold undertake for hur lyf ; and so she for fer
of hur lyf graimted to go with hym, and so departed hur
fro all hur scrvantes, and had hur forth yn to the monteyns,
ther y-kepte withoute mete or drynke til she was nye dede,
^vyng that she liadd wheye to drynke atte dyvers places, til
the Wondisday uexte after; atte whiche day he brought
her to on Gilbert Turbervyle is place, withynnc the lordshep
of Glomorgan, and hur ther kepte as a prisoner, and hur
manassed atte dyvers tymes, yn lesse then she wold be
wedded to the seide Lewse, to carie hur ynto the monteyns,
tlier to abide withoute confort of eny man of hur kyn or
fryndis, to hur tmdoyng and shortyng of hur lyf; and so
be cause and fere of sich manasse hadd by the seide Lewse,
and other of hes covyne, by the worchyng and assent of the
seide Gilbert and hes Mryf, with the governance of on sire
Hough, vicar of the chcrche of Tw)'ggeston in Wales, with
mcny mo, on Monday nexte therafter, the seide Margaret
was brought and ladd to the seide chcrche of Twyggcston
ayenncs hur wil, and ther wold have made hur ayenst
hur willc to take the seide Lcwsc to husbond ; the which
she ever refused, and pryvely and openly seide unto the
seide vicar, that she wold never of hur godc will have hym
to hur husbond ; the which iioghtwithstondyng, thei com«
pclled hur to suffrc the solcmpnytce to be don, she then
lH*ynjj with child by hur seide la to husbondman, and gretly
ili>jK»u|»ori*(l, and noglit of godc niyiid, ne never agreyng nc

274 THB HI8T0RT OP LUDLOW.

havyng yn mynde ne yn remembrauns of eny wordis of
matrimouie by hur mouth ne hert uttered : and after that
tyme hadde hur yn to the seide Turbervyle is place atte
Twyggeston aforesaide, and ther hadd hur yn to a chaum*
bre withynne a strong towre,'' where she was subjected
to very brutal treatment; ''and yn suche wyse ther
was kepte, til Friday nexte after the fest of Seynt Johan
Baptiste, that she with wyse governance was hadde fro
thennesy and came to London to hur moder."* No redress
could be obtained in cases like these without the immediate
interference of parliament^ and even then the privileges of
the lords marchers required to be respected. We might
easily collect many other instances of the unsettled state of
the country at the beginning of the reign of Henry VI.

These private quarrels and petty depredations are, how-
ever, soon lost sight of in the greater events in which the
border was now on the eve of taking a prominent part.

In spite of the general popularity of Henry V, there
were not wanting persons who even in his reign would
willingly have aided to eject the house of Lancaster, and in
that case the family of the Mortimers of Wigmore and
Ludlow, which had now only one representative, was the
nearest in blood to the English crown. Edmund l^Iortimer
earl of March, as a descendant of Lionel duke of Clarence,
had a stronger hereditary right to the throne than the
Lancastrian princes, and on that account he had been
detained in close custody during the reign of Henry IV,
but he was set at liberty at the commencement of the
succeeding reign. Young Edmund Mortimer, for he was
at this time only twenty-one years of age, ix)ssessod little
of the energy which had distinguished the illustrious race
from which he was descended, and his name was only put
forward to colour the intrigues of others. We have already
seen the use which was made of it in 61yndwr*s rebellion :
early in the reign of Henry V, Richard Plantagenet earl of

* lUAW of rariiARicnt, vol. r. p. Ifi.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 276

Cambridge, who had married Edmund Mortimer's sister,
Henry lord Scrope of Masham, and Sir Thomas Grey of
Heton in Northumberland, entered into a new conspiracy,
the declared object of which was to carry the earl of March
into Wales, and there to proclaim him king of England,
and to collect forces to make war on Henry as an usurper.
They were to be joined by Sir Henry Percy, who had pro-
mised to march from Scotland with " a power of Scottys.''
It appears from the confession of the earl of Cambridge that
Edmund Mortimer was driven to consent to this plot by his
priests, for he states that '' as touchyng the erle of Marche
and Lusy his man, they seydyn me bothe that the erle was
nauth schreven of a great whyle but that all hys confes-
sours putte hym in penaunce to clayme that they callydyn
hys ryth."* The moment chosen for carrying this plan
into execution was that of the king's departure for the
invasion of France in 1415; but Henry was made ac*
quainted with the plot, the chief conspirators were seized,
and the earl of Cambridge, lord Scrope, and Sir Thomas
Grey were attainted and executed at Southampton. Years
transpired before any further attempt was made to revive
the slumbering claims, which, on the death of the last of
the Mortimers, were silently transmitted with the estates and
title of earl of March to his nephew, Richard Plantagenet,
the son of the attainted earl of Cambridge, who, however,
had been allowed to succeed to his grandfather's title of
duke of York, after the death of the second duke of York
at Azincourt.

Richard Plantagenet duke of York selected Ludlow
Castle as his chief place of residence ; the following letter
from two of his sons, written probably at the commencement
of tlic political intrigues wliich led eventually to civil war,
is chiefly curious as connecting with that place two names
which afterwards held a prominent place in history.f

* Ellis's Original Letters, necond «cric^ vol. i, p. 46.

t This letter WAS lirst printed in Kili»'« Onginal Letters, toU i, p. U.

876 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

" Ryght hiegh and ryght myghty prince, oare fal rcdouted and
ryght noble lorde and ffitdar, as lowely xfith alle oiire hertca as
we yonre trewe and natarell sonnes can or may« we recomaande
us unto your noble grace, hambly besecbyng your nobley' and
worthy ffaderhode* daily to geve* us your bertely blessyng,
thrugh wbiche we trust mucbe the rather to encrees and growe
to vertUy and to spede the bettur in alle matiers and thinges that
we Bchallo use, occupie, and exercise. Ryght high and ryght
myghty prince, our ful redouted lorde and ffadur, we thanke
our blessed Lorde not oonly of your honourable conduite* and
good spede in alle your matiers and besynesse, and of your
gracious prevailed agenst thentent and malice of your evilwillers,
but also of the knowelage that hit pleased your nobley to lete
us nowe late have of the same by relacion of Syr Watier
DoTreuz, knyght, and Johan Milewatier, squire, and Johan at
Nokes, yemon of your honorable chambur. Also we thonke
your noblesse* and good ffaderhode of oure grene gowues nowe
late sende unto us to our grete comfort; beseching your good
lordeschip to rembre our porteux,' and that we myght have
summe fyne bonettes sende unto us by the next seure measige,*
for necessity so requireth. Overe Uiis, ryght noble lord and
£fadur, please hit your highnesse to witte that we have charged
your servant William Smyth, berer of thees, for to declare unto
your nobley certayne thinges on our behalf, namely, concernyng
and touching the odicux reulc and dcmenyng' of Richard
Crofte and of his brother. Wherefore we beseche your graciouse
lordeschip and fullc noble ffaderhode to here him in cxposicion
of the same, and to his relacion to yevc ful faith and credence.
Ryght hiegh and ryght myghty prince, our ful redoubted and
ryght noble lorde and ffadur, we beseche almyghty Jhesu yeve
yowo as good lyfe and long, with as muchc contenual pcrfite
prosperity, as your princely hert con best desire. Writen at
your castill of Lodelowe, on Setursday in the Astur Woke.**

Your humble Sonnes,

B. Marchc, and

E. Rutlonde."

C/oM(iry.— I KobleoeM. 2 Fatherhood. 3 Give. IConthiclinc 5Surrcss.
prevailing, li Noblciic»9, iiobi.ity. 7 A brcMurv, 'T *« r\ivc bovk. 8 Sui*-
mesMBger. 9 Demesnoar. 10 Easter week.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 277

The duke*8 constant opposition to the unpopular measures
of the court, although it procured him the enmity of the
gOYemment, made him beloYed by a large portion of the
people. He inherited from a family which had enjoyed
the same popularity during several generations, the name
of which was mixed up in one way or other with all the
partial insurrections and political tumults which marked
the earlier years of the reign of Henry VI. It has been
observed by a former writer that the rebels of this period
always expected popularity from connecting their pro-
ceedings with the family of Mortimer. When Cade raised
the Commons of Kent in 1450, he assumed the name of
Mortimer. At a later period, among other articles of accu-
sation brought against the duke of York, it was stated that
'' he beyng in Irland, by youre graunte youre lieutenaunt
there, at which tyme John Cade, otherwise called Jakke
Cade, youre grete traitour, made a grete insurrection ayenst
youre hignnes in youre shire of Kent, to what entent and
for whome, it was after confessed by some of hem his adhe-
rentes whan they shuld dye, that is to sey, to have exalted
the seid duk, ayenst alle reason, lawe, and trouth, to the
estate that God and nature hath ordeyned you and youre
succesnon to be born to."* There is however no reason
for believing that the duke was in any way connected with
the rebellion of the Kentish men ; yet the use thus made of
his name shows that the popular party had already begun
to talk of restoring the branch of the regal line which had
been set aside to make way for the house of Lancaster.

In the summer of 1451, the duke of York became so
much dissatisfied with the proceedings of the court, that he
suddenly resigned his command in Ireland, and returned to
England with a sufficient force to render unavailing the
measures that are said to have been taken to prevent
his landing. He marched direct to London, and, as it was
alleged, forced his way violently into the king's presence,

* Roll! of rarliamcnt, voK ▼, p. 316.

So

m^ THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW,

after which he retired to his castle of Fotheringay. The
parliament, which assembled soon after^ was the scene of
violent and angry debates, and a proposal was made to
name the duke of York next heir to the throne. The
discussions between the different parties rose now so high,
that the duke found it necessary to retreat to his castle
of Ludlow, where he was in the midst of his friends, and
he occupied himself difigently in collecting together an
army among his tenantry and adherents* The following
letter,* dated at Ludlow on the Srd of February, 1452,
to the burgesses of Shrewsbury, who were firmly attached
to his cause, contains the duke's own declarations of the
objects he had in view.

*' Right worshipful friends, I rsoommend me unto yon, and
I sappose it is well known unto you, as well by experience as by
common langaage said and reported throughout all christeudom,
what laud, what worship, honour, and manhood was ascribed
of all iiatioos unto the people of this realm whilst the kingdom's
sovereign lord stood possessed of his lordship in the realm of
France and dutchy of Normandy, and what derogation, loss
of merchandize, lesion of honour, and villany is said and
reported generally unto the English nation for loss of the same;
namely, unto the duke of Somerset, when he had the command
and charge thereof. The which loss hath caased and encou-
raged the king's enemies for to conquer and get Gtescony and
Gyanno, and now daily they make their advance for to lay
siege unto Calais, and to other places in the Marches there, for to
apply them to their obeisance, and so for to come into the land
with great puissance, to the final destruction thereof, if they
might prevail, and to put the land in their subjection, which
Ood defend. And on the other part it b to be supposed it is
not unknown to you how that, after my coming out of Ireland*
I, as the king's true liege man and servant, and ever shall be
to my life's end, and for my true acquital, perceiving the
inconvenience before rehearsed, advised his royal majesty of

• Thi5 letter h.is been printed in Kllis*s Original Letters, vol. i. p. ll|
in modernised orthogrmphy.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 279

certun articles concerning the weal and safeguard as well of

his most royal person as the tranquility and conservation of all

this hb realm ; the which advertisements, howbeit that it was

thought that they were fall necessary, were laid apart, and to

be of none effect^ through the envy, malice, and untruth of the

said duke of Somerset, which for my truth, faith, and allepriance

that I owe to the king, and the good-will and favour that I

have to all the realm, laboureth continually about the king's

highness for my undoing, and to corrupt my blood, and to

disherit me and my heirs and such persons as be about me,

without any desert or cause done or attempted on my part or

theirs, I make our Lord judge. Wherefore, worshipful friends,

to the intent that every man shall know my purpose, and desire

for to declare me such as I am, I signify unto you that with the

help and supportation of Almighty God, and of our Lady, and

of all the company of heaven, I, after long sufferance and

delays, not my will or intent to displease my sovereign lord,

seeing that the said duke ever prevaileth and ruleth about

the king's person, that by this means the land is likely to be

destroyed, am fully concluded to proceed in all haste against

him, with the help of my kinsmen and friends, in such wise

that it shall prove to promote ease, peace, and tranquility, and

safeguard of all this land ; and more, keeping mo within the

bounds of my liegeancc, as it pertaineth to my duty, praying

and exhorting you to fortify, enforce, and assist me, and to

oome to me with all diligence, wheresoever I shall be or draw«

with as many goodly and likely men as ye may make to

execute the intent abovcsaid. Written under my signet, at my

castle of Ludlow, the 3rd day of February.

** Furthermore, I pray you, that such strait ap|K>intment

and ordinance be made, that the people which shall come in

your fellowship, or be sent unto me by your agreement, be

demeaned in such wise by the way, that they do no offence,

nor robbery, nor oppression upon the people in legion of

justice. Written as abo%'e, etc.

You re good frend,

R. YORK.**
** To my right worshipful friends the
hailiffis, burge«>e5, and crnimon* of
the good town of Shrocsbury."

S80 THB H18TOBT OF LUDLOW.

With the army which he had collected on the border,
the duke of York advanced towards London^ and by a
ciTCuitous rout avoided the forces which the king was
leading in person to meet him. Before he reached the
capital^ he received certain intelligence that the Londoners
were not willing to admit him^ probably rendered cautious
by the violences committed by the rebels under Jack Cade
two years before; and the duke passed the Thames at
Kingston bridge, marched into Kent, where the popular
cause was always strong, and, on the 1st of March, en-
camped in a strong position at Brentheath, near Dartford.
The royal army followed, and soon after was encamped on
Blackheath, the same place which had been occupied by
the Kentish insurgents. This was the first time that the
two opposing political parties had faced each other in war-
like array, and neither side appears to have been anxioua
to fight The duke's forces were very considerable, for a
contemporary, who was perhaps present, informs us that
"ther was my lorde of Torkes ordinaunce .iij. thowsand
gownneres, and hymselff in the middelle warde with viij.
thowsand, my lorde of Devynshere by the southe side with
vi. thowsand, and lorde Cobbame with vi. thowsand at the
water side, and vii. shippers with ther stufie.'** A brief
negotiation in which the bishops of Winchester and Ely
acted for the king, and the earls of Salisbury and Warwick
and others for the duke, ended by the king acquitting him
of treason, promising to listen to all his complaints, and
agreeing to place the duke of Somerset under arrest and
call a new council, in which the duke of York was to have
a place. The latter on these conditions disbanded his
army ; but when he came before the kiug he found that he
had been deceived, for Somerset was at liberty and accused
him as a traitor, and he was retained as a prisoner and
sent to London to stand his trial. The court, however,

* This if taken from Mine contempermry notes of a Yorkist psitisna

in a MS. in the British Museum, communicated by Sir Frederic Madden

i« the Ai<*l»«-ol'>gt.i, vol a\ix, i». -"^26.

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. S81

suddenly stopped further proceedings^ alarmed as it is said
by a report that the duke's eldest son, Edward earl of
March, was marching towards London at the head of a
powerful army of Welshmen to rescue his father; and,
after having on the 10th of March made his submission
and taken his oath in St. Paul's to be a true, faithful, and
obedient subject in the presence of the king and most of
the nobility, he was allowed to retire to his castle of
Wigmore, " where," says Grafton, ** he studyed both howe
to displease his enemies, and to obteyne his purpose. And
80 by meanes of the absence of the duke of York, which
was in maner banished the court and the king's presence,
the duke of Somerset rose up in high favour with the king
and the queene, and his worde onely ruled and his voyco
was onely heard."

It appears that some of the men of Kent suffered for the
favour they had shown to the duke of York in this affair^
and that his actions were looked upon with suspicion and
jealousy after his return to Wigmore castle. We learn this
from the following note by the same contemporary writer
mentioned above, who also speaks of tumults which had
arisen at Ludlow, in which a messenger of the king was slain.
— ** Then affter, the kynges yeman of his chambure, namyde
Fazakerley, with letteris was sent to Ludlow to my lorde of
Yorkcj chazgynge to do forthe a certeyne of his mayny/
Artheme, squiere, Sharpe, squiere, etc., the whiche Faza-
kerley hylde in avowtry* Sharpus wiff, the whiche Sharpe
slowe Fazakerley; and a bakere of Ludlow roos and the
commyns, etc.;' the whiche bakere is at Kyllyngworthe
(Kenilworth) castcUe, etc. Affter this my lorde of Shrous-
bury, etc. rode into Kent, and set up \i, (x^yre of galowes,
and dcde execucione uix>ne Johan Wylkyns, takcue and
broght to the townc as for capteyne, and with othcre mony
mo/ of the whiche xxviij. were hangcde and bchedede, the

1 DismiM a certain number of hit household retainers. 2 Held in
Adultery. 3 i. c. a baker of Ludlow rose up, and tho icmmons or towns*
people with him, ho ltd an insurrection of thv town. 4 Many more.

882 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

whiche hedes were sent to Londone^ and Londone said thcr
shulde no mo hedes be set upone there/*

The course of events soon opened a new path to the
ambition of the duke of York. In the October of 1458,
the unfortunate king was attacked by a malady which was
attended with mental as well as bodily weakness. We learn
from an interesting letter of intelligence, dated the 19th of
January, 1454, that when the prince of Wales, then three
months of age, was presented to his father, neither the
duke of Buckingham nor the queen could obtain any sign
of recognition. — ^**At the princes comyng to Wyndesore,
the due of Bukingham toke hym in his armes, and pre*
sented him to the kyng in godely wise, besechyng the
kyng to blisse hym ; and the kyng yave no maner answere.
Natheles the due abode stille with the prince by the kyng ;
and whan he coude no maner answere have, the queene
come in and toke the prince in hir armes, and presented
hym in Uke fourme as the duke hade done, desiryng that
he shulde blisse it ; but alle their labour was in veyne, for
they departed thens without any answere or countenaunce,
savyng onely that ones he loked on the prince, and caste
doune his eyene ayen, without any more.*'* It appears
that the real state of the king's health was kept secret as
long as possible, and the queen, chiefly by the assistance of
the archbishop of Canterbury, retained for a while the
executive govcmnicut in her own hands. Wc loam from
the letter just mentioned, that Margaret was at that time
taking steps to obtain an act of parliament, giving her the
sole regency of the kingdom, while a bill of attainder
against the duke of York was at the same time in pre-
paration; and that the latter was preparing to meet his
friends at London with a powerful retinue. Two months
later, the death of the archbishop on the 2Snd of March,
led to an immediate change in the position of the diiTerent
parties. A deputation of the lords forced their way into

THB HISTORY OP LUDLOW. £83

m

the royal presence to consult with the king on the election
of a new primate^ and a scene similar to that of the presen-
tation of the prince, but more public, occurred ; upon which
the parliament elected the duke of York protector. The
duke of Somerset, the queen's favourite, had already been
committed to the Tower.

The duke of York's first protectorate lasted only nine
months. At the end of the year the king recovered his
reason, and was restored to the full exercise of royalty,
and the queen regained her influence. One of the first
measures of the court was to liberate the duke of Somerset,
and this was followed by other acts equally unpopular.
The duke of York, as a necessary measure of personal
safety, retired again to his castle of Ludlow, where he was
joined by the duke of Norfolk, the earls of Warwick and
Salisbury, and otlier powerful friends. Having assembled
a small but trusty army of borderers and Welshmen, the
duke marched again towards London, and on the 22nd of
May 1455, surprised the king at St. Alban's, to which
place he had marched on his way to meet the confederates.
Neither army was considerable; that of the Yorkists is
estimated by a contemporary writer at about three thousand
men, of whom a large portion were archers, but the king
had the advantage of occupying the town. The duke made
a halt in the fields before the town, and sent a herald to
the king, with professions of loyalty and obedience, but be
demanded the person of the duke of Somerset. The king
appears to have been little more than a passive agent, and
the Lancastrians resolved to run the chances of a battle,
AVlien the duke of York learnt that his overtures had been
rejected, on Friday the 23rd of May, he marched to attack
the royal army in the town. He was for some time held
in check at the barriers, until the earl of Warwick^
marching by a circuitous path, entered the town on another
side. The battle continued for a short time in the
streets and laiu^, l»iit oiul#»d in the entire defeat of the
royalists, who fled in the utmost disorder. The leaders of

284 THB HISTORY OF LUDIiOW.

the court party appear to have been singled out for destruc-
tion by the Yorkists, and among the slain were the duke
of Somerset, the earl of Northumberland, and the lord
Clifford, while the duke of Buckingham, the earl of
Stafford, and the lord Dudley, were more or less severely
wounded in the conflict, and were taken prisoners. The
king was himself slightly wounded io the neck with an
arrow, and had taken shelter in the house of a tanner,
where he was found by the victors. The following letter,
addressed to John Paston, and written the second day after
the battle, gives us an interesting picture of the confusion
into which people were thrown by this first hostile engage-
ment between the two parties who now divided the
kingdom.

<< Right worshipfall and entierly welbeloved sir, I recom-
maunde me unto yon, desiring hertly to here of your welfare.
Furthermore lettyng yon wete,' as for such tydinges as we
have here, such tbre lordes be dede, the duke of Somerset^
the erle of Northombrelonde, and the lord Clyfford, and as for
any other men of name I knowe noon, save only Qaotton of
Cammbrigeshire. As for any other lordes, many of theym be
hurt ; and as for Fenyngley, he ly veth and fareth well as fer as
I can enqaere. And as for any grete maltytude of people
that ther was, as we can tell, ther was at most slayn vj« score.
And as for the lordes that were with the kyng, they and her*
men wer pilled' and spoyled oat of all thcyr barneys and
horses. And as for what rule we shall have, yit I wote nott,
save only ther be made newe certayn officers: my lord of
Torke, constabil of Englande ; my lord of Warweke is made
captayn of Calyes; my lord Burgchier is made treasorer of
Englande. And as yit other tydinges have 1 none. And as
for onr soverayn lorde, thanked be Ood, he hathe no grete
harme.

** No more to yoa at this tyme, but I pray you sende this
lettyr to my maistresse Patton when ye have sene hit, preyng

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S£l5 THX HI6TOBY OP LUDLOW.

being their friends ; and the Lancastrians remained without
the walls, and met at the White Friars. After some
negotiation^ both parties submitted to the award of the
king, and the Yorkists having agreed to perfonn certain
acts of satisfaction to the fimiilies of the nobles killed at
St Alban's, the court party joined the others in the city,
and they marched lovingly together in a public procession
to St Paul's, amid the joy of the populace. On this
occasion the duke of York and the queen walked hand in
hand, and the earl of Salisbury in a similar manner gave
his hand to the duke of Somerset. This procession took
place on the 25th of March, and a pompous description
of the ceremony is given in the old chroniclers. The
following song, preserved in a contemponuy manuscript in
the British Museum,* which we believe has not previously
been printed, is a remarkable monument of the popular
gladness with which this apparent reconciliation was
received.

** Whan chants is chosen with states to stonde

Stedfts and skills without distannce,
Than wrathe may be exiled out of this londe.

And God cure gide to have the goveniaiince.
Wisdom and wellth, with alle plesaunoe,

May rightful regne, and prosperity;
For love hath underlaide wrathful venjaunce ;

Rejoise, Auglond, cure lordes aeorded to be.

** Rejose and thanke God fore evermore,

For now shal encrese thi consolacion ;
Onre enemyes qnaken and dreden fal sore,

That peas' is made ther was division.
Which to them is a gret eonfusioD,

And to us joy and felicity.
God hold hero longe in every season.

That Anglond may rejoise* concord and unit^.

* MS. Cotton. VMpi». B zvi. fol. < r«
0h$mrf —1 PMce. 9 E&jojr.

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. £87

'* Now u Borowe with shame fled into Fraunce,

As a felon that hath forsworn this londe ;
Love hath put out malicious govemaunce,

In every place bothe fre and bonde.
In Yorkcy in Somerset, as I understonde,

In Warrewik is love and charit^,
In Sarisbury eke and in Northumbrelande,

That every man may rejoise concord and unit^.

** Egremown and Cliffordy with other forsaide,

Ben set in the same opynyon.
In every quarter love is thus laide ;

Orace and wisdom hath tlius the dominacion.
Awake, welth, and walke in this region,

Ronnde aboute in tonn and cit^;
And thanke them that brought hit to this concluson :

Rejoise, Anglond, to concord and unit4.

'^ At Poules in Londonn with gret renoun,

On oure ladi day in Lent this peas was wrought;
The kyng, the queue, with lordes many oone,

To worship that virglne as thei ought,
Wenten a procession, and spariden* right nought,

In sighte of alle the corny nalt^,
In token that love was in herte and thought :

Rejose, Anglond, in concorde and unit^.

** Ther was bytwyn hem lovely countynaunce,

Whiche was gret joy to alle that ther were;
That long tyme hadden be in variaunce.

As frendcs for ever that had be in fere.
Thei wenten togeder and made goud* chere.

France and Britayn rcpcnte thul thei ;
For the bargain shul thei abye' ful dcrc ;

Rejose, Anglond, in concorde and unit4.

** Oare soveraigne lord kyng God kcpe ahrey,

The quene, and the archhisshop of Canterbury,

GfeMnry.— 1 Spared. 2 Good. 3 Pay for.

S88 THB H18TOBY OF LVDLOW.

And the biMhop of Wynokestre, chanceller of Anglond,

And other that han labored to this love-day.
Gh)d preaenre hem we pray hertly.

And Londoun* for the! fnl diligently
Kepten the peas in trowbel and adTersit^,

To bryng in reste thei labored fnl tmly :

Rejoise, Anglond, in Concorde and unit^.

** Of thre thynges I praise the worshipfal cit^ ;

The first the troe faithe that thei have to the kynge ;
The seconde of love to the oomynalt^ ;

The thrid goad mle for evermore kepynge^
The which God maynteyn evermore dorynge.

And save the maier and alle the worthi eit<;
And that is amys Ood brynge to amendyngSy

That Anglond may rejoise to oonoorde and nnit^.

Other similar documents prove the insincerity of the
reconciliation between the rival parties ; and a ballad by a
Lancastrian^ written in the same year, and probably soon
after the procession which gave rise to the foregoing song,
represents the state as a ship exposed to the storm, and
trusting for safety to its able mariners, who axe the leaders
of the Lancastrians, while the Yorlusts axe described as
the ** foe*meu" against whom it required defence;* it ends
with the following lines. —

** Now helpf saynt George, onre lady knyg^t,
And be core lode-sterre' day and nyght.
To strengthe oars kynge, and England ryght,

And felle oars fomenns* pryde.
Now is core shype dressed In hys kynde,
With his taklynge before and behynde;
Whoso love it not, God make bym blynde.
In paynes to abyde !"

* Arch»olo(riA» vol. xxii, p. 326.

G^ftfry.— 1 Polar utar, by which the Tetael WM fuidtd. 2 Fooaitn't.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. £89

It was evident, indeed, that the queen and her party had
only smothered their enmity until the arrival of a favourable
moment for vengeance, and the leaders of both parties
found it necessary to surround themselves with armed men.
The first public out-break was a serious afiray at West-
minster, where the earl of Warwick was attacked by some
of the queen*s household, and narrowly escaped by a boat
on the river. The earl, after a conference with his father
the earl of Salisbury and the duke of York, proceeded to
Calais, which, under the government of Warwick, had
become the strong hold of the Yorkists. " The duke and
the erle of Salesbury,'* to use the words of the old translator
of Polydore Vergil, " much moved with this offence, spake
openly betwixt themselves in bitter and sharpe termes,
that die matter was nothing els but the firaude and fury of
a woman, who, thinking she might do whatsoever she
listed, sought nor minded anything so much as by womanish
slight to torment, consume, and utterly destroy all the
nobilitie of the lande." Accordingly the great Yorlust
leaders began again to raise their vassals, with the intention
of marching towards London. At the beginning of Sep-
tember, 1459, the duke of York, who had been in Ireland,
landed at Redbank, near Chester, and hastened to Ludlow.*
The earl of Salisbury, who had collected an army in the
north, marched towards the south; but when he reached
the borders of Staffordshire his further advance was disputed
by a superior army under the command of a devoted Lan*
castrian, James Touchet lord Audley. On Sunday the
SSrd of September, 1459, the second battle between the
Yorkists and Lancastrians was fought at Bloreheath, near
Drayton, in Shropshire, and the Lancastrians were again
defeated, lord Audley and two thousand of his men being
slain. After the battle the earl of Salisburv continued his
march to Ludlow.

• Circa frstum bratir Maris* rcversiis c^t dux Ebornri dp Hibcmia, et
arnvavit apud Ucdbunkc prope Cctiriam, et ibidem cum paucis meavit ad
caftnim de Ludlowe. W. Wrrc. ap. Heamt, I ib. Kip* p. 49%

t90 THB HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

The court had ako been making great exertions to avert
the threatened danger, and had raised a much more nu-
merous army than that of their opponents. The king
hastened to Worcester with sixty thousand men: as he
advanced towards Ludlow, the army of the Yorkists was
drawn out into an intrenched camp in the fields of Lud-
ford. They had been joined by the earl of Warwick, who
brought a body of veteran troops from Calais, under an old
and experienced commander. Sir Andrew Trollop. Some
attempt was made at negotiation , and the Yorkist leaders
addressed a letter to the king which is printed by Stowe.
On the 13th of October the king's army came in view of
the intrenchments of Ludford, and were received with a
brisk cannonade, which compelled them to retire, and no
further attack was made on that day. In the evening the
duke of York and the two earls held a council of war,
at which it was determined to attack the enemy by surprise
early in the morning, which would probably have been
attended with success; but during the night Sir Andrew
'nroUop, who had been made the marshal of the Yorkist
army, deserted to the royalists, carrying with him the veteran
troops under his own particular command, and betrayed
all their councik to the king. The Yorkists, dismayed
by this defection, broke up their camp in the night and
fled ; the duke of York and his younger son the earl of
Rutland escaping to Ireland, while the earls of Warwick and
Salisbury, with Edward earl of Maroh, succeeded in reach-
ing Calais in safety.* The Lancastrians entered Ludlow,

* In th« tttbflcqnent tct of attainder, the foUowtng acconnt U giTen of
the traneacttont at Ludlow :—

** And the Friday, in the Tigill of the fest of the tranalation of seint
Edward kjn$ and confetaonr, the xixriiith yere of yonre moott noble
reigne, at Lodeford in the ehtre of Hereford, in the feldee of the lame,
the eeid Richard dos of York, Edward crie of llarche, Richard erle of
Warrewyk. Richard erle of Saletbnry, Edmond erle of Rutlond, Johan
Clynton lord Clynton, Johan Wenlok. knyght, James Pykcrynp. knyght.
the acid Joban Conycrs, and Thomas I'arre, knvglttcs, Joiian Hourghchicr.
Edward Boorgchier, aqnien, nemci to the aeid duo of York, Thomaa CoH

TUB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. £91

and wreaked their vengeance upon the town and castle,
which, as the old historians inform us, were plundered
" to the bare walls." The duchess of York with her two

lata of London, gentilman, Johan Clay late of Chesthunt in tho thire of
Hertford, squier, Roger Eyton late of Shrouesbury in Shropshire, iqaive,
and Robert Bonldc, brother to Herry Boulde, knyght, with other knyghtee
and people, such at they had blynded and assembled by wages, promyses,
and other exquisite meanes, brought in certeyn persones bifore the people,
to fwere that ye were decessed, doyng masse to be said, and offeryng all
to make the people the lease to drede to take the feld. NoTertheletse,
after ezortation to all the lordes, knyghtes, and nobley in youre host, made
by youre owne mouth, in so irttty, so knyghtly, so manly, in so comfortable
wise, with so pryncely apporte and assured maner, of which the lordes
and the people toke such joye and comfort, that all their desire was oonly
to bast to fulfill youre corageous knyghtly desire, albe tho ympedyment of
the weyes and streitnesse, and by lette of waters, it was nygh eryn or
je myght come to take grounde covenable for youre felde, displaied
yooie baners, raunged youre batailles, pighted youre tentes; they
beyng in the same feldes the same day and place, traitorously ranngod
in balaill, fortefied their chosen ground, their cartes with gonnes sette
bilbre their batailles, made their escarmysshcs, laide their cnbusshmentet
th0f6t sodenly to hare taken the avauntage of youre host And they
oatandyiig the destruction of youre most noble persoon, the same Friday
and toune, in the feld there falsely and traitorously rered wcrre ayenat
yon, and than and there shotte their scid gonnes, and shotte as wele ai
yefOfo noet roiall persone, as at youre lordes and people with you than and
thera beyng. But God, in whos handcs the hertes of kynges been, made
to ba kaowen* that they whoa hertes and desires were oonly sette to
antronth, fUsenesse, and cruelty, subtily coloured, and feyned telyag
justice, ment tho grcttest falscncs and treason, most ymmodcrate coretise
that erer was wrought in any realme : insomoche that by Robert Radclit
oca of the felauship of the scid due of York, and erles of Warrewyk and
8aleabnry, it was confessed at his dying, that both the coronne of
Englond and duchie of Lancaster they wuld have translated at their
wiUe and pleasure. But Almyghty God, that scth the hertes of people, to
whome is nothyng hidde, smote the hertes of the setd due of York and
arias sodenly from that most presumptuouse pryde, to the most shamefull
fhlla of cowardise that coude be thought, so that abouto mydnyght than
next tuyng Ihey stale awey outa of the felde, under colour they wold have
rafreehed theym awhile in the toune of Ludlowe, leryng their standardes
and banan in their bataill directly ayenst youre feld, fledde oule of the
tooao onaimad with fewa persones into Wales ; understondyng that yours
peopio hertes assembled, was blynded by theym afore, were the more
partia converted by Goddes inspiration to repent theym, and humbly
sttbmytte theym to you, and aske youre graee, which so didda the grata

S9S THE HI81*0KY OP LUDTX>W.

youngest sons were taken, and placed in safe ward; and
many of the richer partizana of the duke were executed and
their estates confiscated. On the SOth of November a
parliament met at CoTcntry, in which a number of the
Torkist leaders were attainted, who are thus enumerated
in a contemporary letter among the Fasten correspondence.
— ^" The due of York ; therle of Marche ; therle of Rutland ;
therle of Warrwyk ; therle of Salusbury ; the lord Powys;
the lord Clynton; the countesse of Sarr. ; Sir Thomas
Neyyle ; Sir Johan Nevyle ; Sir Thomas Haryngton ; Sir
Thomas oTarre; Sir Johan Conyers; Sir Johan Wenlok;
Sir William Oldhall ; Edward Bourghcier, sq. ; a brother of
his; Thomas Vaughan; Thomas Colte; Thomas Clay;
Johan Denham; Thomas Moryng; Johan Oter; maistre
Bic Fisher; Hastyngs, and other that as yet we can not
know there names, Ac As for the lord Fowys, he come
inne and hadde grace as for his lyf, but as forhisegodes the
forfeture passid.** In spite however of this disaster, the
Yorkists did not lose their courage ; at Calais, the earl of
Warwick entirely defeated the attempt to drive him from
his government, and the fleet having revolted to him, made
him master of the English coasts, and enabled him to hold
easy communication with the duke in Ireland. One of the
letters in the Fasten correspondence, dated in the month of
January, 1400, says, "The duke of York is at Dublin,
strengthened with his earls and homagers ;*' and that the
court was in dread of further danger appears by another
letter in the same collection, dated on the S9th of January,

put ; to whooM, ftt our* lordat revcrvncc and sciai Edward, yt ympaitad
laigely yoor snca. Bat, iOTerayiK lorda, it if not to be thooflit, but tboy
and it had baon po«ibla to tha} m by any maana, tbetr willa waa to haTo
aecompUabad thair eniall» oialieiotta, and traitaroua aatcnt, to tba fynal
daatractaon of your moat roiall persone. And to abava fortbennora tba
contynQanea of tbair most dataatabla llzad tfailffroaa pnipoaa and dcaira
ayanat yon* aorafaina lorda^ and yonra magaatA roiall, and tba wala of
youra raalma and snbfrettea, some of therm been arryt-ed in youre tonna of
Caleii* whcrby the toune stondcth in jupartic, atirele aa all the goodca of
all yoar owrebanatas baynf of tba atapla tbeta."

THS HI8TORT OF LUDLOW. t9S

firmn wUdi we learn that the king on his way to London
was ^'zaising the people/' and that great activity was
displayed in preparing a powerful army for immediate

The Tindicdve measures of the court had indeed left no
altematiTe to the Yorkist leaders but to seek safety in open
war. It appears evidently by several contemporary songs
still preserved that their cause was popular among the
Knglish commonalty. In one of these songs, which appears
to have been written in May, 1460, the chief men on the
Yorkist side are designated by twelve letters which were
to " save alle Inglande.'** The song goes on to tell us —

** Y for Yorke, that is manly and myghtfulle,
That be (^) grace of Gk>d and gret revelacion,
Beynyng with rules resonable and rtghtAilIe,
The which for oure sakes hathe snfferd vexaoion.**

The duke*s eldest son, Edward earl of March, had now
made himself conspicuous by his manners and his talents,
and from henceforth he begins to appear as one of the most
prominent actors on this tragical and eventful scene. The
song describes him as enjoying the highest popular favour: —

«< £ for Edward, whos fiune the erthe shal sprede,
Becanse of his wisdom, named pmdeuce,
Shal save alle Englond by his manlyheds,
Wherfbre we owe to do hym reverence.

M for Marehe, trewe in every tryalle,
Drawen by dtscrecion that worthy and wise is,
Conseived in wedlok, and comyn of biode ryalle,
Joynyng unto vertn, exdadyng alle vises.*'

In the popular songs of this time it was common to
speak of the leading barons by their badges and devices,
wliich were then as familiar to the hearers as their names.

• Printed in Uie Arcbcologia, vol zxiil, p 33i*.

2q

S94 THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

The earls of Salisbury and Warwick are here introduced by
their characteristic badges^ the eagle and the ragged staff. —

** E for the Egle, that gret worship hathe wonne
Thorow tpredyng of his wynges that nerer dyd fle ;
Ther was never byrde that bred andre sonne.
More fortunat in felde than that byrde hathe be.

** R for the Ragged Staff, that no roan may skapen.
From Scotland to Gales thereof men stond in awe ;
In al cristen landes is none so fellc a wepen.
To correcte soche caytiffes as do agayne the lawe.**

The song ends with a prayer for the success of the cause —

" Now pray we to the prynce moste precious and pnrSf
That sy tteth with his seyntis' in blys etemaUe,
Hnr* entent and pnrpos may last and endure.
To the pleasannoe of God and the welfare of us alle.*'

A few weeks after the period at which this song was
composed, in the month of June, the Yorkist lords sailed
from Calais and landed at Dover, and they were soon
joined by the old supporters of their cause, the men of
Kent. Thus reinforced, they marched direct for London,
where they arrived on the 2nd of July, and were favourably
received by the citizens. The king was at Coventry when
the news of the landing of the Yorkists arrived, and the
I^ncastrian army marched to meet them and reached
Northampton, where they strongly entrenched themselves.
Edward earl of March, who was now equally eminent for
his abilities and activity, and for his great popularity, left in
London the carl of Salisbury, lord Cobham, and Sir John
Wenlock, to watch the Tower which was held for the king
by lord Scales, and advanced with Warwick, Fauoonberg,
and RouTchier, to meet their enemies. In the battle of

G/(Mj«iry.-l Stint*. 2 Tlicir.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 295

Northampton^ fought on the 10th of July, after an obstinate
struggle, the Lancastrians were entirely defeated, and the
king himself was left in the hands of the victors. The total
number who fell in this battle appears not to have been
great, although much exaggerated by several old writers;
but on the side of the king were slain the duke of Buck-
ingham, the earl of Shrewsbury, and the lords Beaumont
and Egremont^ and about three hundred knights and gen-
tlemen. The queen with her son fled to the north, and
reached Scotland in safety. The earls carried the king to
London, and immediately called a parliament.

A curious poem written by one of the Yorkists imme-
diately after the battle of Northampton, affords an interesting
picture of the state of popular feeUng at that time. In this
poem the leaders of the different parties are characterized
by their badges, or by popular names, as the Rose for
Edward earl of March, the Fetterlock for the duke of York,
the Eagle for the earl of Salisbury, and the Bear for the
earl of Warwick. Edward, as being especially associated
with Warwick, is here most commonly distinguished as the
Bear-ward. After speaking of the mutability of human
affairs, the writer goes on to say. —

** An ensanmple hereof I take witnesse

Of oerteyne persones that late exiled were.
Whoa sorow is turned into joyfalnesae,

The Rose, the Fetyrlok, the Egle, and the Berc.

Grete games in Inglond sum tyme ther were,
In hauktng, huntyngv and fisshing, in every place,

Among^ lordes with sheldo and spcre,
Prosperete in reme* than rcignyng wase.

** Whereof Godf of his specialle grace,
Heryng the peple crying fur mercye,
Cousidering the falsehode iu every place*
Gave tttfleweni of myrthc into bodyei on liyo.

<'/«^«jiiry.— 1 licalin.

S96 THB HISTOBT OF LTTDLOW.

The whicbe in a Berward lighted prerelye,
Edward, yong of age, disposed in solace ;

In hanking and hnn^g to hegynne meiyly.
To Northamptone, with the Bere, he toke his trace.

9f

The Bear- ward's object was to rescue the Hunter (king
Henry) ttcm his Dogs and from the Buck (the earl of
Buckingham) with whom they had allied themselves. —

'' Now shal ye here a menrelons case.

All only thoronghe Ood oone prorysione;

The Berward and the Bere thai did the Dogges ehaoe.
And put theyme to flight, to gret oonfiioione*
Thus agayne alle natnralle disposidone,

To se a Bere to seke his owne game^
Bnt if it were of Goddis modone,

That he shnld do the Dogges shame.

** Talbot* ontrewe was the oon Dogges name,
Rayling Bewmond anodre,' I nnderstonde;

The thrid also was made fol tame.
He was called bolde Egremonde*
When the Bereward come to the groande.

Where he chased the forsdd leese,*
Amonge alle other a Bok he founde,

The whiche was bye and fat of greese.

** The coriages Berward pat hym &rre in preese,*

To tlie Hont,^ cure kynge, he hyed hym fal fast;
Tbe Bere, for alle the Dogges, wold not seese,*

Bat hyed hym sone affire^ swyflFUy in hast.

Tbe Dogges barked at hem Ail fast ;
The Bak set up his homes on bye,

Tbe Berward, thei ciyed, thei wold downe oast.
Tbe Bere also, if that he come nye.

OlotMry.— 1 AootlMr. 2 A Icuh. 3 Crowd. 4 Himtsr. 5 Ccmc»
diiooDtinae. 6 Soon after.

* John Talbot tarl of Shrewtbur}*.

THE HI8T0BT OF LUDLOW. 297

** The Bereward asked no qnestione why,

Bot on the Dogges he set fuUe rounde ;
The Bere made the Dogges to cry.

And with his pawme* cast theyme to groande.

The game was done in a litel stonndei
The Bok was slayne and borne away ;

Agayne the Bere than was none honnde.
But he might sporte and take his play**'

The stanzas which follow describe the respectful bearing
of the victors towards the Hunter (king Henry)^ after they
had obtained possession of his person. All historians bear
witness to the moderation of the earls on this occasion.

** Bat the Hnnt he saved from harme that day.

He thought never other in alle his mynde ;
He lowted* downe, and at his fote lay,

In token to hym that he was kynde.

The Bereward also, the Huntes frende,
Felle downe on kne saying with obedienoei

* Sovereigne lord, thenk us not unkynde,
Nor take ye this in none offence*

** * We have desired to come to your presence.
To cure excuse we myght not answere ;

AUe thinges were hyd from your audience.
Wherefore we fl^ away for fere.'
The Hunt said tho/ * I wol you here.

Ye be right welcom bothe to me ;
Alleway I pray you to stond me nere,

Ye be my frendis I may wele se«

««

* Stond up, Berward, welcom be ye,
Oramercy of your gentyl game;

From you and your Bere I wol never fle ;
Tellithe* me now what is your name.*
** Edward of Marche, I am the same,

Trewe to Ood and youre highncsse."

O'lniMry.— 1 Talm *i ilowctl, ttoopcU. 3 Tkcii. 1 Icll.

298 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

The gentyl Bere saidt * Withouten blamey
We have be put in gret hevynesse/ "

The king is then made to throw all the blame of past
events on the evil councOlors with whom he had -been sur-
rounded, the '' Dogges*' firom whom the earls had relieved
him, whom, in the ballad, he degrades with the title of
"curs.**

" The Hunt answerid with gret mekenesse,

* The Dogges wrought' agajne alle kynde ;*
Tbei labored to bryng me in distreflse,

I was theire mayster and specialle frende.

The Bok ran bdbre, the Dogges behynde,
I followed a£fker, I wist never why ;

In no place game kowde* I fynde.
The Bok and the Dogges playde by and by.

" < A gentylle Dogge wol naturally

His mayster love, and drede also;
His kyndly^ gsme if he may aspy ,

From hym bely ve* ha wol be goo.

These corre Dogges before dyd not so :
llie Bok and they played par aseni ;*

They lapped away the fatta me fro«
Me to myscheve' was theirs entent.

** *And never to me tbei wold consent,

The whiche called yon ever treytonrs untrewe ;

Tyl now the trewe comynerys^ of Kent
Be comyn with yon, falsehed to destrewe,*
And tmthe long exiled now to renewe.

8eynt Thomas I thanke, in alls yours right
That girded yon thb day, and sbewid to be tr«we»

80 fewe men slayne in so gret a fight.

«< < It was the werk of God Almight,
Of mannesse** power it might not be«

C&MMry.— 1 Woiked, acted. *i Natarc. 3 Could. 4 Natural. 5 Im-
mediately. G By agreement. 7 To ruin, cau«c to fail. 8 f*vmiuoner>.
9 Dcatroy. 10 Man's.

THB HISTORY OF LUDtX>W. £99

Gramercy, Fancon, of tbi fayre flight,
The bird from the nest he made to fle/ "

The *Faucoii* was William Neville lord Fauoonberg,
who distinguished himself by his zeal in the Yorkist cause.
The commons of Kent appear to have formed the bulk of
the Yorkist army at the battle of Northampton ; and the
small number slain in that engagement is confirmed by the
testimony of a contemporary writer of great authority. Our
poem proceeds to describe^ in conformity with the narratives
of the old chroniclers^ the manner in which the king was
led to London.

** To London now, that fayre cyt^.
The Hunt was brought ful reverently ;

The Berwardi the Bere, the Pawcone fre.
Rode about hym folle joyfully.

<« Thorow that cyt^ right opynly

The Hunt rode, with gret gladnesse ;
The pepil rejoysed inwardly.

And thanked God of his goodenesse ;

Thai he liketh with lustynesse
To endewe the Hunt, oure noble kyng.

And to remeve* his hevynesse,
Whiche to hb regalle is notbyng conservyng."

The ballad then returns to the acts which had in the
meanwhile been done in London. The earl of Salisbury
(the Eagle) had laid close siege to the Tower, which was
defended by lord Scales (the Fish) and other steady Lan-
castrians. When the Tower was delivered, lord Scales
attempted to escape with three others who were most
obnoxious to the other party, but his flight was intercepted
by some watermen of the earl of Warwick, who slew him
and left his body naked at the gate of ** the Clynke."

** The Egle from Londone was never remeving,*
But hovid' and way ted^ upon his pray ;

GlosMar^.—'l Remove. 2 Uemoving— he never left London. 3 Hovered.
4 Watched.

300 THB HISTORY OF LUDLOMT.

Alie his delite was ever in fiBshingi

The FiBBhe were closed in pyttes alway.
Yit at the last, npon a day.

The Fisshe drewe nere unto the bayte ;
Nede hathe no lawe» thus alle men sayi

The Egle therto ever layde goode wayte.

^' To skape away it was fol strajrte.

The Bgyk birdes lay so theyme abowte ;
Ever beholding the falce dissayte.

How from theyme alle thei wold gon oute.

The Egle lighted, and made hem to loute :
The Fisshe was feynte and litelle of might ;

Yit iiij. there were, bothe gret and stonte.
The whiche he toke alle at a flight.

<< Alle thei had scaped npon a nyg^l»

Save theire Skales were plaoked away ;
Than had the Fisshe lost alle here might.
And litel joy in wa^r to play."

The writer of this ballad concludes with a prayer for the
safe and immediate return of the duke of York.

** Now God, that madest bothe nyght and day,
Bryng home the mayster of this game.

The duke of Yorke, for hym we pray.
That noble prynce, Richard be name.

** Whom treson ne falsehod never dyd shame,

Bat ever obedient to his sovereigns ;
Falsehod eyermore pot hjrm in blame.

And lay awayte' hym to have sleigne.

If Ood be with ns, who is us agayne?
He his so nowe, blessid mot he be t

Of this fortune alle men may be fayne,
That right hathe now his fre entree.***

OlMMiry —1 Lay in wait or in ambnth.

* Tliis poem was rotnmtiiiioatod by Sir Frcileric Madden to the Society
of Antiqnarica, and it printed in the Archcologia, toL xzia, {i. 394.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 301

The duke of York had, indeed, remained quiet in Ireland
during these events, but, on receiving intelligence of the result
of the battle of Northampton, he hastened back to England.
He arrived at Chester in the latter part of August, and
passing through Shrewsbury, Ludlow, and Hereford, at
which latter place he had appointed to meet his duchess, he
reached London on the 10th of October. Now at length
he threw of all mask from his intentions, and deliberately
stated his claim to the crown. The parliament hesitated,
and ordered it to be taken into consideration; and it was
finally agreed that Henry should enjoy the throne during
his life, and that the duke of York should be acknowledged
his heir, and appointed protector of the kingdom till
Henry's death. For a time the new order of things went
on smoothly, at least in appearance ; but there was little
solidity under the surface. We have abundant evidence of
fears and suspicions in the Paston Letters, those interesting
memorials of the popular feelings of the fifteenth century.
John Brackly, a priest and very popular preacher of this
period, says in a letter written from Norwich to Sir John
Paston soon after the events just described, " God save our
good lord Warwick, all his brethren, Salisbury, &c. from
all false covetise and favour of extortion, as they will flee
utter shame and confusion. God save them and preserve
from treason and poison ; let them beware thereof, for the
pity of God ; for if ought come to my lord Warwick but
good, fiirewell ye, farewell 1, and all our friends ; for, by
the way of my soul, this land were utterly undone, as God
forbid; their enemies boasting with good (i. e. with money,
by briber)') to come to their favour. But God defend
them, and give them grace to know their friends from their
enemies, and to cherish and prefer their friends, and lc<seu
the might of all their enemies throughout the shires of the
land.'* A still more remarkable testimony of the fears and
feelings of the Yorkists at this time is prescr>ed in the
foUowin;:; short ])oi*in,* tin* writer nf nljich '-tronirly urtT«*!«

* Printe<1 in the Archiroloiria, xM. xxix. p. 310.
S H

302 THR HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

the men then in power to be on their guard against the
Lancastrians^ and to be distrustful of pretended friendship,
which agrees predsely with friar Brackly's apprehensions.
The earl of March is here again designated as the RosCj
and the other lords by the same terms as before; the
<' Ragged Bottis" refer to the earl of Warwick, while the
" Stafford Knottis" indicate the duke of Buckingham, the
head of the house of Stafford.

<< Awake, lordes, awake, and take goods bede.
For som that speke fol fayre, thei wolde yoor eril spede ;
Though thei pere in yoor presence with a fayre free.
And her tonge channged, the hert is as it was.
Thei seyne' in theire assemble, It is a wondre thyng
To se the Rose in wyntre* so fresshe for to spryng ;
And many barked atte Bere,* that now be fol stylle.
Tit thei wol hym wyrye,' if thei might have her wylle.
Bat of your fewe fomen* nothing that ye drede.
For the comyns* ben yonres, ever at yonre nede ;
Yit a seeg^ wold be set the falte to take and holde.
For oon' scabbed shepe may enfecte al a folde.
Trust not to mocheP in the favour of youre foos ;
For thei be doable in wirking, as the worlds gos,
Promysing foithfally obeisannoe to kepe.
But perfite^ love in theire hertis is leyde for to slepe.
And though thei were** the Rose, or the Ragged Staflfe,
Thei rought never how sone, in feithe, that ye starffe*
For fyre and water togider in kyndeling be" brought.
It passeth mannes power, be Ood that me bought!
For two faces in a bode'* is never to tryst,
Beth wel war before, and thenk of had-I-wisU**

phrus appeATi to proY« that tli« soDf wu written esriy in the
wiatOT which followed the bfttUe of Northampton, L e. the end of the year
1460.

Olp«Mfy.— 1 Say. 2 At the Bear (i. e. the earl of Warwick). 3 Worry.
4 Foet. 5 Commons. G Siege. 7 One. 8 Too much. 9 Perfect. 10 Wear.

11 In kindlinp (taking Arc), tn bi (the uirmitive of the verb). 12 Two
Uct9 in one hood- 13 Had I known (a proverbial ezprcMion).

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 303

For thei hopen and tristen* to here of a day.

To see the Rose and the Lione* brought to a bay.

With the Egel and the Bere, that worth! be in fight :

From that infortane* preserve you God Almight !

And lat not yonre savegardes be to liberalle

To your foos, that be tumyng ever as a balle ;

And sithe* fortune hathe set you hye on hir whele.

And in yonre comyns love, loveth ye hem as wele.

For many that were the chaynef on hir sieve,

Wole ful fayne youre ly ves bereve ;

And som that were the Ragged Bottis,

Had lever* were the Stafford Knottis ;

But what thei mene no man it wottes,

Therfore I connseiy eschewe theire lottis.

To telle yon more it is no nedey

By counsel goode, yit take goode hede.

For a Christmas gestenyng/ as clerkis rede.

At on-set stevyn* is quyt in dede.

Wherfore I counsel you sempely as I can.

Of youre disposicion tellith not trery man ;

Mnche is in my mynde, no more is in my penne.

For this shuld I be shent/ might som men it kenne.

But pray we al to Ood that died on a spere.

To save the Rose, the Lyon» the Egle, and the Bere,

With al other lordes trewe to youre assent,

Her sheld* be ever God Omnipotent.'*

Events were now marching towards a final crisis with
fearful rapidity. The queen, who had fled to the north,
was actively employed in raising another army, and had
been joined by the most powerful of the Lancastrian lords.
Hitherto the contest had been chiefly maintained by the
family feuds of the gprcat barons of the realm; but the

* John Mowbray, duke of Norfolk— his cuguUauce was a lion rampant.

t A badge of the earl of Warwick.

GiMsery.— 1 They hope and tnist. 2 Misfortimc, mishap. 3 Since.
1 Hithor. S I'.-itf. r. A tnni n<'i jT^xiU'^ly aip-ir.ti'l 7 |{ui:tc«l.
H Shield.

804 THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

commons were every day made more and more parties in
the cause. From a very early period there had existed
a strong feeling of jealous hostility between the Northerns
and the Southerns, or the population to the south of the
Trent and those to the north of that river. The people of
the south aud of the Welsh border, far more advanced than
the others in their notions of popular liberty, had embraced
warmly the cause of the house of York ; and the queen's
party now enlisted all the prejudices of the Northerns on
the opposite side. It is stated by the old writers that
she now held forth a promise of free permission to plunder
the whole country south of the Trent, as an inducement to
march against the triumphant Torkists ; and any one
acquainted with the history of these times will conceive the
influence of such a promise on the predatory inhabitants of
the Scottish border.

The duke of York was aware of the queen's proceedings,
and marched somewhat precipitately to anticipate the attack.
The rival armies met on the SOth of December, 1460, at
Wakefield in Yorkshire. Although the Yorkists had
imprudently engaged an army far superior in numbers to
their own, they fought bravely and supported the contest
for some time with good hopes of success, until they were
thrown into fatal disorder by an unexpected attack in the
rear made by a body of borderers newly arrived. The
result was in the highest degree disastrous to the Yorkists ;
the duke, and most of the men of note who had acoom*
panied him were slain, and the furious enmity bet^veen the
Northerns and Southerns had been so great, that of five
thousand Yorkists who took part in the battle, no less
than two thousand were left on the field. The earl of
Salisbury was taken in the pursuit, and was carried to
Pontefract castle, where he was immediately beheaded.
The earl of Rutland, the duke's second son, a child of
twelve years of nge, also fell into the hands of the Lancas*
trian^. .viil n:i- « mrlly nmnliTod !)y the lord Clifford. Most
•if tlii* pri^uiior> of au) consKlorutiun were executed to

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 305

satisfy the queen's thirst for the blood of her enemies ; and
her merciless conduct on this occasion rendered the Lan-
castrian cause still more unpopular in the south. The
following extract from a letter written about this time from
Clement Paston to his brother John, will give some notion
of the consternation of the Southerns: after speaking of
some private business, he says — *^ What word that ever ye
have from my lords that be here (in London ?), it is well
done and best for you to see that the country be always
ready to come, both footmen and horsemen, when they be
sent for ; for I have heard said the farther lords will be here
sooner than men ween, I have heard said ere three weeks
to an end ; and also that ye should come with more men
and cleanlier arrayed than any other man of your country
should ; for it lieUi more upon your worship and toucheth
you more near than other men of that country (Norfolk),
and also ye be more had in favour with my lords here. In
this country every man is well willing to go with my lords
here, and I hope Grod shall help them, for the people in the
north rob and steal, and be appointed to piU (pillage) all this
country, and give away men's goods and livelihoods in all
the south country, and that will ask a mischief. My lords
that be here have as much as they may do to keep down all
this country, more than four or five shires, for they would
be up on the men in the north, for U ufor the weal of ail
the south.*'

The queen marched directly upon London, and the conduct
of her troops seemed to verify in every point the report that
the Northern men had covenanted for the plunder of the
South. Slic met witli no serious check until she arrived
at St. Alban's, where she was opposed by the Yorkists
under the earl of Wanrick. But having turned their posi-
tion, she attacked the main body of the earl's army between
that town and Bamct, and completely defeated it, the last
stand being made by the men of Kent on Bamet Common.
Tlic kiiv^ wns left on tlic field, and was thus nfi^xn liberated
from tho p«irt) who had been acting in his name. The

806 THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

Lancastrians annulled all the acts of government passed
since their defeat at Northampton, proclaimed the leaders
of the Yorkists as traitors, and set a price on the head of
Edward earl of March, who now, by the death of his
father, had become the immediate pretender to the throne.

Edward was on the Welsh border when he received
the first intelligence of the disastrous battle of Wakefield.
He had collected an army to join his father in the north ;
and his numbers were quickly swelled by multitudes of the
exasperated borderers. He was already marching against
the queen, when he was called back to oppose a large force
of Welsh and Irish which, under Jasper Tudor earl of
Pembroke, was advancing in the hope, it is said, of making
themselves master of his person, and thus putting an end
at once to the hopes of the Yorkists, llie two hostile
parties met at Mortimer's Cross, near Wigmore in Hereford-
shire, on the morning of the 2nd of February. It is said
that before the battle conmienoed, three suns appeared in
the sky over the field, which approached each other until
they joined in one; and that Edward, taking this as a
favourable omen, subsequently adopted a bright sun as his
badge in remembrance of this circumstance. After an
obstinate struggle, the Yorkists obtained a decided victory,
and nearly four thousand of their enemies were slain. All
the prisoners of rank were beheaded at Hereford, in retaUa*
tion for the queen's cruelties after the battle of Wakefield ;
and then Edward continued his march towards the east,
his forces increasing continually by the way, until at
Chipping-Norton he joined the earl of Warwick who was
retreating from Bamet.

The Lancastrian anny remained at the latter place and
at St Alban's, plundering the country about, and not
sparing even the ancient abbey and church of St Alban's.
The queen hesitated in moving towards London, because
she was well aware that the citinns were unfavourable
towards her. She sent to the lord mayor for some carts of
victuals for her armv, and he did not venture to di^bev

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 807

her order : but, as Hall informs us, ** the moyeable com-
monSy which favoured not the queenes part^ stopped the
cartes at Cripplegate^ and boldely sayd, that their enemies
which came to spoyle and robbe the citizens, should nejther
be relieved nor victayled by them. And notwithstandyng
gende advertisement to them given of the mischiefes which
might ensue of their doyngs: yet they remayned still in
one obstinate minde and wilfull will, not permittyng the
caryages to passe or go forwarde. Durjrng which contro-
versies divers of the Northern horsemen came and robbed
in the suburbes of the dtie, and would have entered at
Cripplegate, but they by the commoners were repulsed and
beaten backe» and three of them slaine." While the queen
was concerting measures for punishing the stubbornness
of the Londoners, news arrived of the approach of Edward
and the earl of Warwick, and the Lancastrian army imme-
diately commenced its retreat towards the north. The
sequel may be told in the words of the chronicler just
quoted. ''The erles of Marche and Warwike, having
perfite knowl^;e that the king and queue, with their adhe-
rentes, were departed from Saint Albones, determined first
to ryde to London, as the chiefe key and common spectacle
to die whole realme, thinking there to assure themselves
of the east and west parte of the kingdome, as king Henry
and his fSeu^don nesteled and strengthened him and his alies
in the north partes : meaning to have a bucklar against a
sworde, and a southrene byll to countervayle a northern
bastard. And so these two great lordes, resolvyng them-
selves upon thys purpose, accompanied with a great number
of men of warre, entered the citic of London, in the first
weeke of Lent. What should I declare how the Kentish-
men resorted : how the people of Essex swarmed, and how
the counties adjoyning to London daylie repayred to see,
aydc, and comfort this lustie prince and flower of chivalrie,
as he in whome the hope of their joy and the trust of their
quietnesso onely then consisted." Edward, less scrupulous
than his father, took advantage of the favourable dis|N>$itioQ

308 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

of the people assembled at London^ and caused himself to be
received and proclaimed as king, under the title of Edward
ly. This last event took place on the 4th of March, 1461,
when Edward had not yet reached his twenty-first year.
''On Thursday the first week in Lent/' a manuscript at
Lambeth informs us, " came Edward to London with thirty
thousand men, and so in field and town every one called
* Edward king of England and of France/ " In the eyes
of the populace the loss of the French conquests was a sore
blot in the character of the unfortunate Henry.

Nothing gives us so striking a picture of the spirit of
these great national struggles as the popular songs of the
age. A contemporary manuscript in the archiepiscopal
library at Lambeth* has preserved a song composed on the
occasion of Edward's entrance into London, which gives us
some notion of the joy with which he was received.

** Sitbe' God bathe chose the to be bis knyght,
And posMside the in this right,
Thoue him honour with al thi nyght,

EdwarduM Dei gratia,

** Oata of the stoke* that longe lay dede,

Ood bathe caosede the to sprynge and sprcdo.
And of al Englond to be the hede,'

EdwarduM Dei gratia.

<* 8ithe God hath yeven the, thoroogh his myghtc,
Owte of that stoke birede* in sight
The flonre to springe and rose so white»

Edwardue Dei ^aiia.

** Thone yeve* hem lawdc and praitinge,
Thoue vergyne knight of whom we synge,
UndeiBled* sithe thy bygynyng,

Edf9ardm» Dei gratia^

• CommimicaUd by If r. HalUw«U to tk« Soct^iy of Antiquarios, tad
printed in the ArchsologiA, yoI. xziz, p. 130.

<7foMary.— 1 Since. 2 Slock, i. c. tlie luusc of Vork. 3 Ilr.ul. 1 HmucJ.
5 Give 6 Undefilodt i. e. who had nerer tntUincd a defeat.

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

** God save thy contenewannce,
And so to prospede* to his plesauncoy
That ever thyne astate thou mowte* enhaaiice»

Edfvardus Dei ^atia.

** Rex Anglice et Francke^ y say,

Hit is thine owne, why saist thou nay ?
And so is Spayn, that faire contrey,

Edwardtta Dei ^cUia,

** Py on slowtfnlle contenewanance !
Where conquest is a nohlc plesaunce.
And regtsterd in olde rememberancey

EdwarduB Dei ^oHa,

<< Wherefore, prince and kyng moste myghti,
Remembere the subdene of thi regaly.
Of EnglondCy Fraunoey and Spayn, trewely,

EdwarduB Dei ^aiia,**

Edward had need of the utmost activity to secure his
new position. The queen, in her retreat, had kept her
forces together, and she was busily employed in strengthen-
ing herself in the north, where hy the middle of March she
had collected an army of sixty thousand men. Edward,
counting probably on the exasperation of the Southerns^
who were eager to revenge the violences committed hy the
Northern army, determined at once to march against her.
On the 5th of March, John duke of Norfolk was sent " into
his countrey with all diligence to prepaire for the warre.*'
A day or two after the earl of Wanvick moved northward
with the main body of the Torkist army, which consisted
chiefly of Welshmen (or borderers) and Kentishmcn, and
the men of the south joined him in his advance in such
numbers that on reaching Pontcfract his army had increased
to forty-nine thousand men. Edward left London on the
ISth of March, and soon joined the advancing army* At

67(MJary.~l Troapcr, sitcod well. S Ma)*.

2 t

810 TH3 HISTORY OF LXTDLOW.

Ferrybridge there was a sharp and unexpected engagement,
in which the Yorkists slew lord ClifRnd, the base murderer
of the in£ELnt earl of Rutland after the battle of Wakefield.
On Friday eyening, the 27th of March, the two armies
came in sight of each other at Towton near York ; and the
exasperated multitude were with difficulty restrained 6om
fighting during a few hours. The battle began without
much regularity about four o'clock on Saturday, amid a
heavy storm of snow, rendered more gloomy by the ap-
proaching darkness of the evening. Northerns and Southerns
fought with unrelenting fury during the whole of the night,
and at noon of the next day, which was Pafan Sunday, the
result seemed still doubtful, when the duke of Norfolk
appeared with a body of fresh troops, and by three o'clock
the Yoridsts had gained a dedsive victory. In this savage
contest, in which neither side gave quarter, from thirty-
three to thirty-eight thousand men were slain, of which
number twenty-eight thousand belonged to the Lancastrian
party. The earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland^
with several other barons of the Lancastrian party, and
Sir Andrew Trollop, who had deserted the Yoridsts at
Ludlow, were among the dead, and the earls of Devonshire
and Wiltshire were taken and beheaded. The dukes of
Somerset and Exeter escaped to York, and fled thence with
the queen, king Henry, and their son prince Edward,
closely pursued by their enemies, to Scotland. Edward
entered York immediately afler, where he found the heads
of his father and younger brother still exposed on the
walls, and a number of Lancastrian heads were put up in their
place. After remaining in the north a sufficient time to
ensure the effects of his victory, he returned to London,
where he was cro>vned with great solemnities on the 29th
of June.

A curious Yorkist ballad on the battle of Towton, and
the events which preceded it, written immediately after
Edward's coronation, is preserved. It not only pictures
the spirit of the times ami tlic exultation of the victors, but

THE HISTORY OF LTTTLOW. Sll

it enumerates by their banners the chief towns which sent
men to aid the victorious party, and to avenge the invasion
of the South by the Northerns, as well as the barons who
took part in this sanguinary contest* Some of these
banners, or badges, cannot now be easily appropriated.

'' Now is the Rose of Rone' growen to a gret honoare,
Therfore syng we everychone,* i-blessid be that floure I

u

I wame you everychone, for [ye] shnld nnderstonde,
There sprange a Rose in Rone, and sprad into Englonde ;
He that moved oure mone/ thoronghe the grace of Gk)ddes

sonde/
That Rose stonte alone the chef flour of this londe.

I-biessid be the tyme that ever God sprad that floure I

*' Blessid be that Rose ryalle that is so fresshe of hewe !
Almighty Jhesu blesse that soulef that the sede sewe !
And blessid be the gardeyne ther the Rose g^we !
Cristes blessyng have thei alle that to that Rose be trewe !
And bleaiid be the tyme that ever Qod sprad that flourel

^' Betwiz Cristmas and Candelmas, a litel before the Lent,
Alle the lordes of the norths thei wrought by oon assent;
For to stroy* the sowthe cuntr^ thei did alle bur entente;*
Had not the Rose of Rone be, al Englond had be shent.^
I-blessid be the tyme that ever Ood sprad that flours I

<' Upon a Shrof Tuesday, on a grene leede,*
Betwix Sandricche and Saynt Albons many man gan blede;
On an Aswedynsday we levid in mykel drede,

• This ballad if preferred in a manmcripi in the library of T^rinity
CeUege, Dublin, from wliidi it waa copied by Sir Frederic Madden* and
oommnnicated to the Arclueolosif, toL nil, p. 34.1.

t The duke of York, who waa flain at Wakefield.

Gloftory.— 1 Rouen, where Bdward was born in 1441. 2 BTory one
3 Remored our grief. 4 Sendtnfr. ^ Destroy. 6 Intention, cidcavour.
7 RuincJ- ^ A prreii pi. tin.

812 THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

Than cam the Rose of Rone downe to halp os at onre node,
be the tjme that eyer Ood tprad that flonie I

** The northen men made her host, whan thei had done that dede,
< We wol d welle in the southe cuntrej, and take al that we nede ;
These wifes and hur doaghten oure pnrpoee shal thei spede.'
Than seid the Rose of Rone, * Nay, that werk shal I forbede.'
Blessid be the tjme that ever Ood sprad that floare 1

<< For to save al Englond the Rose did his entent*
With Calajs and with Londone, with Essex and with Kent;
And al the southe of Englond nnto the watyr of Trent;
And whan he saw the tjme best, the Rose from London went.
Blessid be the tyme that erer Ood sprad that flonrel

" The way into the northe cnntr^ the Rose fol fast he sought.

With hym went the Ragged Staf, that many man dere bought ;
, 80 than did the White Lyon,* ful worthely he wrooght,
Almighti Jhesa blesse his sonle that tho' armes oogfatl*
And blessid be the ^me that erer Ood sprad that flonre I

<< The Fiashe Hokef oam into the felde with fnl egra mode;'
80 did the Comysshe Chowghet and brought forthe alie hir

brode;*
Ther was the Blak Ragged 8taf,§ that is bothe trewe and goode.
The Brideld Horse, the Watyr Bouge|| by the Horse stode.
Blessid be the tjmB that erer Ood ^red that flours!

<< The Orehound and the Hertes Hede, thei quyt hem wele that
day,
80 did the Harow of Caunterbury, and Clynton with his Kay ;
The White Ship of Brystow, he feryd' not that fray.
The Blak Ram of Cotentr^ he said not one nay.

Blessid be the tyme that oyer Ood spred that floure 1

• Tliediikeof NorfoUi. whose baaaer boie a white lios.

t Lord Palooabeis*

} This wti the eognixaiiee of John lord Scropo of Bolton.

I Bdmitad lord Grey of Rnthyn, alUrwarda earl of Keat

I Suppotod to bo Henry viscount Booehier, afterwuds oeri of Essex.

GlMMry.~.l Those. 2 Possessed. 3 Sharp mood. 4 Brood. & Feared.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 813

** The Fawcon aod the Fetherlok* was ther that tyde*
The Blak BuUe also hymself he wold not hyde ;
The Dolfyn cam fro Walys, iij. Carpis be his syde.
The prowde Libert* of Salesbory, he gapid his gomes* wide.
Blessid be the tyme that ever God spred that floare !

" The Wolf cam fro Worcetre, fal sore he thought to byte.
The Dragon cam fro Glowcestre, he bent his tayle to smyte ;
The Griffon cam fro Leycestre , fleyng in as tyte,'
The George cam fro Notyngham with spere for to fyte.
Blessid be the tyme that ever God spred that fioore !

<i

The Boris Hede fro Wyndesover, with tosses^ sharp and kene,
The Estriche Fader was in the felde, that many men myght

sene;'
The Wild Rat fro Norhamptone, with hor brode nose*
Ther was many a fayre pynone* wayting upon the Rose.
Blessid be the tyme that ever God spred that floure I

** Tlie northen party made hem strong with spere and with
shelde ;
On Palmesonday a£fVer the none thei met us in the felde ;
Within an owre thei were right fayne to fle, and eke to yelde,
xxyij. thousand the Rose kyld in the felde.

Blessid be the tyme that ever God spred that floure I

** The Rose wan the victorycy the feld» and also the chace ;
Now may the housband in the southedwclle in his owne place ;
His wif and eke his faire doughtre, and al the goode be has;
Soche menys^ hath the Rose made, by vertu and by grace.
Blessid be the tyme that ever God sprad that floare !

• This and one or two of (he othen tppear to hare been different badget
borne by Tariooa parties of Edward'e own feudal retainen. Men of
Ludlow were probably in the battle, who had to rerenge not only the
general cause, but the plundering of the town by the Laneastxians on a
former occasion.

G/oit<7ry.— l Leopard. 2 Gums. 3 Quick I v. 4 Tusks. 5 Sec 6 Pen«
non« flag. 7 Such means.

814 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

** The Rom cam to London fnl ryally* rydyng,
ij. erchebisshops of England thei crooned the Roee kyng;
Almighti Jhesu save the Rose, and geve hjm his blcssjng,
And al the reme* of England joy of bis crownjng,

That we may blesse the tyme that eyer God sprad that fionre !

Ameny pur eharite.

In the summer after his coronation king Edward made
a tour through the southern parts of the kingdom^ b^inning
at Canterbury, and passing through Winchester, and other
phices until he reached Bristol, where he was received
with unusual rejoicings. At the Temple Gate he beheld a
figure representing William the Conqueror, who was made
to address him in the following doggrell verse, —

*^ Wellcome, Edwarde, onre son of high degr£ !

Many yeeris hast thou lakkyd owte of thb londe.
I am thy forefader, Wylliam of Normandye,

To see thy welefare here through Ooddys send."

A giant over the gate appeared in the act of delivering up
the keys. As the king marched into the town, other
pageants were ready to receive him, and prove the attach-
ment of the citizens to his person. While he remained
here^ Sir Baldwin Fulford and other Lancastrians were
brought before him, and beheaded on the 9lh of September.
The king soon after left Bristol to prepare for his first
parliament, which met at London in the beginning of
November.

A oontemporary writer observes that on this occasion,
"forsomoche as he fande in tyme of nede grete comforth
in his comyners, he ratyfied and confermyd alle the
fiaunsches yeve to dteis and townes, &c. and graunted to
many cyteis and townes new fraunschesses more than was
graunted before, rygfate laxgly, and made cfaartouia thereof,
to the entent to have the more good wille and love in his
londe/** Among the towns which had supported the

GfoMary.-^l Rnyally. 2 Realm.

• WariiworUi*t Chronicle, ed. UtUiwell, p. 2.

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 315

interests of the house of York^ none had been more staunch^
and few had suffered more severely^ than Edward's own
town of Ludlow. On the 7th of December in the first
year of his reign, (1461) he rewarded the townsmen witib a
charter which greatly extended their franchisesy and the
preamble states that it was given in consideration of ** the
laudable and gratuitous services which our beloved and
faithful subjects the burgesses of the town of Ludlow, have
rendered unto us in the obtaining of our right to the crown
of England, for a long time past withheld from us and our
ancestors, in great peril of their lives ; and also the rapines,
depredations, oppressions, losses of goods, and other griev-
ances, for us and our sake in divers ways brought upon
them by certain of our competitors;" the king ''being
desirous for the amelioration and relief of our town aforesaid,
and of the burgesses and inhabitants in the same, to
bestow our grace and favour on the same burgesses."

To understand the benefits conferred by this charter, it
will be necessary to trace rapidly the gradual progress of
the place firom a small assembly of fireemen and traders
who sought protection under the walls of the formidable
castle to a populous borough. We have seen that before
the end of the twelfth century the inhabitants had become
numerous, and that the town was defended by walls with
the repair and defence of which we find them diaiged at an
early period. At first they would be obliged to live
in a state of galling dependence on their feudal lord, taxed
at his caprice, and involved in constant troubles by their
resistance to the extortions or oppressions of his officers.
But the lord would in course of time see that it was his
own interest to protect and encourage them, and they
would obtain for a momentary sacrifice a part of the
franchises enjoyed by the older and more independent
municipal corporations. This is the simple history of the
origin of many of our borough towns. The townsmen
would buy of their lord the right of taxation for a fixed
rent, or fee farm ; they would obtaiu exemption from his

310 THB HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

interference in their internal disputes^ with the right of
judging their own causes; and they would have officers of
their own appointment, or at least only subjected to the
approval of their lord.

Until the charter of Edward IV, the town of Ludlow
held aU its rights and franchises by grant from the lord of
the manor. At what period the inhabitants first received
the title of burgesses is unknown, but they must have
been incorporated, and have enjoyed a certain share of
independent rights, early in the thurteenth century, for the
grant of pasture on Whitcliffe by Jordan of Ludford, of a
date anterior to the year 1241, is made '' to all the
burgesses and men of Ludlow,*' and in return for it, it is
stated that ** the burgesses of Ludlow have granted unto me
and to my heirs, and to all the men of my housdiold, fredy
to buy and sell in the town of Ludlow, in fairs and out <^
fiurs, without any custom given." Li the STth of Henry
VI, a charter was granted by Bichard duke of York, as tl^
feudal lord, in which it is stated that there had been
"before time out of memory an ancient government in the
said town, consbting of twelve and twenty-five burgesses of
the said town, and that the same twelve and twenty-five
burgesses ruled and governed the said town, and were the
body of the said town,'' which government the duke
confirmed by the said charter. Their acts hovrever appear
to have required the consent and approval of the lord, as in
the following old order, printed in the book of charters, from
the municipal archives.

''Ye shall understand the ordinance made and granted
by Richard late duke of York, whose soul God save, and
by the twelve and twenty-five of this town, that no manner
crafl make no foreign brother, but it be a man of this same
town, dwelling and occupy the same craft that he is made
brother of, under payne of x. li., so as it plainly appeareth
under the said dukes seal and the common seal of the
town, to be forfeit as ought times as it may be proved.

''Also it is ordered by the $aid duke and twelve and

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 317

twenty-five^ that no burgess^ chansel, or resident were no
loides clothe^ nor gentlemen on pain of forfeiture of his
buxgesship, and he be burgess, and all others to be at a fine
after the discretion of the said twelve and twenty-five, and
also their bodies to prison, and there to abide the deliverance
of the council of the said town.

** Also it is ordered by the said duke and council that no
man within the town dwelling, disobey no ordinance made
by the twelve and twenty -five, under the payne aforesaid.

" Also the twelve and twenty-five have ordained that all
manner men that be or hereafter shall be empanelled in
any inquest of debte, or tresspass, detenue or covenant
broke, that thei appear under pain of two-pence each of
them the first day, the second day four-pence, the third day
six-pence, and so every day to increase the amerciament
two-pence, till they appear, and it to be recevyd without
any favour for the debtors."

The charter of Edward IV relieved the borough from all
feudal dependence, and gave to the inhabitants the manor
of the town, with the absolute right of managing their own
affieurs, and electing their own officers, without any foreign
interference, by fee-farm, that is, for ever, on condition of
an annual payment of twenty-four pounds thirteen shillings
and four pence, which was not a large sum in comparison
with the fee-farm of other towns similarly situated. The
king also grants to the town ''a gUda meroatoria (mer-
chant gild), with a company of merchants and other
customs and liberties appertaining to the gild aforesaid,
that no person who shall not be of that gild shall transact
any merchandise in the town aforesaid, or the suburbs of
the same, except by the licence and consent of the same
burgesses.'* The remainder of the charter gives to the
burgesses more extensive liberties and privileges than were
enjoyed by many boroughs of much greater antiquity and
importance. In 147tS, a second charter was granted, to
relieve the town from souio grievances >vhich seem to have
occurred in the payment of the fee-farm into the king's
2 T

318 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

exchequer. The whole tenor of these charters shows that
the town of Ludlow enjoyed the especial fayour of king
Edwai]^.

Many other acts prore Edward's partiality for this town
and its neighbourhood; but after his throne seemed to be
firmly established, he began to show his real character, and
became selfish and tyrannical, and his popularity rapidly
dimtniBhed. Many of his supporters, sudi as Warwick,
were as selfish as himself; and thinking themselves abridged
of the emoluments and honours for which chiefly they had
fought, ihey began to desert his cause. In 1409, the
general discontent broke out in an insurrection in the
north, and the king was obliged to call upon his family
fiiends in Wales to support him. William lord Herbert,
whom the king had created earl of Pembroke after the
attainder of Jasper Tudor (now an exile), raised a consider-
able army of Wekhmen, and marched against them, but
the Welshmen were defeated with great slaughter near
Banbury, and their leader was taken and beheaded* The
insurrection was only repressed by the intermediation of
the earl of Warwick. From this time one intrigue followed
another until in 1470 king Edward was obliged to take
refuge mth the duke of Burgundy. He returned, however,
after only about five months absence, and regained the
crown almost as quickly as he had lost it It was secured
to him by the decisive battle of Bamet, on the 14th of April,
1471, in which the earl of Warwick — ^the king-maker —
was slain.

The Welsh appear to have been still divided by their
feudal animositiea. Only two years before they had marched
with an earl of Pembroke of Edward's making — a Herbert
— ^to fight the Lancastrian insuigents. Some of the Wekh
chiefs had raised their men, joined Edward on his return,
and fought with him in the battle of Bamet. But a rival
earl of Pembroke, Jasper Tudor, the same who had been
defeated by Edward at MortimcrV CVoss, and who had
fought in the Lancastrian cause in Wales in 1468, was now

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 319

raising an army in that country to join queen Margaret,
who had landed at Weymouth, collected the remains of
Warwick's army^ and was marching towards the border.
King Edward overtook her at Tewkesbury on the 4th of
May, and the Lancastrians were again entirely defeated,
on which Jasper Tudor disbanded his army and fled. In
the midst of these troubles we can have no doubt that the
border must have been a scene of confusion and violence.

Of this indeed there are abundant proofs in the records
of the time. In all parts of the kingdom^ people took
advantage of the political divisions of the state to rob and
oppress one another under pretence of imaginary acts of
treason or partisanship, and this was more especially the
case on the borders of Wales, where the Welshmen were
still on the watch for every opportunity of plundering their
neighbours. In the parliament of 1472, the commons
petitioned the king to '' considre the intollerable extorsions,
oppressions, and wronges, that to youre subjettes daily been
put, and in especiall in the parties of this youre land
adjoynyng the contr£ of Wales, which by the outeragious
demeanyng of Walsshmen, favoured under such persons as
have the kepyng of castelles and other places of strengh
there, as it is supposed, been wasted, and likely utterly to
be distroyed.*** Immediately after the opening of this
parliament, on the 6th of October, 147S, the king created
his eldest son prince Edward, then a mere in&nt, prince
of Wales and earl of the county palatine of Chester, and,
probably to afford a remedy to the evils complained of,
almost immediately sent him and his younger brother to
the castle of Ludlow, in company with his half brothers,
the marquis of Dorset and Sir Richard Grey, and under
the guardianship of his uncle, Antony Widville earl Rivers.
Hall, whose chronicles of these events wc have cited a few
pages back, tells us the royal child was tent to Ludlow
*' for justice to be doen in the marches of Wales, to the end

* Rol r«rl. to), ti, p. S.

S80 THE HISTOBT OF LUDLOW.

that by the authoritie of hys presence the wilde Welahe*
menne and evill disposed personnes shotdd refrain from
their accustomed mmthers and outrages." The prince's
ooundlj OTer which Alcock, bishop of Woroester, was
appointed president^ were actiyely occupied in carrying
into effect these objects. In the following official letter,*
dated in 1476, when the prince was still hardly four years
of age, we find his two half brothers occupied in putting
down one of these not unfrequent acts of turbulence.

** To onr trusty and welbeloved the baillies of Shrewsbury,
and to either of them*

** By the prmoe.

** Trusty and welbeloTed, we grete you wele. And where
as often^rmes hertofor ther have be made as well unto our
moost drad lords and fadre, as unto us, greet and haynes
complaynts of robberies, murdres, manslaughters, raTysshments
of women, brennyng of houses, and othir horrible dedys and
misbehayyngs, by thenhabitants of the Marches adjoinant unto
you; and in especiall now late greet murdrs, brennyng, and
manslaughter doon by errant theves and rebellions of Oswestre
hundred and Chirkes lend in dupite of my said lords and
fadres lawbs and us, as the said misdoers fere nor shame opynly
to sey, as we be credibly enformcd. For the redresse of the
same, my said lords and fadre hath commanded us by his
speciall lettres to assemble and reise his liege people, and to se the
punisshment of the said malefactours* For thezeoution wherof
we have substitute our right entierly and welbeloved bretbem
ulerynes Thomas Markes Dorset and Richard Grey, knight*
with power sufficient unto thoes parties. Wherfor we desire
and pray you, and natheless in my said lordes name charge
you, that fortwith, uppon the sight of this our writyng, ye do
make opyn prodamacion in our said lords and (adres name,
that all manner men within your bailly weke betwix Ix. and xvj.
arredie themselis, sufficiendy hameysed, and drawe toward our
said bretbem, there to give their attendaunce in all hast possible.

* rriuti'd ill 0\icu and Dlakc\\M*s lliitor}- of Shrcwftlury, >oL i,
p. 252.

THE HI8T0UY OP LUDLOW. S21

And that ye ne faile herof as ye will answere to my said lorde.
And that je put you in effectual devoir to se that vitelera
purvey and bring brede, ale, flessh, and other vitail for the
sostentacion of our seid brethem and their fclawship, and they
shal be wole and truly content therfor. Yeven nndre our
signet, at the castle of Lndlowe, the viij. day of June."

The two princes remained at Ludlow during the life of
their father. We find them paying visits to Shrewsbury in
1478 and 1480. On king Edward's death in 1488, they
were still at Ludlow Castle, under the guardianship of
their maternal uncle, lord Rivers, and their half brother,
lord Richard Grey, and were immediately recalled to
London to perish there within a few weeks, amid the
mysterious events which attended the accession of Richard
XXL to the throne. After having celebrated at Ludlow the
then high festival of St. George's day, they left that town
on the 24th of April, 1483, on their way to the capitaL

Immediately after his coronation, king Richard made a
progress towards the west He passed through Oxford
to Gloucester, a city which had always been devoted to his
family, and in which he was now received with great
rejoicings. He reached Tewkesbury on the 4th of August,
and thenoe passed on to Worcester, Warwick, Coventry,
Leioester, Nottingham, Doncaster, and to York, where he
was extremely popular, and his arrival was welcomed with
extraordinary splendour and festivities. Several of the
towns through which he passed obtained new and favourable
charters of their municipal liberties. He reached York
about the end of August, and remained there nearly a
fortnight On his way to his capital, he receiyed at
Lincoln the news of the treacherous rebellion of the duke
of B^<?kipghBm.

The brndeis of Wales had become important at this
period from the position taken by the powerful Welsh
family of the Tudors ngainst the reigning dynasty* The
duke of Buckingham had great power in Wales and in

SS2 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

Shropshire, in which latter county he held the castle and
estates of Caus, as the representative of the ancient family
of Corbet. He raised his standard at his castle of Breck-
nock, on the 18th of October, and immediately advanced
towards Worcester, but at Weobley his progress was arrested
by unusual floods ; and he was kept so long at this place,
that his Welsh followers, discouraged by the tidings of the
king's preparations and approach, disbanded and returned
to their native mountains. The duke left Weobly in
disguise, a fugitive, and was concealed for a few days in
the neighbourhood of Wem, by Ralph Banestre, Esq. of
Laoon, but he was discovered, and arrested by sir Thomas
Mytton, the sheriff of Shropshire, a staunch adherent of
the family of York, who carried him to Shrewsbury, and
he was thence sent to Salisbury, where he was beheaded
on the 2nd of November. Richard shewed his gratitude
to the town of Shrewsbury, for the fidelity it had shown to
him on this occasion, by remitting a part of its fee-farm.
To sir Thomas Mytton die king gave the duke's castle and
manor of Cans.

The border was deeply implicated in the last scene of
Richard's brief reign, for many of the chief families stood
firm to the cause of their monarch, and some sealed their
fidelity with their blood on the fatal field of Bosworth.
Shrewsbury, under sir Thomas BIytton, made an ineffiectual
attempt to arrest the progress of die successful pretender to
the throne, in his march from Wales.

The sanguinary struggle between the two rival femilies
of York and Lancaster ended in the person of Henry VII.
It left the country exhausted and demoralised. The borders
of Wales continued still a scene of turbulence and riot, which
the laws seem to have been insufficient to suppress; and
amid the few records of local events at this time we find
the names of some of the best families connected with deeds
of violence and injustice. In 1487, an act of parliament
was passed against the Kinnstons of Shroiishirr, ** for th<*
greate abhomynation as well of murthers as of robborieSy

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 323

and Other greate and inordynat offences, commytted and
done by Thomas Keneston, Humfrey Keneston, Olyver
Keneston, and Richard Keneston, late of the conutie .of
Shropshire, gentilmen, as to oure sovereygn lorde the kyng
credebly ys shewed, [wherefore] oure sovereygne lorde hath
dyrecte his dyvers lettres of pryv^ seales, to the said Thomas,
Humfray, Olyvere, and Richard Keneston, as well with
prodamacion as otherwise ; the whiche privy seales, obsty-
natly, oontrarie to their true allegeaunce and fealt^, they
have disobeyed, to the greate contempt of his highness, and
most periloos and grerous ensample of all other his sub-
gettes.'** Only four years later, in 1491, a similar act was
directed against one of the Crofts : — '' Forasmuche as
Thomas Crofte commytted a detestable murdre within the
Marches of Wales, at the tyme of the bejrng of the kyng
our soTereign lordes late progresse, and therupon is fledde,
and hath taken the sajrntuary of Beaudeley. Be it
ordeyned, stablished, and enacted by the kyng oure said
sovereign lorde, by the assent of the lordys spiritual and
temporall, and the comens, in this present parliament
assembled, and by auctoriti^ of the same, that all lettres
patentee, giftes, and grauntes, made by the kyng our
sovereign lorde unto the said Thomas Crofte, of the office
of rangership of the foreat of Wichewode, in the oountie of
Ozon, and of every other office and offices whiche he had,
as well within the realme of England, as in Wales, and the
Marches of the same, by whatsoever name or names the
same Thomas Crofte be named or called in the said lettres
patentee, giftes, or grauntes or the same offices, or any of
theym be named or called in any suche lettres patentee,
giftes, or grauntes, be, from the first day of this present
parliament, utterly voide, and of no force, virtue, nc effccte.*'t
In the progress alluded to the king, after visiting the
north, had passed along the border, visiting Worcester,

• Rolls of Parliamcnl. vui. vi, p. lO't.
t lb. p. 441.

324 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

Hereford, Gloucester and Bristol, in the coarse of which
it is probable that he was received at Ludlow. The ineffi-
ciency of justice in this part of the kingdom was caused
not <mly by the feuds and turbulence of the inhabitants,
but in many cases by the conflicting rights of jurisdiction
still held on the lands of the old lords marchers ; and so
late as the year 1535, four acts passed in one parliament
show us that then Wales and its Marches must have been
much in the same state that Ireland is at the present day.
These were ** an act for punishment of perjury of jurors
in the lordships merchers in Wales;" ''an act that
murders and felonies done or committed within any lordship
mercher in Wales shall be enquired of at the sessions holden
within the shire grounds next adjoining, with many good
Ofdzes for ministration of justice there to be had ;" " an
act for punishment of Welshmen attempting any assaults or
affirays upon any of the inhabitants of Here£ GIouc. and
Shropshire;' and ''an act for purgation of convicts in
Wain.**

Henry YII followed the example of Edward IV in
sending his infant son, Arthur prince of Wales, bom in
1486, to keep his court at Ludlow Castle, under the guar-
dianship of a distant kinsman. Sir Rhys ap Thomas. The
king appears to have paid frequent visits to Ludlow while
his son remained there; but in April 1502, his sympathies
with the border were cut of by the untimely death of the
young prince, in whom all the best hopes of the kingdom
had been centered.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 325

SECTION XL
The Dissolution of Monasteries,

DURING ages of political turbulence, like those of
which we have had to speak, it is not to be wondered at if the
condition of the border counties had been totally changed.
Repeated attainders and confiscations had destroyed nearly
all the great families who had been settled here in the
earlier Norman times, and new names of land-holders had
taken the place of those which are found in the records of
the thirteenth century. The Tudor dynasty was now
pursuing its favourite policy of suppressing the old feudal
aristocracy of the IsxA—pareere subfeetis, ei debellare
stgmios—and we find families which, a few generations
before, had been little more than retainers or servants of the
Norman barons, suddenly becoming the lords of the soil.
But a still greater revolution in society was now ap-
proaching, the natural consequence of an event which may
be considered truly as the finishing blow given to the feudal
system. From the twelfth century, the monastic Establish-
ments which had arisen in every part of the island, had
been gradually absorbing the landed property, and the
richest portions of the great feudal estates had under one
pretence or other been conferred upon them. So long as
the Romish religion held absolute sway in the land, the
monks looked upon the representatives of their benefactors
as their patrons and feudal lords, took part with them in
their friendships and enmities, and sent to the field under
their banners, from duty or from inclination, the soldiers
which their lands ought to furnish. But the case was
widely changed, when the monasteries were suppressed
by the stem hand of the eighth Henry. The monastic
possessions were not restored to the descendants of those
who had bestowed them, nor reunited to the baronial
estates of which they had originally made a \mt, but they
2 u

Siti 'IHK HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

were distributed rather lavishly among a host of private
gentry^ devoted to the new order of things, whom the new
.dynasty loved to raise upon the ruins of the old institutions,
and whom in the same degree the aristocracy feared and
hated as upstarts and natural enemies. The men thus
brought forward upon the stage became the foundation of
that class of society to which succeeding ages have given
the title of the English gentry. In more ancient times, the
feudal land-holders could raise armies with much greater
facility than their sovereign, who was thus obliged in
turbulent times to depend upon one part of his nobles to
defend him against the other, and the balance of power was
kept or broken, as it was on a larger scale among the
sovereign states of Europe, according to the family alliances
or political coalitions of the nobles among themselves.
IVo or three offimded or dissatisfied baions, raising their
dependant tenantry and joining their fbroes together, found
little difficulty in overawing their sovereign. But afler the
dissolution c^ the monasteries, sneh coalitions were no
longer practicable; for where formerly the feudal superior
could raise his men secretly and unopposed through the
whole extent of his broad territory, now he found an
independent gentleman, whose interests were the reverse of
his own, watching and obstructing his motions at every
turn. We have a very remarkable instance of this in the
rebellion of the northern lords against Eliabetb's govern-
ment in 1509. The great chieftains of Westmoreland and
Northumberland, from their peculiar position on the frontier,
had kept up something of the substance of feudalism long after
the very shadow had disappeared from the southern districts
of England, and they had the rashness to imagine that they
might do as their ancestors had done, and that by raising
their numerous tenantry and marching direct to the south,
they could take their sovereign by surprise, and awe the
crown as it had been awed of old. But Uiey had overiooked
the importance of the opposition they were to encounter at
their own gates by the Boweses, and the Gargraves, and a

THB UI8TORY OF LUDLOW. 327

number of other bold and active houses which had been
planted on the ruins of the inactive monasteries ; and this
opposition kept them sufficiently engaged till the crown
had assembled a force which it was useless to war against.
The only result was the confiscation of the great estates of
the north, and the extinction of the last spark of feudalism.
The monastic establishments contained within themselves
from the very nature of their construction, the germs of
those corruptions and vices which ultimately led to their
destruction. The exposure of these corruptions at the
time of the Reformation was no new discovery. The
traditions of centuries had condemned them, and by their
own voice, as well as by that of society at large. They
were social evils, which could only be tolerated under the
peculiar circumstances of remote times. As early as the
twelfUi century (previous to which we know little of their
eflfoct on society beyond what is told us by their own his-
torians, and that is far from favourable) the cry against the
monkish orders was loud and general, and their charac-
teristics are stated to have been unbounded pride, and luxury,
and covetousness. Of course there are exceptions to every
thing. But two or three of the serious and trust-worthy
writers of the times have preserved facts relating to the
monastic bodies which disclose such a picture of selfishness
and crime as is not easy to be imagined ; and the constant
repetition of laws for the repression of these abuses, in
the fiiequent councils of the church, show that those laws
were wanted and at the same time that they were inef-
fectual It would not be easy to draw a more extraordinary
picture of petty, litigious, selfish worldliness under the garb
of religion, than that revealed by Josceline de Brakclonde
in his history of the domestic affairs of his own monastery
of St. Edmundsbury during a few years of the twelfth
century, and it was no solitary example. In the thirteenth
century, the period through which the monastic orders
were increasing rapidly, the popular feeling against them
was becoming more intense and more general. Volumes

S88 THB HISTOBT OF LUDIiOW.

might be filled with the satirical writings of which,
this age, the monkish vices were the butt. An
poem of the earlier part of the fourteenth century, describing
the abuses which had crept into society, assures us that —

— ** These abbots and priors do against their rights ;
Thej ride with hawk and hoand, and counterfeit knights.
They should leave such pride and be religious ;
But now is pride master in every ordered house ;*

i-wis.
Religion is evil held» and fareth the more amis ."

Of the charity by which it has been pretended that the
numks were distinguished, this writer says—

** For if there come to an abbey two poor men or three.
And ask of them help for holy charity,
Scarcely will any do his errand,t either young or old,
But let him oower there all day in hunger and in cold,

and starve*
Look what love there is to God, whom they say that they
serve.**

But if there arrive at the same time a great man's servant,
with a message of another kind, —

** He shall be led into the hall and be made full warm

about the maw ;
And God's man stands there outside, sorry is that law.

** Thus is God now served throughout religion ;|
There is he all too seldom seen in any devotion ;
Sis household is unwelcome, come they early or late;
The porter hath commandment to keep them without the gate»

in the fen.||
How may they love the Lordi that serve thus his men."

* Thai i% hoam of aU oiden of moakfl. I bavo modoniiod tho
Ungoafo of thia poon, at it is fttlimr obseuro to geneial veadon.

t Thai ii, litiea to the potitioa which the poor maa hia broosht.

I RtligioH was the Icrm uic«1 to express the monasUc body at largo.

I la the mud.

TH£ HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 329

Their strictness of life was mere outside show : —

** This is the penance that monks do for their lord's love :
They wear socks in their shoes and felted boots above;
They have forsaken for Ood's love both hanger and cold ;
But he have his hood and cap farred* he is not i-told
(reckoned of any nforthj^

in the convent ;
But certainly pride of wealth hath them all ablent (bonded),

" Religion (monaehism) was first founded hardness for to

drie (suffir);
And now is the most part tamed to ease and gluttony.
Where shall men now find fatter or redder of leres (eounie-

nances).
Or better faring folk, than monks, canons, and friars ;

In every town
I know no easier life than is religion."

The friars are here described as worse eyen than the
monks, and as to their humility and charity, —

** If a poor man come to a friar to ask shrift {ab9ohUwn\
And there come a richer and bring him a gift ;
He {the loiter) shall into the refectory and be made full glad.
And the other stands outside, as a man that were made *

in sorrow \
Tet shall his errand be undone till the next morrow."*

It was more than half a century after this, that the
inimitable Chaucer painted his monk

'* An ontFiydere, that loved venerye ;
A manly man, to ben an abbot able«
Ful many a deynt6 hors haddo he in stable :
And whan he rood, men might his bridel heere
Gyngle in a whistlyng wynd so deere.
And eek as lowd as doth the chapel belle."

* This curious porm i< printed in it^ original form in my Political
Songs, pp. 323—345.

330 THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

And after speaking of his contempt for the letter of the
^* rule" under which he lived, the poet goes on to describe
him as, —

** Therefore he was a pricasour aright :
Greyhoondes he hadde as swifte as fowel in flight:
Of prikjng and of hontjng for the hare
Was al his lost, for no cost wolde he spars.
I sangh his slerss, purfiled atte hond
With grys, and that the fynest of a lend*
A.nd for to festne his hood nndur his chjn
He hadde of gold y-wroaght a carious pyn :
A love-knotte in the gretter ende ther was*
His heed was ballid, and schon as eny glas.
And eek his face, as he hadde be anoynt.
He was a lord fol fiit and in good poynt.
His eyen steep, aod roUyng in his heed*
That stemed as a fomeys of a leed.
His bootes soaple, his hers in grst estat.
Now oerteinly he was a Cur prslat.
He was not pale as a for>pyned goost.
A fat swan loved he best of any roost"

Chaucer's friar was equally distinguished : —

** His typet was ay fiusad fol of knyfes
And pynnes, for to give hire wyfes.
And oertayn he hadde a mery noote.
Wei oonths he synge and pi^e on a rote.
Of yeddynges he bar nttnriy the prys.
His nekke whit as the flonr-da-lys.
Therto he stnmg was as a championn.
He knew wel the taveraes in eveiy tonn.
And eveiy ostiUer or gay tapstere.
Bet than a laier, or a beggere,
For onto sneh a worthi man as he
Accorded not* as by his facdtt.
To have with sike lazars aqueyntannce.
It u not honest, it may not avanncc,
For to delen with such poraile,

THE H18T0BY OF LUDLOW. S81

But al with riche and sellers of yitulle.
And over al, tber profjt schulde arise,
Cartejs he was, and lowe of servyse.
Ther was no man nowher so yertuoos.
He was the beste begger in al his hous :
For though a widewe hadde but oo schoOi
So pleasaunt was his Inptinc^no^
Yet wolde he have a ferthing or he wente.
His pnrehace was bettur than his rente*
And rage he couthe and pleje as a wbelpe.
In love-dayes ther couthe he mocbil helpe.
For ther was he not like a clojsterer,
With a thredbare cope, as a pore scoler.
But be was like a maister or a pope.
Of double worstede was his semj-cope.
That rounded was as a belle out of a presse/
Somwhat he lipsede, for wantounesse.
To make his Englissch swete upon his tnnge;
And in his harpjng, whan that he hadde range.
His eyghen twynkeled in his heed aright,
As don the sterres in the firostj night.^

No part of England could boast so many monastic
establishments, in proportion to its extent, as the Welsh
border, and it was here, as we have already seen, that the
spirit of reform showed itself as early, and as actiyely, as in
any part of the island. In the middle period, between the
anonymous poet quoted above and Chaucer, a border satirist,
the writer of the Visions of Piers Ploughman, painted the
monastic vices in colours almost more Uack than they are
described in any of the exti-acts given above. It was he
who uttered the remarkable prophecy of the vengeance
which was to fall upon them, and which we are now going
to see fulfilled in the sweeping measures of the reign of
Henry VIII. This border poet and satirist tell us that, —

** Now is religion (t. e. numaehism) a rider,
A roamer about,
A leader of love*days.

382 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

And a land-buyer,

A pricker on a palfrey

From manor to manor,

A heap of hounds at hia tail

As he a lord were,

Ajid unless his knave kneel

That shall his cup bring,

He lours on him, and asks him

Who taught him courtesy/'

But says this deep seeing reformer^ —

** There shall come a king.
And confess yon rdigiouses {manks)^
And beat you as the bible telleth
For breaking of your rule ;
And amend moniab {nu$u)f
Monks and canons.
And put to their penance.

** And then shall the abbot of Abingdon,
And all his issue for ever.
Have a knock of a king,
And incurable the wound.''

The popular feeling against the monks is still more
strongly expressed in a satirical poem of the beginning of
the fifteenth century, entitled Piers Ploughman's Creed,
which it is not improbable was also composed on the
Border, where the spirit of Wycliffism had shown itself
strongly, and a man named \y alter Brut, or Bright, had
been exposed to severe persecution at Hereford for his
doctrines. These are but prominent examples of the spirit
which ran through a large portion of the literature of the
day, in which the same faults and the same turpitudes are
described as inmates of the monastic establishments as
were confessed to by the monks themselves at the dissolu-
tion of monasteric's, and then caused so much scandnl
throughout Europe.

THE HI8TOKY OF LUDLOW. S8S

There was nothing new in the mere fact of dissolving a
monastery. Several instances occur at much earlier periods
of the suppression of a religious house on account of the
dissolute life of its inmates; and Wolsey had more recently
dissolved a number of the smaller houses for the endowment
of his colleges. But hitherto the ecclesiastical power had
claimed the sole right of interfering in such cases; and
Wolsey's proceedings, although directly authorized by the
pope, had raised so much dissatisfieu^tion among the monks
as to be attended in some instances with open insurrection
and rebellion. Much greater opposition was therefore to be
expected to the extensive dissolution now contemplated by
die civil power.

It must be acknowledged at the same time that many
dicumstances combined to facilitate the suppression of
monasteries at the moment when it was undertaken. The
principles of the reformation had made rapid progress in
our idand, and probably nowhere more than on the borders
of Wales. The scene of Latimer's preaching was at BrtstoL
The monks and friars had long ceased to be personally
objects of respect ; their relics and their miracles began to
be despised; and in the documents of the time they avow
themselves that the pious offerings which had formerly
enriched them were now so much diminished by the
general abatement of religious seal, that they were often
obliged to raise money by selling or pledging the crosses of
silver and gold to which those oflforings had previously been
made. This was more especially the case -with the fiiais,
who, prohibited by their rule from possessing lands, were
more dependent on pious offerings, and whose houses, at the
eve of the reformation, were in general reduced to a state
of penury. The doctrines of the leformeis had also found
Usteneis among the monks and friars themselves, who, dis*
gusted with tlie vices that surrounded them, lent willing
hands towards their suppression. As early as 15S6, a
bachelor of arts, named Garret (subsequently burnt in
Sinithficld fur licics) ;, was bu;»ily employed in distributing
2 X

SS4 THK YII8T0RY OF LVDtOW.

Lutheran books among the students at Oxford^ and the
bishop of Lincohi, writing to Wolsey on the subject, says,
" this Ganott also hath, I feare, corrupted the monastery of
Redyng, for he hath dyterse tymes sent to the prior ther
suche corrupte bookes by a poore scoUer whiche hath con-
fessed the same, to the nombre of thre score or above, and
receyved money of hym for them. Howe the said prior
hath used those books, and with whome, I knowe noit.**
The bishop adds that it was '' to be feared lesse that wycked
man Garrott have doon lykewise in other monasteryes, to
thinfection of them, and the prests aboute them/' The
prior of Reading was soon afterwards committed to prison
in the Tower of London for his advocacy of the opinions of
Luther. When the king's visitors first went to the mo-
nastic houses, they found many of the inmates anxiously
looking for license to quit their order, on the plea of con-
scientious scruples. At West Dereham in Norfolk, and
elsewhere. Dr. Legh found many of the monks ^^ whiche
instandy (that is, earnestly) knelyng on ther knees, howld-
yng up ther handys, desyre to be delyvered of suche rdygyon
as they ignorantly have taken." And to come nearer the
border, we find a monk of Pershore, named Richard Beerly,
supplicating in the most earnest manner to be allowed to
leave a religion which " is all in vain gbry, and nothing
vrorthy to be accepted neither before God nor man." For
the monks of his house, he says, ** they drink and bowl
after collation till ten or twelve o'clock, and come to matina
a$ drunk a$ mice; and some at cards, some at dice and at
tables, some come to matins beginning at the midst, and
some when it is almost done."

King Henry and his minister Cromwell foresaw the diffi-
culties of the task on which they were entering, and pro-
ceeded from the beginning with a prudence which may well
bear the name of cunning. A searching visitation opened to
the eyes of the public in revelling nakedness the vices of
the rclipous houses; nnd tlic delinquencies of each monk«
as he confessed to llieni, were entered with Iiis name in

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 835

booksj the greater portiou of which are still preserved.
They were voluntary confessions, their chief object being
apparently to obtain pensions after the dissolution by this act
of obaequiousness; and» as they are crimes which no virtuous
man or woman would avow, whether strictly true or not,
they are equaUy degrading to the individuals who made
the confession, and who in most cases form a large majority'
of their house. The smaller houses were first confiscated
by an act of parliament. Some of the larger ones were
•eixed upon on account of the resistance of their rulers
to the royal will. The acknowledgment of the king's
supremacy, and the consequent desertion of the pope, were
•tumblingblocks which brought not a few of the heads of
larger houses to the scafibld or to the gallows. The dissolution
of the smaller houses had been in some places violendy
opposed, and led to a series of rebellions in the north and
Borth-eastem parts of the kingdom, which for a moment
threatened the crown, and in which several of the greater
abbots, and numerous active monks, were seriously impli*
cated. Where no distinct charge of treason could be
brought against an obstinate superior, the neighbourhood
of his monastery was searched for charges against him, and
this, unfortunately for the monastic character in the age
of the dissolution, was seldom done in vain.

Fewer papers have been preserved relating to the visi-
tation and dissolution of the monasteries on the borders
of Wales, than to tha^ of most other parts of the country ;
and we are led to suppose that in general they were given
up without much opposition. Among the mass of exa-
minations and depositions relating to persons guilty of
seditious speeches, now preserved among the Chapter House
documents in the Rolls House, there are a few which show
that our border was not firee from excitement and agitation,
while they all afibrd interesting jnctures of the manners of
the time, and of the low state of society. The eagerness
with which individuals of the lowest rank were pcrseeuted
for seditious s^icct'Uc^ would astuni^li u», did wc not know

SS6 THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

that parallelB might be found within the last fifty or sixty
yean. On one occasion we find an actual beggar thrown
into prison^ and formal depositions relating to him sent
to the king's minister, because in drinking at a i^illage inn
he had said ** he wished king Henry's head were boiled in a
poty and he would be the fint to drink of the brotk." On
the ISth of August, 15S5, a countryman of Crewle in
Woroestershire, was accused of having charged the king
with being the cause of the badness of the weather, he
haying, on his way fit>m Worcester market, declared to one
of his companions that, ** y t ys long of the kyng that this
wedre is so troublous or unstable, and I wene we shall
neyir hare better wedre whillis the kyng reigneth, and
therfore it maketh no matter if he were knocked or patted
on the heed." On the SSnd of September, in the same
year, a priest named sir John Brome/ who held the
yicarage of Stanton Lacy near Ludlow, and the curacy of
Ludfind, was accused by certain priests of Ludlow of retain-
ing* the pope's name in Ms service bodes, and of omitting the
names of the king, queen, and princess, in his prayers, and
it was deposed that when some one authorised fi>r that
purpose erased the pope's name before his face, he told the
man he was a fool, ** saying to hym, this worlds will not
last ever." This belief that the extraordinary dianges now
going on would be only of temporsry duration, was a
pretence for many to bow their heads to the storm. In
September, 15S6, the year of the great northern lebdlion,
known by the title of the " Pilgrimage of Ghaoe," several
witnesses (countrymen and women of Crewle, in Woicester-
shire, already mentioned), deposed individually ''that the
Sonday next before Seynt Bartilmewys day now last past,
he was present in the house of oon Hugh Hogges, keping
an ale house at Craule, in the seyd oonntie, smyth, in the
company of sir Jamys Pratte, derke, vicar ther, emongee

* Sir, the imiaUtion of the latin ^emkmu was alwmya add«d to ihm
name of a |»crson yv]v* had taken the decree of bachelor of arts in a
■DiTtraily.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 8S7

otkcTC wordos, and after other comynycacions of tlic putting
dowiic and suppressing of the monastery or priory of Studlcy
in Warwikcshirc, he harde the scyd sir Jamys say and
uttore thcs wordes, That the churche went downe andwoldc
be worse untyll thcr be a shrappe (a blow ?)y and saydo
that he rekoned ther were xxti« m^- nygli of flote f afloat J ,
and wished ther were xxti* m^- mo, so that he were oon, and
rather tomorrowe then the next day, ffor ther shall neverc
be good worlde imtyll ther be a shrappe, and they that may
ciscape that shall lyve mery inoughe." The picture of the
vicar drinking with his parishioners in the public room
of the tavern after his sermon on the Sunday is, it must be
confessed, not very dignified ; one of the deponents said
*^ tliat the seyd sir James was drynking and mery emongest
many wyffcs and men in the hall" of the inn. On a
Sunday in the January preceding the date last mentioned,
according to the depositions made before the justices of the
peace at Great Malvern (in the following June), James Asche,
parson of Stanton in Worcestershire, said from the pulpit,
that if the king '' dyd not go furth wyth his lawes, as he
begon, he wold C4ill the king anticryste;" and he had
further stated in the same pulpit, about Lent, that '' the
king our soveraign lorde was nought, the bysshoppes and
abbottes nought, and hymself nought to." It is not very
clear in what sense these words were intended to be taken.
\7e find in several of these documents the evidence that
the rising in the north met with the sympathy of the
monks and clergy on the border, and that they were
mortified at its suppression. The abbot of Pershorc had
used words to this effect in April, 15S7. One Robert ap
Roger, examined at Wigmore on St. John's day, in the
year last mentioned, was accused of having said, as he
came from the church of Llaunlledawn, ** that the kyngos
grace was out of the fayth of holye churche, bycausc he
dyd put downe holy days, robbe saintcs, and robbe the
churches of theyr duetcs (dues J, and sayd that if the men
of the churche wolde ryse togedcrs, they shulde not sett a

338 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

poynt for hym. And further saycd, it were better foi men

of the churchc to dye in the faythe and in the rygbt of the

churche, then to suffer the kynge to robbc thym." It also

appears from the depositions on this occasion, that a report

had been extensively spread abroad '' that the kynges grace

was aboute to pull downe all the churches.'* A man in

Cheshire was committed to prison about the same time

for having asserted " that if the spirituall men had hoUen

togeders^ the k}Tig cold not have byn hed of the churcbc."

The great year of the dissolution of monastic houses was

1538, and we are enabled to trace one party of the king*s

commissioners in their somewhat rapid prepress through

the border. Bichard, sufiragan bishop of Dover/ (there

was a great number of these suffragans or titular bishops

without dioceses, in the latter times of popish rule in this

country), who had himself been a friar and had thrown aside

his habit, received a commission from Cromwell at the

beginning of the year to visit the houses of the different

orders of friars for tlie purpose of taking their resignations.

During the month of February, he had proceeded through

Huntingdon, Boston in Lincolnshire, Lincoln, Grantham,

Newark, and Grinsby, on his way to Hull, Beverley,

Scarborough, Carlisle, and Lancaster. He describes the

houses of friars he had then visited as '' very pore howseys

and pore persons.*' He appears to have been occupied several

weeks in the north, after which he returned to the midland

counties, and passed from Northampton, by Coventry, Ather-

stone, Warwick, Tlielesford, Droitwich, and Worcester, to

Gloucester, at which place we find him on the S3rd of May.

The visitor in his letter of that date, states generally that

'' in every place ys povertey and moche schifile made with

suche as theie had before, as jewellys selling, and other

schiffl by leasys ;*' and he complains that at Droitwich the

prior had 'Mn lesse than on yere that he hathc be prior

* Tha compiler of tUe Cottoninn Catalogue^ mUrcadiag ihc signature
Davirmi., or Z)Mwreii«., hat called thia man Richard DcTereux, and has
been followed in the mistake by other persons.

riiK iiisTouY 01* i.ri)i.ow. 339

thcr, fellyil and solid vij. score good clrnys, :i cliulcs of gUlt
of iij»x- line, and x. unc., a sensor of xxxvi. unc., ij. gret brasse
pottys echo abull lo scthc an lioll oxc, as men sey, s^ietys,
pannySy and other^ so that in the Iiowse ys not left on bede^
on schcte^ on phitcv or dische." The visitor next repaired to
varions parts of the south of England^ and went as far as
Winchester and Southampton^ whence he retume<l to Glou-
cester^ and received the siurender of the friars' houses in
that city on the 28th of July.

Other commissioners had preceded the bishop of Dover
in the counties of Worcester and Gloucester. Towards the
middle of March, sir William Petre had received the resig-
nation of the abbot of Evesham, and on the 17th of that
month he took that of the important and powerful priory of
Lanthony at Gloucester. Sir William says that he took
the surrender of Lanthony as quietly as might be ; but it
appears that the prior had been charged with vices of a
revolting nature, of which a detailed account is given in a
paper preserved in the Rolls House, apparently drawn up
by one of the brotherhood. It is stated that the school-
master, having accidently discovered the prior's behaviour,
went immediately to expostulate with him, but met only
with an angry reception. He then went to one of the
brethren with whom he was intimate (it was a house of
Austin canons), and laid his mind open to him. They
returned together to the prior, and attempted again to talk
mildly to him. But ''whan the priour had harde theyr
wordes, he was sore displeased with them, insomoche that
he commanded the scholemaister to be sette in the stockcs,
where he sate iij. days and iij. nightis, besyde that he was
in feare of his lyfe : and the fourth day he toke hym out of
the stockes, and commanded hym to avoyde shortely out of
the countrey, and never to retume thyther agayne: and
where so ever he dwelled after, the prioiur founde the meane
styll to dryve hym awey. And the priour made the chanon
Austine to be put forth within prison." The writer of the
statement concludes, '' For a due triall and profe of all the

S40 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

said matter^ yc may (if it please you) sonde for the sayd
scholemaister, whiche nowe dwellcth in Shropshire, within
ij. myles of Lidlowe, with one Willam Heying, servant to
our soverayne lorde the kynge, whiche scholemaister wyll
be alway rcdy to justific the trouthc of all this matter.**

Tlie bishop of Dover found the two houses of friars in
Gloucester deeply in debt, and, to use his own words, '' the
clamor of pore men to whom the monye ys oweynge }*s to
tedyus.** This was often the case, and in some instances
the sale of the moveable property was not sufBcient to pay
them. The friars, according to the report of the visitor,
were in general eager to quit their convents and be released
from their vows. According to the report subscribed by
the mayor and aldermen, the surrender of the three houses
of friars in Gloucester was entirely voluntary. In his letter
to Cromwell of the 28th July, the visitor announces his
intention of passing by way of Hereford to Ludlow, but he
appears subsequently to have altered his plans, for he pro-
ceeded immediately after the above date to Worcester, where
he took into the king's hands tw*o houses of friars, to
Bridgenorth where one was surrendered, to Atherstone
where he took one, to Lichfield where he received one, to
Stafford where he received two, to Newcastle-under-Line
where there was a convent of Black Friars, and to Shrews-
bury where there were three houses of friars. **If** says
the visitor, ** tliey gave ther howseys into the kynges
handdes for poverte, I receyvyd them, and elles non.** We
obtain the above information from a letter of the bishop of
Dover, dated at Shrewsbury, the ISth of Atigust, and the
various documents among the Chapter House records in the
Rolls House enable us to trace his doings almost at every
step. A variety of papers in this depository prove to us
that the different religious orders enjoyed the worst possible
character in Worcester, and ap))arcntly with good reason.
The two houses of priors in that city were the Black Friars
and the Grey Friars, both, to judge by the inventories,
tolerably well funiished, and unusually rich in churrh

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. S41

vestments and plates. The kitchens and brewhouses appear
also better stored than in many of the inventories. In the
Black Friars we find in —

The kechyn.
Item, iij. gret pottes and ij. fimalL
Item, iij. gret pannys and iij. platters and one charger.
Item, ij. potyngers and ij. saucers.
Item, a flesche hoke and a trevet.
Item, a broken gredyren and a fryenge pan.
Item, a payer off pothokes and a lyty 11 skelet.
Item, a longe bare of yeryn' alonge the chymny.
Item, ij. skomers and ij. yeryn rakkes.
Item, iij. broches.

The kitchen of the Grey Friars was still better stored,
for it possessed the luxury of ** a knife !**

Item, xiij. plateres and dyschys and one sawser.

Item, iiij. cownterfet dyschys.

Item, a knyfe.

Item, a brasse potte.

Item, iij. kawdiemes.*

Item, ij. postnettes and a skelet.

Item, a fryeyng pan.

Item, ij. brasse pannes.

Item, iij. brochys and a byrd broche;

Item, a payer off cobyrons.

Item, a chafynge dysche.

Item, a gpredyron.

The visitor was at Bridgnorth on the 5th of August, and
the following note, signed by the two bailiffs of the town,
shows the condition in which he found the house of the
Grrey Friars there.

M^* Thys V. day of Auguste in the xxx. yere off kynge
Henry the viij*** that Rycharde bysohope of Dovor, and vesytor

GlMforsf.— 1, bar of iron. 2, caaldiont.
2 T

842 THE HISTORY OF LUDIiOW.

under the lorde prev y seale for the kyngcs grace, was in Bryge*
northe, wher that the warden and heys bredem in the prenens of
master Thomas Hall and master Randolphe Rodes* balys off
the sayd townc, gave ther howse with all the pertenans into the
vesytores handdes to the kynges use ; for sayd warden and
brethem sayd that they war nott abull to Icve, for the charyt^
oft* the pepulle was so sroalle that in iij. yeres they had not
rcccy vyd in almes in redy mony to the sum off x* by yere« bat
only leve by a serves that they had in the towne in a chapell on
the bryge. Thus the sayd vesytor receyveyd the sayd howse
with the pertenans to the kynges use, and by indentures dely-
▼eryd yt to us the sayd balys to kepe to the kynges use« tyll
the kynges plesur war forther knowyn. Thys wyttenes we
the sayd balys with other.

per me, Thomam Halle,
per me, RanduU Rowdes.

At Shrewsbury there were three houses of friars, the
Grey, Black, and Austins. The first of these had sold their
property before the visitors came, '^ and made a grett rumor
in the towne/* and to avoid further trouble they gave up
their house at once. The Austin Friars was ** a howse all
in ruyne, and the more parte falleyngc downe/' and the
only two inmates were the prior (who is described in the
visitor^s letter as '' a man like to be in a frenzy'*) and two
Irishmen. The religious houses in Shrewsbury appear to
have been generally in a decayed state. The abbot of
Shrewsbury stood charged with grievous neglect and dilapi-
dation of the property of the abbey. The Black Friars
in Shrewsbury alone is described by the visitor as a
well-ordered house, and it was not immediately suppressed.
The following pajier, preserved in the Rolls House, relates
to these houses.

'< Memorandum. This xiij. day of August, in the xxx^
yere of ower most dred soveren lorie kyng Henry the riij**-
Rycharde byschope of Dover, and rysytor under the lorde
prevy seale for the kynges grace, was in Schrewysbery, where

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 343

that ill prcsens of master Edmundc Cole and master Adam a
Mytton, balys ther, the sayd vysytor was in all the iij. placets
of fryers, and ther accordeynge to hys commyssyon vysyte
the sayd howseys, and ther toke in eche place an inventory of
all ther goodes, and commyttyd the same to the before nameyd
balys custody, tyll the kynges plesur be forther knowyn ; and
as towcheyng the Graye Fryeres in presens of the sayd balys
gave ther bowse into the vysytores handdes by on assente,
withowte any consell or coaccyon ; as towcheynge the Austen
Fryeres ther war no more but a prior and ij. Erysche fryeres,
and all utensylys gon, and no thynge ther to helpe the fryeres,
not so muche as a chales to saye masse, and no man durst trost
the prior to lende hym any, so that all that was in all the howse
kowde not be priseyd at xzvj* viij^i* no beddeynge nor mete, brede
nor drynke, wherfor the saydo vysytor dyschargeyd the sayd
prior of that ofFys, and assyneyd the sayd ij. Eryschemen into
Erlonde into ther natyve conventes, and toke that howse into
the kynges honddes. To the Blacke Fryeres he gave certen injux*
cyons, toke ther accounttes, and so lefte them to kepe goode
order, and thus levynge bothe the Graye and Austen howseys
with the pertenans and stnfie in the balys handdes by indentures,
and so departeyd. Thys wyttenesseythe the sayd balys with
other.

per me, Edmund Cole,
per me, Adam Mytton/'

From Shrewsbury the visitors proceeded to Ludlow, but I
have met with no papers relating to their intermediate
progress. They were at the last-mentioned town on the
23rd of August, when they received the surrenders of the
only two monastic houses there. These were convents of
Augustine and White Friars, the fonner situated near Old
street, adjoining to what is still called Frinrs lane. It would
appear to have been in a reduced state, for the act of resig-
nation is signed by a prior and only three friars.

*' Memorandum. We the prior and convent of the Austen
Fryeres of Lodlowe, with one assente and consente, withowte
any coaccyon or consell, do gyve ower howse into the handdes

S44 THE HISTORY OP LUDL01V.

of the lorde vysytor to the kynges ase, desyeryng bys grace
to be goode and gracyoos to us. In wyttenes we subsorybe
ower namys with ower proper hande, thys xxiij^^ daye of August,
the xxx^ yere of the rayne of ower dred soveren lorde kynge
Henry the viij***-

per me, Egidinm Pycurynge priorem Augustinencittin de

Ludlow,
per me, fratrem Johannem Pratt.
per mei fratrem WiUelmun Higges.
per me, fratrem Christoferum Hogeson.

By bus the bayllyffes of Ludlow, Wylliam Yevans and
Thomas Whelar.

The inventory of the furniture of this house, which
accompanies the document just given, is also a proof that it
was not very rich : —

The Austen Fryeres of Lndlowe dely?ered to Wyllyam
Yevans and Thomas Wheler, balys ther.

The 9extry.
Item, a chesabnll and ij. tenacles of golde with ij« albes.
Item, a syngyll vestement of blacke worstede.
Item, a syngyll vestement of blewe damaske.
Item, y« dde oopys.
Item, a cope of sylke with starres.
Item, a fayer cofer.
Item, a chesabull and a tenaole of olde blacke velvet.

Tkegutre.
Item, ij. olde auter* clothes.
Item, a holy water stope, laten.*
Item, a deske of tymber.
Item, vj. anter clothes steyneyd, olde.
Item, the qnere new stalleyd.
Item, ij. fayer belles and a lytyll bell in the stepull.

The haUe, buiiere^ and kechyn.
Item, a lytyll tabuU and ij. trustelles* and a forme.

Oloifoiy.— 1, Milfr, an altar. % latm, a kind of mixed metal reeembUna
brut. S, the tnuiti wif the temporary frame on whieh the hcrtU or
table WM laid, one tnittel aoppoiting it at each end, with intermediate

1

i

THE HISTORY OF Lmi.OW. 345

Item, ij. oldc cupbordes».
Item, a pan and a kctcll.
Item, a lytyJl brasse pott.
Item, iij. peivter platcres, oldo
Item, a lytyll broclie.
Item, a fayer gret cupborde.
Item, a gret trowe.*
Item, a tabnll and ij. formys.
Item, fayer laveres of tynne.

Item, a boze full of eyydens.

And memorandum, ther rest in the vys) tores handdes a
chales weyeynge xiij. unc. Also thcr lave to plege a crosse
beynge coper within, all weyeyngc bothe the coper and sylver
vj*** iz. unc, for the vrhyche the vysytor payde for the sayde
fryeres vj*- xiiij^- j^-

Wylljam Yevans )
Thomas Wheler J "^^y*-

Ther be in renttes yerly liij"* above the owte rentes.

The priory of St. Mary White Friars, which stood without
the town wall, beneath the Churchyard, is described by
Leland (who visited it just before the dissolution) as ''a
fayre and costlie thinge,*' and appears by the following
inventory of its furniture to have been a much richer house
than the other, but even it had some of its goods pawned.
The surrender, which is nearly in the same words as that of
the Austin friars, is signed by five friars, Rycharde Wyllet,
Humfre Wenlooke, Patricius Lester, Wyllelmus Surges,
and Ricardus Femoll ; but there is no mention whatever of
a prior, so that we are justified in sup]K>sing that this
house also was reduced and dilapidated, and that it sur-
rendered partly because it was not able to carry on.

ones if the table were rery long. When the meal time tpproached, the
board or table was placed en the tnistels, and thte was called loafing ik$
tabk; when not in use, they were put out of the way.

O^OMory— ), irow€^ trough.

S46 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

The White Fryeres of Ludlowe delyvercd to Wyllyam Ycvans
and Thomas Wheler, balys ther.

The quere.
Item, on the hey auter one auter clothe.
Item, a steyneyd clothe before the auter.
Item, an olde pylowe.
Item, an olde paze with a rose.
Item, a payer of gret candelstekes, laten.
Item, a payer of small candelstekes, laten.
Item, a frame for t. taperes with holies* of lede.
Item, a frame of yeryn' for iij. taperes.
Item, an offeryng cofer for iij. lockes.
Item, a towel.

Item, a fayer masse-boke, wrytyn.
Item, a sacry bell.

Item, ij. lectomsy tymber, with olde clothes on them.
Item, an ymage of ower lady of pyte for the sacrament.
Item, iij. belles in the stepnll, one more* than other.
Item, a steyneyd clothe to hange above the aater.
Item, a holy water stope,* laten.
Item, the qaere well stalled rownde abowth

The ehyrehe.
Item, ij. tabulles of alybaster.
Item, iij. pewes of tymber.
Item, a longe peso of tymber for a crane.
Item, a polpet and a forme*
Item, a tambe* of alybaster gratyd with yeryn.

The utter eextry.
Item, ij. olde almery^ and an olde chest.
Item, an olde clothe of aras to laye in the qoere.

The inner eextry.
Item, iij. copys of rede velvet.

Item, a chesabuU of the same with decon and subdecon.
Item, a cope of mottelay velvet.
Item, iij. copys of cowers^ damaske.
Item, a chesabuU and ij. decons of the same with albes.

OlMforsf.—l, ftolbf, bowls. 2, y#ryii, iron. 3» Mor«, that it, greater.
4, «*ipf, a stoup for holy water. 5, tmmh; tombe or aepnlchral moniuneiit.
a, 9imm'f$, almoriet or ambriet, oupboards. 7, cowtn^ coarse.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. S47

Item, for requiem masse iij. copys of blacke daroaske.

Item, a chesabull^ blacke velvet, and ij. decons of blacke
damaske with albes.

Item, a chesabull of whytc fusty on with rede spottes, with
]j. decouns of the same with albes.

Item, 8 chesabull and ij. decons of whyte nedell worke for
Lenty and albes to the same.

Item, a vestement of yelowe damaske, with all thynge to yt
belongeynge.

Item, a vestment of cowers sylke, blewe and whyte, with
StafTord knottes^ with all thynge to }t belongeynge.

Item, a payer of vestementes of blew velvet, with gryffyths'
knottesy and albes therto.

Item, a payer of blewe vestementes of worstede and an albe.

Item, a payer of whyte vestementes of cowers sylke.

Item^ a vestemente of grene sylke with oystres* fetheres
brodry worke albe and all thynge therto belongeynge.

Item, xj. corporas casys with iij. corporas clothes.

Item, ij. olde anter clothes, dyaper

Item, iiij. olde frunttes for the auters.

Item, an olde pawle of sylke.

Item, a vayle of lynyn clothe, blew and whyte.

Item, a clothe to hange before the rode.

Item, iij* lytyll pylowes.

Item, an olde blacke herseclothe, save.

Thefermery.

Item, ij. new parcloses*

Item, a taball, ij. trostelles, and ij. formys.

Item, a bedstede.

The buiiere and kechyn.

Item, a cnpborde and a horde.

Item, a brasse pott.

Item, a coper ketell.

Item, a plater, ij. dysches, and a sawsei.

Item, ij. cowbyerynes* and a lytyll broche.

Item, a chafynge dysche and a skomer.

Item, a gredyeryn.

cob^irons.

348 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

ThepriareB chamber.
Item, hangcynges of red sayc and grene abowte the chamber.
Item, a carpet.
Item, a almery.
Item, a tabull, a payer of trustellcs, and ij. formys.

The upper ehamhcres.
Item, a bedstede.

Item, a tabnll^ ij. trustelles, and a forme.
Item, an olde steyneyd clothe.
Item, a fayer longe cofer.

The other eltamberes.
Item, a fcther bede and a bolster.
Item, a covcrlcte and a payer of sclietcs.
Item, a lytyll borde and ij. formys.

Item, a lytyll caschet* full of evydrns.

and memorandum, ther rest in the v}6y tores handdes a cbales
and a crosse weyeynge iij'" xj. unc. Also ther laye in plege,
8 broken senser, a chales, and a scliype, with an olde cope of
▼elvet, for the whyche the vysytor payd for the sayd fryeres
yijL Y». vj4. Item, the sayd vysytor payd above thya ij"» viy*«

Wyllyam Yevans )
Thomas Wheler J*^^'*-

Four days after the surrender of the religious houses in
LudloWf on the 27th of August^ we find the bishop of
Dover at Haverfordeast, from whence he forwarded to
Cromwell the surrender and inventories of twenty-eight
houses which he had dissolved in his progress. Unfortu-
nately most of these appear to be lost, but the letter which
accompanied them has escaped their fate. He there states
that ** in many placeys ther ys moche clamor for dettes of
oonventtesy so that withowte ye be goode lorde to pore men,
many shall lese moche moneyc by the fryeres, the whyche
woll make a grctt clamor amongc the pepull, for now I
have moche besyncs to satysfye the {lepuU for dettes. They
say that yt ys not the kynges plesur that pore men shulde

GJbMory.-^l eu§ehH, t cttket

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. S49

lose ther monye, with many worddes ; but by feyer menys
I satysfye them; sum I make schyftc and pay, sum I
satysfyc with worddes, for in dyverse placeys all the stuffe
in the howseys ys not abuU to pay the dettes." In a
subsequent part of the letter, he gives a further account of
the dilapidated state of the revenues of the friars, and an
amusing notice of the superstitious relics he had met with,
among which was the ear of the soldier struck off by Saint
Peter. " In many placeys," he says, " I fynde but one
lytyll chales, and also in many placeys the substans in
plege. Suche small chales and suchc plcgeys as be better
than they ley for, I pay the money, and rcceyve the pleges

to the kynges use, and suche I brynge with mc. I

wold sende to yow dyverse relykes, but they wer to comeras
(cumbrous) to cary. I have Malkows ere that Peter
stroke of, as yt ys wrytyn, and a thousand as trewo as that,
but the holyest relykc in all Northc Walys I send to yow
here ; ther may no man kysse that, but he muste knele so
sone as he se yt, thowgh it war in the fowlcst place in all
the contr^, and he must kys every stone, for in eche ys grct
pardon. After that he hathe kyssyd yt, he must pay a met
of come, or a chese of a grote, or iiijd. for yt. Yt was
worthe to the fryeres in Bangor, \nth another image, the
whyche I also have closeyd up, xx. markes by yere in come,
chese, catell, and money." In conclusion, the visitor
signifies his intention of proceeding by Brecknock and
Caermarthen to Haverfordwest, and thence to Cornwall
and Devonshire.

The most important religious houses in the immediate
neighbourhood of Ludlow were Wigmore abbey and the
priory of Leominster, the latter, as has been seen in the
earlier part of our history, a foundation of remote antiquity.
The bishop of Dover's commission was merely to visit the
houses of friars, and he probably did not interfere with
either of the establishments just mentioned. The prior of
Leominster was lord of the manor of the town ; and the fair
estates of the priory seem to have been considered a desirable
S z

350 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

possession even for a prince. The following letter, without
date or signature, is preserved among the records in the
Rolls House; it was evidently written from Leominster,
by some one who was desirous of conciliating the good-will
of the powerful minister Cromwell, to whom it is addressed.

Yf it so be that it shall please the kynges highnes to take
his pleasure of the house of Leomstre, as it is sapposyd that his
grace wyll of that and many other moo, I thyncke it good that
your honourable lordship have respect unto the same house, ffor
onles the kynges grace wyll apoynte it unto his derely belovyd
son ower prince, it wylbe a right goodlie thyng ffor your
lordship or ffor your sone. For I ensure you as I suppose
theare is nat suche another turf within the kinges realme lying
800 nygh togedre within itself, and within soo litle a compas,
and of suche value and commoditie, as that is, ffor it is worths
a m^ markes of rent of assise and casualties, and alle lying
within the compas of v. or vj. miles at thuttermost, so that on
baylie maye gather alle the bole rentes of the lordship. I beseke
your lordship to take no displeasure with me, ffor that I write
soo boldlie unto you, ffor I entend no other but your goodnes
and the wealthe of the same. And this I praye Ood to send
you a mery and a joifnlle Christmas, and soo manye*

The report of the commissioner sent, probably in conse-
quence of this letter, to survey the estate, is preserved in
the same collection, and shows that the prior was not
opposed to the dissolution. His name was John Glover.
The iiecommendations contained in the preceding letter
seem to have been so entirely justified by the following
report, that we find that the estates of Leominster priory
were retained in the crown until James I granted them
to his favourite, the duke of Buckingham.

The instrocions of the lordship belongyng to the pryour

of Lemster, selle unto Redyng abbye*

Ytt may plese yower lordship to consyder that the hoUe

lordship ys by yer vij. c. lb.« as I was informyde by the

pryour. Trewly it is very substansyall, ryche landis, with gretl

I

i

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. S51

demaynst &8 plessant and profTytaball as may be for so myche,
and the comon pepall dothe say to me that the forsayd lordship
ys xviij. ۥ merke stcrlyn by yer, of which may be parfet
relashon made herafter of ytt. Also trewly nowe of latte
bctwen the abbot* and pryour, they have sore fellyde ther
woodis and dothe lette ther howsis fawlle dowen, and thay wyll
not do no reprashon, to the gret decay of the towens, petty to
see ytt, and daylly wyll decay yf thay kcpe them, which as fare
as I can persayve ys the gret fawtt in the abbot of Redyng, for
he injoys the most profet, and so doth excewse them by gret
poverty to make mony to pay the kynges grace. This is ther
comon Yoyse.

A.180, yf pies yowcr lordship to be good to the pryonr and
geve "ere to hym, he wyll showe yower lordship of large mony
that the abbot of Redyng bathe, with dyvers other thynges,
which is gret petty he shulde contynew in that casse. I do
tmst yonr lordship shall fynde tliis pryour onest and redy to do
that nedfally so yoar lordship to be good in his penshoo for
his lyvyiig*

Also, yf yower lordship pies to have eny other instrocsyons
more perfet, her is with the pryonr won sir Robart Worralle,
pryst, and Johan Yuke his baylly of Lemster, which be perfct
to relatte all nedfall to your lordship, inspessyall the baylly,
and he desires to do your lordship scrvis at your plessure.

Also, ther is dyvers and meny bonde men belongyng to
the lordship, and trewly it is a ryalle ryche contry, abull to
make meny men to serve the kynges grace in that lordship.

The hist abbot of Wigmore was named John Smart, who
had succeeded to that office in 1517, and who was, as it ap-
pears, deposed just before the dissolution for a long series of
mal-administration. Among the records in the Rolls House
in London, so rich in documents of this kind, we find
aeveral draughts and copies of the charges brought against
abbot Smart, which appear to have been drawn up and
presented by some of the monks of his own house; these
are worthy to be printed entire, not only as an important

* L e. The tbbot of Reading.

352 THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

local document^ but as affording an interesting picture of
an overbearing abbot of the age preceding the dissolution
of monasteries. It will appear by the following paper that,
in order to increase his authority and enable him to exercise
episcopal functions, he had, like the bishop of Dover, pur-
chased of the pope the title of a bishop, and under this
cover it was that he ordained priests, as here stated. The
number of these titular bishops, without diocese, was very
great, and must have been a cause of many e\Us and
irregularities. As their names are only accidentally pre-
served in records^ we are unable to ascertain how many
such dignitaries were found among the clergy of the border.
A matrix of a seal has recently been found in Shropshire,
which has doubtless belonged to one of these suffragan
bishops, but from what place he took his title has not yet
been discovered : the inscription on the seal is s. pstri.
DBi. GRA. EF1.M0NTIS.MARAN. It appears that John Skipp,
bishop of Hereford, as prior commendatory, surrendered the
abbey of Wigmore to the king's commissioners on the
18th of Novemb<3r, 15S8 : there were then apparently x>nly
seven monks in the house. The following is the most
perfect copy of the charges against the abbot; it is signed
by one of his canons.

Articles to be objected agajmst John Smart, abbot of
the monasterye of Wigmonr, in the eowntye of Herford,
to be exhibite to the right honorable lord Thomas
Cromwell, the lord prevy scale and vicegerent of the
kynges majestye.

1. The said abbot is to be accused* of symonye, as well for
takyng money for advocations and presentacions of benefyces,
as for gyveng of ordres, or more tmlye sellyng them, and that
to such persons which have byn rejected els where, and of lytle
lernyng and light eonvenacionn*

2. Item, the said abbot hath promoted to ordres manye
sdiolersy when all other bushope did refrayoe to gyve enye for

* The phrase is 1o b§ aeeuBed mcam the same aa th4n u grtnmd/or

THE HI8T0ET OF LUDLO^V. 358

certcD good ordinans devised bj the kjnges niajeste and his
cowncell for the commune weale of this royalme, then resorted
to the said abbot scholers owt of all partyes, whom he wold
promote to ordrcs by Ix. at a tyme, and sumtymes moo and
othcrwbiles lesse, and sumtyme the said abbot wold gyve ordres
by night within his chambre, and otherwhile in the church
yarlye in morninges, and nowe and then at a chapell owt of the
abbey, soo that there be manye unlerned and light prestes made
by the said abbot, in the diocese of Landaf and in the place
afor named, a thowsand as yt is estcmed by the space of this
vij. yeres he bathe made prestes, and receyved not soo litle
money of them as a thowsand powndes for theyr ordres.

3. Item, that the said abbot nowe of late, when he colde
not be snfTred to gyve general! ordres, wookcly for the mooste
parte doth geve ordres by pretense of disponsacion, and by that
colour he promotes them to ordres by ij, or iij., and takes
mych money of them both for theyr ordres and for to purchase
theyr dispensaciouns after the tyme he hath promoted them to
theyr ordres.

4. Item, the said abbot hath hurte and damaged his
tenauntes by puttyng them from theyr leazes unjustelye, and by
indowsyng theyr communes from them, and sellyng and utterly
wastyng the woodes that were wont to releve and succor them.*

6. Item, the said abbot hath sold corradyes,t to the damage
of his said monasterye.

6. Item, the said abbot hath alienat and sold the yoels| and
plate of the said monasterye to the value of fy ve hundreth merkes,

* In earlier times the right of feeding their itrine in the woods and
other pririleges connected with them, were adrantages enjoyed by the
tenants of the land, which were necessarily diminished as the woods
disappeared.

t Corrady (in Medieval Latin corr$diufn, or more generally amrmUumJ
was what we should now term a man's board; and by granting these
to people for their lives out of the proTisions of the abbey, the abbot,
while he put money in his own pocket, seriously diminished the future
reTenues of the house.

X To^, L e. jewels, under which title (in Medieval Latin joealia)
were formerly included a great variety of small articles of Talue which
were stored up in the cabinet or treasury. Our present restricted accep-
tation of the word is comparatiTely modem.

854 THE HISTORY OP LUDIiOlV.

to parchase of the boshope of Rome Iiib balles to be a boshopp,
and to annex the said abbeye to his bnshoprick to that intent
that be shuld not for his misdedes be poneshed or deprjyed
from his said abbacy.

7* Item, that the said abbot (long after that other bnsbops
hadd renounced the bnshop of Rome and profetssed them to the
kjnges majestye) dyd nse, but more verelye uBur|)ed, thofFyce of
a bushopp by vertue of his furst bulles purchased from Rome*
tyll nowe of late, as yt will appere by the date of his coniir-
matioun, yf he have enye.

8. Item, that he the saitl abbot bathe lyved viciusly and
kept to concubyne diverse and manye women, that is openly e
knowen.

9. Item, that the said abbot doth yet contynue his Ticins
lyyjrng, as yt is knowen openlye.

10. Item, that the said abbot hath spent and wasted much
of the goodes of the said monastery upon the foresaid women.

11« Item, that the said abbot is mah'cios and vere wrathfuil,
not regardyng what he sayth or doth in his furye or angre.

12. Item, that oon Rychart Oyles bought of thabbot and
ooyent of Wigmonr a corradye and a chambre for hym and his
wife for terme of theyr ly ves, and when the said Rychart Oyles
was aged and was Terey sykc, he dispoosed his goodes and
made executnrs to execute his will ; and when the said abbot
nowe beyng perceaved that the said Rychart Oyles was ryehe
and hadd not beqaested soo moch of bb goodes to hym as he
wold hare hadd, the said abbot then came to the chambre of
the said Rychart Oyles, and putt owt thens all his frendes and
kynsfoike that kept hym in his syknesse; and then the said
abbot sett hb bretber and others of his senrauntes to kepe the
sykeman, and, the nigbt next ensueng after, the said Rychart
Oyles coffer was broken and thens taken alle that was in the
same to the yalue of xl. merkes, and long after the said abbot
confessed before the execoters of the said Richart Oyles that yt
was his dede.

13. Item, that the said abbot (after that he had taken awaye
the goodes of the said Rychart Oyles) nsed dayly to reproTS and
chekka the said Rychart Oyles, and enqnere of hym were was
more of hys koyne or money, and at the last the said abbot

THB HISTOEY OF LUDLOW. 855

thoaght he lyved to long, and made the syke (after much soryo
kepyng) to be taken from his fetherbed and layed apon a cold
mattrasy and kept his frendes from hym to his death.

14. Item, that after the said Rychart Gyles was dead, the
said abbot soght his chambre and found his wifes moneye and
tokc yt awaye thens, and after that the said abbot gyve to
the wif of the said Rychart Gyles wyne to drynk, and then
immediately after she fyll syke soo that hyr bodye was all broken
owt, she beyng vere aged, and soo she contynued to hyr deathy
that was not long after, and, as she declared, and showed upon
hyr death bedd, the forsaid wyne was the cause of that hyr
sykenesse and death

15. Item, that the said abbot consented to the death and
mnrdryng of oon John Tykehulle, that was slayne at hys
procureng at the said monasterye by sir Rychart Arbleji
chanou and chapleyn to the said abbot, which chanon is and erar
hath byne synes that tyme chefe of the said abbotes cowncell»
and is supported to karye crossebowes, and to goo whither he
losteth at enye tyme to fyshyng and huntyng in the kynges
forcstes, parkes, and chases, but lytle or no thyng senryng
the quere as other brethren doo ther, nother corrected of thu
said abbot for enye trespace he doth commytt«

16. Item, that the said abbot hath byne perjured oft* as is to
be proved and is proved, and as yt is supponed dyd not make a
true inventorye of the goodes, catak, and joels of his monasterye
to the kynges majesty and his cowncelL

17. Item, that the said abbot bath openlye preohed against
the doctrine of Christ, sayeng he owght not to love hys enmya
but as he loves the devuUe, and that he shuld love his enmyea
■owle but not his bodye*

18. Item, that the said abbot hath infringed all the kynges
injunctions whych were geven h^m by doctor Cave to obearvo
and kepe, and when he was denounced m plena capU%Uo to
have broken the same, he wolde have putt in prisonn the brodur
as dyd denounce hym to have broken the same injunctions,
save that he was lett by the oovent there.*

* L •• Save that he mm hindered by tke co&vtnt, or body of the
monks.

856 IHK HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

10. Iteniy the said abbot bath take bat small regarde to the
good lyvynge of his bowsebold.

20. Item, that the said abbot hath hadd yet a speciall favour
to misdooersy as manquellera/ thefes, deceavers of theyr neigh-
boars, and by them moost ruled and consulted.

21. Item, that the said abboth hath graunted leaxes of fermes
and advocations furst to oon man, and toke his fyne, and after
hath graunted the same leas to another for moore money,
and then wold make to the last taker a leax or wrytyng with a
ante-date of the furst leax, which hath breade grett dissensions
emong gentlemen, as Mr. Blount and Mr. Meysey, and other
takers of such leaxes, and that ofte.

22. Item, the said abbot havyng the contrepaynes of leaxes
in his kepyng, hath for money raced owt the nombre of yeres
mencioned in the said leaxes, and wrytc a gretter nombre in the
former taker his leaxe, and in the contrepayne therof, to the
intent to defraude the taker or byer of the reversion of such
leaxes, of whom he had receyved theyr money.

23. Item, the said abbot bath not accordyng to the fun*
dacion of his monasterye admitted frelye tenauntes into oerten
almeshowses belongyng to the said monasterye, but ofthen be
bath taken large fynes, and sum of them he hath pat awaye
thens that wold not gyve hym fynes, whither poore, Bged, and
impotent people were wont to be frelye admytted and recejrve
the founders almes ther of dde custom, lymyted to the same,
which almes is allso diminished by the said abbot*

24. Item, that the said abbot dyd not delyver the bulle of
his bushopryck that he purchased fro Rome to ouer soTeraigne
lord the kynges cowncell tyll long after the tyme be had dely-
vered and exhibjted other bulles of his monasterye to them.

26* Item, the said abbot hath delyned and yet doth detyne
aervanntes wages, and ofte when the said serranntes have asked
theyr wages, the said abbot hath putt them into the stookkes
and beate them.

26. Item, the said abbot in tymes past hath had a greate
devotioan to ryde to Llanyevran in Wales, upon Lammas
daje, to receyve pardonn theyr, and on the evyn he wold lye

• Maa-kttlen.

THE HI8T0ET OF LUDLOW. 857

with con Marye Hawie, a old concabyne of his, at the Wahh-
poole, and on the morowe ryde to the forsaid Llanyevran, to
be confessed and absolved, and the same night retorne to
companye with the said Marye Hawle at the Walsbe-poole ;
and Kateryn the said Marye Hawle hyr sustur doghter* whom
the said abbot long hath kept to concubyne, and had children
by hyr that he lately maryed at Ludlowe ; and others that haye
be taken owt of his chambre and put in the stookes within the
said abbeyei and others that have complayned upon hym to the
kynges cowncell of the Merches of Wales, and the woman that
dasht owt his tethe tliat he wold have had by violens» I will not
name nowe, nor other roennes wifes, lest yt wold offend youer
good lordship to reade or heare the same.

27. Item, the said abbot doth dayly enbecelli selU and
conveye the goodes, catals^ and joels of the said monasterye,
havyng no nedc soo to doo, for yt is thowght that he hath am*
merkesy or ij. thowsand, lying by hym that he hath gooten by
si^llyng of ordres and the joels and plate of the monasterye
and corradycsy and yt is to be feared that he will alyenate
all the reste, in lesse yoner good lordship spedely sya redretia
and make provision to let the same.

28. ltem« the said abbot was acustomed yerly to preach
at Leyntwardyne m ftsio nativUatis Marie Wfftnis^ where and
when the people were wont to offer to a ymage thcyr, and to
the same the said abbot in his sermon wold exorte them and
encorage them^ but now the oblacions be decayed, the said
abbot espyeng the ymage there to have a coote of sylver
plate and gylt, hath take awaye by his own auctoryte the same
ymage and the plate turned to his use, and left his preching
there, seyng there is no moore profyt to cum yn, and the plate
that was abowte the said ymage was named to be worth xK
poandes.

29. Item, that the said abbot hath ever noreshed enmyte
aad discord among his brothers, and hath not encoraged them
to leme the lawes and misteryes of Christ, but he that leaste
knewe was rooost cherished of hym, and he hath byn highly
dbpleased and disdayned when his brother wold laye, * thia is
Ooddea precept and doctrine, this ye ought to preferrc before
yooer cetymonyes and vayne constitutions/ This sayeng was

8 A

S58 THB HI8T0EY OF LUDLOW.

high disobediens, and shuld be greruBly poneshed, wher that
lyengy obloqnye, flaterje, ignorans, derision, contumely, diacordy
great sweryng, drjnkjng, ypochrysye, fraade, rapereticioo,
di8ceyte« conspiracye to wrang theyr neighbor, and other of
that kynde, were had in apeciall favonr and regarde* Laude
and prayse be to Ood that hath sent ns the time, knowlegey
honor, and long prosperity to oner soveraigne lord and his
noble oownoell that tendre to avaonce the same. Amen.

By sir John Lee yoner faythfiill bedman,

and chanon of the said mon. of Wigmonr.

My good lorde, there is in the said abbey a crosse of fyne
gold and precins stoones, wherof oon diamond was estemed
by doctor Boothe, bnshop of Hereford, worth a c. markes. In
this crosse is inclosed a pece of wood named to be of the cro«e
that Criste dyed npon. And to the same hath byn offring,
and when yt shuld be browght doon to the charch fro the
tresorye, yt was brooght doone with light and lyke rcTerenoe as
shnld haye be doon to Christe himself. I feare lest thabbol
upon Sondaye next, when he maye cum to the tresorye, will
take awaye the said crosse, and breke y t, and tame yt to his nse
and many other precins yoels that be there.

All thes articles afor written be true as to the substaunoe
and true meaning of them, thogh perarenture for haste and laeke
of oownoell sum woordes be sett amisse or owt of theyr plase,
that I wUbe redye to prove for as much as lyes in me, when it
shall lyke youer honorable lordshipp to direct youer comissioun to
me or enye man that wilbe indifferent and not corrupt, to sytt
upon the same at the said abbey, where the witnesse and proves
be moost redye, and the truth is best knowen, or at enye other
plase wher yt shalbe thought moost oonyenient by youer high
discretion and auctoryte.

With the dissolution of each monastic house, the whole
property was at once surrendered to the crown. The first
step taken to turn this property to account, was by selling
the furniture and, in a great many cases, the materials of
the building. There are very few documents now left to
enable us to trace the successiTe demolition of buildings and
sale of goods and materials of the religious houses on the

TUB HISTORY OF LVDLOW. 859

borders of Wales, although much curious information may
be gathered from the Scudamore papers which have lately
been purchased for the British Museum. John Scudamore
and Robert Burgoyn were the king's receivers of the mo-
nasteries in the border counties. We may form some notion
of the work of demolition from the following items of sales in
1538 connected with the abbey of Bordesley in Worcester-
shire, preserved among the papers of the Scudamores.

Sales tber made the xxiij^ day of September, anno regni
regis Henrici viij^ xxx"^ at the survey ther.
Fyrst, sold to Raffe Sheldon esquyer, and

Mr. Markeham, the iron and glasse in the

wyndowes of the north syde of the cloyster - xvij** viij'*
Item, sold to Mr* Markeham the old broken

tyle house at the reddyche and a lytle bouse

by the same . - - vij^- vj*«

Item, recevyd of Mr, Orevylle for a lytle table

and the pavyng stone tber - • iij'* iiij'-

Item, sold to Mr. Markeham the pavyng tyle

of the north syde of the eloyster - - v*«

Item, a lytle bell sold to Raphe Sheldon esqnyer xxx"*
Item, the pavement of the est syde of the cloys*

ter, sold to a servannt of the bnsshoppes of

Worceter - • • - v»-

Item, the glasse of the est syde of the cloyster,

sold to Mr. Morgon ... vij*» vj**
Item, sold to Thomas Norton a butteras of

stone at the est ende of the churche - xij'*

With the exception of a few houses in Staffordshire,
Scudamore's accounts are only preserved in a book where
be enters merely the sums paid to him by purchasers,
without any particulars of the articles bought; and this
book only relates to arrears, the earliest payments of which
belong to the year 154S. On the 7th of April inJM| year,
fifty-three shillings and eight-pence were paid for^MS or
materials of the Austin Friars at Ludlow; and w^have
similar payments on account of the same house of thirty-

SGO THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

seven shillings and four-pence on the S8th of July in the
same year; of fifty-three shillings and eight-pence by
another person on the same day; of four pounds eleven
shillings on the 23rd of April, 1545 ; of the same sum on
the 28th of October in that year ; of two shillings on the
Slst of May, 1546 ; of twenty-five shillings and six-pence
on the 4th of September, and of the same sum on the
SOth of November, in the year last mentioned. The pay-
ments on the same account for the White Friars of Ludlow
are, twenty-five shillings and six-pence on the 22nd of May,
154S ; the same sums on the 7th of June, 1543, and on the
83rd of April, 1545 ; five poimds on the 28th of October,
1545: fifty-one shillings and six-pence on the 25th of
May, 1546; and fifty-one shillings on a subsequent date,
in the same year. For the larger monasteries, such as
Shrewsbury, Wenlock, Buildwas, Haughmond, Dore, and
Wigmore, these payments, of large and small sums, are
much more numerous. It is probable that the buildings of
Wigmore abbey were destroyed almost immediately after
its dissolution, and all that now remains is the old abbey
grange, a fine specimen of timber building, and its bam,
which is no less remarkable for its lofty timber roof. In
1574, the records of the abbey were lying in a neglected
state in Wigmore castle, as we learn from a letter dated
on the Srd of October, in that year, and written by the
celebrated doctor Dee, who says ** the third and last prin*
cipall point of this my present suit to your lordship (lord
Burghley), is for your lordshippes hand to a letter directed
to Mr. Harley, keper of the records of Wigmor castell, or to
whom in this case it doth appertayn. For that, at my late
being there, I espied an heap of old papers and parchments,
obli^pations, acquittances, accounts, &c. (in time past be-
longing to the abbay of Wigmor) and there to lye rotting,
spoyled, and tossed, in an old decayed chappell, not com-
mitted to any mans spedall charge: but three quarters
of them I understand to have byn taken away by diverse
(eyther taylors, oir others, in tymes past). Now my fantasie

THK HISTOKY OK LUULO-n-.

361

is that, in soni of tliein will be some mcntioii aiude of
noblemea of those ilayes, whereby (ejtlier for chronirle or
pedigree) eom good matter iiiny be collccte<l out of tlicm by
me (at my leysor) by the way of a recrfaliou." All these
records have now eo entirely disappeared, that it is stated
in the last edition of the Monasticon that oven an impree*
sion of the abbey seal is no longer to be met with. This,
however, ia not strictly correct, as I have now before me
casts of three seals of W'igmore, the largest of which
(apparently as old as the thirteenth century) represents
St. Victor (?) with figures on each side of him, all three
standing in niches of a canopy, and a monk on his knees
below. The inscription around appears to be 8.mona81ER1I

SANtnOR. lACOBl ET VICT0K18 UE WIG.

Monastic seals are frequently of great interest as works of
art, and as illustrating costume and manners of different pe-
riods. The counter>seal of the priory of Leominster coatained
• Roman intaglio, probably found on some of the ancient
sites in that neighbourhood — perhaps at Kenchester. Round
it ia the inscription QVI8EHT1IILIATEZALTABITVR. Cameot

862 THB HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

and engraved stones were very fre-
quently used in this way in the middle
ages. They were prized and preserved,
in the belief that they possessed rare
and even miraculous properties. I be-
lieve that in the shrine at Cologne there
are several hundred, some of them ex-
tremely beautiful; and it is by no
means uncommon in this country to
find them inserted in seals.

Several causes combined to induce
the commissioners, or the persons who subsequently ob-
tained the monastic estates, to destroy the buildings. The
latter, not unfrequently, used the materials for building
their mansion houses. And they were in many cases
already rendered ruinous by the violence with which they
were stripped of the fixtures in wood and metaL The
churches more especially suffered from this cause. Buigoyn,
writing to Scudamore, observes, — ** As you write unto me,
we maye sell no housyng unto suche tyme we have fiiiste
certefied, save only the churches, cloysters, and dorters.
Howbeyt Mr. GKffiud and I have sold in some ffirire houses
all the buyldynges, the cause was for that they wene so
spoyled and tome by suche as sold the goodes, that in
manner they were downe, and yff they should nott have
ben sold, the kyng should have hadd noth3^ng thereoC
Lead at this time appears to have been an article of value,
and it was invariably stripped from the buildings, and
reserved for the king's use, which must naturally have
caused the ruin of the buildings themselves. In the
Scudamore papers in the British Museum, there are many
items of payments for taking down the lead and conveying
it to the Severn, whence it was carried in boats to BristoL
It appears from a letter written to John Scndanune as late
as 1555, in the reign of Philip and Mary, that there atiU
remained a considerable quantity of lead and bdl-melal
in the receiver's hands: the letter states ** there dollie

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 868

remayn to be aunsweryd by you bothe leade and bell
metalle as ffollowythe, that ys to saye, for leade att Bristoll,
iij. ff.y iiij^ quarter, x. lb. ; Wigmore, liij. ff. j. quarter ff. de.,
CTxij. lb.; LudlowCy v. ff., iij. quarter ff. ccciij. quarter
cn«- ; at Severn, in the custodye of Thomas Irelonde, j. ff. ;
Bocestre, yj. ff.; Croxden, xiiij. ff. de. ; Delacres, iiij. ff. ;
Tuttberye, yj. ff. j. quarter; nuper prioratus canonicarum
de Stafford, xliiij. ff. ; LylleshuU, v. ff. ; Halesowen, x. ff. ;
the late monestarye of Shrewsborye, Ixvij. ff. de. ccc. lb. ;
the celle of Dudley, iiij. ff.; and ffor belle metalle att
Westwoode, in the county of Worcestre, cccc. lb."

If we carefully examine the accounts relating to the
property of the dissolved monasteries, we should probably
find the representations which have been made as to the
lavish manner in which that property was wasted, after it
came to the crown, totally unsupported by facts. It would
appear from the books of Scudamore's accounts, that the
debts of the religious houses were honourably paid, and
that all annuities of priests, &c. and bonds made previous
to the dissolution were allowed to continue in full force.
Liberal pensions (according to the rate of money at that
time) were given to the tnonks, who were at the same time
allowed to embrace a secular life. Among the houses
remaining in the receiver's hands at the time hb books
(preserved in the British Museum) begin, the only one in
the immediate vicinity of Ludlow was that of Wigmore. It
is very renuurkable (and requires for explanation more docu-
ments than appear now to exist) that John Smart, the abbot
to whose charge we have seen that such serious crimes were
laid, and who is supposed to have been deposed, is there
found receiving the unusually lazge yearly pension of eighty
pounds out of the property of the dissolved abbey, in two
half-yearly payments of forty pounds each At the same
time his predecessor Walter Hopton, also described as late
abbot, who had resigned to make room for Smart and must
now have been an old man, is represented as receiving
a pension of twenty pounds a year. Each of the canons

364 THE HISTORY OF LUDIiOW.

appears, by the same account, to have received five pounds
yearly.

We find also, by the Scudamore accounts, that considerable
sums of money were expended out of the monastic property
for the reparation of churches on the border, which had
probably run into neglect and ruin in consequence of the
unsettled state of this part of the country. From a letter
of sir Richard Riche to John Scudamore, dated the £4th of
March, 1541, it appears that this was done at the suggestion
of the bishop of Worcester. " Wher," says sir Richard, " I
am advertised by my lord bisshopp of Worcetour, that diverse
suche chansells of churches within the counties of Glouce-
toiur, Hereford, Salopp, Stafford, and Worcetour as dooth
belong and apperteign to the kinges highnes ben in so
greatt ruyne and dekaie, that withoute immediate repara-
cions to be doon in and apon the said chansells, the kynges
majestie shalbe (not long to come) at moche greatfcer charge
to reedifie diverse of the same, theise shalbe therfor to
require you, and in his graces behalff to commando you,
and every of you, withoute delaie, to cause necessarie and
convenient reparacions to be doon in and uppon suche of
the said chanseUs as shall apperteign to the kinges majestie
being within the saide counties, acoourding to the neoes-
sitie of the same.'* In the few yearly accounts of John
Scudamore preserved, the expenses of the reparations of
several of these churches are stated. These payments Bxe, —

26 Aog. 1541, out of the accounts of Wigmore abbbey, for the

repair of the chancel of ** MomelW church.
12 Nov. 1541, out of Haughmond abbey, for new roofs to the

choirs of Ufiogton and Ruyton churches.
SI Not. 1541, out of Haughmond abbey, for repairiog the

choir of Shawbnry Church,
21 Nov. 1541, out of Acorabuff priory^ for repairing the

chanoel of Wolferlow ohurch.
5 June, 1642, out of Wigmore abbey, for repairing the ehanosl

of Wigmore parish chnrcL

TH9 HISTORY OF LTTDLOW. S65

90 Aag. 1542, out of Hanghmond abbey, for repairing the

chanoels of Uffiogton and Ray ton churches.
31 Aug* 1542, out of the monastery of Stone, for repairing the

chancel of Madely church,
18 Nov. 1542, out of Tutbury priory, Ss. 6d. **for the repara-

cyon of a glasse wyndow yn the chauncell" of Church-

Broughton.
12 Nov. 1543, out of Shrewsbury abbey, for new roofing with

lead and repairing the chancel of the church of High

Ercall.
0 Oct. 1544, out of Rouoester abbey, for repairing the chancel

of Roucester parish church. (Staff.)
12 Oct. 1544, out of Hanghmond abbey, for repairing the

chancel of Wrozeter church.
522 Oct. 1645, out of Bordesley abbey, for repairing the chancel

of ** Chydeswykeham" church. (Olouoes.)

Part of the money produced by these sales was also
expended on other public works. We find in the accounts
alluded to, that during the years from 1511 to 1546,
considerable sums were furnished at frequent intervals
from the money arising out of the abbey of Great Malvern,
for building the 8ea*wall at Longney on Severn; and on
the 11th of November, 1542, forty shillings was paid out
of the accounts of Acombury for the repair of the Mill-
street mills at Ludlowj which then belonged to the crown,
and which were the subject of a law-suit in the reign of
James I^ by which the town was seriously impoverished.
" Item, payd the xj*h. day of Novemb. a©- xxziiijo. E. H.
viijvi- to Thomas Wheler and Bichard Handley, baylyefes
of the towne of Ludlow, by thandes of Johan Alsopp now
one of the baylyeffes ther, the some of fforty shelynges for
so much money by them payd for dyrers reparacyons by
them done upon the come mylles, voe. the Mylle strete
myllesj etc. as it apperith by a debentur, xl«- '*

The monastic establishments were thus, within the space
of two or three years, entirely swept from the face of the
land. There remained still, however, a rather numerous
S B

S66 TUB HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

class of small foundations^ known as chantries, colleges,
private cliapelsy and gilds, which were attached generally
to parish churches, and which were either wholly or par-
tially devoted to what were now considered superstitious
usages, chiefly consisting in the support of priests to say
masses for the dead or obits. These were totally incon-
sistent with the religious doctrines of the reformation,
which now prevailed in England. An act of parliament
for the suppression of endowments of this kind was passed
in the 37th of Henry YIII (a. d. 1545-6), but appears not
to have been put in execution ; but an act, more complete
in itself, and confirming the former, was passed in the first
year of the reign of Edward VI, A. D. 1547. By this
statute, all foundations of the above description were de-
clared to be suppressed, and their estates were forfeited to
the crown; but it was provided or recommended in the
act itself that the property thus taken from the purposes to
which it had been devoted by the original founders should
be applied by the crown to the erection of grammar
schools, increasing of colleges, and other purposes connected
with education, and to the appointment and endowment of
vicars, &c. By a proviso at the end, all foundations of this
kind which had received direct confirmation in the preceding
or present reign, were excepted from the effects of this act.
Commissioners were immediately sent round to take the
surrenders of the chantries and gilds, and to make inven-
tories of their goods and estates, out of which a large
portion of our grammar schools were founded.

The Palmer's Gild at Ludlow was one of those which
came within the excepting clause of the statute of Edward
VI; and when the king's commissioners visited it, the
old body corporate defended itself at law, and judgment
appears to have been given in its fevour. Fearing, however,
to provoke the court by obstinate resistance, and willing to
get rid of the superstitious uses in the original foundation,
it was agreed that the property should be surrendered to
the erown, on condition that it should be placed in the

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 367

hands of the corporation of Ludlow for the charitable
purposes to which it had previously been appropriated.
The original drafts of letters, &c. relating to this transac-
tion have been discovered among the municipal records
since the former part of the present volume was written.
On the 11th of May, 1548, the protector Somerset wrote
as follows to sir Edward North, then chancellor of the
augmentations.

We commende us right hartely unto you« Whereas the
inhabitanntes of Ludlowe have of late ben suters unto us that
they might have certen chauntries preserved in that there towne
of Ludlowe, by pretence of a certaine late graunte maide to
them by the kinges majestic last disceased, and yett never-
thelesse they shewe them selfes redy with all lowliness to take
sttche order as shall by us be taken, we praye for their better
dispatche which they cheiflye seeke to examyn the truthe of
their charter, and lett them underatande the estate of the kinges
majesties title, to their forther quiett. Thus hartely fare ye well«
From Westm. the xj^* of Maye, a** 1548« Your lovinge
frinde, E. Somersett*
To our lovinge frende sir Edward Northe,

knight, chauncelor of the augmentacions, etc.

On the 7th of June following, sir Edward North returned
the following answer to the duke of Somerset's letter.

My dutie remembred unto your graice. It may pleise the
same to be advertised that, accordinge to your graces pleisure
declared by your lettres conceminge the men of Ludlowes
sute for their guilde, I with the counsaill of the cort have harde
their counsaill upon the debate, whereof the opinion of their
learned counsaill was very presice in Ludlowes qaarrell against
the kinges highnes, and vowched some of the judges to be of the
same opinion againste the kinge. Forasmuche as the storringe
of any doubtes in that case at their sute might encoarrage
many other to stirre and stands in the like againste the kinges
highnes, wich might tends to hb majesties no little prejudice,
and withall perceivynge that moche of the rsvenewe is chari-

868 THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

tably emploid upon the sostencion of the poore and maintenaiuioe
of a free grammer schole, by the advise of the coansaill of the
corte thowf^ht better to retunie them to yoar graioe petitioners
as before, and that they should stande to your graioes oonsidera-
cion in the samey then by starringe of dowbtes in the statute
to geve other courrage to persue the like tittle* and findinge
them confirmable to the mocion in that behaulf, coulde doe no
lesse then comende their good confirmitie and eftsones refarre
the matter to the determinacion of your graioe. From Westm.
the Tij^* of June, 1548.

Your graces humblye at comaundment,

Edward Northe.

Meanwhile the people of Ludlow became impatient at
the slow progress of the law proceedings, and were naturally
fearful that some new act of parliament might come to rob
them of their claims. The following draughts of letters,
apparently firom the gild to sir Ralph Vane and the law
counsel of the town, Bfr* Calfhill, are undated, but they
were probably written shortly after the letter of sir Edward
North just given. The neighbours here mentioned were
perhaps the town corporation.

Right worshipfuU, our humble salutaoions to your good
mastership premised, pleaseth hit the same to be advertised
that wheare upon relaeion made unto us, that your mastership,
thrather at the request of our vearie frynde Mr. Calfhill, are so
good unto us that ye have not onely ffurtherid a suyte by us
begone and enterprised unto the lorde protectours grace, ooa*
oemyng the ezchaunge, alteracion, and unyting of certeyne
landes belonginge to the gylde or fratemytie in this towns
eallyd the palmers gilde in Ludlow, unto the encorporaoion
of the seid towne to have in fee ferme for ever, but also of your
further goodnes hath promysed one our behalve so to set fbr-
wardes our seyd suyte in thabsens of our neighbours whome we
sent to solyeytate the same, as yf they or eUes mo in nomber
for this towne for that purpos wer oontynually attendaunt upon
your mastership for the settiag forwardes of the same, and
for that we have nat (contrarie to our expeotaoion) herde from

TUB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. S69

Mr. Calfhill, who is left a solicitour unto yonr mastership in

9 neither of your mastershipes procedinges in our suvtes

sethens our seid neighbours departed from you, therfore we are
so bolde tatempte your seid mastership with oure lettre desiring
you nat onelye to contynue our good master in the premisses,
but also to be so good as to signifie unto us what your proce-
dinges have ben sethens our neighbours departed from you, and
what b for us for the more ezpedicion of the premisses to be
done. Greatly fearing that by long delay, sethens that the
ty tie of the gilde is alreadie judged bctwene tho kinges majestie
and us, ther may atte next parliament be establysshed suche
an acte that may brynge that our seid gilde within the compas
of the same, whiche wolde be to the utter ruyne of this towne.
And for that porcion towardes the recompens of your master-
shipes peynes whiche our neighbours and our rerie frynde have
togiders promysed to yonr mastership, we will assure you, God
willing, shalbo resonryd to your mastershipes contentacion, with
our dajly prayers, as knoweth our Lorde, who ever preserve
jour mastership in worship. Written the day of

Oure approvyd frynde Mr. Calfhill, after our right hartie
salutacions, with lyke thankes for your greate dylygens and
paynes, whiche we perceave by the succese of our suytes by
jon hertofore taken one the behalf of this towne ys so put
in suche a forwardnes that without your meanes and fryndes had
ben to harde for us to have compasid. Theis shalbe to
desire you, lyke as by our former lettres we have done, whiche
for that we ar in doute whether they be come to your handcs or
nat, therfore we eftsones writte (thrather because we thynke
longe to here from you) that ye will signifie unto us of jour
procedinges in our suytes sethen the departure of our neighbours
from you, and what is ffor us in the same for the further
expedicion therof to be done, so that you with us and we with
you myght togyders so worko that therby the more expedicion
myght be hade, greatly fearing that long contynewans may
brynge us in further bondage, as je know ; thus wo are bolde
to treble jou with contynuall burthens and requestes, at we
do at this tyme our good master sir Rafe Vane, by our lettrea
whiche we desire jou to help this berer to deljver^ astnring joa

S70 THB HISTORY OF LTTDLOW.

that je shall not onelj rcceave your hole charges that ye shall
sasteyne, but also be so gratyfied that ye shall therwith be
satisfied^ Ood willingi who ever kepe you.

Three years passed, during which the town incurred
considerable expense, before the matter was finally settled.
Perhaps there was some difficulty in arranging the terms to
the satisfaction of all parties concerned in it. It is not till
the 27th of May, 1551, that we find the following order
of privy council to the chancellor of the augmentations,
then sir George Sackville, to draw up a new grant of the
gild property, which had been conditionally surrendered.

After our hartie commendacions, the kinges majesties pleasure
is that ye upon the sight hereof doe cause the darke of your
courte to make out in parchement a booke in forme of a gifte
andgraunte in fee fearmo to thebayliffes, burgessis, and comnn*
altte of the towno of Ludlowe, in the countie of Sallop, and to
their successors, of all suche burgages, mesuages, lands, tene-
mentes, wooddes, and all other hereditamentes what soe ever
they be, which doe belonge unto the guylde or fratemitie of
palmers of our Ladye in Ludlowe aforesaid, wtch burgages
and other the premisses and their appnrtenaunoes the warden,
brythem, and sisteme of the sayd guylde are contented to
surrender unto the kinges majesties handes, the said baylifies,
bnrgenses, and comunaltie yeldinge and paynge therefore to the
kinges majestic viij*** xiij** iiij'- of rent, and his majesties further
pleasure ys, that the said baylifFes and burgesis with the
cominaltie shall alwayes finde in the same towne, at their owne
charges, a free grammar schole with a schoolmaster and an hussher
for the erudicion of youth in the Latine tonge, and also xzxi^.
poore and impotent people, every of them to have a chamber
and itij' a week, and alsoe on honeste learned man to preache
Ooddes woord, wich shalbe named the preacher of the towne of
Ludlowe, and on honeste and discrete minister to assiste the
parson in the ministracion of the devine saeramentes and service
ther« wich shalbe cauUid the assbtant to the parson of the parishe
of Lndlowe» and tho said schoolmaster, hussher, preacher, assis^
tanti and every of them^ to be alwayes nomynatyd and apoynted by

THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW. S71

the discression of the said baylyffes, bnrgessifi, and comminaltie.
And the same booke soc made to sonde unto us subscribyd with
your hande, that we roa^e preferre yt to the kinges majesties
signature accordinglie. Thus fare ye well* From Grenwich,
the xxvij*^' of MayCy 1551.

Your lovynge (Frendcs,
W. Wiluh'* J. Bedforde, T. Ocrcyo,

T. Cheyney, A. Wingfeld, W. Herbert.

John Gate,

There still seems to have been some disagreement as to
the form of the grant, and another year passed before it
was finally settled. The following documents belong to
the intenrening period, and are interesting as furnishing
information relating to the earlier history of the gild
which was not previously known. The first is a mere
memorandum.

Mem. to sue to opteyne a lyccnce for the guylde and fratcr-
nyt^ of palmers of onr Lady of Ludlowe to gyve and graunte
all their landes, tenementes, and hereditamentz belonging to the
said guylde and fratemyt^, wher soever they l>e within the
realme of Inglande, to the baylifies, burgessis, and eomynalt^
off Ludlowe aforesaid, and also to the same ba^liffes, burgessis,
and cominalt^ to accept and reseve the same to them and their
snccessours for ever, notwithstanding ony statute of mortmayne
to the contrary.

item, to sue to opteyne a confirmacion of the said grant to
be made after the said lycence, and therby to confirmc their
estate and possesion in all the said landes, teneroentes, and
hereditamentz, to have and to hold to them and their successors
for ever, according to the licence aforesaid.

The petition of the town founded upon this memorandum,
contains some curious information relating to the history
and objects of the gild, and to the state of the town.

To the hinges most royall majestic,
Moost humbly shewen and bcsechen your highnes your true

S7S THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

and faithfall snbjectes the bailiffes, bargenses, and commons of
your majesties towiie of Ludlowe, in the com. of Salop, that
where a* Domini, 1284, certayne burgenses of the said towne,
being welthj and of good substaunce, devised and agreed to^
erect and establishe a guylde to have contjnnannce for ever for
the purposes hereafter mencioned, and gave landes nnto it for
mayntenannce of the same, viz. to releve the necessitie of snche
as by fire, by shipwracke, by violence of theves, or other
nnevitable misfortune, shuld fall in decay, to helpe also the
necessitie of prisoners, poore maydens wanting substance to
preferre theym to mariage, and suche as shnlde by Goddes
vbitacjon fall into incurable diseases, and lastly to snstayna
thre priestes, eche of theym at the wages of viy^ markes by
yere, as by their fundacion therof redy to be shewed at large
doth appere ; whiche said fundacion or guylde was aflerwardes
augmented, confirmed, and incorporated by your majestief
most renowned progenitoures Ed. ihe thirde, Ric. the seoondy
and lastly by year highnes moost worthy father of famous
memory kinge Henry theight, and was nowe of late, in the ferst
session of the parliament holden in the begynnyng of yonr
majesties reigne, forprised and excepted to be noon of Uioae
that by vertue of the statute for suppression of colleges, chann*
tries, and guyldes, or of any other statute hethemnto made and
came or ought to eumme to the handes and poaession of yonr
highnes ; yet for so mnche as some question bathe been made
in whom the right title remayneth, and that after ezamynacion
therof and deliberate consultacion therin by the chauocdoar
and counsaile of your highnes court of augmentacions, the
matter was lefte in suspence to be considered and ordered by
yonr majesties moost honorable privey counsell, your said
oratours knowing your highnes moost godly indinadon to the
advauncement and fnrtheraunce of all charitable and good
publique ordinaunces, and withall considering that the whole
and entier profites of the said guylde, except only zzij"- ix**
bestowed upon the fyndeng of priestes and obites for the dead, is
yet and alwaies hithemnto hatha been employeil and spent
vpon the sustentadon of xxx^ poore and impotent personea,
the stipende of a soolemabter frdy to teache and instructe yonthe
in the Latyne tnnge, and snche like neceasaiy naesy which yonr

THS HISTORY OP LUDLOW. 87S

highnes by Bpeciall wordes in the etatute appoynted to hare
contyniianco as before rather with more encrease and larger
allowaance then any abatement or decrease therof; moost
humbly prayen and besechen your highnes to take the whole
revenoe of the said guylde into year majesties handes ; and for
that the said towne is large and bathe but oon parishe chnrche
for iiij"^ personesy and therin no vicar endowed, wheranto also
from tyme to tyme is great accesse of stranngiers owt of all the
principalitie of Wales and Marches of the same by occasion
that the commissioners resident in those parties for the good
goremement of the contrey moost commonly make their abode
in the eastell there, and considering also that their fee ferroe is
decaied iij^ by yere at your majesties handes for burgage
rentes heretofore paied out of thre religioose bowses dissolved,
and that they stand charged nevertheles with mayntenaonce of
the towne walles, the paviment, condnytes, and thre stone
bridges, that therfore yottr majestic will Toachesanf to convert
the rentes heretofore employed upon the superstitious abuses
of private masses, obites, and suche like, to the mayntenaunce
of a prechour, an assistant to the person in the cure, and the
stipende of an ussher in the grammer schole, and therupon
to annexe the whole landes and revenue aforesaid to their fee
ferme of the towne; and they shall pray, etc.

The following statement accompanied the foregoing
petition. It appears that it had now been resolved that, as
stated in the foregoing document, the property should be
added under such conditions to the fee farm of the town,
and included in a general confirmation of the municipal
charter granted by Edward IV.

The state of the guylde of Ludlowe, in the oountye of
Sallop, which the inhabytauntes of the sayde towne of
Ludlowe no we bo suters unto the ky nges'majestie to annexe
the same unto the corporaeion to suche purposes and
intentes ensuynge.
Pfyrste, certen landes and tenementes ly ioge in the towne of
Ludlowe were geven unto the saide gylde, and after the same
was incorporatte unto the inhabitauntes there by the name of a
S 0

374 THE HISTORY OF LUDIX>W.

warden, bretberne^ aod sjsters of the guylde of palmers of our
Ladye in Ludlowe, in the conntte of Sallop, by the lettres patentee
of the kinge, then beinge Edwarde the thirde» like at by the
same appeareth. And the landes thernnto geven were imployed
onto the ffindinge of a scoolemaster, certen poore people in an
almes howse there erected and buylded, and there prestet.

Item, the landes and tenementes are by yere exx"- wherof
c^ lyeth in Ludlowe, in kennelle rentes and decayed howaes
yerelye char^^eable in reparacion above z"« and some yeres o^«
and the residewe beinge xx"- lyeth in snndrye gnllettes in
severall townes and shers, out of the which there is payde in qnyt
rentes xij**- yerelye.

Item, Richard the seoonde» kinge of Englande, in his tyme
confirmed the lettres patentee of kinge Edwarde the thirde.

Itemi kinge Henry the eight confirmed the said gnylde by
hb lettres patentee dated xxj^** die Nanembris amno r. $ttL
xxvij^ By reason of which eonfirmacion the said gnylde is
not within the compasse of dyssolucion by reson of the late
actes of parlymentes had and made m anno xxxrij** H. viiji^and
anno primo Edmardi sexti regi& nune^ like as by the laste
proTyso conteyned in the acte of parlimentes had and made in
the said ffirste yere of our said soyeraigne lord that nowe is
doth appeere.

The inhabitaantes of the saide towne beinge called before
the kinges honorable counsaill concemynge there saide g^ylde,
and makinge answere for the defense of the said gnylde by
reson of the proriso aforesaide, were referred unto Mr. Nortbe
then cbaoneellour of the angmentacion and other the kinges
eoonsaill learned of the said courte, wherupon debatinge the
kinges tytle as well before them as afterwarde before Mr.
channoellonr Mr. Sackvyle nowe beinge chaanoellour, they
were at sererall tjrmes referred unto the kmges miyest^ and his
honorable ooansaill« and by both the said Mr. channcellonrs and
the oounsaill of the said conrte then beinge advysed to make ther
humble ante to surrender into the kinges handes the said guylde,
and therupon to desire his highnes that the same gnylde maye
be annexed unto the oorporacion of the said towne of Ludlowei
the bayliffes for the tyme beinge, rendering yerely therfore unto
the kinges majesty an augmcniacion of ther ffee fferm, tb*

i

THB lll$TORT OP LUDLOW. 375

viijii- xiij*^ iiij^ by yere ; and to fjnde of the resideve of the
rerenewes vcrely an assystaunt unto the parson, a precher, a
achole master, an usher, and xxxiij'^- poore people, and the
charge of reparacion of the same.

Item, upon the inhabitauntes humble sute and surrender of
the said guyld unto the king^.... the kinges moste honorable

counsaill upon dewe certificat had and made by both Mr

afforesaid of the state of the said guide, have therupon signcfied

unto Mr. clia noire ys the kinges pleasure ; and

therupon by ther lettres and varraunt hav said

Mr. chauncelour to make ftbrth a gifte in fFee fferme of the

premisses unto the and hurgessez of Ludlowe aforesaide,

unto the yntentes and purposes before rehersed, rcudringe the
saide yerely rent of eighte poundes threcteene shillinges fower
pence, together with xxiij'^* xiij*- iiij''* beinge the ffee fferme of
the said towne and landes incorporated unto theym by kinge
Edward the ffowreth, wliich in the hole ammounteth unto
I. markes.

The eontentea of the bill of Ltidlofve itrltten in parchment to

be assigned.

The firste and grettcste parte of the booke for Ludlowe
conteyncth the confirmacion of ther charter graunted by Edward
the ffowreth, as before saide*

alteracion of two flfiiyres and the markett les

counsaill in the marches of Wales to be countrey

adjoyninge ; and nothinge wne adjoyninge like as by

their lettres

th the incorporacion of the guylde landes

to snche intentes and purposes afore specyfyed.

A complete charter made according to these last state*
menta and directions, was granted to the town on the S6th
of April, 1552, which is the one that, confirmed in
subsequent reigns, still continues in force. The original
record of the gild of palmers, including the earlier deeds of
its various estates, and rolls of its revenue and expenditure
from the reign of Edward III to the time of its dissolution,
are still preserved, with less injury and loss than might

S76 THB HI8T0BT OF LUDLOW.

be expected, in the municipal archiTes of the town. These
latter are rich in historical materials, and ought to be
carefully examined and arranged.

SECTION XII.
The Lard Pretidency of WicJes and ths Marchei.

THE reign of Henry VIII saw reformation in other
departments of the state, as well as in the church. English-
men now began to enjoy internal tranquillity under an
efficient administration of the laws, which for a long period
before had been effective only against the weak and de-
fenceless. We have had various occasions of remarking the
turbulent state of the counties on the Welsh border, which had
led, under Edward IV and Henry YII, to the establishment
of another court at Ludlow Castle, attached to the persons
of the two infant princes of Wales, with a council, of which
the chief duty was to repress the disorders so prevalent in
Wales and its marches. After prince Arthur's death, the
prince's council was formed into a regular court of juris-
diction for the government of Wales, which was established
under a chief officer entitled the lord president, in Ludlow
Castle. The first of the lord presidents was William
Smyth, bishop of Lincoln, the founder of Brazennose College,
Oxford, who died in the fourth year of the reign of Henry
VllI, and was succeeded by Jeffirey Blyth, btshop of
Coventry and Lichfield. In 15£5, John Voysey, bishop of
Exeter, succeeded bishop Blyth, and he gave place in 15S5
to Roland Lee, bishop of Coventry and Lichfield.

During the earlier part of the reign of Henry VIH, the
attention of the government appears not to have been
called very directly to the improvement of Wales, and it is
probable that the first lord presidents were by no means
active in their office, but with the appointment of bishop

THK HISTORY OF LUDLOW. S77

Lee we enter upon a new era in the history of the border.
His was a mission of reforming and civilizing, and during
the period he held the office wc find him traversing in
every direction the country entrusted to his charge, strength-
ening the castles and prisons, assisting at local courts, and
punishing with severity those %vho had long been in the
habit of breaking the laws %vith impunity. In the year of
his appointment, no less than five laws appear upon the
statute book, i-elaling to Wales. By the first of these,
which was " for the punishment of perjury of jurours yn
the lordshippes merchers yn Wales," it appears to have
been the common practice in those districts, that, when a
murderer or felon was brought to trial, his relations or
friends tampered individually with the jury, and by threats
or promises made them acquit him. Another law enacts
that keepers of ferry-boats on the Severn shall not, under
penalty of fine and imprisonment, carry men or goods
after evening or before sun-rise, its object being to hinder
murderers and felons from escaping fVom Gloucestershire
into South Wales. The next is a long act to reform the
administration of justice in Wales, and abolishes a number
of old popular customs which had interfered with it, forbid-
ding collections called cammerthas, and other pretences
for extortion. The fourth of these acts is for the punish-
ment of Welshmen making assaults or afirays upon the
inhabitants of Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, and Shrop-
shire ; and the fifth is an act for the purgation of convicts
in Wales. Next year appeared two or three other acts of
the same description, one of which enacted that law should
be administered in Wales in the same manner as in England.
In the same year was passed an act for " reedifying'* seven
towns, which states that many houses in these towns were
in ruins, '' and specyally in the pryncipalle and chief stretes
there beyng, in the whiche chief stretes in tymes passid have
bene beautyfuU dwellyng bowses there welle inhabited,
whyche at thys daye moche parte therof is desolate and
void groundys, with pittys, sellers, and vaultes lying open and

878 THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

uncoveryd, very peryllous for people to go by in the nyght
without jeopardy of lyfe." These houses were to be repaired
ivithin three years under pain of forfeiture to the superior
lord. Four of the seven towns specified as in this condition
were Shrewsbury, Ludlow, Bridgnorth, and Gloucester.
Other acts for the reformation of Wales, passed during the
succeeding years, prove the activity of the government on
tliis subject during Lee's presidency.

Bishop Lee appears to have been an early protegee of
Thomas Cromwell, through %vhom he was appointed one of
the king's chaplains, and it was he who in 1533 performed
the marriage ceremony between Henry VIII and Anne
Boleyn, for %vhich he %vas rewarded in the folloi!i*ing year
^vith the bishopric of Coventry and Lichfield. He had no
doubt been appointed to the presidency of Wales as a
zealous and unflinching agent of Henry's government, and
he not only cleared the marches of the bands of robbers
vrith which they had been infested, but was the means
of effecting the final union of Wales with England. His
activity made him obnoxious to the evil-doers, and in one
of his letters in the State Paper Office he says, " Although
the theves (as this berar can tell you) have hanged me by
imaginacion, yet I trust to be even vnih them shortely in
very dede.*' It was bishop Lee who first obliged the
Welsh gentry to abridge their long names.

A few of bishop Lee's letters will afford the best picture
of his labours. Others will be found among the documents
in the State Paper Office. Most of those which follow
have been printed from that source and from the British
Museum by sir Henry Ellis, in his new series of " Original
Letters.'* One of the bishop's first cares was to repair and
strengthen the castle of Ludlow, the seat of his court, and
to these operations the follo%ving letter, written apparently
on the 9th of November, 1535, refers.

BUlicp Lee to CramttelL
Moste harty recommendacions and like thanks ffor year
manyfold geotlenesy and nowe of late ffor my sarreor, etc*

THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. 879

Where, at my laste bein^ at the courte, it plcaAcd you of yoar

goodenes, att my poor request, to move the kings hiprhncs fFor a

warraant of an hundredth pounds ffor the reparacions of the

castle of Lndlove, ^vhich ye sent me directed to sir Edward

Crofte. knight, rcceyvour of the erledome of the marche, where-

nppon, I entending none other then the accomplishment of my

masters pleasure, incontynently boughte viij. foother of leede.

and the same have bestowed uppon the saide castell, and

ffarther repay red the same fFor this tyme as I truste it was not

thies hundreth yeres, and so wold have contynued if I might

have had my money which at this tyme is nygh Ix" But

Mr, Crofte sayeth, and so dothe the auditor, Mr. Turner, that

thcr ys assignements of the hole receyts as to the kings house-

holde and the lady dowager. So that, before Ood, I am

compelled to borowe and paye the sayde money of myne owne ;

wherin if I have not your helpe, I am att no lytle after*dele.

Wherfore I hartely praye you to directe your lettres as well to

the sayde sir Edwarde Crofte as to the auditor aforsaide, to paye

to me the saide c"* And I truste I shall not only beware at

another season, etc, but also for the same ymployed, as your

truste is in me.

I truste my lorde of Northfolke will reporte our diligence

here, with whoose grace I comnned at large, and tolde his grace

all that I wrote to you off concernyng theves in thiese parties.

And att that tyme Geffrey Harley putt upp his supplicacion to

his grace, who called Mr, Englefild and me, and bade us if be

were a thief that he shuld be hangid, which is non onlike, if

grace come not fFrom you. I pray you commende master

Englefild incontynently after christemas, fFor I persey ve that then

Mr. Vernon muste be absent. And thus fFare ye as well as I

wolde my self. In haste, ffrom Ludlowe, the ix^- daye of

Novembre. It was tyme thyes reparacions were doyne, for I

promisse you it whold a cost the kyngs grace fyve hundreth

of hys pounds within short tyme, or ells all a goyne to nowgbt,

wherein I trust I have doyne my part, as yee shall by other

that have seyne and waveyd the same.

Yowrs most bownden,

Roland Co. et Licb.
To my moste entierly beloved

fFrende, master secretary.

880 THE lUSlORY OF LUDLOW.

Between this date and Christmas the active lord president
had been at Radnor and Presteign, ''among the very
thickest of tlic thieves/' to adopt his own expression from
the following letter ; and he was preparing to make a new
excursion into the same parts in the ensuing spring. He
gives but an unfavourable picture of the condition into
which the stores and arms in Ludlow Castle had been
allowed to fall by his predecessors in office.

Bishop Lee to CromweiL

Moste hartely I recommende me unto rou, and certifye the
same that I have receved your gentle lettres by the messenger,
and according to the contents thcrof I shall see every thing
accomplished as shall apperteigne, by Godds graoe« And
ffarther advertising you that I have bene in Wales, at Presteyne,
where I was right hartely welcommed with all the honest of
that parties* as sir James Baskervile and many other, without
any speares or other ffashion as heretofore hath ben osed, as at
large this barer shall onforme you. Which jomey was thought
moche daungeroose to some ; but, God willing, I entende after
Easter to lye oon moneth at Presteyne, even among the thickest
of the theves, to doo my master suche service as the strongest of
them all shalbe affrayed to doo as tofore, God willing. And
ffrom thens to Herforde, Monmouth, and Chepstowe, for this
fommer, which wilbe costely. Wherfore, if the kings highnes
will have this coantrey reformed, which is nigh at a poynte*
his grace may not stick to spende oon hondreth pounds more or
lesse for the same*

In my going and retome to Ludlowe, I was at Wigmore,
mod vewed the castill, and truly the kings highnes must neds
repayre and helpe the same, which b in maner utterly decayed
in logyngi, and all for reparacyoo in tyme* Yet the walls be
reasonably goode, and the leede therof will helpe, the tymber ia
at hande greate plenty. So, the kings graces pleasure knowen
ffor money, I shall see the same well dooa; if wee of thia
ooonsaile might have a warrannt to bestowe suche money as wa
ahuld gett to the kinges graces use nppon the same and other,
then ye shall understonde our diligence, I truste, both ffor die
kings advauntage and his graces honour.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 881

Radnor caBtell is not to be repayredy but onlj a prison
bouse amended, which mast neds be doon : ffor ther have ben
loste no lesse by evill keping then Ytij^- theves, and have no
place to kepe them. All may not be brought to Ludlowe, fFor
many consideracions which were to long to write. I suppose
that xx^ or xl^* marks wolde make ther a goode prison, which
is no*greate somme.

Item, the kings grace hath here an armorer att his coste
and charge, and hath delyvered to him certen harnesses, but
no man here knoweth howe moche. Ther be also, in sir
Richard Herberts custodye, two bundreth hamesse lyeng roting,
and he being now sicke, I sent to him to knowe the truthe ;
and me thinketh hit were more mete they shulde be here with
the armorer to be kepte, who hath wages fFor the same, then
ther with hym, who woU give a sclender accompte ffor the same*
Ther be also, as I am credibly enformed, other harnesses at
Thomebury, although I dowbte not they be well, yet yt is*
after my symple mynde, convenyent they were together. Here
be xl^* or 1^ bowes, not a bill nor goon, but oone great goone
which my lord Ferrers brought downe, nor goone powder, nor
stones.* Here be certen sheves of arrowes lefte, so that hit
appereth a goone without powder or stones, shafts without
boweSv Almayne revetts without gorgetts or apprones of mayle.
If I shulde nede to doo my master sendee, I must goo seke hit
of other; ffor here is not of his graces owne. But if it might
stoade with his pleasure, I thinke hit right necessary that this
castell shulde not thus be lefte. And that that his highnes
pleasure shalbe, to my litle witt and power shalbe accomplished.
Wherin, and in every of thies, I beseche you to enforme his
grace, that in tyme to comme no faulte be layed to me in not
relating the same to his majestye.

And in other things this berer, my trusty servaunt, shall
enforme you of my mynde, to whom I hartely praye you to
gave credence. And thus I commytt you to God, who sends
you a mery newe yere to your harts comforte* From Ludlowe,
fhe xxvj*^ daye of Decembre. Yowrs most bownden,

Roland Co, ct Lich.
To my moste entierly beloved ffrende, master secretary.

* Cauion bslto were at this time usoslly made of stone.
8 D

88£ THB HISTORY OF LUDIX>W.

In the next letter^ dated the 19th January, 16S6, the
bishop speaks of his activity in hunting down the "thieres,"
and boasts of having reduced Wales to such order that one
thief took another, and that the cattle, a great object of
plunder in previous times, were now sufficient to take caie
of themselves. In fact, as soon as the strength of the
government was felt, many of the evil-doers who were leas
compromised by their out%vard actions, sought to secure
their own peace by betraying, or showing their seal against
those who were more obnoxious to justice.

Biihop Lee and eir ThamoB Engl^fiM to OromweU.

After my moste harty recommeodacions, thii sbalbe tad-
vertise you that we have receaved from you the twoo oatlawes,
named David Uoide or Place, and Johan ap Richard HockiltoOf
with Richard ap Howell o/tof Somner, the murderer at Man-
mouth, ffor the which we hartely thanke you* And the said
twoo ontlawes we have sent to their triall, according to justice,
which to morowe they shall receyve (Ood pardon their sowles).
And fiarther, within twoo dayes after the receyving of tbe saide
theves, were brought to us iiij* other outlawes as great or
greater then the forsaide David and Johan were, and twoo of the
first of them had byn outlawed tbies zvj. years ; wherof iij*
were in liffe, and oone slayne brought in a sacks tmssed uppon a
hone, whom we have cawied to be hanged uppon the galowes
here for a signe« Wolde God ye had seen the flashion therof*
Hit chaunced the same day to be markett daye here, by resson
wherof iij«* people ffoHowed to see the said cariage of die saide
thief in the sacke, the manor wherof had not been seen here-
tofore. What shall wee say ffarther : all tbe theves In Wales
qwake ffor ffeare, and, att this day, we doo assure you, ther is
but oone thief of name of the sorte of outlawes, whose name is
Hugh Duraunt, tmstyng to have him shortely. So that nowe
ye may boldely affirme that Wales is reduot to that state that
oone thief taketh another, and oone oowe kepith another ffor
the moete parte, as Lewes my servaunt at hit rstome shall
more at large enforme yon. The takers of thies outlawes were
my brd of Riehmonds tenaunts off Keviliske and Amstleyt

THB HI8T0BT OF LUDLOW. 383

motte parte flPor ffeare and money, and parte ffor to have
thanks, and partely to have somme of their kynredd diecharged.
Beseching yoa that the kyngi highnes may be advertised
hereoC And thos the Holy Trmitie preserve you. From
Lndlowe, the xix^- daye of Janaary.

Yoar most bownden,
Roland Co. et Lich.
At yonr commaandment,

T. Englefild.
Dicken ap Ho'* dio Bagh.
^^ . Howell ap Ho" dio Bagh, alia$ Ho^ Bannor.
^^•"^i HoweU ap David Vayne.

Johan Dee Jmydw, aUoi Johan ap Meredith.
To the right worshipfoll master Thomas Cmmwell,
chief secretary unto the kings highnes, this
be yoven.

We find several papers among the Cromwell documents
at the Bolls House, which relate to deeds of turbulence
and violence perpetrated in Wales and the border counties
about this period. One of them, dated in the first year of
bishop Lee's presidency, contains some curious depositions
relating to the making of forged money on a somewhat
large scale in the neighbourhood of Abergavenny. Such
deeds had formerly been screened by the feudal privileges
of the lords of the soil, who claimed the sole right of juris-
diction over their dependents. In the following paper,
taken from the source just aUuded to, bishop Lee sends
Cromwell a list of male&ctors thus protected by one person,
sir Walter Herbert, and it is the best proof diat could be
given of the evUs of the system.

I pray hartely to God that yt may please the kinges good
grace of his mercifnlle pety with the advise of bis most honour*
able councell, to see a redres that hit subjectes be not thus dayly
mnrthered and robbed.

Thomas Herbert 1 For wilfull Mnrthur corny tted and done at a
Philip Herbert > place called Tyntame within the lordeschipe
Morgan Baygtes^ of Trillage, in the kyling of one • . ap

884 THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

kneling on his kneys, whick Thomas, Philip,
and Morgan be supported in the kynges
lordschip of Magonr, by Water Herbart,
steward under the eorle of Woreettonr, and
no ponischment for the seid marther; the
more pete, Ood helpe !
Edward Cuttelar, beyng that tyme wiUi William Herbert, dyde

kylle one in Flette Stret, and toke

sentere at Westminster, and fro thens cam to

Walys to Water Herbert, and was his serraunt

there, and yt no ponisement.

Water Herbert ) for wilfoll mnrther don within the lordeschepe

Johan Madocke 3 of Chepstow.

Lame Johan Herbert, for the mnrtheringe of ij. men, and no

ponischement.
Johan Lewys Freschower ) owtelawyd for felony and jogement
and one Cadnke a barber j geyvn and after comyttyd felony

and toke the oharche, and therapon
wher abjured, and after that resorted
to London to Thomas Johan, and
to Oder, and where take for the mur-
thering of ij. men by Kynsmgton.
Richard Phdip Johan, for mnrther, supported at Magour by

Water Herbert.
Johan Martche, Water Herbert ys serraunt, for the mnrther • •
Johan SysiU, Water Herbert serraunt, for murther.
WQliam Herbert, and Tliomas ap Powell, of Magour, for

mnrther.
Morgan Thomas, Llewelyn Hyghne, Water Herbert ys sertmunt,

for murther.
Thomas ap Powell, of the Pill, Water Herbert ys serraunt, for

murther.

jj^v J Water Herbert ys serrauntes, for the mur-
oneTresnam v a« • ^ •• ^i. a ▲ i. ^

J hft TimmA /tiering of \|. men, that ys to whete one

t^. 11 . % Johan Dier, and anoder Johan Whetsam, etc

Jenkyn Taylour, Water Herbert ys serraunt, for murther.
Johan Griffyth Pelle, for murther.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 385

Th^BB and OutelawB.

John Thomas Welyn ^ Water Herbert js servauntes, for the

Howell Thomas Welyn f robbing of William Davy, at Oryn-

Sir David, a prest i^fild, and putting hym and his moder

Lawsans Gaynard ^on a hotte treret for to make them

schowy etc.

Rosse Phepe, owtelawyd for felony, and supported and mayn-

teynid by Water Herbert, his reteneir.

Rawling Jamys \

Johan Lloyd / Water Herbert ys serrauntes, notorius theflPes

Rees Awbere ^ openly knowen, with oder, for the robbing of

Richard Draper i a Breton schepe and faveryd.

Thomas Davy /

One Meredith, Water Herbert ys serraunt, owtelowyd for felony,

Resse Tynker, supported by Water Herbert within his awtorite,

men snpposeth a money maker, etc. not.

Myles Mathew, Water Herbert his frend, for the robbing of

the cathedrall churohe of Landaffe, with other, etc. not :

Jamys Butteler

Howell Coke

Johan Pull Meyricke .,„•,,

lewys ap Ryce ) ^**®' Herbert ys servauntes, and no-

Rorgg' Morgan ' ^""" *^^^-

Lewys Higham
Johan Kymys

Memorandum. When that Water Herbert, and George ap
Morgan, wher on and agreyd togedur, whatsoever manner of
mesefayff where done yt was dokyd, the more pety.

In the next letter of the lord president, we find him at
Monmouth, on his proposed summer circuit in search of
" theves." In the course of his proceedings, he had found
a person who had actually, by some means or other, obtained
a licence from the king to act contrary to the statute
already mentioned, that forbade gathering of money under
the tide of commorthas.

BUhop Lee to OrcmwBlL
After my most harty recommendaoions, hit may please the

886 THX HISTOBT OF LUDLOW.

same to be advertbed that of late I receaved kttara ffrom mj
sanreyor, conteynyng the olde asaured goodenes and Savor of
jroar goode harte contynoed towards me ffrom tyme to tyme,
and nowe lastely in that it pleaaeth you to tendr« my ante ffor the
priory of saioete Thomaa, although I cannot have it to ttonde,
yet ffor that ye mynde my preferment to the fferme of the
demaynesy I hartely thanke yon. Aa Ood jadge me» I only
desyre the same ffor quyetnes and ffor none advanntage, as my
aaide snrveor shall enforme you, to whom I hartely beseche yon
to geve fiarther credence bothe hereb and other thtnga* emongs
which oone ya ffor the reparacions of the castill of Monmouthe,
which is all decayed and in myn (the hall and the walls only
ezcepte). And fforasmoche as it shalbe a shire towne, and
that also this ooonsaile shall ffor sondry causes repayre thither,
I thinke hit expedient the priory here, tIz. the mansion of the
same, as stones, tymber, and other^things to be reserved ffor the
re-edifieng of the saide castill, which, together with co^ in redy
moneye, and suche as this counsaile wolde helps, wolde make a
convenyent lodging ffor this counsaile and other at the kings
graces pleasure : wherein his grace pleasure knowen, and money
had as bifore, my diligence shall not Sayle to the best of my
litle power. But there is no leade in the sayde priory. I truste
I have sett Brecknock castell in as perfitt £hshion as he was
syns his first foundacion. Truste ye me truly, I wilbe more
oircumspeote in spending the kings graces moneye then myne
owne. And what the kings graces pleasure shalbe herein, I
praye yon I maye be asserteyned shortly.

And fforasmoche as abowte Arusteleye, syns my moving unto
Brecknock in Southwales, be gathered together a certen duster
or company of theves and murderers, where I entended to
Olooeslor, I must of neceasitie rstome to Herforde and
Ludlowe ffor the redresse of the same, which, Ood willing* shall
not be omytted. Hartely prayeng you to remembre the com*
mission that Mr. Englefild left with you; ffor without that
we can doo no goode here.

Farthermore ye shall understonde that where, ffor the highe
oommoditie and welth of Wales and the marohea of the same,
oommortha and other exaocions were fordon by statute, oone
George Mathewe, gentleman, of Southwales, hath obteigned a

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. S87

pUearde to the contrary (the kings grace as I take it not playnel/
instructed therin), ffor there is no cause whye expressed, as by the
copy horeinolosed hit doth appere,* wherin I wolde ghully knowe
the kings graces pleasure shortely. Truly it is right large, all
things considered, ffor he is so ffrended that it shall ron through
all Wales to his advauntage, as I take it, of a thowsand marks.
Thus I trouble you. beseching you of pacyence and daily my
prayer is for your preservaccion, which almighti Jhesu conty-
newe. From Monmouthe, the xxj^*** daye of June.

Yours most bowndeni
Roland Co. et Licfa.
To my moste entierly beloved ffrende,
master secretary.

Among other papers in the Rolls House, are copies of
the examinations relating to the abduction of a widow, who
was seized publicly in a church at service time, by a party
of armed men, and carried away. The trial of the offenders
took place at Gloucester, and it appears, from the following
letter (in the State Paper Office), that, the jury having
been tampered with, they were acquitted. This manner of
escaping justice had, apparently, been a common practice
in Wales and on the border. The date of this letter is
February, 1537.

Bishop Lee to CrcmweU^
To the right honorable and his very good lord, the lord
Cromwell, lord privy sealK

My dutye remembred to your good lordshype, advertesynge
the same that I have receaved your letteres datid at the courts
the xvij^ daye of February, willing me (that were dyveres
oomplayntes have bene made againste sir John HudlestOB,
knyghte of the one party, and sir John Bridges of the other

• Inclosed in this letter ie tke oopy of the " placard*' or licenoe, which
bean date at Oreenwidu Feb. 3, in the 37th Hen. VIII, k, D. 1530^
Hue flxee the date of the letter to Jane, 1536^ and not 1540. ae sir Henry
BUit iuppoeed from the mention of the priory of Staiford. In fact, on
the 9th of Jnly, 1536» Cromwell was raised to the peertfe, after which he
would not have been addreeeed as ^ aastn tectttaiy."

S88 THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

parte, by divers poore men), I should entend to the reformatvon
of the same, and to give a vigelent eye, and circomspectely to
harken to the ordere and factyones in the county of Gloucester.
My good lord accordinge to my dutye thes shalbe to enforme
the same that sir William Sullyard, knyghte, Mr. John Vernon,
and Thomas Holte, were at the assyses at Gloucester, with the
justyoese of assise, for dy veres causes. Amonge other one was
for the tryall of a cause of mpe, comytted hy one Roger Morgane
of Wales, with a greate nomber in his companye, in takyng
awaye a widowe againste her will out of a churche, wherin,
althoughe pregnante evidence was gyven to the enquest agaynste
the sayd Morgane and his company (as was thought to us all),
yet notwithstandynge the sayd mallefactores were acquitted, to
the evell example of other. And my good lorde, this is a vice that
is and hathe bene comonly used in Wales, and hathe moste need
of reformatyon (which we entendynge) caused the sayd persones
to be brought to tryall, and at soche tyme as the enqueste
should have ben empanelled, suche as were of reputacion and
appointed to have bene of the same enqueste absented themselves,
so that we were driven to take meane men and of mean state ;
and so throughe beringe and secrete labore the sayd parses
were acquitted. And thernpon, the sayd jurye was and is
bonnde to appeare at the nexte assyses ; and, in the meane tyme,
before the kynges most honorable counsell in the stare chambere,
within z. dayes wamynge to them gyven, yf it shalbe seen to
your and their honores. My lord, yf this be not looked upon,
farewell all good rule. I have herwith sente unto your lord-
shipe the coppy of the whole bookes of evidence to the entente
that the same scene and perused by your lordshipe, I may knowe
your lordships pleasure, what tyme the said enqueste shall
appere, that therupon I maye gyve knowledge therof to the sayd
enqueste, wherof I bartely desyere your lordshipp.

At these assyses were viij. condempned, wherof vj. for fellony,
and ij. for treason whose heades and quarters shalbe sent to viy.
of the beste townes of the sheir. Those twajme were the bereward
and his ffellowe that were broughte by the sherife from your
lordshipe; and g. other for sedytyous words agaynste the
kynges highnes were sett of the pillorye, and had there yeares
nayled to the same, besydes other puneshements accordinge to

THX H18T0RT OP LUDLOW. S89

their dMertas. And thus the Holy Trjnetye longe oontjnewe
jour good lordshipe in honor. In haste, from Gloacester, the
Ifttte day of Febmarye.

Tour lordehipes moste boanden«

Roland Co* et Lioh.

Among offenders with whom justice had now to deal for
the first time, were the gipsies, then conunonly known by
the name of Egjrptians or gypcians. From the following
letter addressed to the lord president, it would appear that
they infested the Marches of Wales, where they had perhaps
found it easier to evade the laws than in other parts of the
coimtry. Oipsies appear not to have been known in
Europe before the sixteenth century. The date of this
letter is December 5, 1537.

Orommell to the lordprerident of the Marches.

After my right hartie commendacions, whereas the kinges
majestie aboate a twelfinoneth past gave a pardonne to a company
of lewde personnes within thb realme calling themselves Gip-
oyans» for a most shamfall and detestable murder commyttail
amonges them, with a speciall proviso inserted by their owne
oonsentes, that onles they shold all avoyde this his graces realme
by a certeyn daye long sythens expired, yt ahnld be lawfall to
all his graces offycers to hang them in all places of his realme
where they myght be apprehended, without any farther ex-
amynacion or tryal after fforme of the lawe, as in their lettres
patentee of the said pardon is expressed. Hb grace, hering
tell that they doo yet lynger here within his realme, not
avoyding the same according to his commaondement and their
owne promes, and that albeit his poors subjects be dayly
spoyled, robbed, and deceyved by them, yet his highnes officers
and miniitres lytle regarding their diendes towardes his majestye,
do permyt them to lynger and loyter in all partys, and to
exercise all their ftlshodes, felonyes, and treasons nnpunniibed,
liathe commaunded me to sygnifye unto youe that his most
draade oommaundement is that ye shall laye diligent espiall
throughowte all the partes there aboutes youe and the shirss next
8 x

890 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

adjoynyng, whether any of the sayd peraonnes calliDg them*
selfes Egipcyans, or that hathe heretofore called themselftB
Egipcyans, shall fortune to enter or travayle in the same. And
in cace youe shall here or knowe of any suche, be they men
or women, that ye shall compell them to repair to the next
porte of the see to the place where they shalbe taken, and
eyther wythont delaye uppon the first wynde that may conveye
them into any parte of beyond the aeesy to take shipping and to
passe to owtward partyes. or if they shall in any wise breke that
commanndement, without any tract to see them executed ac-
cording to the kinges hieghnes sayd lettres patents remaynyng of
recorde in his chauncery, which with these shalbe your dis>
charge in that behaulf : not fay ling taccomplishe the tenonr
hereof with all efiect and diligence, ^vithout sparing nppon any
commyssion, licence, or placarde that they may shewe or
aledge for themselfes to the contrary, as ye tender his graces
pleasure, which also ys that youe shall gyve notyce to all the
justices of peax in that countye where youe resyde, and the
shires adjoynant« that they may accomplishe the tenonr hereof
accordingly. Thus fFare ye hertely wel. From the Neate, the
▼*^ day of December, the xxix'** yere of his majesties most noble
regne.

Your lovyng ffreende,

Thomas CmmwelL
To my verye good iordc, my lorde of

Chestre, president of the counsaile

of the Marches of Wales*

The gipsies had been banished from this country by an
act of parliament passed in the 22nd year of the king's
reign (a. d. 1531), which appears, however, to have been

* The original of this letter is piMsnrod in the Cottonisn IfuniMripts
in the British Masoiini, Titiu B. I, fol. 407. It it not clear why the lord
prssideat is entitled *' my lord of Chester." Henry VIII, about thia tft^f,
estabUihed the new bishopric of Chester; and ss the united see of
Coreatry aad Lichfield had been ibnaerly mored fron Chester, perhaps
king Henry desi|nad to esny it backi aad to aMkt Lss the fiist bishop oC

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. S91

ineffectual^ as we find them aUuded to in after years. The
act just mentioned describes this wandering people as " an
outlandish people calling themselves Egyptians, using no
crafte nor feate of merchandise, who have come into this
realm, and gone from shire to shire and place to place in
great company, and used great, subtle, and crafty means to
deceive people, bearing them in hand that they by palmestry
could tell men and womens fortunes." It is remarkable
that the act which immediately precedes it, and was passed
in the same year, is directed against poisoners. We find in
other countries that the gipsies were concerned in several
cases of poisoning, a crime which was widely prevalent
during the middle ages. The following document relating
to this singular class of people, which is preserved among
the records of the Rolls House, and has not been hitherto
printed, appears to be of the same date as the preceding
letter, and is given as a pertinent illustration of it.

To ThomoB earl ofEitex, lordpreeey Beal.

Right honorable and my singaler good lorde, my dutie
remembredy this is to advertise your honorable lordshipp that
one maister Payiiell, baylyff of Bostone, is com bi yoar lord-
shippes commaundement, as he seithe, for to convey up certeyne
persones nanoynge them sellffes Egiptians that shalde be here
in prison at Bostone. So it is, right honorable lorde, that the
Mondaie in the Rogacion weeke laste paste, there cam to Bostone
foare Egiptians whiche did com the daie before from the towne
of Lenn, whiche forseide persones the undermarshall of the
kynges marshallsee caried from hence to London to your
lordshipp from other of thor company that wer here then in
prisone before Cristynmas laste paste, and the reste of their
company wer shipped by the kynges commanndement (as your
lordshipp knoweth) from Bostone and landed in Norwey, And
now at these persones commynge laste to Bostone, the consta-
bles of the same towne immediatly not onely sett them in the
•tockes as vagaboundev, bat also serched them to their shertei»
bnt nothinge cowde be found uppon them, not so maohe as

S9£ THB HUTOBT OF LUDLOW.

wolde paie for their mete and drynke. nor none other bagge or
b<^SK<^K^ hut one horse not worthe iiij*- ; and then I did examea
them whj thei cam hither* and did not get them owte of the
kjnges realme, as other of their company was, and thei shewed
me that of late thei wer demjtted owte of the raarshallsee where
thei wer in prisone, and commannded hi joar lordshipp (as
thei seide) to departe owte of the realme as shortelj as thei
mjght gett shippinge. And thei thinkinge to have had ship*
pinge here at Bostone as their company had, did com hither,
and here beynge no shippinge for them, the forseide constables
of Bostone did avoide them owte of the towne as yagaboondes
towanles the nexte portes, which be Hall and Newcastell. And
this I certefie your lordshipp of truethe, as knowes our Lorda,
who ever preserre your honorable lordshipp. Written at
Bostone the Thursdaie in Whitson weeke.

By yower oratour with my pore senrys,

Nicolas RobertsoiL

The last of bishop Lee*8 letters which we ahall give ia
taken from an Harleian manuscript, and relates to the
turbulent behaviour of the people of Cheshire, a county
included in the jurisdiction of the court of government of
Wales and the Marches.

Bishop Lee to CrcmweU.

To Ae righte honorable the lord Cronmwellf lord privye
seen.

My duty in my moste humble maner unto your loidshipa
remembredf it may please the same to be adveKysed that I have
receaved your honorable letteres dated the IS daye of Maya,
wiUinge and oomaundynge me, that yf the acta or afRraya
done betweene Cholmeley and Manwerynge (as at this tyma ia
reported to your lordshipe) were done without our comyssyottii«
that then this oounsell should not proceed to the determenatyoa
therof, and yf the same were not so, then to staye untyll the
kynges graces pleasure were therin knowne, and therof with
diDigenoe to assertaine your lordshipe, Pleaaethe it the saaM U^

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 898

be adTertyssed that imedyatlj after the deed of affraye oomytted
betweene the sayd partyes, fiir Johan Portet on of this coansell,
did sygnefy unto yoar lordshipe the whole pffecte touchinge the
the said affraye which was done in Staifordsheir without oar
coniysfiyon, and theropon it pleased your lordshipe to coroaund
this coansell emestelye to looke to the same and to the panyshe-
ment therof, as should appcrtayne, which we have done accor-
dinglye, and have taken bonds of either of the said partyea for
keepinge of the kinges peace. And forasmnche as Cholmeleye
could not convenycntly bring in his suretyes, and for that also he
was slaundered to lye in a wayte for Manweringe (which as yet ,
is not proved ), this counsell kepte the said Cholmeleye in ward
by the space of thre monthest as well in the porters lodge as in
the kin;ires castle at Wigmore, to his no ly tie payne and chargesy
unto snche tyme he had found sufTytyente soretyea. And in
this tynse Manweringe by a kynsman of his exhibited a byll of
oomplayni unto this counselU and afterwards at Bridgenorthe
(my lord Ferrars and justyce Porte being presente) exhibited
another bylle against Cholmeley, and had daye assynged to
prove his bylle, at which daye he brought no proofes nor yet
aynce would, but stayed, and so came doune your lordsbipes
■econd lettere, wiliinge this counsell to proceed and all other
processes of writts against Cholmeley or his servantes to suroesse,
which to accomplyshe the said Manweringe did at al tymes
refuse. And so obtayned your lordships thyrd and laste letter
as before, which to foUowe this counsell is always redye as shall
stand with the kynges (traces pleasure and your lordshipea.
Yet« my good lord, althoughe this affraye were done without our
lymytes, jet it foUoweth the persone as I take it, and bothe
partyes be within our comyssyon, so that wee have oognysone
in the case (the kynges majesties pleasure and your lordshipe not
to the oontrarye). And, my good lord, there is nether man
slayne nor maymed, but a lewde act eomitted, the semblable
wherof, yea and a manyfold grealere, bathe byne by this oounsell
ordered and determened. But the mallyoe and proude of
Cheshiere gentlmen cannot so take up, disdeyninge this infe-
ryour courte and the ordere of the same, myndynge all myscbeefe
and ungratyonsness with infynete vezatyones of theirs neighe-
bores (as would God ye knewe the tmthe), I am sure mors

S94 THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

mardera and manslaaghteres in Chesbeir and the borderei of
tbe same within this yeare then in all Wales this two yeares,
which they shall not denye; and nothinge done untyll oar
comynge for the punyshement of the same, the partyes lett
goe and none taken to oar knouledgc. Yf ther be a forfeiture
of a recognezonesy yet it hangeth upon the proofe of that who
begone the offraye, >»-hich Cholmelay layethe to Manweringe,
and Manweringe to him ; prooves and partyes be all in this
quarrelle for the tryali of the same, whcrfore nowe so shall
please the kynges majesty and your lordshippe, so it be. Also
I beseeche your lordshipe that the kynges graces pleasure maye
be knowne, for that betwixte this and Alhollantvde tbe lord
marcheres maye use the tryali of ffellones, for I am dayly
called upon and cane make them no answere. I have written
to your lordshipe and to my lord chauncelere dyvercs tymes,
but your lordshippes buseness is suche that it is not in your
rememberance. Your poore bedesman this berer desjretbe me
to move your lordshippe to be good lord unto him. And thus
the holy Trynetye longe contynewe your ^ood lordshipe in
honore. From Chester, the 21'^ daye of Maye.

Your lordshipes moste bonndent

Roland Co. et Lich.

The date of the foregoing letter is uncertain. Bishop
Lee's exertions continued unabated till his death, which
took place on the 24th of January, 1543, at Shrewsbury,
where he was buried. He left the districts over which he
had presided in a state of tranquility and security, difiering
yery much from that in which he had found them.

Lee was followed by a succession of lord presidents who
appear to have shown much less activity in their office,
and who in fact would have found little encouragement in
the vicissitudes of the English government between this
period and the accession of queen Elizabeth. Another
bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, Richard Sampson, was
raised to the dignity inunediately after bishop Lee's death,
and held it till the second year of king Edward VI (1548),
when he was removed to make way for the powerful and

J

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOM*. 395

grasping duke of Northuxnberlaud. Bishop Sampson ap-
pears not to have been a vigilant president; for he was
obliged to seek the king's pardon for having allowed a
captured offender^ Griffin ap John, to escape from his cus*
tody. The duke of Northumberland appears never to have
visited Ludlow in virtue of his office. He was succeeded
in 1550, by William Herbert, shortly afterwards created
earl of Pembroke, who had, previous to his appointment,
been sent into Wales by king Edward VI, where his great
prudence is said to have preserved the tranquility of that
part of the island, now again in danger of being disturbed.
In 1553, on the accession of queen Mary, Nicholas Heath,
bishop of Worcester, was appointed lord president of Wales
and the Marches, a zealous catholic, who for his zeal for
the old religion had been deprived of his bishopric in the
reign of Edward VI. We know but little of the history of
the border under Mary's rule; but the to\\7i records of
Ludlow, and especially the chamberlains' books, show that
attempts were made to restore in some degree the old
church furniture along with the old ceremonies. The
monastic lands were too effectually deposited in the hands
of their new owners to be easily recovered ; and the destnic*
tion of monastic buildings had rendered it next to impossible
to place the monastic orders in their former position in
the country. On the death of the queen at the end of
1558, bishop Heath refused to crown Elizabeth, and was
coDunitted to the Tower. He had already resigned the
presidency of Wales in 1556, and had been succeeded by
the earl of Pembroke, who held the office again till 1658,
when he made way for another prelate, Gilbert Bourne,
bishop of Bath and Wells, also a dc.oted catholic, who had
been chaplain to bishop Bonner. This prelate, who was
committed to safe custody on the accession of Elixabeth,
was succeeded by sir John Williams, who held the office
only a few months, dying at Ludlow on the 14th of October,
1659. In his place the queen appointed the ever celebrated
tir Henry Sidney, to whose presidency (whioh lasted twenty*

S96 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

seven years)^ Wales and the border owe perhaps more than
even to that of Roland Lee.

Sir Henry Sidney was the eldest son of sir William
Sidney, of Penshurst, in the county of Kent, a gentleman
who had filled many important employments during the
reign of Henry VHI, and had held the offices of chamberlain
and steward to Edward VI, while prince. His son Henry
was from his infancy bred and educated with prince Edward,
who treated him as a companion with the greatest &mi-
liarity, often even sharing his bed with him. In 1550,
when scarcely twenty-one years of age, he was knighted,
along with William Cecil, so celebrated afterwards as the
favourite and able minister of queen Elizabeth, and the
same year he was sent as ambaflsador to France. On his
return he was made chief cup-bearer to the king for life,
and married the lady Mary Dudley, daughter of the earl
of Northumberland, who was decapitated on the accession
of queen Mary, and sister of Robert Dudley, the famous
earl of Leicester of the reign of Elizabeth. Sir Henry
Sidney remained in the highest favour during the short
rrign of Edward VI, who died in his arms at (Greenwich,
on the 6th of July, 1558. After that event, he seems to
have retired for a while into private life; but in spite of
his ftmily connection with the Dudleys, and the catastrophe
in which they were involved at the commencement of the
new reign, sir Henry Sidney retained the favour of queen
Mary, and was by her made vice-treasurer and general
governor of all the revenues in Ireland, and he was soon
afterwards invested with the temporary government of that
kingdom as lord justice. Queen Elizabeth continued him
in his employments; as we have already stated, she ap»
pointed him lord president of the Marches of Wales ; in
156S, he was sent again on an embassy to France; in
1564 he was made a knight of the garter; and he waa
subsequently thrice appointed lord deputy of Ireland, the
affairs of which country he regulated with consummate
wisdom and prudence.

THE HI8T0EY OF LUDLOW. 897

From the end of 1559 to the close of 1565^ Sydney
carried on the goYemment of Wales in his own person, and
of the attention he paid to it we have many proofs among
his papers still preserved, although most of the records
appear to be lost from which we could have derived a par-
ticular account of it and of its influence upon the civilization
of the principality. From subsequent allusions, and a
variety of circumstances, we are justified in concluding
that, since the time of bishop Lee, the counties which lay
under the jurisdiction of the court at Ludlow had fallen
into many of those disorders which are natural to a country
placed under a subordinate government, when the latter is
not exerted with the necessary rigour. Among the family
papers at Penshurst is one, which has been printed in the
collection by Collins, written in sir Henry's own hand,
and consisting of extracts relating to the history and duties
of his office, which shows the anxiety of this lord president
to make himself acquainted with every thing relating to it.
He there tells us that ** the lorde president and counsail
of the domynion and pryncipallitie of Wales and the
Marches of the same were established in the tyme of kinge
Edward the fourth and eversy thens ;" and that "thereby
the hole countrey of Wales have ben, by the government of
the same lorde president and counsaill, sythens the estab-
lishment of the same, brought from their disobedient,
barbarous, and (as may be termed) lawless inciviUtie, to the
civill and obedient estate they now remayne, and all the
English counties bordering thereon brought to be aflfrayed
from such spoyles and felonyes as the Welsh before that
tyme usually by invading their borders annoyed them
with."

We have seen how much bishop Lee did towards pro-
ducing tins result ; but in a country which for so many
age. had been su^ect only to the capricious jurisdictions of
Uj^l^t landholder., or as in some part, from the cha-
mter of the country itself, inaccessible to anv law L
«-«ot^be surprised if it was still subject to ma^y'^ Jri^^

398 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

and if the lord president's court was a very busy one.
His neglect would soon throw it into confusion, and would
give room for collusion and bribery, and every other
description of corruption, and it seems probable that it
was in this state when sir Henry Sydney was appointed to
the presidency. As it had to deal in many instances with
men who were tenacious of old vested rights, whose insubor-
dination had been the cause of many of the disorders of the
country, and who were hostile to an authority which was
intended especially to curb and restrain them, they often
attempted to dispute its jurisdiction, and to carry their
causes to Westminster, where they expected more easily to
escape justice, and appeals of this kind seem to have
tormented the earlier years of Sydney's presidency. One
object of the lord president in the paper just mentioned was
to draw together a few facts, placing in a clear light the
extent and independence of the jurisdiction of his court.
This paper was written at the time, apparently, when sir
Henry, by his appointment to the government of Ireland,
was preparing for his departure to a still more troublesome
scene of labour, and when therefore, as he retained the lord
presidency of Wales, he would have to direct the court from
a distance; and he was consequently desirous of noting
precedents for such a case. These he seems to have had
no difficulty in finding during the two preceding reigns,
when the lords presidents appear to have left the government
in a great measure to the council. ''The lord president
beinge within the realme, and firom the place where the
councell make abode, is to geave direction to the rest of the
councell, and to be made pertaker of matters of importance,
as the heade of the body of the councell, and his assent to
be hadd to the proceedings in matters of importance ; may
appere by several orders taken in an. £, 8, and 4 of kinge
Edward, before the said lord president and councell, some
whereof baringe date at Shrewsbury, some at Worcester,
some at Ludlow, and subscribed by John earl of Warwick,
then lord president, in testimony of his assent to that

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Sd9

which was done by the rest of the councell iu his absence.
He that nowe supplyeth thofiice of clcrck of the councell,
then servinge under Mr. Evans, deceassed, that was then
clerck of the councell, brought these orders to Bushopc
Hatfield, to the said lord president, and procured his hand
to the same, as may appear. The severall lettres and
mynuts of lettres betweene bushopp Heath, lord president,
then beinge at London, and the councell then beinge in
the comission, shewe that he, then beinge lord president,
gave direccion to the rest of the councell, although he was
absent from the place."

By another note of sir Henry Sydney's, made about this
time, probably with a view to a retrenchment of expenses,
it appears that the annual expenditure of the court of the
Marches of Wales in the third year of the reign of Edward
yi (a. d. 1549) amounted to eight hundred and seventy-six
pounds fifteen shillings and sixpence. The officers of the
household in Ludlow Castle were then a steward of the
household, with a salary of four pounds a year, two cooks,
each receiving forty shilUngs a year, with two '' laborers of
the kitchen,'' or assistant cooks, at twenty shillings a year
each, and a butler, pantler, yeoman of the cellar, and cater,
at forty shiUings a }'car each, and an "almner'* and an
under brewer, each recei^dng twenty shillings a year.

The consequence of Sydney's absence in Ireland was
soon felt in the government of Wales, whence he re-
ceived intelligence of disorders which appear to have
required his own presence to repress them. From a
warrant to the sheriff and justices of the peace of the
county of Monmouth, dated on the 9th of March, 1573,
it is stated that the people of that county, ''partely for
want of the peace of God, and partely for lack of good
order, or dutiful reverence and obedience to the lawes,
have grown to such liberty and insolencie as they have not
left any insolencie or offence unatempted; so many mur-
ders, manslaughters, robberyes, theftes ; such fighting and
quarelling ; and manifold offences ; that no country within

400 THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

the commission aforeseid is so much misliked/' The
remedies recommended in this case, and the proceedings
which it was announced would be taken, furnish a rather
curious illustration of the condition of this country at that
time. '' The contynuance and increase whereof semeth to
growe by the default of the sheriff and justices of pees,
in respect of favour, shown one towards the other's officers,
servants, and retainers; wherebie, in maintenyng of matters,
one gentleman or other shal become a partie, what offence
soever the same shalbe." It was this crowd of retainers
and dependents, supported in their evil-doing by the
authority of their masters, that was the curse of the age of
which we are now speaking. The president's order then
declares the earnest wish of the local government to put an
end to these disorders, and continues — ^"It is therefore
ordered by the said lord president and counsail, that a
letter rehersing the premises be directed to the sheriff and
justices of the pees of the said countie of Monmouth,
commanding them to have consideracion of theise thinges,
in such diligent sort, as may be answerable to the trust in
them reposed ; bending their sole study and industry to the
performaunce of the pees, the common quiet of the countrey,
and doing of justice, and for that purpose, to assemble
themselfes together, and consulting by what meanes good
order and quietnes may be best contynued; and to devide
themselfs into eight, ten, or twelve parties, more or lesse,
as to their discrescions, having regarde to the quarter of
the sheir and number of themselfs as shall seeme most
convenient; besides theire generall care, that every par-
ticular member may give diligent hede, within the lymytts
appointed to them, for preservation of quietness and good
order ; showing good examples of reformacion in themsdfes,
wherein it were not amisse that the order heretofore
prescribed to them for appointing overseers of good rule
in every parish were eftsoon put in execution with no less
perseveraunce to thexecution of the lawes against vaga-
bonds, idle persons, loyterers, and such as can not yeld

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 401

accompt of their way of livinge within the compasse of the
lawe lately provided in that behaulf. The statutes against
alehouse-keei)ers^ whetbci* they be more in number than
needeth^ or the places of their habitations convenient or
inconvenient, is specially to be remembred; with the
statutes of reteyners, hue and cry, and for keeping of good
and substantial watches in places convenient, at the tymes
appointed by the lawes ; and for the avoyding of the sundry
and manyfold theftes there lately committed; the order
heretofore sett down that the bucher, or such as killed any
cattell, to cause the hide or hides therof to be openly
shewed in the market, or before the overseers of the parish,
before the sale thereof, showeth also to good purpose to be
lemembred."

At this same time, a controversy had arisen with some
lawyers of Worcester, who aimed at withdrawing that city
and county from the jurisdiction of the court of the
Marches, and their leader, a gentleman of the name of
Robert Wilde, had been committed to prison. But he was
subsequently set at liberty, on bail.

These and other complaints seem to have attracted the
attention of Elizabeth to the necessity of renewing solemnly
and reinforcing the authority of her court for the govern*
ment of Wales and the borders, and in the June of the
following year, 1574, a new set of instructions were
addressed to sir Henry Sydney and the council, who were
thereby reappointed mth alterations in, and additions to,
their numbers. In these instructions the extent of the juris-
diction of the court, and the causes which it was to try, are
more carefully defined, as well as the attendance expected
from the officers and council, and the duties which they
were to fulfil. It is therein earnestly required that they,
'' by all their poUicies, ways, and means, they can, shall put
their good and effectual endeavours to refrein all manner of
murders, felonies, burglaries, rapes, riots, routes, unlawful
assemblies, unlawful retainers, regraters, forestallers, extor*
tioneiB, conspiracies, maintenances, peijuries, of what kind

402 THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

soeyer they be ; and also all other unlaw'ful misdemeanorsy
offences, contempts, and evil doings, whatsoever they be,
attempted, done, or committed, by any person or persons
ivithin the limits of their commissions.'* It is added '^ and
whereas divers persons in Wales have commonly used
heretofore to go as well to the church, as in fairs, markets,
and other places appointed for justice, in harness and privy
coats, the queencs highnes pleasure is, that from henceforth
no man shall wear neither harness nor privy coats, neither
in churches, fairs, markets, or any other place of justice,
except such as shall be licensed, commanded, or authorised
by the queenes highnes, or her honorable council, or by
the lord president and council, or officer where any fair,
market, or justice place is kept'' An order like this is
sufficient to impress upon us the turbulent condition of a
country to which it applies; such armour could only be
intended for defence or offence, and must have made the
country a perpetual scene of riot. People offending in any
of the foregoing particulars were to be rigorously proceeded
against by the court; and it was directed that ''the said
lord president and council, or three of them, at the least,
whereof the lord president or vice-president to be one, upon
sufficient ground, matter, and cause, shall and may put
any person accused, and known or suspected, of any
treason, mtirder, or felony, to tariurei, when they shall
think convenient, and that the cause shall apparently
require, by their discretions."

" And whereas,*' the instructions continue, "divers lewd
and malicious persons have heretofore, and of late days,
more and more spread abroad many false and seditious
tales, which amongst the people have wrought great incon*
veniencies, breeding to the danger of uproars," the court is
directed to make search after the authors of such reports,
and " whensoever any such slanderous tales shall be re-
ported, that the reporter shall be forthwith stayed, and all
means used to attach them from one to another, until the
first author may be apprehended, and duly and openly

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 403

punished, and if the report extend to treason, then to
cause the law to proceed^ and execution to be done accor-
dingly. And if it be of less account, yet suck as may
work some inconvenience to the dishonour of her majesty
and of the state public, or othenvise of the government,
then they shall punish the party so offending by the pillory,
cutting off their ears, whipping, or otherwise by their
discretions.'' Various other directions are given to proceed
not only against a variety of offences which show that order
and morality were not well observed in the principality
and the borders, but against extortions and impositions
which it appears were practised by the lawyers and others
connected with the court. These directions are followed
by regulations of the accounts of fees, and of the expenses
of the household. ''The queen's majesty's pleasure is,
that a household shall be kept and continued by the said
lord president or vice-president, for the diet of him and the
rest of the council there, and for such others as are by her
majesty allowed to have their diet there. The same lord
president or vice-president shall nominate and appoint all
officers necessary for the said household, and every of
the said counsellors shall Have in household there the
number of servants hereafter mentioned; that is to say,
sir John Throgmorton, knight, now justice of Chester, or
the justice that hereafter shall be, being appointed always
to be resident with the said lord president, to have in
household eight servants, and a chaplain or preacher. And
that all and every person of the said coimcil, before ap-
pointed by these instructions to continual attendance, or
any of the other when they shall be called to attend, shall
have in household three servants ; so that if those persons
who are not bound to continual attendance, shall, without
sending for, come thither, or shall tarry longer than to
them is appointed, they shall not have any diet in the said
household."

The porter's lodge of Ludlow Castle was the prison of
the castle, and the porter acted the part of jailor ; and it

404 THE HISTORY OP LUDLO%V.

appears that at this time Wigmore Castle served as a
prison for more rigorous confinement. After providing
against extortion and bribery on the part of the porter
towards his prisoners, the instructions direct that " if so be
any person committed to the porter's charge, for any
matter between party and party, shall absolutely refuse to
conform himself in time convenient, then such person to be
sent to Wigmore, or such like place as hath been accus-
tomed ; and in case of felony, after full examination taken,
the prisoner so to be sent to the gaol of that country where
they are to be tried; except consideration of the trial
before themselves or other matter shall move them for
further detainment there. In all which cases, respect is
to be had that the porter's lodge be not pestered otherwise
than necessity requireth."

In a set of further instructions, given two years later,
the particular duties of the porter towards his prisoners are
set forth in a way which give us a curious picture of
the manners of the court at this period. It is there
directed, '' First, that every person committed to the charge
of the porter shall be there deteyned as a prisoner according
to the quallitye of the offence, and not to departe out of
the porter's lodge without the speciale lycence of this
councell, and to take and receive of them such fees as
hereaflter ensueth : First, for treason, morther, or fellonies,
to be deteyned in irons dureing the counoell's pleasure,
and not to departe out of the circuite of the porter's lodge.
Item, all persons committed for contempts or any misde-
meanours or offences where the queene is to have a fyne
for the same, they likewise to be detayned in prison without
sufferance to goe abroad without the speciall lycence of this
councell. Item, to take and receive as their ordinary fees,
of every person committed for contempt, ijs. vid. and not
above, except for his dyett. Item, to take and receive of
every person being of the degree of an esquire, and above,
and committed for any oflfence for which he is to wear
irons, to take for his committment ijs. vid., and for every

THE HISTORY OF LUDLO^V. 40o

person being committed as is aforesayd and under the
degree of an esquire ijs. yjd. for his fee. Item, it is further
ordered that the porter shall continually have in readinosso
for the enterteynment of prisoners two tables of dyett to be
in this sort kept, viz. the best and first table at viijd. the
meale, the second at vjd. the meale, and the same to be with
meate and drinke so furnished as the parties may according
to their payment have therein competent and convenient,
and the partie committed to choose at his committment
at which of the sayd tables he will remayne, and if he faylc
to make payment of his fees of committment, and the
ordinary charge of the dyett after every weekes end, then the
porter to take bonds for the due payment thereof. Item,
it is further ordered that if any person be committed to
remayne in wanl untill he should pay the queenes majestie
any sums for a fyne or to any person, or any sum of money
to the same partie by this counccll ordered, or for not
accomplishing of any order taken by this counccll, and
shall not conformc himsclfe to perform the order, discharge
the fyne, and make payment to the parties within one
month after the tyme of his committment, then the porter,
at the end of the eayd month, to give knowledge to the
counccll thereof to the end order thereupon may be taken,
that the party may be removed to Wigmore, or such other
place as this counccll shall thinke meete. And when any
person is or shall be committed to ward, there to remayne
until he shall pay fine or other debt to the queene, or any
sum of money for costs, or other cause to the partie to
deteyne him as a prisoner in manner aforesayd, until the
attorney of the partie and the clerk of the fynes, by a note
in writing subscribed by their names upon the copie of the
submission, shall acknowledge to have received the sayd
sume wherein he is chargeable as well to the queene as
the partie."

It was just at this time that a very remarkable personage,
the celebrated Dr. Dee, visited the bonlers of Wales, and
we trace him into this neighbourhood by an autograph
8 o

406 THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

letter still preserved. People were still influenced by the
superstitious feelings of the middle ages, and the avarice of
individuals was es})eciall7 excited by the belief in hidden
treasures, which could only be found and discovered by
means far beyond the reach of the ^-ulgar, a belief which
was sustained by the not unfrequent discovery of Boman
and other coins. Dr. Dee, though in most respects far
beyond his age iu scientific knowledge, was still influenced
by its superstitions, and a principal part of the letter alluded
to, which is addressed to lord Burghley, and dated the 3id
of October, 1571, consists of a petition that he might have
a grant of the hidden treasures which he undertook to bring
to light, and it evidently originated in the treasure legends
of the Welsh border, to some of which the Avriter alludes.
" For this twenty yeres space," says he, " I have had sundry
such matters detected unto me in sundry landes," and " of
late I have byn sued unto by diverse sorts of people, of
which some by vehement iterated drcames, some by vision,
as they have thowght, other by speche forced to their
imagination by night, have byn informed of certayn placet
where threasor doth lye hid ; which all for feare of kepers,
as the phrase commonly nameth them,* or for mistrust of
truth in the places assigned, and some for some other causes,
have forbom to deale farder, unlcast I shold corrage them
or cownsaile them how to precede. Wherein I have
allways byn contented to heaie the histories, fantasies,
or illusions to me reported, but never entermeddled ac-
cording to the desire of such." After justifying his belief
in such tales. Dr. Dee proceeds, '' Your honor knoweth that
thresor trouv^ is a very casuall thing: and of which,
althowgh the prerogative of the queues majestie do entitle
to her a proprietie, yet how seldome her grace hath hitherto
receyved any commodity thereby, it is to your honor better
known than unto me. But as for mines of gold and silver,
to be in England or Ireland, many have written and

• That if, dragons or ipirtts, which were itipposed to watch over and
guard hidden treasures.

THE HISTORY OF LXTDLOW. 407

reported both of old tyme and latter^ as I think your honor
hath ere this hard abundantly discoursed. Tlie ^-alue of a
myne is a matter for a kingcs threasor ; but a pot of two or
three hundred pounds, &c. hid in the ground, wall, or tree,
is but the price of a good boke or instrument for i)cr$])ective,
astronomy, or som feat of imjiortance. And truly vulgar
obscure persons, as hosiers and tanners, can (by colour of
scking assays of metalls, for the say master) enjoye liberty
to content their fantasies to dig after dremish demonstra-
tions of places, &c. May not I, then, (in re^pect of nil the
former allegations of my pains, cost, and credit, in matters
philosophicall and mathematicall) yf no better nor casyer
way to serve my tume will fall to my lot from her majesties
hands ; may not I, then (I say) be thowght to meane and
intend good service toward the queues majestic and this
realme, if I will do the best I can at my own costis and
chargis, to discover and deliver true profe of a myne, vayn,
or owre of gold or silver, in some one place of her graces
kingdoms and dominions, to her graces only use ; in respect,
I mean, of any my demaund or part to be had thereof.
But uppon this comfortable consideration, that her majesty
do frely give unto me, by good warranty and assurance
of her letters patents, her right and propriety to all thresor
trouYJ, and such things commodious, as (under that name
and meaning comprised) by digging or search any where in
her graces kingdoms and dominions I or my assignes shall
come to or finde; and with all good warranty (for my
indemnity) agayn all laws and persons, to make search by
diggiiig or other^vise. And this to dure the term of my
life.**

Having ended this petition. Dr. Dee proceeds to make a
statement relating to the castle of Wigmore which explains
to us the causes of the destruction of the greater part
of the documents relating to the history of this part of
the country. '*The third and last principall point of
this my present sute to your lordship,** he says, " is for
your lordships hand to a letter directed to Mr. Ilarly, kq>er

408 THB HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

of the records of Wiginor castell, or to whomo in this case
it doth appertayu. For that, at my late being there, I
espied an heap of old papers and parchments, obligations,
acquittances, accounts, &c. (in tyme past belonging to the
abbay of Wigmor), and there to lye rotting, spoyled and
tossed, in an old decayed chappell, not committed to any
mans speciall charge, but three quarters of them I under-
stand to have byn taken away by divers (eyther taylors or
others, in tymes past). Now my fantasie is that in som
of them will be some mention made of noblemen and
gentlemen of those dayes, whereby (eyther for chronicle or
pedigree) some good matter may be collected out of them
by me (at my leysor) by the way of a recreation."

This letter is preserved in the Lansdown collection of
manuscripts in the British Museum; and the same col-
lection furnishes us with a remarkably curious document
relating to the treasure legends of the Welsh border. It is
a letter addressed by a Welshman, who, for some offence
or other, appears to have found his way into the Tower of
London, and who attempted to obtain his release by a
promise of discovering treasure in the castle of Skenfrith.
He writes to the lord treasurer Burghley as follows.

** Leave your lordship to understand that there is a castell
in the parish of Skemfryth, in the countie of Montgomerie.
Your lordship graant full authoritie unto myne owne selfe, I
am a poore subject of the quenes, if there be any treasure there,
your lordship shall know it, for by the voice of the country
there is treasure. No man in remembrance was ever scene to
open it, and great warrs hath been at it, and there was a place
not farr from it whose name b Gamdon, that u as much u to
say tke game is doun» Pray you, good my lord, your letter to
the castle, craving your lordships free authoritie to open, and if
treasure be there, I will use it as it ought to be, and I will
stand to your lordships consideration to give ma what yon
please. For the countrey saieth there is great treasure. The
voycc of the countrey goeth there is a dy veil and his dame, one
sitts upon a ho«^shcd of gold, the other upon a hogshed of

TUB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 409

silver, yet never tliclessc, with your lordships full power and
authoritic they shall be removed by the grace of God, without
any charge to the qucne and your lordship. If that treasure be
there, then I will looke for something at your handes. So
praying your lordships answer for the present despatche, so I
bid your lordship farewell. From the Tower of London, this
•28th of Aprill, 1580,

Your lordships to command,

William Hobbye.
'' Your lordships owne band write the Lord Treasurer
underneath this petition, as for example.

The Lord Treasurer/'

Sir Henry Sydney continued to be occupied in Ireland^
and the directions and orders for reformation in Wales
seem to have produced little effect. In 1576 we meet with
new complaints of the disorderly behaviour of the inha-
bitants of the border, which produced a proclamation^
dated at Ludlow, on the 21st of October of that year,
setting forth that 'Hhe queues majesties counsail in the
Marches of Wales are given to understand, that there are
sondrie lighte, Icwde, desperate, and disordered persons,
dwelling and inhabiting within sondrye the countycs of
Wales and the Marches of the same, that dailye weare,
carrye, and beare dyvcrs and sondrye kyndcs of municion,
armure, and weaponcs, as lyvery coates, shurtes of male,
quilte dublettes, seniles, quilte hattes and cappes, mores
pickes, gleyves, longe staves, billes of unlcfull sies, swordes,
bucklers, and other weapones, defencive and invasive, unto
divers fayres, markettes, churches, sessions, courtes, and
other places of assembley, in affmje and terror of the
queues highnes subjects, wherby divers assaultes, affirayes,
hurtes, woundes, murders, and manslaughters, hathe bin
don, perpetrated, and comitted; which this counsaill oon-
ceave the rather to growe by the incowragement of the
unlefull weapons and armor, and by the unlefuU reteyning
of servaunts, and giving liveries, contrary to the queenes
majesties lawes and statutes in that case made and provided.

410 THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

And albeit sondrye proclamacions have bin directed from
this counsaill unto the officers of the severall counties^ that
all and all manner of persons shold laye aside their armor,
municion, and unlefull weapones, and to weare, beare, or
carrye the same^ yet they having smalc care or rcgarde
thereunto, in meare derogacion and contempte of the
lawes and statutes, doe weare^ beare, and carrj-e the same
weapones and armur, facing and bracing the queenes
highnes quiet loving subjects, and to their grcate grevans
comitting divers outraiges and disorders, to the imbolding
and incurraigment of mallefactors. And alsoe this counsail
are given to understand, that there are dyvers sheriffes that
have sold their offices of under-sheriffes, shere-clcrkes,
bailiffs, gailors, and under-officers, and ha%'e had and
receaved for the same no smale somes of money ; by meane
whereof manifold briberies, exaccions, comithers, extorcions,
and other injuries and wrongcs have bin also perpetrated
and comitted> and the checffest, meetiest, and honest free-
holders keapte from apparaunces at sessiones, and the
meanest sorte^ that are not hable to give rewarde, and have
lest care of their othes, or are otherwise unablest to scr^-e,
are compelled to serve, whereby fellonies and malefactors
escape unponished." It is added that by the general
negligence and ignorance of the officers, civil and ecclesi-
astical, ''incontynent living dothe muche abounde, and
abhominable inceest and adulteiyc creapt in, and muche
frequented in thes days ; and uncharitable excesse of usarye
and unlefull games ys much used ; artillarye, case archery^
and shoting, whiche was provided for the defence of the
realme, lefte aside; many alehouses, and tippling houses,
not lefully lycensed nor bounden, keapte, and muche
haunted; forestalling, regrating,buing and selling of cattelles
out of fayer and markctt, dailye used, and the statute of
drovers not dulye put in execucion, wheiby the price of
cattelles is greatly enhauncod, and pryvellye conveyed and
stoUen from place to place, whiche will tende to the impover-
ishmcnt and undoing of her majesties subjects, and encreaso

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 411

of offenders^ if the same shold not in time be prevented
and looked unto^ and the offenders ponished, according to
the order of the lawe." In conclusion^ a certain number of
commissioners are appointed by this document for each
county within the jurisdiction of the courts who were to
examine into offences of every description and bring the
offenders to justice.

Documents hke this give us the best notion of the
imquiet state of this part of the kingdom, even in the
reign of queen Ehzabeth, and under the rule of so vigorous
a governor as sir Henry Sydney.

The complaints expressed so strongly in the foregoing
document called for the new orders for the direction and
reformation of the courts which have been given in a former
page, and which appear not to have done much towards
remedying the evil, and to have done nothing towards
relieving the queen of the heavy charges which attended
the government of Wales and the Marches. It appears
that this latter subject had given so much dissatisfaction to
Elizabeth, that she had conceived the design of abolishing
the court itself. A letter from sir Henry Sydney to the
council is preserved, in which he speaks strongly of the
want of economy with which the court at Ludlow was
managed at this time. In this letter, which is dated from
Ireland the 12th of November, 1576, Sydney throws the
blame of these expensive charges on the officers who had
been appointed in the court contrary to his advice, and on
the growing negligence and incapacity of others who he
recommends should be removed. He points out the great
advantage of this local court in preserving Wales and its
borders in tranquillity, and represents that by it alone this
part of the island had been preserved from the rebellions
which had from time to time broken out in almost every
other district. He states that while he conducted this
govemment in person, or by a deputy responsible to himself,
the queen had heard none of these complaints, which had
arisen only since the appointment of officers who, during his

412 THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

absence^ were not immediately under his control. ** Whyle
I attended there/* he says *' the house was cleane out of
debt, and money sufficient alwayes in the receivor of the
fynes hands to pay all that was due ; and besides, I am well
assured, I cawsed to be layd out for the makinge of the
conduits of water for Bewdley and Ludlowe, the repair of
those twoe houses, and other her majesties houses, above a
thousand poundes. When I returned out of this realme
(Ireland), I found the house twelve hundred poundes in
debt, and no reparacion donne ; no, nor that finished which
at my departinge I left half donne. While I attended there
last, the howse recovered well, so as though not out of debt,
yet moch lesse in debt I left it then I found it. And noire
is it so farre behind handc, as not onelye olde bills of coun*
sellors cannot be paied, which they have forebonie a longe
tyme, but daylie growinge chardges for the howse, as for
fuell, cariage, and soch other necessarie incydents to house-
holde as the howse cannot be mainteined without, are left
unpaied; so moche to my burden, as were it not for
somme provision that by mync ownc poUecye I have made,
I were not able to kepe the howse, considering the dearth
of all things, with the allowance I have, though the same
be very honorable."

Another evil pointed out by Sydney at this time was
the non-residence of some of the principal functionaries,
whereby on one hand judgments in suits were often deferred
and the suits themselves dragged on to an unreasonable
length, and, on the other hand, the Siubordinate officers
were not sufficiently, held in check. The state and forms of
the court at Ludlow are curiously illustrated in these
remarks. ''The second person there," says Sydney,
" which alwayes hitherto hath bene the justice of the countye
palatyne of Chester, must put on a minde to resyde for the
most parte with the councell, for so did Englefield, Hare,
Silyayarde, Townesend, Pollard, and Wooddes ; who besides
their dexteritie to expedite sutes, were for their gravetic and
judgement in the lawe, demed woorthy to occupie a place

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 413

upon the benche in any courte in Englande ; and when any
of these attended that counsel!, as continuallye for the most
parte they did, light cawscs were presently heard and ordered,
as well out of tearme tyine as in tearmes, and matters of
more weight were determined in the tearmcs, when always
the benche was furnished with men of soche gi-avctic and
judgement in the lawe, as the janglinge baristers wold not
nor durst not lye of the lawe, nor over long clamber in any
bad cawse of their clyents, as since, and yet, as I hearc
they doe, to the great losse of tyme, and to the drivinge of
the sutors to needcless and intollerable chardge. And
moreover the justice of one of the other three circuits
alwayes in tearmcs attended there ; and so doe I wishe that
nowe they might be willed to doe, namelye Mr. Bromley or
Mr. Phetyplace. And then was the benche well able to
overrule the barre. But I have sene it farrc otherwise, for
I have maney tymes, as we thought, felt the barre so farrc
too strongc for the benche (which hathe hapned for the most
parte in the absence of the justice and the want of his
assistawnce), as I have, consideringe myne owne ignorance
in the lawes, deferred judgement, after too longe ple&dinge,
untill I was better assisted ; and I feare the benche is not
moche the stronger for theim that were last made of the
same."

Sir Henry Sydney passed much of the latter years of
his life at Ludlow, and appears to have applied himself
with zeal to the duties of his office there. He appears to
have taken little part in the intrigues of the court, yet his
relationship to the earl of Leicester raised him enemies
and brought him sometimes under suspicion. This was
increased by some reluctance he showed in enforcing the
severe laws of Elizabeth's reign against Catholic recusants,
who were at this time numerous in Wales, and had excited
especially the alarm of Whitgift, who then held the bishopric
of Worcester, by their secret meetings. A commission was
sent in 1579 to Sydney, the bishop of Worcester, and others,
to search out and try these delinquents, and they were even
S H

414 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

authorised in certain cases to use torture in order to force
them to confession. Next year S}*dncy made a progress
in Wales, for the purpose of examining into some causes
which required his presence on the spot, and he instituted
formal proceedings against the CathoHcs in Montgomery-
shire ; but the negligence, or perhaps rather the indulgence,
with which he proceeded in regard to the commission, excited
the displeasure of bishop Whitgift, and drew a private letter
from Sir Francis Walsingham which is still preserved. In
this letter, which is dated on the 9th of August, loSO,
Walsingham tells him that " My lords (of the privy council)
of late callynge here to remembrance the commission that
was more than a yeare agoe given out to your lordship and
certayne others for the reformation of the recusants and
obstinate persons in religion within Wales and the marches
thereof, marvaylod veric inuche that in all this tymc they
have heard of nothing done therein by you and the rest ; and
truly, my lord, the necessitic of this tymc requiryiig so greatly
to have those kynd of men diligently and sharply proccailetl
agaynst, there will here or veric hard construction bee made,
I feare mee, of you, to reteine with you the sayd commission
so longe, doyng no good therein. Of late now I receaved
your lordship's Icttre towelling suche persons as you think
meet to have the custodie and oversight of Mongomerie
castle, by which it appearethe you have begone in your
present jomeys in Wales to doe somewhat in cawses of
religion ; but having a speciall commission for this purpose,
in which are named speciall and verie apt persons to joync
with you in those matters, it will bee thought strange to my
lords to heare of your proceading in those cawses without
their assistance. And therfore, to the end their lordships
should conceavc no otherwise than well of your dealyng
without them, I have forborne to acquaynt them with our
late lettre, wishyng your lordship, for tlic better handlyng
and successe of those matters in religion, you called unto
you the bushoppe of Worcester, Mr. Phillii>s, and certayne
others specially named in the commission."

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 416

This letter ends with the ominous postcript — " Your
lordship had neadc to walk warely, for your doings are
narvowely obsencd, and her majestic is apt to gcvc care to
any that shall yll you. Great howlde is taken by your
cnncmyes, for neglectyng the executyon of this commission."

It was no doubt this disfavour shown to one whose long
services merited a better reward, that chiefly raised a que-
rulous spirit exhibited in the inscription placed in LjSI over
the entrance to the inner court of Ludlow Castle, which still
remains to bear testimony of the feelings with ^vhich this part
of the building was completed in that year.

nOMIKIBVS 1X0RATI8 LOQVIMIXI LAPIDES.

AXXO IIEOXI IIEGIX^X ELIZABETH.^ 23.

THE 22 YEAR COPLET OF THE PnESlDE>CT

OF BIB UEXRI SIDXET,

KXlCniT or THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF

THE OARTEB, ETC. 15S1.

The gateway just alluded to was only one of the numerous
repairs executed by Sir Henry Sidney in this noble castle,
most of which he api)ears to have efTected at his own exi^ensc.
Many of them seem to have been made in the latter years
of his life. The following curious list of them is found in
an original paper preserved among the Lansdowne Manu-
scripts in the British Museum.*

" Buyldinges and reparacions don by S'- Henry Sidney,
knight of the most noble order [of the garter] 1. president
of the queenes highness counsaill in the ^larches of Wales,
upon her magics bowses there.

" Imprimis, for making and covering of certen chambf*
w^liin the castle of Wigmor w^^ ledd, and for amending and
repayring of the walles and stayres thereof.

*' Item, for making and repajTing of twoc chamb" and
divers other howses of ofliccs, as kitchen, larder, and buttry,
at the gate over the porters lodge at the c«istle of Ludlowc,
and for tyling and glasing thereof.

• Lansdowne MSS. No. c\'\. ait 0.

416 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

** Item^ for making of twoe walles of lyme and stone^ of
ffortie yardes in length at th'entring into the said gate.

'' Item y for making of a wall of lyme and stone at the porters
lodge, to inclose in the prisoners, of about twoe hundred
yardes compassc, w^in which place the prisoners in the day
tyme use to walk.

** Item, for making of a wall of lyme and stone three yardes
in height, and about twoe hundred yardes compasse, for a
wood yard w^in the same castle.

** Item, for making of a co^ howse and twoe offices under
the same for keping of the recordes, and for syling, tyling,
and glasing thereof.

" Item, for making of a fayre lardge stone bridge into the
said castle, w^ one greate arche in the myddest and twoe
at both endes ; conteyning in leinght about xxx^i^ or xl^'^
yardes, and in height upon both sides, wtb freestone, a yard
and a half.

"Item, for making, repayring, and amending of the
chappell w^in the said castle ; syling, glasing, and tyling
of the same, with fayre and lardg wyndowes ; waynscotting,
benching, and making of seates and knelling places, and
putting upp of her ma<^M armes w^l^ divers noblemens armcs,
together with all the 1. presidentes and counsailles, rounde
aboute the same.

" Item, for making of a ffityre howse of lyme and stone,
upon the backside of the kitchen w^l^in the said castle, with
divers and sondry chamb", as well for lodginges as other
offices.

** Item, for making of divers stayres of lyme and stone, and
for making of sondry greate and lardg wyndowes, and glasing
thereof.

** Item, for waynescotting and flouring of a great parlor
w^in the same castle, and making of a greate and huge
wyndowe in the same, and glasing thereof.

" Item, for casting of the ledd, and laying the same over
the said castle.

Item, for making of a fliEiyre and lardg seate upon the

it

THR HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 417

north side of the said castle, wth a howse over the same, to-
gether with a lardg walkc inclosed with pall and tymber.

'^ Item, for repairing, amending, and making of certen
chamb's ^ythin the garden of the Sciid castle, glasing and
tyling thereof.

" Item, for making of a ffayre tennys co'*« w^J»in the same
castle, panng thereof wtli free stone, and making the howses
rounde about the same w^^ tymber.

" Item, for making of a conduy t of ledd to convey the water
into the same castle of Ludlowe, the space of a myle and more
in leinght ; for making of a house of lyme and stone, being
the hedd ; and for a goodly lardge founteyne of lyme stone
and ledd^ w^l^ her mat® armes, and divers other armes there-
upon ; and for conveying of the water in ledd from the same
fountejme into the garden, and divers other offices wtl^in the
howse ; and from thens into the castle streete, within the
saide towne of Ludlowe^ and there making of a ffounteyne
of lyme and stone."

Sir Henry Sydney died in Ludlow Castle on the fifth of
May, 1586. His body was carried thence in great state to
Worcester, where it was placed in the cathedral church. It
was finally conveyed to his house at Penshurst, and it was
interred in Penshurst church on the 21st of June.

He was succeeded by his son-in-law, Henry Herbert earl
of Pembroke, who held the high office of lord president of
Wales fourteen years, till his death on the nineteenth of
January, 1601. A new set of instructions were issued to
this nobleman, and considerable changes were made in the
council at Ludlow, the reason for which, as given by the
queen, was, *' that there is a great lack of men of estimation,
wisdom, and credit, to be of our counsell, and to assist you
there, partly by death of dyvers, partly by lack of good choice
heretofore made of some of meaner estimation than was
convenient for so many shyres and centres within that
jurisdiction." The conclusion of the letter by which the
queen ordered these changes alludes further to the extra-
vagance and corruptions of the court. " And hereafter," she

418 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

says, ** whan ther shall arise any causes of weight, mete to
be deliberated uppon, or any other great matters of com-
playnty worthy to be gravely hard and determined, yow shall
send for the said persons, or for some such of them as for
their places of habitation may most conveniently, without
great charge, repayre to the place of residence for our
counsell, and abyde ther duryng the time that shall be
rcquisit for such great causes, havyng regard that no furder
chardge herby do grow ether to us or to them, than shall
be resonable, moderat, and necessary, which we do
remember unto you because it hath appeared that hertofor
larger allowance hath been made than was nedefuU, to
sundry of that counsell being but of meanc state, coming
thither, sometyme more for their own or their friends causes
than for ours and the administration of justyce, and by such
unnecessary allowances made hertoforc to many men of small
reputation for their jornays oftener than was needful, and for
ther continuance thete also longer than the causes of their
access did require, the charges grew so large as the house
became in debt, specially before the coiuiug thither to that
place of yow our coosyn the lord president, the inconvenience
whereof we require you our president, and in your absence
the justyce, hereafter to forsee.**

After the reign of Elizabeth, the history of Ludlow in its
connection with the border ceases to offer much interest. A
succession of lords presidents ruled the court during the reign
of James and Charles ; the earl of Pembroke was succeeded
by lord Zouch, who was followed by lord Eure, lord Gerald
of Bromley, the carl of Northampton, aud othei-s. During
their time, the court of the marches was gradually losing its
usefulness and consequent importance, for the age had passed
whose necessities called it into existence. The expensive
and unwieldy establishment was a burthen on the country,
while it seems frequently to have stood in the way of justice
by its slow and antiquated forms, and among the clashing
interests now rising up on every side, and the new principles
of liberty and indciiendenco, its authority was not unfrc-

THE HISTORY OK Li;ni/)W. 419

qucntly set at defiance by those who lived within its juris-
diction^ who, when prosecuted, apjicalcd to other courts, or
evaded its judgments in other ways. An idea of the state of
the border under king James may be formed from the fol-
lowing letter of complaint addressed by the lord president
lord Eure apparently to the earl of Salisbury, and now
preserved in the British Museum.

"5Iy hoxorable good Lord,
" It doth not a litle greeve me to have occasion to
relate unto yo^f [l^sliip] the gencrall disobedience, many
meetingcs, and combination figainst the government of
the courte in the principalitie of Wales since his ma^«
and the 11^ of his councell hath commanded by way of
instruccions, and hath given authoritic to the president
and courte, thereby to deale in causes not exceeding £10
w^I^in the fewer English shires. It seameth they have
no cause to complayne of injustice, or of an hard and heavy
hand carrycd over them by the president and councell here
now present, for then no doubt those claymours would be
rcadely brought up and presented to yo^f loP* view. [I mar-
vel] that the grave bishop of Hereford should be the prime
man to subscrilx; his hande, wth the rest of the gentlemen
of that countie, to their principall agent, S^ Herbert Croft,

and to challenge that free tion and the inheritable

libertie by the lawes of the relme, definitively pronounced by
the grave judges, wtJ» the privitie of the 11» and approbation
of his mat»«. It is tyme (my good lord), to confirme that
tlieir supposed definitive sentence, or other^visc to enla^
the authoritic of this courte, or (at the least) to warrant
and defend us in our proceeding, according to his ma^i«>
instruccions, that thereby his justice may be obeyed, or
otherwise to dissolve the jurisdiction quite. The grounde of
dislike was commenced against the lo. Zouch, whose seve-

ritie they disliked, now they successively to be freed ;

in the first they found good assistance of good

desert, but in this latter I ho])e yo^ loP will think [it meet]
that the principality and the marches shall extend itselfe

420 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

largely now in his matie** tymej as formerly liath

been in the of the predecessors of this crowne.

The good that enseweth is only irregularity (w^

some few gentlemen desire to have ; [the] example is veric
perillous^ and will spread its selfe at large; the common
people are enthralled to their greatness^ terrified w^ their
threats^ refuseth rath^ to loose their rights than wth ther
great charge to contend wt^ them in the law. The poore
tenants of the queene complayne, that the officers under
her do exact such hiige fines for themselyeSj more than the
queene doth^ that thereby they are undone, b . • • • the
thraldome layed upon them by carriages, labours, threats,
am ... • and other terrors, of w<^^ if they should complayne

at London, their maintayne the chai^, and

likewise according the border fashion, such a person shall
hardly escape a cruel revenge (even unto death), whereof
some attempts have been made since my comming. Let suche
fowle crimes be complayned of to the sessions, if it doth
conceme the follower of a principall gentleman, either shall
the evidence be suppressed, or some extraordinary favour or
other wilbe shewed. What remedy can this place afibord
such complaynants ? by way of instruccions we have no
authority to meddle w^ misdemeanors in the fewer English
shires, by the commissioue of oyer and terminer wee cannot
send for the malefactor out of the countie. When the
justices of assise do come downe, remedy may be expected
by them, and in the meane tyme ether parties are com-
pounded, or evidence wilbe withdrawne; thus shall the
mightyer prevayle, and the poorer go to the wall. Worces-
tershire groweth as vehement almost as Herefordshire, by
the means of S' John Packington, now high sherifie of the
sayd countie; the deputie lieutenants there, as also in
Herefordshire (Thomas Harleigh, Esq. and S' William
Liggen, knight), do -refuse once to visite me, so y^ I do
forbeare to grant them my deputacions till I see better
conformitie. And am out of hope to prevayle wtH them for
mustermaster's places untill they knitt a firmer league wt^

THE H18T0RY OF LUDLOW. 4S1

lue. I am bould to trouble y^ loP w^J^ a large discourse,
relpng upon yo' loP favour for my assistance in this place,
praying yo^ loP, that either spcedely I may be strenj;^thcned
against these ambitious gentlemen, or otherwise, tliat his
ina^ies will m?.y be made knowiie unto me, that I may know
what to obey ; for by this doubtfulness both his ma^ic is
dishonored and his people discomforted. Thus ho])ing to
receive some comfort from yo^ loP, I rest

Yo^ loP assured to command, Ra. £ure.

Ludlow Castle y this xxxth of Jan. 1607."

A few slight allusions in contemporary writers, and an
examination of the records of the corporation (which are still
numerous and valuable) convince us that at the period of
which we have now been speaking, Ludlow was a populous
town, and that it received from the presence of the court
and the numerous class of persons who for different reasons
followed it, a character of splendour and gaiety which was
not seen in other towns of the same dimensions. It appears
to have been notorious for the number of its inns and its
lawyers. The celebrated Ridiard Bajitcr, when a mere
youth, lived as a pupil with the chaplain of the council in
Ludlow Castle, and in his memoirs, printed under the title
of *^ Reliquiae Baxteriano)," he has hinted more than once at
the licentiousness of the place. '' About seventeen years of
age," he says, ** being at Ludlow castle, where many idle
gentlemen had little else to do, I had a mind to learn to
play at tables ; and the best gamester in the house under-
took to teach me." And he tells us that ** the house was
great (there being four judges, the king's attorney, the
secretary, the clerk of the fines, with all their servants, and
all the lord president's servants, and many more) ; and the
town was full of temptations, through the multitude of per-
sons (counsellors, attorneys, officers, and clerks), and much
given to tippling and excess."

This court must soon of itself have become obsolete, but
the breaking out of the ci\il wars inflicted a blow on it from
S I

422 THE HI«jTORY OF LUDLOW.

which it never recovered; and with its decline it is my
intention to close this sketch of the history of the Wekh
border. Ludlow Castle, occupied for a considerable time by
the royal party, acted no great part in the civil conten-
tions of the sixteenth century. Important as a medieval
fortrc' . sju me borders of a warlike and only partially con-
quered people, it was not so, either by its position or character,
in the warfare which r.ow desolated the kingdom. On the
9tli of June, 1646, it was surrendered to the parliamentary
general. Sir William Brereton, and the court of which it
had been so Ion;; the seat was not only virtually, if not ac-
tually abolished, but even the furniture of the castle, like
that of the other royal houses, was inventoried and offered
for sale. The inventory of the goods in Ludlow Castle at
this time is sufficiently curious to justify our inserting it
here both as giving us some notion of the style in which it
was furnished, and because we find in it the names by
which most of the apartments were known at that time,
and the purposes to which each was applied.

GOODS INVEXTOKTED XSD APPRAISED IK LUDLOWE CASTLB,
BELOKOIXO TO THE LATE KIKO, T* 81* OP OCTO' 1650.

In the Prinee*8 Chamber. £ s. d.

One standing bedstead covered w*^ watched da-
niaske, with nil the furniture suitable thereunto
belonging, valued at . • , . 80 0 0

Sold to Mr. Bass, y« 11^ March, 1650 • for 86/. lOt.
Two fustaine quilts, one fustaine downe bedd and
bolster, one fether boulster, a paire of fustaine blan-
ketts, one watched rugg, and a woollen blankett,
valued together • . 6 10 0

Two small Turkey carpitts . 0 12 0

One old stript curtaiue and rodd .004

A table, and a court cuppboard .050

•

* Thii of oooiM meani 1651* By tlia old mode of reckoning time Ika
yctr began on the 25tk of Mtrch, so that the Jennary, Febmary, and
March to the 24th, were conaidered as belonging to the preTions year*

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 4S3

£. s. d.
One pr* of andirons w**» brass knobb.^. a rii-e
sliovcU, and a fire grate, and a wicker skreeu . 0 12 0

All sold to Mr. Bass as apprai:«cd.

Suit of old tapistry hangings, cont. in nil 120 •*'*,
at 2«. per ell . . 15 0 0

Sold to Mr. Cleain' y« 18'^ January, 1G50, for do.
In the PaUet Chamber.
One small fetber bedd and boulster, one pillow,
two blanketts, two ruggs, one half head board, one
skreen, one curtaine, one old table . . 2 10 0

In the little wainscotc garrett next to it, one old
table, a necessary stoole and pann . .050

In the next Rooms to the Prinet^B Bedchamber,
Three tables and a court cuppboard, one >vioker
skreene, one fire shovcU, and one old press . . 0 18 0

In a IFaimeoti Cloaeti.
One barber's chaire, a table, and an old chest .070
Sold to Mr. Bass y« 14«»» May, 1650, for 4/.
In the ShoveU Board Room,
Nine pieces of green carsey hangings paned with
gilt leather, eight window curtains, five \\'indow piccod,
a chimney peicc and curtaine rodds, and throe other
small pe^* in a press in the wardrobe, at . 25 0 0

With y« Protector.

One large shoTcU board table, seven little jo^-ued
formes, one side table, and a court cupboard . . 2 10 0

One small Turkey carpitt, and two old jo}-ued
stooles . . .070

Sold Mr. Bass for 2/. 17#. as afforo-ai^l.

One largo fire grate in y« chimney .10 0

One broad green cloth carpitt . .250

Sold l^lr. Bass for 8/. 5«. as afibre:!aid.
In the Chirf Chamber.
One old joyned beddstead with cloth curtaiud and
vallancc, one press and an old chaire, and a stoole .200

424 THE HISTORY OF LUDT-OW.

£. 8. d.

One other table, three old peiccs of dammaske
hangings, a settle bed, and a jo}'ned stoole . 0 10 0

In the Gentleman Usher^s Chamber,
Four peices of stript hangings, three old Tiirkey-
worke stooles, two tables, one bedstead . 1 10 0

One half-headed bedstead, one fether bedd and
cover lidd, and three pieces of old damix

All these sold Mr. Bass for 4/. y« 7th Sept'. 1650.

In the StenfarcTi Chamber.
One suit of old damix hangings, cent. severuU
peices, three carpitts of y* same, two tables, one
cuppboard, one traiice curtaine and rodd, one wains-
cott chaire, threo joyned stooles, one leather chaire
and stoole, one Turkey cushion, one frame for a
bason, one other leather chaire, one fire grate in the
chimney, one fire shovell, tongs and a paire of bellows,
one fether bedd, two boulsters, two pillows, two
blanketts, and one rugg, valued altogether at .400

Sold Mr. Bass y« 7^ Sep' 1650, for 4/.

In the Closett next to it.
One necessaiy stoolo and pann, two covers, one
table, and two frames to hang cloths upon . 0 10 0

Sold Mr. Baas, as above, for tenn shillings.
ill the Siewardr$ Man'g Chamber.
One half-head beddstead, w*^ a damix cannopie,
one feather bed, one boulster, t^'o blank^*, one red
nigg, one settle, two old tables, and one joyned
stoole, valued together . . 2 10 0

In f* Seeretafjf$ MmC$ Chamher.
One half-headed beddstead and table, and one
close stoole . .080

In the Clerk of the Kiiehm*i Chamber.
Two old tables and a joyned chaire, two beddsteda,
one fether bedd, one pillow, one rugg, and two blan-
kets, four old stooles, one cushion, three curtains to
the bedd, and a window curtaine, one fire grate, and
a table in y* closett . .200

Sold Mr. Bass, with No. 97, for N. as above.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 425

£. 8. d.
In the Govemours* Quariers, formerly the Justices' Lodging.

Six pieces of tapistry hangings . . . 13 8 0

Sold jNIr. Cleanient >'• 18 Jamian- 1G50, for do.
Three small Turkey carpitts . . .10 0

Sold Mr. CleamS for do.

Tenn Turkey worked back chaires .300

Sold Mr. Brown y^ 2Sth January, 1G50, for 3/.
In the Govcmour^s Quarters,
Three tables and a court cuppboard . . 0 10 0

One largo carpitt of green cloth . . . 1 10 0

One fire grate for y« chimney . .050

One old beddstead, one press, one trundle bedd-
stead, and three green curtains . . . 0 15 0

Sold Mr. Bass y* 7«»» Febr 1650, for do.

One suite of damix hangings, one beddstead, threo
old tables, one cuppboard, one Turkey carpitt, ono
trundle beddstead, two window ciurtains, one rodd,
one press, two peices of wainscott, one fire shovell
and tongs .800

A piece of old damix, one table, one chaire, and
some small books • . 0 10 0

One eight square feather bed and boidster

. 2 10

0

T>vo other small feather beddsteads

. 3 5

0

Two fether beds without boulstevs

. 8 0

0

Four old pillows ....

. 0 10

0

One flock boulster

. 0 3

0

One old quilt ....

. 0 8

0

Twelve old blankets

. 1 4

0

Eight old ruggs ....

. 2 0

0

Two old tables, and one Turkey carpitt .

. 0 12

0

Two old velvet stooles

. 0 10

0

Two old blew cloth stooles

. 0 6

0

One wicker skrcene

. 0 2

0

Ono fire grate for a chimney

. 0 5

0

426 THE HISTORY OF LUDLO%V.

£. B. d.

A pair of green sea curtains and rallance for a
bedd . . . 0 10 0

One beddstead with green curtains and vallance,
one table, one damis carpitt, one leather chnire, sis
stooles and a back stoole, a fire grate and fire iron^ . 1 10 0

One old jojTied bedstead, one wainscott press,
and one old court cuppboard .10 0

One Bedstead and curtains . 0 15 0

In ike Govemour^M Kitchen.

Two tables, one forme, seven cushions, two old
chaires, one court cuppboard, one press for liunen,
one window curtaine, and a rodd « . 1 10 0

Divers parcella of pewter inventoiyed att the

end: —

One braaa pott . 0 10 0

One possnet .020

One kittle . .070
One brass cullender, a scimmer, and a broaken

befe forke . .080

All sold to Mr. Bass as appraised.

One table and a piece of damix . .050

A brass mortar, pestle, and two spitts . 0 12 0

Here ends the Governor's Quarters.

In the Great Kitchen*
One pr* of large racks, one barr of iron before the
fire, two large griddirons or grates to sett dishes
upon, and other wooden lumber there . . 1 10 0

In the Brenhouee.
Three fats and three coolers, one copper, two
leaden cestemes, one pumpc, two leaden troughs
and a leaden pipe, with other impljmcnta thereimto
belonging . 15 0 0

TUR HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 427

£. 8. d.
In tJis IFett House.
One leaden ccsterae, and two large bucketts with
iron lioopes . . . . . .300

In the Bakehouse.
One trougli, one b}7in, and one kneading board .060

In a roome adfaynin^ to it.
One grinding mill with all necessary's belonging
to it . . . . . . .500

In the OoaUhouse^
One paire of scales and three great weight.s .050

In the CaunetU Chamber.
Tlu^3e tables, one forme, one wickar skrecnc and
fire grate, and two stooles . . .10 0

In the Dairy House.
Severall chest wracks and a dresser . 0 10 0

In y^ room called y^ Doctor^i Chamber,
One beddstead, three stript cnrtains and a tester,
one feather bedd, boulster, and three blankctts ; one
green rugg and one yellow rugg, six peices of stript
stuff, one table, one chaire, and one cuppboard, one
old Turkey stoole, one chamber pott, and one fire
shorell and tongs . . .800

Sold all to Mr. Bass as above appraised.
In the Laundry.
l^^'o half-headed beddsteads, two tables, two"cupp-
boards, and one forme .080

In the Chamber next it.
One old beddstead and one forme . .040

In the Chappie Chamber.
A beddstead, four Turkey worke stooles, and a
table . . . .080

In y* Hall. Two long tables, t\\'o square tables
with formes, one fire grate, one side table, court
cuppboard, two wooden figures of beasts, three can-
dlesticks, and wracks for armour . .10 0

In the Withdrawing Roome.

One suit of watch* cloth hangings, pan* w*^ gilt

4£8 THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

£. 8. d.

leather, 1 window peicc, a cuppboard cloth, and 1
curtaine of Kiddamuster stuff; 1 curtainc rod, 2
tables, 1 cuppboard, 1 fire grate, 1 p* of small andirons,
2 blew cloth carp^, and tvro high stooles, suteablo . 16 0 0

Two pictures, the one of the late king, and y*
other of his queen. • . 0 10 0

In the Chamber called the L* Berhk^t Chamber.

One large press with lock and key, one table, one
cuppboard, one old feild bedd of watch' dammaske,
three curtaines and a head cloth, one fether bedd,
twd blanketts, one rugg, six old peices of stript stuff,
and one old stoole .400

In a Chamber called the Lady Alice her Chamber,

T\i'o old tables, one necessary stoole and pan, one
suit of old damix hangings, one paire of dogg irons,
two cupboards and an old stoole . 0 15 0

Sold aU these to Mr. Bass as above apprais'.

In the Roome adjoyning to it.
One hal£-headed beddstead and a press .080

In a Chamber called y Comtabl^s,
One beddstead, two tables, one fether bedd and
boulster, two pillows, three blanketts, one rugg, three
cushions, one stoole, and a cuppboard . 2 13 0

In Mr. Haughton'$ Roome.
One fether bedd and boulster, one blankett, one
rugg, one cuppboard, and an old bedstead . .10 0

In a low Roome hear it.
One dresser board and other lumber .050

In the ManhalCi Quarters.
One fether bed and boulster, two ruggs and one
blankett, one bedstead, one trundle bedd, one table
and frame, one little bench, one round iron for y* fire,
J* fire shoveU and tongs, and three joyned formes .250

One fether bedd and boulster, one side table, 4
stuff carpitts, 2 wainscott chairs and a bedstead . 1 15 0

THB HISTORY OP LUDI^W. 429

£. 8. d.
One tabic, one forme, one press, one cannopy bed,
three hafe-hcuded bedsteads, and one high bed&tead .10 0

One table, four stooles, four chairs, and one
beddstead . . . .080

In the Porter*8 Lodge,

One little brass pott, a warming pann, and on
old tray . . . .060

On y other tide ofy* Gate.

One fcthcr bedd, two boulsters, one pillow, two
blankitts, one rugg, one beddstead, two jo}'nt stooles,
and one table . .200

One table, one iron rack, one p' of andirons, and
two stooles . . . .080

Over If* Riding House.

Two holfe-headed beddsteads, one chest, and one
table .060

Sold ]Mr. Bass all these as above appraised.

In y* Court House of Justice.
One fether boulster and one brass pott . 0 14 0

The seat of Justice tables and benches . 0 10 0

In y Secretary's Chamber.
One livery beddstead, one old table, two pieces of
Kiddermuster hanging, two pieces of damix, one
window curtain, three curtains more of y* like stuff
about y« bedd, and 1 old carpitt . . . 1 10 0

In the Secretary's Study,
One velvett chair, two cushions, and other lumber ;
one table, one joynt stoole, one necessary stoole and
pann, and one old blew rugg . 0 18 0

In the Scullery.
One furnace and some small shelves, and in the
chamber belonging to it one bedstead . 0 15 0

Sold all these to Mr. Bass as above appraised.

In the first JTardrobe.
Two flock bedds, two boulsters, two roggs, old
and rotten . • . 0 16 0

Twelve ruggs and seventeen blanketts . .800

8 K

430 THE HISTORY OF MT1)I/)W.

X>. 8. d.

Throe titbor pillows . . .060

Tn'cntv and four old cushions . .14 0

Twelve fetlier bedda and six boulsters . . 14 0 0

Three j*inall Turkov . 0 14 0

One old rotten quilt . .006

Two pieces of tapistrv liangings which were u»ed

in V* Court of Justice . .486

Five old gr^en cloth carpitts, and one long carpitt

suitable . .10 0

Eleven window curt"* of several sorts . . 0 12 0

One wamiing pann . .020

A brass perfmning pann . .010

A brass pan, one pott, and a littlo kittle 0 16 0

Sold all these, as above appraised, to Mr. Bass.
Three broken lanthonis . . .030

Sold 5rr. Brown y» 2vSth JanT 1650, for three shillings.

One half-head bedstead .020

Sold Mr. Bass.

Thirteen old curtaine rodds, with some old iron
and other lumber .10 0

Sold Mr. Bass.

One large old Bible .060

Sold Mr. Bass.

In the inward TPardrobe.
Six cushions of cloth of Turkey worke . .060

Sold Mr. Bass.

A parcell of ragged sheets and table cloths, about
fourty - - - - 0 6 0

Sold M'. Humphrcv j* 28th JanT, 1650, for 6*.

One half*headed beddstead, w*'* a damix cannopy,
and two cushions - - - - 0 6 0

Sold Mr. Bass.

TUB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 431

£. H, d.

One old quilt - - - - - 0 2 0

Sold to Mr. Ba^s.

One Turkey eliair, one fcther b<»lslcr. three
necessaiy stools \v**> panns, oue bathing tub, w***
other lumber - - - - 0 16 0

Sold to Ditto.
One traviss curtaine, one poice of an old damix
curtaine, and an head board of the same - -040

Sold to Ditto.

One suit of old stript stufle hangings, two peices
of green cotton, two window curtains and a rodd - 1 0 0

Sold Mr. Bass.

One French bedstead apparell** w'^' green sea
curtains and vallance - • • - 1 0 0

Sold Mr. Bass.

Six feather bedds, five boulstcrs - • - 7 0 0

Sold Ditto.

One flock bedd, and two bouUtera - - 0 8 0

Sold Mr. Bass.

Twenty and four ruggs and blanketts • - 1 0 0

Sold Mr. Ba:^s.

One old surplice of Holland - • - 0 5 0

Sold Mr. Ba^s ditto.

One dammaske towell tenn y^* in length, and
8 more of 9 yards a peice • •* • - 1 12 0

Four more Damaske table cloths • - 8 0 0

Three cuppboard cloaths of Damaske - • 0 12 0

Six dozen of Damaske napkins • • - 1 10 0

432 THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

£. s. d.

Three pr of old Holland sheets, and three p** of

piUowbers, and nine little pillowbers, four elbowe

pillows at- - - - - -4 15 0

Six small arming: towells - - - 0 2 0

One Dammaske table cloth in length 10 y^* - 2 0 0

One other of y* same length - - - 1 10 0

One other of y* like Damaske - - - 0 16 0

One other of y« same, somew' longer - - 0 18 0

One other - - - - - 0 10 0
All these sold Mr. Humpherys as above aprais'.

One other of y« like length . . . 0 10 0

One Dammaske table cloth 7 y^* long . .17 0

Another of the same length . . . 0 14 0

Seven Dammaske towells at 9 y^* the peice . 2 16 0

Five doz" of dyaper napkins . .16 0

Three coarse cuppboard cloths and two towells .070
The chest y* contained y' s^ lining . .030

Twenty old dyaper and flaxen napkins full of holes 0 15 0
Fifteen dyaper napkins, somewhat better . 0 15 0

Four doz' of old napkins, with y* trunk wherein
the lining was, and two jo}nied stooles . . 0 10 0

Sold all these to Mr. Humpheiys as appraised.

A p^ of andirons, fire shov", and tongs .050

In the elosett n^^in y* Wardrobe.
One piece of damix and two traviss curtains, one
old chaire and an old stoole . . . .080

In tJie Chapiain*8 Chamber.
One old beddstead, five old sea curtains, two old
foulding tables, a fire grate, two window curtains, two
old wooden chaires, and a broken wainscott press .10 0

In the Genllewoman^M Chamber.

Two tables, one court cuppboard, one fire grate,

one halfe-lioadi'd beddstead, two fether bedda, two

blauketts, one yellow rugg, one fether boulater, one

flock boulster, one black and white coveilidd, one

THK HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 433

£. 8. d.

green caunopie, y« stuff hangings round ye room,
two old 5*toolf.'*, one fii*e shov" and tongs, one p' of
bellows, one eaudlestiek, and a chamber pott.*

In y^ Counieue her Chamber.

A tabic and an old bedstead . . .050

One beddstcad w"» a cannopie and curt"* of
Kiddermust^ stuife, one feath' bed andboulster, three
pillows, y* btutte hanging about y* chamber, one carpitt
of y* same, one court cuppb^, a chamb'' pott and fire
grate, two p' of tongs and fire shov", 1 p' of bellows
and two p' of old torn sheets, valued alltogether .310

In ihe Dry Larder,
Three brass pans . . . .10 0

One possnet and a fish kettle . 0 12 0

One brass kittle . . . . .050

One small kittle, two frying pans, and two driping
pans . . 0 16 0

Sold all these, as appraised, to Mr. Bass.

One great brass pott . 0 16 0

One trevett .020

One p' of iron racks . . .070

Eighteen spitts and 3 gridirons, and 2 iron plats
for y« fire .10 0

One powdering table, and some old shelves and
other lumber .060

One old long brass ladle . .010

In y* Wine Cellar.
One little leaden cesteme, with some shelves and
other lumber • . • 1 10 0

In the Pauntry*

One press, one beddstedd, one chaire, two chests,
one bynn, and other lumber . .10 0

* No Ttltts is aiRxed to thtte.

4S4 TUB HISTORY OK LUDLOW.

£. 9.

In the Chamber over y* Porter* s LoOfjc^
One fire grate, cue great brass pott, one wniiwcott
chaire, three st coles, one fire sliov", two ni.e:u:'«. two
stript curt"*, and two daniaske eiirt'''% lliive M:»ijk(t(s.
two small fetlicr beds, two boulstors, one pillow, (nio
necessar}' stoole and pann, one olil woihIimi sluivtil,
one old small biickctt, two loatlitT drinking; jatk;',
and one old lanthorne, valued at .500

A Particular of Pewter brought and weighed all
together as it was found in severall places of g*
Castle y y* 4 .A'bC, 1650.

Tenn eandlostioks, 4 basons and ewers, two hand
basons, one great pewter eestern, twenty pye and
pasty plato.'^, two small dishes, thirty-nine dishes of
eeverall sizes, two ehamb' pots, forty-five dishes w«*»
where in }* Dry Larder, seventeen other chanib' pots,
valued together . 15 0 0

More in y* Great TPardrobe.

Six small old fcther bedds, five boidsters, two
flock boulsters. two old quilts and four old piUows,
three small riiiri;s and seven bhnkets . . 15 18 0

Sold M' Broun of Bridge Xorth, y^ 18th Januar}*,

1650, for 15/. 185.

A cnpp and cover of plate, weighing 35 oz. at 5$.
p' ounce . 8 15 0

Sold to do. for do.

A pulpitt cloth and a carpitt of crimson relvett,
and aeverall old cushions .800

Sold Mr. Browne do. for eight pounds.

In the Buttery and Cellar.
Divers old casks, broaken and rotten ; allso divers
other kind of lumber about the Castle, and one pow*
deriDg tubb at y* govemour*s own house in ye towne,
and part of a horse mill, aU valued at 1 10 0

Sold Mr. Bass.

THE 1IISTOKY OF MTDT.OW. 4S5

The court of the Marches was restored after the resto-
ration of royalty, but it had lo<t most of its importance. A
sciio« of iiotniual vice-pioi'I-jnt:', the carl of Carbcrry, the
marrpii'^ of N'/orci-tor, prince ilupert, and the earl of
>Iao( It > field, pro-i«l<(l sue ce-^sivcly during the reigns of
Charks II, and James II. On the foiuth of December,
IC^S, the lord Ileibert of Chirbury, Sir Edward Harley,
and most of the rrentlemen of Herefordshire and Worcester-
shire, iiiet at Worcester and declared for the prince of
Oranc^o. Ludlow Castle was secured fin* the prince by lord
Herbert who im]iri5oned in it sir Walter l^lount and the
poj)i«*h sherilf of Worcester. The jurisdiction of the lords
presidents was now con^^idcred as a p:ri(^vance, and one of
the first acts of the new reij;n was to al)oH«ih it. This was
effected in the year liJ^O, by a very brief act of parliament
(I Will. & Mar. c. '27;, entitled "An act for taking away
the court holden before the pre>i(lent and council of the
Marches of Wales." The preamble merely states as the
cause of the abolition of the court, that its proceedings and
decrees " have by experience been found to be an intolerable
burthen to the subject witliin the said principality, contrary
to the great charter, the known laws of the land, and the
birthright of the subject, and the means to introduce an ar-
bitary power and government." It is added that all matters
which came within the cognizance of this court might be
determined in the ordinary courts of law. In fact, the court
of the ilarchcs had been instituted at a time when the state
of this part of the kingdom required some extraordinary
manifestation of power to keep it in due obedience to the
laws, and was entirely useless now that that state of things
had disappeared.

Ludlow Castle remained in the possession of the crown,
and was for a while occupied by a governor, a sinecure for
some retired officer who resided in a few of the rooms, while
the rest of the castle was neglected, and the whole was
gradually allowed to go into decay and ruin. A catalogue
of the furniture in the castle in the year 1708, which was

436 THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

printed from the original manuscript in a History of Ludlow
published in 1794^ will give some notion of the condition of
the castle at that time, and may be compared with the
older inventory of the time of the commonwealth. It is
labelled " A Catalogue of the goodes in Ludlow Castle,
delivered by Captain Jones to the governor."

In the Hall.
Fifty-eight musquettes whereof one wants a lock ; 37 pikes,
one olberd, four tables, 8 benches, 1 table plank, one large iron
shovel, and 1 iron grate.

In the Couneell Chamber.
Four table boards and frames, 3 green carpets, 4 Turkey
work*d chairs, whereof 2 are broke; 3 leather chairs, whereof
one broke; one sconse, one cast morter and iron pestle, one
iron fender and grate.

In the Passage,
Four old broken chairs, one wainscott cupboard.

In the President** JFlth-draniTig Room.
Eleven gilt leather chairs, one old elbow chair, 4 tables, 4
aconses, whereof two broke, the room hung >rith gilt leather,
one piece wanting, one large Turkey carpet, one green carpet,
one iron grate.

In the President^ s Bed Chamber hung with tapestry.
Two Turkey carpets, 2 tables, 1 looking glass, 6 chairs of
which 2 gilt, 3 leather, 1 old green one, bedsteads with damask
curtaina and counterpane, 2 old beds, one bolster, 2 pillows, 1
blanket, one grate, one quilt, one stand, all old.

In the Serwmt's Roam adjoining to my Lord's rtithm, hw^

with tapestry.
One old feather bed, 2 old bolsters, 1 pillow, one blanket,
and an old rug, one old bedstead hung with old Kidderminster
stoffe, one Uttel table, and old grey carpett. one coflTer, one close

■tool case.

In my hordes Closet,

One broken looking glass, 3 tables, 2 old Turkey caipet8,one
old large green carpet, one old leather chair, one iron grate, one
iron window curtain rod.

THB HISTORY OP LUDLOW. 487

In the Pa$$age by the Wiih-dramng Room.

One sconse.

In the Closet next the Passage.
Two old chairos, 1 pair of toii^s.

In the Plate Room.
Ono table, one broken chair, four brass kottlos, one powter
chainbor pot, two old pewter ewers, 3:J lari^^o and Munli ju'wter
dislies, 5 pic plates, 3 pasty plates, 2 pewter rin;;s lor iKsei-ts,
67 pewtt^r plates, 5 pewter Btaiuls, \ powtrr b;w«nis. 2 rl(>M'.>too!
pans, 1 chamber pot, 5 brass stew pans, 3 old ct)|)iH'r sauri'paiis,
1 tin pasty pan, 5 candlesticks, whereof one broke. i>»t» cast jH)tt
possnett, ono old iron dripping pan, 9 spitts, one &cttle, one pair
of old bellows, one bench.

In the great Dining Room.

Six old grey chairs and stooles.

In Prince jlrthur^s Room.
One grey stuffe bed, two old feather beds, gutted, 2 bolsters,
one pillow, one old rug, one silk quilt, 4 chairs, one table and
grey carpet, part of an old grate, the room hanged w4th £reen.

In the Ladies Withdrawing Room.
One grey cloth bed and siUc counteqiane, 3 feather beds,
one bolster, one old blankett, 10 red damask chairs, 2 tables, one
Turkey carpett, 2 window curtains and rodds, old large looking
glasse, one iron grate : the room hmig with tapestry.

In the Ladies Lodging Room^ partly hung with yellow damask*
Pour tables, 6 old stooles and chairs, one grate.

In the Ladies Mind^s Room hung with old Kldderfninster stuff.

Bed and curtains of the same, one old gutted flock bed, one

bolster and pillow of the same ; one Turkey carpett upon the bed.

In the Ladies Closet^ partly hung with Kidderminster Stuffe.
One old bed and bedstead, 2 leather chairs, 1 grate.

In the Pantry.
Two tables, 4 old bread chests, part of a broken bedstead,
one old trunk, one broken sash frame that stood in the presi*
dent's chamber.

In the Chief Justice's Room.
One old bedstead, 2 tables, one old broken stoole.
Sl

4S8 THE HISTORY OF LUDI/)W.

In the Servants Room adfoming.
One old rotten bedstead, one old bed, 2 bolsters, old, one old
presse.

In the Kitchen.
One pair of iron racks, 2 brossc boilers, 1 lead cistern, 2
gridirons, 1 iron barr, 1 dresser, 1 frame, 4 old tubbs, 2 old
chairs, one broke.

In Uie Yeoman of the Wood Yard^e Boom.
One old table, one old low bedstead.

In the Pastry Room.
One old table.

In the ChaplanCs Chamber.
Two old broken bedsteads, two tables.

In the 2nd Judge^s Room.
One feather bed and bolster, one blanket, one green and 1
stufte coverlet, one table, one Turkey carpet, 3 chairs, 1 grate
in the closet, 2 old bedsteads, one old chaire, one old table.

In the Puny Judge^s Room.
One old tick of a bed and bolster, one bedstead, part of old
stuffe curtains, G old broken chairs, 8 tables, 3 old rugs.

In the Passage to the Judge^s Room.
One press, one table.

in the CeUars.
Eighteen stinking hogsheads, and 6 butts, 6 hogsheads with
their heads out, one leather chair, one large broken tundiah, one
table, one broken bedstead.

In the Puny Judge^s Roam up two pair of Stairs.
Three broken bedsteads, one old chair, and 2 tables.

In the Brewhouse.
One very large copper furnace, 2 large coolers, one large
mashing tub, old.

In the JFardrobe.
T\i'o gridirons, one large barr fire shovel and reeper, I fork,
1 pair of tongs, 1 old bedstead, 4 old trunks, broken, one old
broken coffer, one broken table, two little broken barrells, one
elbow chaire.

In Captain Haughioris Room.

Ten chairs. *? • 7 ^' {

THB HISTORY OK LUDLOW. 439

In tlie Parlour.
Eight old Turkey chairs, 4 elbow chairs, 2 table;), 2 Turkey
car|)ets.

In the KltcJien.
Four tables, G old broken chairs and stools, one old napkin
press.

In the Room 09er the Parlour.
T\vo Turkey carpets, 1 old rug, 2 old chairs, 1 cushin, 1
grate, 1 low stand, 1 table.

In the Room over the Kitchen^ partly hung with tapestry.
One bed, 1 bolster, 1 bedstead, G old chairs, 2 cushins, one
green car[)et, one piu:i)le carpet, 1 table, 1 close stool and pan,
3 pair of old Holland torn sheets, 3 old torn table cloths, 1 pair
of tongs and fire shovel, 1 old broken stand.

In the Garrette.
Three old bedds, 1 old curtain^ one old rugg, 2 broken
chaires, 1 bedstead, 1 table, 2 rotten quilts to put on the beds.

In the ChappelL

One table at the altar.

In the Passage next the Council Chamber.

Two iron grates, 1 broken fire shovel, 3 little tables.

Tben. karvee.

Signed by < GEO. BRUNTT.

(.BEN. CAELESS.

440 THE HISTORY OK LUDLOW.

LUDLOW CASTLE.

Although the court of the Marches, and the still older
princely court to which it succeeded, have long passed away,
they have left us a memorial in the noble castle whose
ruins fonn one of the chief attractions of the town of
Ludlow, the centre of its former jurisdiction. Ludlow
Castle is perhaps one of the most interesting buildings of
the kind in the kingdom, for it offers examples of the
military architecture of all periods, from the early ages of
the Normans to the period when castles in this country
ceased to be built.

The study of the military architecture of the middle ages
is an interesting one, and has till recently been little
attended to in comparison with that of our ecclesiastical
buildings. To explain even briefly the history of such a
complicated edifice as Ludlow Castle, it will be necessary
to give some general views, not only of the character of the
buildings of different ages, but of the necessity which called
for them.

The warfare of uncivilized ages consisted merely in a
series of incursions and plundering expeditions; an army
was incapable of keeping the field for more than a brief
period. The walled towns were long the only protection
against invaders for those who dared not encounter the
enemy in the field. This seems to have been the case
under the Anglo-Saxons ; but when the Normans brought
in the feudal system of the continent, new manners in this
respect were introduced, and as each feudal chieftain had
now his own independent interest and power, and was
therefore liable to be exposed singly to war and invasion, it
was necessary he should have his own place of refuge. The
thane's house, in the previous period, had been walled as a

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 441

protection against sudden attacks of robbers and banditti,
with which the country was often infested, but it was
necessary for the Norman baron to be able to resist attacks
of a much more formidable character. Thus the house of
the chieftain became a castle ; which consii^tcd still of all
the parts of an ordinary mansion, but drawn up into the
most solid and impenetrable form that could be contrived.

The invasions to which the feudal baron was exposed
were often sudden, and always of short duration. He was
not always allowed the time to gather his vassals together
to resist, and often the enemy was too numerous for him to
think of contending with in the field. He threw himself
into his solid mansion, and trusted to the resistance of
stones and mortar, until he could obtain assistance, or till
his enemy was tired and drew off from the attack.

The mode of attacking a fortress at this time was rather
a tedious one. If the walls could not be scaled, they were
either thrown down, or a hole was made through them.
The former method was practised chiefly against the walls
of a town, and was often thus effected. A number of men
were employed to dig the earth from under the foundations
of a certain portion of the wall, which, as they went on,
they propped up with timber; when they had under*
mined a sufficient quantity of wall, they brought together
inflammable materials, set fire to the timber, and when it
was burnt the wall naturally fell, and thus a breach was
effected. To penetrate the wall, the labourers went to
work deliberately, with various tools for the purpose, exactly
as they would make an excavation in a rock. In either
case the operation was far from a rapid one, and it was
necessary sometimes to protect the workmen for many days
together. This was done by constructing immense sheds
or chambers of timber, which were impenetrable to the
weapons then in use. Large sheds of this kind were
moved on wheels up against the wall to cover the workmen
while smaller ones were kept moving backwards and for-
wards to supply them with tools and provisions, and bring

442 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

them reinforcements. These machines were called sotrs.
The only way of warring against them was to send out a
small body of men unawares to attack them by sur})risc
and set fire to them^ before assistance could be brought to
their rescue ; and for this purpose we generally find traces
of small sally-ports, upon whicli, and upon their own
machines, the enemy would generally keep a special watch.

When we bear in mind this mode of attack, we under-
stand at once the construction of the early Norman square
edifice which constituted the castle in the time of the
conqueror, and the model of which, in England, is said to
have been that built by bishop Gundulf at Rochester. To
overthrow any part of such a building by undermining was
out of the question. The walls at the bottom, where only
an engine could be brought against it, were so thick, that
it was almost a solid mass; and if, after inmiense labour,
the besiegers did succeed in penetrating into the interior,
there was so little communication between the ground
floor and the floor above that they might almost as well
have remained outside. No windows that admitted of a
man passing through them were placed so low as to be
accessible by any ladders that could be brought to bear
against them ; and the entrance doorway was also at a con*
siderable elevation, and its approaches easy of defence from
the interior. The state, or family apartments, were usually
on the second story, at an elevation where there was little
danger even from missiles, and where therefore they could
have larger windows, with chambers and closets worked in
the thickness of the walls. The entrance floor was appro-
priated to the kitchen and various offices, and beneath,
^Wthiu the ponderous masonry of the ground floor, were
small dark rooms which served, perhaps, as prisons^ but
sometimes contained (as at Newcastle) the chapel^ and
sometimes store rooms.

Such was a castle in the time of William the Conqueror.
It is a matter of doubt whether originally there were
any outer walls or defences, and it seems probable that

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 443

in many cases at least there were none, except a mere
inclosure, useful only in times of peace, but incapable of
resisting an enemy. Where we find traces of original
walls of enceinte, they arc accounted for by accidental cir-
cumstances. At Newcastle-upon-Tyne the Norman builders
seem to have taken advantage of the walls of the older
Roman station within which their castle was raised, and
to have adopted them as outworks. Such also was the
case at Pevenscy and Porchestcr.

It will be seen at once that such a building as that we
have been describing was almost impregnable. The house-
hold was enveloped in a shell of masonry, as the individual
was in a shell of iron, and as the latter might not be killed
with a blow, no more could you overcome the Norman
keep by an assault. Still its inmates were in a state of
constraint, and, as their defenders were not numerous, if an
enemy presented himself at the head of a large army,
prepared to carry on a blockade, they became little better
than prisoners, and would soon be under the necessity of
capitulating. They could make no effective sallies of an
offensive character, with the troops who could be harboured
in a single tower, however large. When, therefore, war
took a more permanent character, and more numerous
armies were brought into the field, it became necessary to
alter the castle system, by enlarging the fortified circuit so
that a whole army could take shelter within. These
enlarged castles seem to have come into fashion in the
wars of king Stephen, and from this time the chief tower
diminished, and the outworks increased in importance,
until the former was almost entirely thrown aside, and the
walls and towers of the enceinte formed the castle. This
system of castellation, which took its grand developement
in the latter part of the thirteenth century, has received
from archseologists the name of Edwardian.

The Norman tower, like the more ancient Roman
fortress, stood firm as the ground by its own mass, and,
from the character of its walls, did not need the farther

444 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

protection of a fosse or ditch. When the walls became
more extensive and less ponderous, the fosse was drawn
round them to hinder the sows or shelters for the breachers
from being brought up to the wall. It was not necessary
that the fosse should have water in it; in fact, it was
better in many respects without water, because wood might
be brought to swim upon the water, whereas the inter-
vention of a dry fosse was a complete protection against the
approach of machines for breaching. Where the walls
could be placed on the edge of a steep rock or hill, there
was of course no necessity for a fosse at all. Thus the
steep on which the western walls of Ludlow Castle stand
was a suflicient protection, and there was no need of a foese
there; the fosse surrounded the castle on the side which
lay towards the town, and it was on this side only that it
could be attacked.

We must bear these circiunstances in mind when we
read of the different sieges and surprises to which this
important fortress was exposed during its earlier history.
The tower in the middle of the castle from which Joce de
Dinan took his survey of the surrounding country,* was, no
doubt, the Norman keep tower. It was from the towers at
the back of the castle, above the rock, and where therefore
there was no fosse, that Arnold de Lisle made his escape^f
and that he gained admission by stealth into the casde
subsequently during the absence of Joce de Dinan. The
ease with which he effected both objects is explained by the
circumstance, that, as no hostile attack could be made on
this side, it was not considered necessary to place watchmen
there; the watch was kept along the eastern walls. We
have already shown how the subsequent siege of the castle
by Joce de Dinan was carried on entirely from the latter
side.^

The oldest part of Ludlow Castle is no doubt the massive
tower which here, as elsewhere, has preserved its English
name of a keep instead of the Norman name of daemon.

* p. M of the present Tolome. f p. 56, t P* 58.

THK HISTORY OK LUDLOW. 445

Although much smaller than Rochester and Newcastle,
and most of the other keep towers of the same period, it
bears a sufficiently close rcsc^mblance to them to convince
us that it was the castle said to have been built by Kogcr
de Montgomery. It will be seen by the plan that this
tower was placed exactly in the position to overlook the
ford of the river, and the high road leading from Shrews-
bury through Bromfield and Wigmore to Leominster and
Hereford.

All the more ancient parts of Ludlow Castle have been
so much altered to suit the purposes of a later period that
it is now very difficult to ascertain their original arrange-
ment. This is especially the case with the Norman keep,
which has had all its windows enlarged, its entrances
changed, even its floors have been raised or lowered at
different times, its walls internally have been cut up into
fire-places, and in later times it appears to have had a
peaked roof, the ridge running from north to south, and
occupying part of the space of what was originally the up^ier
floor of the tower. The only one of the Norman windows
which remains in its original state is one looking into the
moat, which has been recently brought to light by clearing
away the ivy. The present entrance stair to the floor of
the keep appears to have been made in the reign of Henry
VII through what was originally the solid mass of the
wall.

The entrance to the Norman keep was usually on the
first floor, and generally at one comer, which allowed the
staircase of approach to be run down the same side of the
tower, outside, to the ground. The approach was thus
exposed in its whole ascent to attacks from the windows
and summit of the tower, and as it could be mounted only
by men singly and on foot, it was difficult of assault and
easy of defence. In some instances the stair had a parapet ;
in others it was arched over ; and the entrance was some-
times, as at Newcastle and Dover, further protected by a
small tower attached to the side of the other. At Ludlow
3 M

44<) THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

the original entrance was at the south east comer of the
first floor, where the rather lofty arched passage still
remains ; the stair descended apparently on the outside of
the tower down to the north-east comer, where the present
entrance has been made, but the original masonry has been
here much broken into when the last-mentioned entrance
was made, and when the buildings attached to the more
modem entrance to the inner court were erected. Within
the entrance at the south-east comer of the first floor
an arched passage descends in the massive thickness of
the eastern wall; this, which is now in great part filled
up with rubbish, I suppose may have been the original
communication between the first floor of the keep tower
and the apartments on the ground floor. The thickening
of the wall below by the stair of ascent outside, would
compensate for the weakness which it might otherwise
derive from this passage. The wall supporting the entrance
staircase would be the last place where an enemy would
attempt to breach.

The lowest apartments in the keep— those on the ground
floor — ^had no external doors and no windows ; those which
at present exist are probably of a period not earlier than
the latter end of the sixteenth century. In all Norman
keeps the apartments on this floor are vaulted; this at
Ludlow has a barrel ceiling, and the north and south walls
are for the basement floor unusually thin. Indeed the
basement story of Ludlow keep is altogether much less
substantial in proportion to its size than most buildings of
the same class. The interior apartment is generally eon-
sidered as having served the purpose of a dungeon, but 1
doubt much if this was its original use. At the north-east
oomeTj exactly opposite the foot of the passage descending
in the mass of Uie wall, are two Norman arches, slightly
ornamented, and of primitive character. From their ap-
pearances I am inclined to think that here was the original
chapel of the Norman castle. They are represented in
the annexed cut To the right of these arches is a passage

THB HtSTOKY OF LUDLOW.

1 ilMilii UKMplf LaillovCiKk

ill the wall, which, in the present amngement of the
interior appears to be so inexplicable in its object, that it
has been populatlj' taken for a den for a litm that was kept
to devour the prisoners, a notion too absurd for considera-
tion. This passage has two entrances into what is now
one apartment; from the first, represented in our cut, it
proceeds about two feet at right angles to the internal
surface of the wall, then makes a rectangular turn to the
right, about eight feet, and then re-enters the room at an
exactly similar door. The only explanation I can give of
this singular passage is, that originally this lower room
was divided by a strong transverse wall between the
two door-ways, and that the passage was the communi-
cation between tbem. From the magnitude of the passage
descending from the first floor to these basement rooms,
we may suppose that one at least was used as a store room.
I consider it doubtful if even the two holes in the roof of
this bwer room are not additions to the original edifice.

The strength of the building required ^at these lower
apartments should be vaulted in masonry. The floors
above were of timber. The first fioor was allotted to the
retainers and soldiers, and was lighted only by narrow

448 THS HI8T0KT OF LUDLOW.

loops, like that looking into the moat which has been
recently uncovered. The second floor was usually devoted
to the state apartments^ and here the windows were of
larger dimensions. The communication between the dif-
ferent floors was by a small newel staircase in the turret of
the north-east comer, which originally commenced with
the first floor. Ludlow keep has none of the galleries in
the walls above which characterize most of these Norman
towers; but on each floor the chief apartment had its
closets and smaller rooms adjoining. Some parts of it
require closer examination, for the mass of building on the
east side evidently contains some small apartments to
which there appears at present no entrance. The small
rooms on the west side of the first floor also appear to be
partly built up, and they seem to have communicated with
another small room on the ground floor below.

The keep of Ludlow Castle is more perfect in its turrets
and battlements than we usually find these Norman towers,
for the exterior masonry to the summit appears to be
original. Another circumstance deserves to be pointed out
in regard to this part of the building. It was the custom,
when a castle was threatened with an attack, to erect im-
mediately upon the tops of the walls and towers additional
structures of timber, which served as defences to the war-
riors who occupied the walls, and for fixing and working
offensive machinery to annoy the besiegers. These timber
defences were called by an Anglo-Norman term breteehe$ or
breiescAeSf and they appear in medieval pictures repre-
senting attacks upon castles. In the external walls of the
keep of Ludlow Castle, a little below the summit, are seen
a number of large iron staples, which I presume were the
original fixtures for the iretesches in time of siege. I am
not aware if they have been observed in any other castles.

The great alterations in the interior of the keep of
Ludlow Castle appear, by the architecture of the windows,
doors, and fire places, to have been made subsequent to the
period at which this fortress became the seat of the court of

THE HISTORY OK LUDIXlW. 449

jurisdiction over Wales and its Marches, when these apart-
ments were wanted for purposes that required light and
other conveniences which the original arrangement of the
keep did not aiford. The anns on the doorway of the
stairs which now lead to the first floor of the keep show
that the alterations which superseded the original entrance
were made under the reign of Ilcnrj' VII,

In the south-west corner of the fii-st floor of the keep,
opposite the archway of the original entriince, is another
more lofty archway, evidently belonging to the original
building. This leads to what was i>erhaps originally a
covered way, along the rather massive wall to the west,
which conducts us to a tower on the outer wall looking
over the ancient ford of the river. This is a very unusal
arrangement in a Norman keep, and as the tower just
alluded to appears to be also early Norman, perhaps the
original building consisted of a square, of which the keep
or main building formed the south-cast corner. This
would explain another peculiarity of the arrangements of
this more ancient part of Ludlow Castle. In the early
Norman castles, the well was almost invariably in the
interior of the keep, usually in the substance of the wall,
through which its pipe, from two to three feet in diameter,
ascended to the first and second stories, with an opening in
each. It is evident that nothing could be more necessary
for the security of the keep, in time of siege, than to have
the perpetual command of a supply of water. I am not
aware that any traces of a well have ever been discovered
in the keep at Ludlow, but there is a very deep well within
the inclosure which would be formed by the square which I
have just supposed may have constituted the original castle,
and which, as will be seen by our plan, was surrounded by
very substantial walls, having the tower marked 20 for its
north-western comer.

The floor of the small south-western tower, marked 21 in
our plan, which appear to have been of timber, is entirely
gone, and it is impossible to say what was the original

450 THE HI3TORT OF LUDLOW.

amngement or purpose of the ground floor. At « subae-
quent period, when the castle had attained its present
dimensions, and this earlier part of the castle was turned
into brewhouaes and bakehousea, the lower part of this
tower was turned into an enormous oven. The first floor
appears to hare been originally the kitchen for the com-
paratively small garrison necessary to man the castle and
command the passage of the bridge or ford below. On the
north side are still seen a fire-place and oven, evidently of
an early date; they are represented in the accompanying
cut. A doorway in the south-western comer of this room

leads to some conveniences which are also Norman. Above
rose a lofty watch tower, which overlooked the river below.
The portion of the castle which we have been de«cribuag
constituted, oo doubt, what the writer of the romance of the
Fits Warines considered (he fint bayU, or ward of the
castle, and which that curious and interesliQg doeomeot
ascribes to Roger de Montgomery. On the same authority
ire assume, and probably correcdy, that the castle was first
enlarged hj Joce de Diiuui, probably towards the end of
the reign of Henry I. The traditionary account of the

THB HI81X>RY OF LUDLOW. 451

progressive enlargement of the castle given in the romance
of the Fit2 Warines seems to be substantially correct, and
we can hardly doubt that, in the time of king Stephen's
wars, the castle covered the same space of ground which it
occupies at present, although its buildings were not quite
so extensive. The oldest part which attracts our attention
after the keep is the round chapel in the inner court, the
architectural style of which is that usually termed late
Norman. It is more likely to have been built late in the
reign of Stephen, or early in that of his successor, than
in the reign of Henry I, but still we see no reason for
doubting the authority of the document just quoted, which
ascribes it to Joce de Dinan. Its position shows that when
it was built the circuit of the walls of the inner bayle or
court occupied the same site as at present, and this agrees
exactly with the account of the surprise of the castle by
Arnold de Lisle. Sentinels are described as patrolling on
the walls behind the chapel, of course to keep watch over
the outer bayle or ward, then, as at present, a mere exten-
sive space surrounded with walls, and from whence only an
attack was apprehended. The household already occupied
the buildings at the northern side of the inner court, or
second bayle^ which were perhaps less extensive than at
present. The soldiers who had charge of the castle were
lodged in the keep and the buildings attached to it, which
formed the first bayle. The inmates lay in perfect security,
without any apprehension of an attack, and the only
sentinels appear to have been those on the wall behind the
chapel. These having been silenced, the invaders found
nothing to debar them from entering the keep and putting
its inmates to death, and all this was done without even
disturbing the household.

The same authority we are now quoting tells us the story
of the capture of Hugh de Mortimer, and informs us that
he was imprisoned in the highest tower of the third bayle
of the castle, which was in the time of the writer (at least
as early as the beginning of the fourteenth century) popu-

45^ THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

larly termed Mortimer's Tower. There is still in the outer
court a tower known by this name, and said to have been
Mortimer's prison. Its position is exactly that which we
should expect would be chosen for a place of confinement,
if any place in the outer court was made to serve that
purpose, and a closer examination of the masonry would
probably enable us to identify it. It is desirable that the
walls and buildings round the inner court should undergo a
similar examination, to determine how much remains of the
works of Joce de Dinan.

The mass of buildings on the north side of the inner
court, looking up the vale of the Teme and Corve, arc of the
Edwardian period, though they also have undergone much
alteration, especially the grand hall. Tliis apartment,
which is marked 15 in our plan of the castle^ forms the
connection between two large towers. There is little to
enable us to judge of the particular puriK>ses of this exten-
sive mass of buildings, and tradition is a very doubtful
authority for the names which are popularly given to some
of them. A careful comparison might perhaps enable us to
identify them with some of the names given to them in the
inventories printed at (he end of our last chapter. We can
have little doubt that the base of the large tower at the
west end of the hall contained the butteries, and perhaps
the kitchen of the Edwardian castle. The later and larger
kitchen is understood to have occupied the site marked 17
on the plan. The room above the buttery (16) is called
popularly " Prince Arthur's Room," but why it is appro-
priated to that personage is not clear. The tower at the
east end of the hall contained apparently the state apart-
ments of the Edwardian period, and the architectural
ornamentation is much more finished than that of the
other parts of the castle. The apartment on the first floor
ifl called the banquetting room. The chimney-piece is
unusually ornamental, the corbels of the ceiling are wrought
into figures of men and women crowned, which are not
deficient in artistical beauty. One doorway, represented

TBB KIITORY OP LL'ULOW.

in the Bccompaaying cut, and characterised by Boni« archi-
tectural peculiarities, is remarkable for its elegance. A

room adjoioing to (his tower, and numbered 12 in our
plan, is named, oo what authority I am not aware, th«
Armoury, and it is pretended that the rooms beyond theae,
marked 10 in the plan, were occupied by the two princes,
sons of Edward IV. The buildings on the opposite side of
the inner court, by the side of the entrance, are evidently
not more ancient than the Elizabethan period.

The ruin of this noble castle is the work of comparatively
a very recent period. Soon after the accession of George I,
an order is said to have come down for unroofing the
buildings and stripping them of their lead, and this act of
vandalism was soon followed by the decay of the floors and
other parts constructed of wood, and by the plunder of the
furniture. In the descriptions of different visitors subsequent
to this period we may trace the progressive stages of the
work of destruction.

In the account prefixed to Buck's Antiquities, published
in 1774, it is observed, " that many of the royal apartments
were entire, and the sword of state with the velvet hanging*
3 M

454 THE HISTORY OF Ll'I)t4>W.

was preserved.'* An extract from a tour through Great
Britain, quoted by Grose as a just and accurate account of
the castle, represents the chapel as '* having abundance of
coats of arms ui)on the panels, and the hall as decorated
with the same kind of ornaments, together with lances,
spears, fire-locks, and old armour." Dr. Todd, in his
edition of Comus, says, '' a gentleman who visited the castle
in 1768 has acquainted me that the floor of the great
council chamber was then pretty entire, as was the staircase.
The covered steps leading to the chapel were remaining,
but the covering of the chapel was fallen ; yet the arms of
some of the lords president were visible." In 1811, the
earl of Powis, who previously held the castle in virtue of a '
long lease, acquired the reversion in fee by purchase from
the crown.

LUDLOW CHURCH.*

The Church of Ludlow is undoubtedly the finest eccle-
siastical building in the county of Salop, and perhaps the
most stately parochial edifice in England. Its architecture
is in the style of the latter part of the fifteenth century;
though it is less florid than is usual in the buildings of
that period. It is unusually capacious for a parish charch,
is cruciform in plan, and consists of a nave, choir, chaneely
transepts, side aisles, and two large chantry chapels, with a
finely proportioned and lofty tower in the centre, having at
each angle an octangular turret, surmounted by a pinnacle*

* The following deteriplioii of the church of St Lawreaee, at Lndlov.
I owe to the kindnete of Mr. Henry Pidgeon, author of Mtmenmh ^
Shnwthmrf, ftc Historical notices relating to this scclesiMtical •difles
will be feoid in the eowie of the preceding pegee.

THE M18TOKT OK LUDLUW. 455

The principal entrance from the town is by a large hexa-
gonal porch, embattled at the top. The nave is divided
from the aisles by six lofty pointed arches on each side,
springing from light clustered pillars, each consisting of
four tai)er shafts, with the intermediate spaces hollowed.
Above them is a clerestory, with a range of heavy windows
devoid of tracery. The great western window is entirely
modernized, and its richly ornamented mullions destroyed.
The four great arches under the tower are remarkably
bold : beneath the eastern arch is the choral rood loft, the
lower part of which is embellished with open carved work,
but upon it is erected a modem gallery, above which stands
a very fine toned organ, given by Henry Arthur earl of
Powis, in the year 1764; it cost originally £1000, and has
been subsequently enlarged by important additions.

This church having been formerly collegiate, it was
most elegantly fitted up as in cathedrals, with stalls on
each side. These stalls remain entire and are of good
workmanship, having been originally intended for the use
of the ten priests of the rich chantry founded in the adjoin-
ing chapel of St. John of Jerusalem. The miserere or
shelving seats exhibit, as usual, fanciful and grotesque
carvings. It is not known when the ten priests ceased to
officiate in the choral service ; yet in the registers mention
is made of master of the choristers (the precentor) a con-
siderable time after the reformation.

The choir is spacious and lighted by five lofty pointed
windows on each side, and one of much larger dimensions
at the east end, which occupies the whole breadth and
nearly the whole height of this part of the building. This
great window is entirely filled with stained glass, of rich
colouring, representing chiefly the legend of St. Lawrence,
the patron saint of the church.

The whole of the windows in this interesting building
bear evidence of having once been enriched with a profusion
of stained glass, the splendour of which, judging from
what lemains, must have been inferior to none in point of

456 THI HI8T0RT OF LUDLOW.

colouring, since it appears to have been executed by master*
of the art, and at a peried when glass staining was at its
highest perfection.

The choir, chancel, and chantry chapels retain speci-
mens of great beauty, where events and figures of no
common interest are depicted, yet these iu places have
been so barbarously mutilated by modem repairs as to
present a strange mixture of patch-work. The large eastern
window of the high chancel, containing the legendary his-
tory of the life of St. Lawrence, the patron saint of the
church, was particularly defaced and wantonly broken, so
much so indeed that the various subjects displayed could
with difficulty be traced ; though it appears^ from a date
near the top of the window, to have been repaired in a
bungling manner about a century ago, when the numerous
fractures it then contained were filled with common painted
glass, quite opaque. In this state it remained until 1828,
when the corporation of Ludlow fortunately directed Mr.
David Evans, of Shrewsbury, to restore the window accor-
ding to its original design, which undertaking was completed
in September, 18S3, in a manner that has excited the
admiration of every one who has seen it, and even caused
astonishment at the elaborate skill displayed by the artist
in overcoming the difficulties he had to encounter in
replacing many portions of the window which had been
destroyed, and of so restoring the whole, as to form an
harmonious display of the most brilliant colouring, whereby
it is impossible to distinguish the old from the new glass ;
in fact the window is justly considered as one of the most
magnificent specimens of the art of glass staining, and for
general efiSect surpasses any thing of the kind in tha
kingdom.

The window occupies the whole breadth of the ckanoely
eighteen feet, and is thirty feet in height The mulUons
were in the above year renewed by the Messrs. Carline, of
Shrewsbury, It contains five hundred and forty fieet of
glass, in sixty-five compartments. The subject is tha

THI HI8TOKT OF LUDLOW. 457

history of the life, miracles, and martyrdom of St. Lawrence ;
whose legend is briefly this : — ^he was by birth a Spaniard,
and treasurer of the church of Rome, being deacon to pope
Sixtus, about the year 259, and for not delivering up the
church treasury, which the pagans thought was in his
custody, he suffered martyrdom by being broiled over a fire
upon a gridiron; he is said to have borne this with such
courage as to tell his tormentors that '' he was rather
comforted than tormented," bidding them " turn him on
the other side, for that was broiled enough."

In this window the history of the saint is represented in
twenty-seven designs, as follows ; —

1. Lawrence introduced to the pope. The saint accom-
panied by his confessor, is kneeling under a tree before the
pope, whose train is supported by a bearer.

nrscRiPTiox.
Laurencius adducitur Sirto.

S. Lawrence ordained a deaccn. The saint, in a kneeling
posture, is approached by the pope, who is in the act of
ordaining him, in the presence of the various officers of the
church.

INSCBIPTIOX.

Hie Sixtus ordinat Laurencium diaconum.

S. Lawrence appointed treasuret\ The son of the em-
peror is represented as bringing his treasure in bags, and
delivering them to the saint before the pope and the church.

IKSCaiPTIOX.

Filius imperatoris Laurencio tradit thesauros.

4. Lawrence relieving the poor. The saint is here pre-
senting a piece of money from his bag to the lame, the halt,
and the blind.

IKSOBIPTIOK.

Latarencius the$auros erogai pauperibuM.

458 THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

5. Lawrence captured. The saint in his
appears secured by the inquisitors.

nrscBiPTioir.
Hie Laurencius capiiur ab inquisttaribus.

6. Lawrence brought before the emperor, attended by the
captain and a posse of soldiers.

I178CItIPTIOir.

Laurencius presentatur coram imperatore.

7. Lawrence before idols. The saint is led by the
emperor before idols, who appear as falling to pieces by the
sanctity of his presence.

IVSOBIPTIOir.

Laurencius ducitur coram ydolis.

8. Lawrence imprisoned. The captain is thrusting the
saint into prison, by command of the emperor; on the roof
of the prison, seen in the back ground, are spectators
witnessing his incarceration.

IKSCBIPnOK.

Laurencius hie incarceratur.

9. Lau^rence restoring the blind. During his imprison-
ment the saint miraculously restores Lucillus to sight in
the presence of the jailor.

IKSCBIPTIOV.

Laurencius aperii oculos LucHU.

10. Laurence converts YpoKtus thejaSor, who is kneel-
ing, and with uplifted hands seems earnestly imploring
mercy from above; his sincerity appears to make him
munindful of his office, bis keys laying on the ground

beside him.

moBiTTioy.

Lauroneius comoeriU Ypetiium.

THR HISTORY OP LUDLOW. 459

11. Lawrence commanded by the emperor to deliver up
his treasures, brings before him the poor, the lame, and
blind, and with his out-stretched and pointed hands seems
to declare '^ these are my treasures."

nrscBiPTiox.
Dueii pauperes coram imperatore.

12. The emperor, probably enraged at the answer of
the saint, is beating the poor cripples with a heavy cudgel,
who are in the act of falling in the greatest confusion
beneath the weight of his wrath.

INSCBIPTIOK.

Imperaior verberat paupere$.

IS. Lawrence threatened with torments. The saint is led
before the emperor, and the various instruments of torture
are displayed before him.

IKSCBIPTIOir.

Laurencius temnit tormenta.

14. This appears to be the first scene of his sufferings.

The saint, nearly naked, is led forth by ruffians to be

stoned.

nrscBiPTioK.

Laurencitu lapidaiur.

15. Lawrence scourged with rods. A superior officer
stands by to see the punishment effectually performed, and
appears to witness with much stoicism the various acts of
violence to which the saint is subjected.

nrscBiPTiOK.
Laurencius verheratur virgis.

16. Lawrence beaten wUh dubs* The saint lying on the
ground, several men appear trampling upon him and
beating him with clubs.

nrscupnoK.
Laurencius baeuiis

4M TH» HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

17. Lawrence Jlogged with whips. The saint being tied
to a pillar, several barbarians are flogging him with trhips^
to which are attached large knots of lead.

INSCRIPTION.

Laurencius ceditur JlageUis plumbeis.

18. Lawrence torn with hooks. The hands of the saint
being fastened to a pillar, several men are in the act of
tearing his flesh with hooks.

INSCBIPTIOK.

Laurencius laccratur hamis /erreis.

19. Lawrence burnt wit/i irons. The saint again tied
to the pillar, is tormented by men applying with laige
tongs red-hot irons to various parts of his body; some of
their faces appear even tinged with the heat of the iron,
and they seem to show more feeling than the tormented.
One figure, in the act of catching the saint with the hot
iron under the right ear, is particularly expressive.

IKSCBIPTIOV.

Laurencius cruciatur laminis urentibus.

20. The sufferings of Lawrence are here terminated by
roasting him on a ''gridiron." Hence his symboL He
appears enveloped in flames, while his executioners are
adding more fuel and increasing the blaze by means of a
fork ; in the back ground is seen the Saviour, encircled in
glory, as if in fulfilment of the promise, '' When thou
passest through the fire I will be with thee, neither shall
the flame kindle upon thee.'*

xvscaiPTioir.
Laurencius assatur cratiada.

SI. Lawrence buried. The tragic scenes of hie life and
sufferings being over, the saint, wrapped in a winding-
sheet, is about to be laid in the tomb, amidst a eoncouite

THE HISTORY OF LUDIX)W. 461

of spectators. A priest is performing the burial rites after
the manner of the Romish Church.

iNscRirriox.
Laurcncius hie sejycUtur.

2j3. Is the representation of a cruciform church, with a
small octangular turret in the centre, and is a curious
specimen of ancient architecture ; the windows of tht»
chancel and transepts have the flat kind of arcli introduced
about the close of the fifteoutli ccnturv, whilst t!io«<ic of the
clerestory are circular. In the fore ground is a deacon
apparently in much trouble in consequence of a golden
chalice having fallen from his hands and broken; he has
recourse, however, to the prayers of the saint, and it is
restored.

IXSCBIPTION.

Hie diaconus f regit caJiccm,

23. The re-appearance of St. Lawrence by the prayers
of a priest, who causes a dry piece of timber to sprout into

foliage.

INSCRIPTION

Hie lignum efficit rccircaccrc.

24. A table appears to be covered with a cloth, at which
a figure, seemingly by command of the saint, is distributing
bread and drink. — It is difficult to assign a meaning to this
subject.

25. Lawrence pointing to a church and giving instruc-
tions to some bystanders. Perhaps emblematical of the
church erected to his memory by the empress Pulcheria.

26. Three figures within a church in the attitude of
devotion. The inscription of this, with the two foregoing
subjects are unfortunately wanting.

S7. Several workmen in the act of forming materials for
the erection of a church, under the direction of a super-
intendant. In explanation of this it may be remarked that
S 0

46S TUB HISTORY OP LUDTX)W.

Justinian is said to have enlarged or rebuilt the cdifiee
erected by Pulcheria.

nfSCBIPTIOK.

* • * * struxit capellam.^

The above designs contain upwards of three himdred
figures.

At the spring of the arch, beginning at the left side, are
full length figures of the Virgin and Child, Saini John,
an angd holding a shield, azure, two crosiers in saltire, a
mitre in chief Or ; saint Anne teaching the Virgin Mary
to ready a bishop in the attitude of prayer^ and seemingly
adoring saint Anne. The only part of the label remaining
is media precor Anna. Before the bishop is a table with
the inscription^

Thomas Spoford Dei Gratia Hereford Ep'us.

On the corresponding side is another angel bearing a shield,
Gulesy a sal tire Argent. — A king seated on his throne, in
the act of benediction, holding in his left hand a globe;
saint Lawrence in a devotional attitude, supporting his
symbol, a gridiron. Tlie upper portion of the window,
being divided into smaller compartments, contains fourteen
figures of angels and archangels y the division at the apex
is of large dimensions, and has a representation of ike
Trinity.

The whole of the subjects depicted in the window are
under elegant canopies of delicate tabernacle work, differing
in design ; and the costumes of the figures throughout the
various scenes are particularly curious, and well deserve
attention, since the window is inferior to none of the
ancient specimens of stained glass, either in richness of
colouring or in general effect, and is supposed from the
above inscription, Thomas Spoford, &c. to have been ori-
ginally put up during his episcopacy, (he was promoted

* The inscriptioni of Not. 24 to 27 are either destroyed, or frtgineBts
only remain.

THE HISTORY OF LLOLOW. 46.']

from the abbacy of St. Mary's, York, to the sec of Here-
ford, Novciuber, 1421), and this conjecture is strengthened
by the above armorial bearings, two crosiers and a mitre.
He governed the diocese twenty-six years, and withdrew
from his charge previously to his death in 1448.

The three large windows on each side of the chancel
contain severally fifteen large compartments, the whole of
which was formerly occupied by stained glass. Those on
the south side still display several full-length figures of
bishops, apostles, and Romish saints, the apex of each con-
taining twelve small curious figures. The north side api>ears
to have been more resplendent in colouring, though the
work of mutilation has been carried to a greater extent than
on the corresponding side. Elaborate tabernacle work sur-
mounts the figures, among which may>^be distinguished
St. Barbara, St. Leonard, St. Appolonia, St. George, St.
Catherine, St. Ellina, the Virgin and Child, and an English
queen supported by archangels. The lower portion of one
window appears to have contained a representation of the
" Wise men's Offering," and our Saviour rising from the
tomb ; also, the pot traits of several bishops. The top of each
window has several smaller figures in tolerable preservation.

Underneath the eastern window stood till recently a
modern altar screen of oak wainscot, in the Grecian style,
and altogether incongruous with the character of the edifice.
It is now removed, and the original altar screen, which it
concealed, is to be restored. It is elaborately carved in stone,
and consists of a series of pointed niches and sculpture
extending the entire length of the wall, having a cornice
ornamented with foliage, &c. The prominent parts of the
whole have been richly gilded and coloured. On the south
side of the altar is the piscina and canopied sedilia for the
use of the priests, deacon, and sub-deacon.

The ceiling of this portion of the edifice is of oak, resting
on corbels which spring from highly decorated figures of
angels bearing shields.

The chapels north and south of the choir correspond in

464 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

size, and are approached from the transepts by remarkably
handsome carved screens. The chapel of St. John is north
of the choir; in the eastern window of it are remnants
of stained glass portraying the story of the ring presented
by some pilgrims to Edward the Confessor, who, as the
chroniclers relate, " was warned of hys death certain dayes
before lice dyed, by a ring that was brought to him by
certain pilgrims coming from Hierusalem, which ring bee
hadde secretly given to a poore man that asked hys charitie
in the name of God and sainte John the evangelist.** These
pilgrims, as the legend recites, were men of Ludlow. The
side windows contain the remains of some very fine glass,
representing a king with his sceptre, St. Catheiine, St.
Michael, St. Christopher, the Virgin Mary, and St. John.
In the centre window, St. James, St. Thomas, St. Andrew,

St. Matthew, St. Peter, and . The north-eastern,

a bishop with a procession of clergy, a funeral procession,
probably the burial of St. Stephen, the Saviour, St. Thad-
deus, a bishop attended by harpers, and a figure of St.
George. The apex of one contains angels and the other
modern glass.

On the north side, inclosed by palisading, is a handsome
altar tomb, on which rests two recumbent eflUgies in white
marble, representing sir John Bridgeman and his lady.
The former is in his robes, and the latter is represented as
holding a book in her right hand. A tablet of black marble,
decorated with fotoons of foliage, &c. is placed on the
tomb, and contains the following inscription.

Sacrvm Mcmori.r Diii Johannis Brydgcman, Blilitis, Seniientis ad lefera
et capii.ilis Justicimij Cc»tia.\ Qui maximo omnium bonorum Mcrrore^
(cum 70 aiino<« vixis.^'it^ 5th Fcbr, anno 1637, pie Flacideq; animam Deo
rctldidit. •

Fratv i<:(':i Vxor nKrtissima posuiU

It \\ ill grieve the lover of elaborate monumental sculpture,
so provalciit in the last century but one, to see the mutila-
tion wliidi the highly finished efligies of sir John Kridgeman

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 465

and his lady have undergone. These figures are in a style
of execution superior to that of Nicliolas Stone, who does
not particuhirize this work in his catalogue preserved by
Virtue, and given by Mr. Walpole. From the very minute
resomblancc to portraits by Vandyke, it may be presumed
that they were finished as those mentioned in the cathedral
at Gloucester, by the ingenious Francisco Fanelli, who was
much employed in England during the reign of Charles I.

The head of sir John Bridgeman's tomb was opened in
1805 (on sinking a grave for the body of Mrs. Turner;
when the hair of both sir John and his lady was found
l^erfectly fresh ; the coffins mouldered on exposure to
the air.

The north transept is called the Fletcher's Chancel, and
on its gable is an arrow, the ensign of the craft. It is a
probable conjecture that this part was appropriated for the
use of the archers who might po^sibly hold their meetings
here.

Of the south transept and chapel all that is known is
that the cordwainers and other companies have, from a
remote period to the present time, continued to meet in
them. In this transept is a curious abbreviation of the
Deralogue painted on a large panel, the old text characters
of which have recently been restored.

The windows of the south chapel api)ear to have been
equally richly adorned with glass, a portion of which still
exists in that at the eastern end, which seems to have
represented a genealogical history of the prophets after the
manner of that in the chancel of St* Mary's church,
Shrewsbury. Each figure is encircled with vine branches,
the gicen colouring of which is particularly brilliant. The
pr(»phots Manasses, Jchoiacan, and Jothan are in good
preservation, the rest of the window is filled with plain
glass.

Tlje whole of this noble parish church is ceiled with fine
u.ik and embellished with car^-ing. The extreme length
from east to west is two hundred and three feet, of which

466 THE HISTORY OP LUDTX)W.

the nave is ninety three feet, the space under the tower
thirty, and the choir eighty. The breadth of the nave and
aisles is eighty-two feet; length of transept, north to
south, one hundred and thirty feet ; and the breadth of the
choir twenty-two feet. The tower rises one hundred and
thirty feet, and being a prominent object, gives considerable
beauty to many prospects from the neighbouring country.
It is quadrangular, and the upper part near the battlements
was originally adorned with highly finished statues of
saints, &c. These have been either much mutilated or
entirely destroyed. Numerous similar works in various
parts of the church suffered the same fate.

Lcland and other authors notice this church as being
superior to any in this part of the country; the general
opinion agreeing that its style of architecture is that of the
fifteenth century, as practised by the immortal Wykeham,
in the nave at Winchester and at New College, Oxford ;
and writers liring in that or the following age speak of it
as newly brought to a state of perfection by the society who
raised and supported it. " This church (says Leland) has
been much advanced by a brotherhood therein /atmded in
the name of St. John the Evangelist, the original whereof
was (as the people say there) in the time of Edward the
Confessor, and it is constantly affirmed there, that the
pilgrims that brought the ring from St. John the Evangelist
to king Edward were inhabitants of Ludlow.'* If we credit
this account, wc must believe that from the time of the
fourth Edward a sacred edifice stood here of sufficient im-
portance to be the depository of the mouldering remains
of the great: particularly that of Edward's cofierer of the
household, an officer formerly of the first importance.

The advowson of this church, it appears, was formerly
appended to the manor, sir John de Crophull had the pre-
sentation, 46th Edward III, as also John Merbury and
Agnes Deverous his wife, 6th Henry V. The 19th Edward
I, Henry Pygine founded a chantry here.

We are sanctioned therefore in the presumption that the

THF HISTORY OF LUDrOW. 4<>7

present fabric lias^ from an older foundation^ been gradually
advanced to perfection by the ancient fraternity of Pithners,
who have been always found attached to it as far as the
history of either can be distinctly traced : the remnants of
painted glass in the eastern window of the north chancel^
distinguished from the other paintings by riclier colouring
and superior execution, seems to favour this opinion.

Leland says, " I noted these graves of men of fame in
Ludluw Church. Beauvie, or Beaufrie, sometime cofferer
to king Edward the fourth. Cokkis, a gentleman servitor
to prince Arthur. Dr. Denton, master of St. John's in
Ludlow. Suliard, justice of the Marches of Wales. Hozyer,
a merchant."

Among the monumental inscriptions in the high chancel
are the following : —

On a square stone tablet, above a plain altar tomb and
hatchment,

Heare lyethe the bodye of Ambrozia Sydney iiijth doughter of the Bight
Honorable Syr Henrye Sydney, knight of the most noble order of the
garter, lord president of the countell of Walles, &c.; And of ye ladye
Marye hit wyef, doughter of ye famous duke of Northumberland, \rho
dyed in Ludlowe Castell ye 22nd of Febniarie, 1574:

A large Grecian monument, displaying an elegantly sculp-
tured cherub and emblems of time and eternity, is erected

In Memory of Theophilus Salwey, Esq. who was the eldest son of
Edward Salwey, Esq. a younger son of major Richard Salwey, who in the
last century sacrificed all and erery thing in his power in support of Public
Liberty, and in opposition to Arbitrary Power. The said Theophilus
Salwey married Mary, the daughter and heiress of Robert Dennett, of
Walthamstow, in the county of Essex, Esq. bat left no issue by her.
Obiit the 28th of April, 1760, mUU 61.

Pro Rege Scpe : Pro Republics Semper.

A handsome altar tomb of white marble displays recum-
bent effigies of chief justice Walter and his wife ; on the
front are figures representing their issue.

468 THE HISTORY OF LUDLO%V.

Heere lye the bodies of EdmTiid Walter, Esqvier, chicfle Irstlcc of
three shiers in Sovth Wales, and one of His Majcstic's Covncill in the
Marches of Wales; and of Mary his Mifc, daughter of Thomas Hackhit,
of Eyton, Esqvicr, Avho had issve three sonnes named Ianic<(, lohn. aii<1
Edward, and two davghtcrs named Mary and Dorothy, lie m.k hvrif'
the 29th day of lanuary. Anno Dni. 1592.

A tabic tomb^ on which reposes the recumbent fi^niro i»f n
female resting on a cushion^ habited in the dros^ nf tli^
times, and the head covered with a hood, tlio n;:';t h Ui]
holding a small book. At the back is a tabU^t MuniouMtod
by the armorial bearings, on which is recorded,

Here lyeth, expectinge a joyfvU Resvrrection, the body of Damc M.iry
Evre, late wife to Right Hon. Raiphe Lord Evre, Baron of M.ilto:!, KcrJ
President of the Principallitie and Marches of Wales, and Licvlcinm of
the same, and daughter of Sr. John Dawney, of Sessey, in the Covnty of
Yorke, Knight. She departed this mortall lyfe the 19th day of March,
Anno Domini, 1612, statis svsd 55.

Inclosed %vithin the communion rails is a stone altar
tomb, sustaining two full length recumbent figures; sur-
rounding the base of the tomb stand their children.

Heare lieth the bodyes of Syr Robart Towneshend, knyglit, cluefjnstirc
of the counscll in the Marches of Walles and Chester; and dame A lire
his wyfe, doughter and one of the heyres of Robert Porye, Esquire, whoe
had betwyne them twoe, XII chyldren, VI sonnes and VI dough ters law-
fully begot.

On a black marble tablet, inscribed in gold characters,

O Quisqris Ades !

Reverere manes Inclytos

Edoardi Vavghan, e Trawscoed Arm. ^^^

Johannis Vavghan Eqoitis Herois,

Hscredis ex Traduce,

Proin patria magn' ad instar,

Per omnigense literatursD, sire Ac«demic«, sivo fortnsis,

Spacia

Hue acenime vel a pnero contendit;

Vt principi et patric

Bgregie inserriret ;

rilK HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 469

Quod fuliciter assecutus est,

Vitriq; gratus et air.abilis.

El spcctatissimns civis

III ipsa tcinporum

Vertigiuc;

Vt scias hie ccndi quem antiqui Jixeri*

Virum cubicum

Et divinum.

Talis tnntusq; Hentibus etinm inimici).

Ccimmoricntibus ptrnc amicis.

Ip^o solo lacto et lubente,

Kcccptus est

In Beatorum pp.triam.

. ^SDni MDCLXXXIV.
^""® ? ^Etatis sua 48o.

Conjugi parentiq; dcsideratissimo

Vidua cum Uberis,

Pcq>etim lugens,

Hoc mortale Monumentuxn

P.

Ipse sibi imraoitalc EpiMphium.

In this and other parts of the building wdll be found
several other mural monuments and tablets.

Tlie tower contains a melodious i^eal of eight bells, on
which are the following inscriptions. —

First. — Richard Perks, Town Clerk, a. r. 1732.

Second. — Abraham Rudhall, of Gloucester, cast us, 1732.

Third. — Roger Phillips and William Bright, Church-
wardens, 1732.

Fourth. — Prosj^erity to the town and our benefactors.

Fifth. — Prosperity to the to^vn and parish.

Sixth. — Prosperity to the Church of England, a. r. 1732.

Seventh. — Somerset Jones, Esq. and Cm$;;r Hawkins,
Gent. Bailiffs.

Eighth, Tejwr, — The Rev. Richard Baugh, Rector,
Mr. John Smith and Mr. John Smith, Churchwardens,
1823.

" Mar all whom I shall summon to the grave,
The blessings of a well spent life receive.*'

8 p

470 THE H18TORT OP LUDLOW.

In the king's books the living of Ludlow is valued at
nineteen pounds, twelve shillings and sixpence. And this
estimate being under twenty pounds it is consequently at
tli? disposal of the lord chancellor. It is a rectory, and its
present value is said to he two hundred pounds per annum.

After this brief notice of the church it may be remarked,
that the ciUfice being built of a soft red sandstone, rendered
frinble by the action of time and the weather, the exterior
presents a somewhat ragged appearance, and the niullions
of several of the windows from the same cause had fallen
into a wretched state of decay. But the mullions in six of
the windows, on the south side, have been restoied within
the last few years. In the interior likewise much is
wanting to give due effect to the fine perspective which
unfolds itself to the enraptured eye. The building is
in every respect a noble and interesting structure, and
well deserving of the best and most careful attention that
the assistance of wealth and influence might bestow in
furtherance of its renovation and improvement.

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 471

ON THE

CARVINGS OF THE STALLS IN CATHEDRAL
AND COLLEGIATE CHURCHES.^

The successive visits of tho Association to Winchester,
Gloucester, and Worcester, — whicli places, as well as some
of the churches in their vicinity, all present remarkahle
specimens of the carved stalls so generally found in the
cathedral and collegiate churches of this and oth<»r coun-
tries,— have drawn more than once tlie attention of its
members to these interestinij moinunenis of medieval art.
These stalls were, in fact, those especially appropriated to
the members of tho collegiate body ; and the seats, instead
of being fixed and immovable, turn upon hinges, and when
turned up, the under side exhibits a mass of sculpture,
arranged according to a regular and unvarying plan, in
which the workmen and artists have exhibited their skill
and imagination in a very remarkable manner. It is diffi-
cult to say how this arrangement of the seats originated,
and what was the reason of their being thus adorned;
but as they are invariably found under the circumstances
just mentioned, they apiiear to have been considered as an
indispeusable part of t!ie ornamentation of a collejjiate
church. Several conjectural cxj'V^. nations of the,»e seats
have been offered, the popular opini'»n, however, beini* ihat
they were turned up during a part of the service when the
clergy were not allowed to be seated; but tint out of pity
to the aged or infirm, they were allowed to rest themst^lves
against the bracket supported by the sculpture, wh»ch
aflforded a support without allowin;^ them actually to be

• Thi^ Essay is reprinted from the Jon'n.il iif tho Art) t»«»1» riril
Association, and was originally read by the Atit!ii*r cf tia- {t.i-si>.i \u umc
at the A rchico logical Congress in Worcester^ i;i Id 1*1. It u givcu here,
because several examples of stalls are taken from Ludlow chuich, the
stalls of which are extremely interesting. We are indebted to the Council
of the Atsociation for the loan of the woodcuts.

472 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

seated. For this reason, it is said, they received in France
the title of mtsericordes (still preserved among the French
archccologists) and patiences / while our English antiquaries
generally call them misereres,^ Why, however, this par-
ticular class of sculptures, seldom found (except at an early
period) iu any otlier part of the church, should have been
appropriated especially to these seats, is a question to which
I am not aware that any satisfactory solution has yet been
found.

It is to these sculptures alone that the present notice^
very brief in proportion to the real interest of the subject,t
will be devoted. These sculptures range iu date from
the thirtecntli century to the age of tho reformation, and
are distinguished by various degrees of excellence. Some-
times they are %xry rude, but more commonly, like the
illuminations in some manuscripts, they possess a consider-
able share of artistical skill. Found on the continent, as
well as in England, the general character of the subjects is
so uniform that we might almost suppose that the carvers
throughout Europe possessed one regular and acknowledged
series of working patterns. Yet there is a great variety
in the details of the subjects and in the manner of treating
them. It may be observed, that the ornamentation consists
generally of a principal subject, immediately supporting
the bracket, and of two side lobes or cusps springing from

* Dttcange has, under the word MisEmicomoiA, tho explanatiovt
" Sellulic, erectis formarum subaelliifl apposite, qutbua stantiboa aeniboa
vel iufirmis per mUerkomiam ii.sidere concedttur, dum alU atant, Gallia
miten'eordet Tel paticncet, S. WiUelmt ConsueU Hiraauf. 1. ii. cap. 2.
' Priixium in ecclcsia quamdiu scilla pultalur ante noclurooa, aaper mi»mi
ccrdiam sedilis aui, si opus habet^ quicscit.' *'

X Very little has been written on the subject of theae aculptortt. and,
considered as mcro gross representations, thej have been much negleclad,
and a greot number of them have been suffered to ba deatroyed. A few
were engrared bj Carter, in his '* Ancient Sculpture." The very inttraa-
ting aeries in the cathedral at Rouen ware engraTad and daacribad by
M. Langlois.

THK HISTORY OF LUOLOW. 47S

the latter. These side ornaments consist sometimes of
mere foliage, attached to the bracket by a stalk ; sometimes
they arc grotesques, or separate subjects, having little or
no connection with the central piece ; while they are often
a dependant and important part of the story represented
under the bracket. Writers of vivid imaginations have
given them no less a variety of interpretations. Some
have conceived them to be satirical attacks directed by the
monks at one another, or at the secular clergy; while
others have imagined that these strange and grotesque
figures embodied in allegorical form the deepest mysteries
of our holy faith. Each of these opinions was equally far
from the truth. In all probability neither the designers
nor the carvers were monks, although it is e^ddent they
were men of a certain degree of education, and well ac-
quainted with the popular literature of the day, the different
classes of which are here represented in a pictorial form.
In this point of view they are valuable as artistical monu-
ments, while they illustrate in a most interesting degree
the manners and habits of our forefathers.

One of the most popular branches of the popular litera-
ture alluded to was the science of natural history, in the
shape it was then taught. The treatises on this subject were
designated by the general title of Bestiaries fbestiariaj^ or
books of beasts ; they contained a singular mixture of fable
and truth, and the animals with which we are acquainted
in our ordinary experience stood side by side with monsters
of the most extraordinary kind. The accounts, even of the
more common and well known animals, trespassed largely
on the domain of the imagination, and therefore much more
extraordinary were the fables relating to those of a doubtful
or of an entirely fabulous character. I may mention, as
an example, the unicorn — according to medieval fable the
fiercest and most uncontrollable of beasts. A stratagem,
we are told, was necessary to entrap the unicorn. A beau-
tiful virgin, of spotless purity, was taken to the forest
which this animal frequented. The unicorn, tame only in

474 THE HISTORY OF LCDLOW.

the presence of a pure viipn, came immediately and laid
its head gently and without fear in the maiden's lap. The
hunter then approached and atruck his prey with a mortal
bloiv, before it had time to awake from its security. A
more popular character was given to these stories by the
adjunction of moralizations, somewhat rescnibliug those
which are found at the eud of the fables of .£sop. The
mysterious jKuver of the maiden over the unicorn, the
resurrection of the phccnix, the generous nobleness of the
lion, the craftiness of the fox, the niaiema] tenderness of
tlie pelican, are capable of a multitude of mystical iiiler-
pi«tations.

The Bestiaries, of all ages, are more universally illus-
trated with pictures than any other book — they seem to
have contained the first science to be instilled into the
youthful mind. Every one who has been in the habit of
examining the sculptured stalls of which we are speaking,
knows that the stories of the Bestiaries are among the most
common representations. On the very interesting stalls

p||l. Phb SlritbH^a-Atoa.

in the church of Stratford-on-Avon, we find the story of
the maiden and the unicorn, the latter being made a mora
cruel sacrifice to the hunter, after having fallen a victim to

THB UlaTOBY OF LUDLOW. 475

the cliarms of beauty (fig. 1). The style of this work seems
to carry us hack to the earlier pnrt of the fourtconth cen-
tury : it is not clear to ^iliotn the arms belong, but the
lubes arc formed of the leaves aud acorns of the oak, the
favourite foliage of the early English style of ornnmcuta-
tion. The pelican, the elephant, the lion, and the more
ignoble monkey, have their place on the stalls at Gloucester.
The fabulous objects of the natural history of the middle
ages — dragons, chimeras, griffins, and the hke, are much
more numerous. The syren is seen on the stalls of Great
Malvern.

Next after the Bestiaries, the most popular books of the
middle ages — books which were pictorially illustrated with
equal profusion — were the collections of J£sopean fables,
known under the titles of Ysopels and Atyneta, from the
names of the celebrated fabulists ^^op and Avienus. With
these was intimately connected the large romantic, or
rather satiric, cycle of the history of Benard the Fox, which
enjoyed an extraordinary degree of popularity from the
twelfth century to the nineteenth. The fables aud the ro-
mance of Benard are frequently represented on the stalls.
The fable of the rats hangiug the eat is represented very
grotesquely in a carving on the stalls of Great Malvern
probably also of the fourteenth century (fig. 2> The side

Plfl: FmOmtHitiHi

476

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

ornaments are here two owls. The man and the ass, the
fox carrying anay the goose, and one or two other Bunilar
subjects, are found at Gloucester. The fox preaching is
found on one of the side ornaments of a stall carving in
^yorccster cathedral, and is not of unfrequent occuirence
elsewhere.

Another class of literature, frequently accompanied with
pictorial illustrations in the manuscripts, comprises the
calendars or ecclesiastical almanacs, in which the domestic
or Rgncultura] employments of each month are pictured at
the top or in the matins of the pngc. Such subjects
arc also frequent in the can-ed stalls. Three stalls in
the cathedral of Worcester represent men eropto)-ed in
mowing, reaping, and sheaving the com. Another repre-
sents the swineherd feeding his pigs, by beating down the
acorns from the trees. This last is a very common subject.
Scenes of hunting or hawking are also not unfreqnently met
with. The stall carver has given a still ^vider range to bis
imagination in representing domeslic scenes, — which are
very frequent, and very interesting for the light thus thrown
on the popular manners of our forefathers in far distant
times. A very curious example may be cited from the
cathedral of Worcester, which represents a domestic winter
scene (fig. 3). A man closely wrapped up is seated beside

Flf 1. Tnm VanMrr.

THB HIBTORT OF LV|}tX>W.

477

a fire, stirring his pot ; his gloves wliich are remarkable for
being two-fingered, as well aa the expression of his features
show that he is sulTeriiig severely from the tcinjicrature.
He has taken off" his bools, ami warms his feet by a rather
close approximation to the fire. All tlic details of the
picture are equally curious, even to the side ornaments ; one
of which represents two flitches of bacon, the winter's pro-
vision, suspended to a hook, while on the other a rather
gigtinlic cat is basking in the wannth of the chimney. The
chimney itself is not unworthy of notice

The domestic cat is met with in other examples. On a
stall from Minster church, in the isle of Thanet, au old
woman, a iritch-like figure, is occupied at her distaff,
accompanied by two cats of grotesque nppearance. One of
the stalls at Great Malvern, — which like those of Worcester,
appear lo be of the latter part of the fourteenth century —
represents a man at his dinner. Another in the same
church (fig. 4) exhibits a woman in bed, attended by a
physician. Others of this class are more grotesque and

playful, representing games and pastimes. One of theae,
here given (fig. 5), from Gloucester cathedral (the sculp-
ture* of which appear to be of the latter half of the fout-
leenth century), repreaenu two boys playing with baUa, and
S 4

TIIK HISTiUlY <

is a curious illustration of the costume of the period. The
whole iiel<] is, in these stalls, covered with ornamentation,
and there are no side cusps. Sometimes vre have veiy
curious representatioiiB of the processes mid implements of
trade, commerce, and labour. The very interesting example
of this class of representations here given Irom the church
of Ludlow, in (fig. 6), represents two men supporting, we

THE HIsrORY OF LUDLOW.

479

might almost say from their postuic worshipping, the beer
barrel. Their costume, with its " dajjgecl" borders, is
of the reign of Bichard II. The side ornaments here
represent severally the ale bench, with the barrel, jug,
and drinking cup; the forms of which arc valuable data
for the archtcologist. The stalls of Ludlow church have
been much mutilated, and evidently with intention, for the
heads, arms, and other prominent parts, have been cut off
with a sharp instnnnent. It is a very remarkable fact, also,
that there is an evident distinction of style in them, indica-
ting two classes of workmanship, one of which is su|K'rior
in design and execution to the other. The workman to
whom we owe the latter has carefully marked every one of
his stalls, with his sign or mark, a branch ; a singularity
which I do not remember to have observed elsewhere. It is
exhibited in the above cut, and will be observed similarly
placed in two others from the same church, given in the
present article. One of these (fig. 7) represents, we are led
to suppose, the grave digger, as the implements of his
calling, with the tomb, and a hand holding up the holy
water pot, are seen in the right hand side ornament. On

Fif . 7. From Lvdlow.

THK HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

one side of tho middle figure are represeoted a barrel, a pair
of clog:, a bellows, and a hammer, whicb might throw Bome
doubt on the profession of the individual. The mulilalioa
of the arms of the right-hand side figure rendeis it difficult
to nay exactly how he n-as intended to be occupied. Prac-
tical jokes, not alwajs restrained within the bounds of (he
delicacy of modern times, are common ; and monks and
nuns someltmes appear in scenes of this description, of
which some curious examples are furnished by the stalls of
Hereford cathedral. These stalls ate of early workmanship,
and the side oruamcnts exhibit the well-kuown early
English oak Tolinge in profusion ; when 1 saw ihem last,
they were scnttcruil in lamentable confusion in the church,
having been taken from their places during the repairs and
restorations of the building. One of them (fig. 8) exhibits
a scene from the kitchen, iu which a man ia evidently

PIf a Fna HtrtlHd.

taking liberties viiih the cookmaid, who has ihrovrn a
platter at his head. A subject closely resembling this ia
found on one of the stalls of the church of Great Malrem.
These subjects are sometimes carried to a degree of inde*
licacy, which cannot be described.

THE HISTORY Of LUDLOW.

481

It is remarkable and especially chaiocleristic of these
carvings, thai scriiitiiral or religious snlijccis arc very rare.
A stall at Gloucester npiiears to rcjiroscnt ilic M;ripiural
story uf Samiison overcume l>y the cunrlcsan Diihlali. An
example of n saint's legend occuis iu the rcpioiii'ntatioii of
the story of St. George and the dragon, on n stall nt
Stralfurd-niion-Avoii, the side oruamcnts to which arc not
Ycry cimgruous grotesques. This particular subject, how-
ever, Wlougs almost as much to chivalrous romance as to
sacred legend. The stories of the great mcilicval romances
also find a place in these representations. A foreign
example represents the fahulous Aristotle sn1>dued by the
charms of his patron's wife — the subject of a tvell-known
poem — the Lax rf* Arislolc. A stall at Gloucester (fig. S

PItl. FnmQIn

no doubt taken from one of the old romani de geste, repre-
sents a knight in combat with a giant. The same cathe-
dral furnishes us with interesting representations of knights
tilling, and of others engaged in the chase. Subjects that
may be considered as strictly allegorical are also rare ;
perhaps the figure of a naked nuo enveloped iu i net, with
a hare under his arm, and riding on a goat, in the stalls of

48S

THE HISTORY I

■Worcester cathedral, may be considered as belonging to
this class. A figure of a fool ridi'ig on a goat occurs on the
stalls at Gloucester, and may have a Bimilar significatioo.
The subjects most commonly supposed to be of this alle-
gorical character are mere grotesques, copied or imitated
from those fantastic sketches so often found in the margias
of manuscripts of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth
centuries.

A number of very excellent examples of these burlesques
are presented by the stalls of Winchester cathedral ; the
elegant foliage on which would bespeak the thirteenth cen-
tury. In these, the bracket is supported by a sital) group,
consisting in most cases of grotesque figures of animak or
human beings, in various postures and occupations. The
large side cu^ps, differing in this respect from all the later
examples, are hero the most important part of the subject.
In some they consist of extremely tasteful groups of foliage.

FK. I*. FtH vriattitut Cuki4nl.

generally formed of vine leaves. Figures of children or
monkeys are in some instances intermixed with the foliage.
Sometimes the cusp consists of a large head or face, exhib-
iting strange grimaces. In one instance the two cusps
represent a mermaid and a merman. In another we have

THB UISTOKY OF LUDLOW.

483

a man fighting with a monster ; in one we see a woman,
seated apparently on a cat, and occupied with her woof;
otlicrs represent musicians playing on the pipe or the
fiddle ; and in the one given on the preceding page (fig, 10),
the musicians are a pig and a sow — n young pig in one in-
stance dances to the fiddle, while in the other the maternal
melody appears to have charms but for one of the offspring.

The stalls of the chapel of Winchester school also fur-
nish a very remarkable series of sculptures, of a date not
much later than those of the cathedral, and containing a
number of droll burlesques, among other subjects of a more
miscellaneous character. The accompanying example (fig.
11), the costume of which is that of the reign of Edward
III, represents a man haunted and tormented by hobgob-
lins ; he is seeking his way by means of a lighted candle,
with terror impressed on his countenance ; while the imps,
seated in the side cusps, are making him the object of their
jeers.

Another very singular example of diabolical agency is
here given from a stall at Ludlow, and we may again

484 THB HiaroRi or lddlow.

obseire on it the private mark of the workman. It U
curious, because it contains an evident allusion to a scene
in the medieval mysterips or reh^ous plays. The par-
ticular play to which I allude is that representing the last
judgment, or doomsday, in irhich the demons arc intro-
duced dragging into hell a variety of classes of dishonest
people, thus con^'eying a moral and satirical admonition
against some of the crying sins of the day, ^vliich were
most practised among, and most offensive to, the lower and
middle orders of society. One of these great offenders was
the ale-wife who used short measures. In the stall from
Ludlow church (fig. IS), the demon i« carrying the ale-wife

with her false measure and gay head dresa, to thrust hei
into hell-mouth — the usual popular representation of which
forms the side ornament to the right; another demon playa
her a tunc on the bagpipes as she is carried along. It will
be observed that the head of the demon who carries the
lady is broken off. A third demon, seated in the cusp to
the left, reads from « roll of parchment the catahigae of her
nns.

THE HISTORY OF Ll'DLOW. 485

These carvings are, it will be seen, not only monuments
of medieval art, but they may l>e looked upon as important
illustrations of medieval literature and of social and intel-
lectual history, and they show us how necessary it is for the
archaeologist to extend the field of his inquiries beyond the
immediate limits within which the particular subject under
consideration appears at first sight to lie, as a monument of
architecture, or painting, or sculpture, if he would tho-
roughly understand it. An extensive study of the literature
of the middle ages is needful for the comprehension of their
objects of art, and indeed of all medieval monuments, as it
is for their history. The sculptured stalls, besides their
value for the study of manners and costume, form a prac-
tical illustration of the kind and degree of scientific and
literary information it was thought necessary to place before
society at large. It was restricted, as we have seen, to the
bestiaries and the fables, with a smattering of the romance
of chivalry and of scriptural and legendary lore.

o u

TKR HISTORY OF LUDLOn'.

BAILIFFS OF LUDLOW.

The follo'H-iiig Hat of the Builifis of Ludlow from the year of
the grant of the charter of Edward IV, in 1461, to the year
1763, nod its chronological notes, are printed from a parchment
roll iu the pOBGesBiou of Mrs. Danes, of Croft Castle. From
the historica] entry under the year 1666, it appears that it was
onguinlly compiled in the reign of James I. It seems to hare
been continued by more than one hand doirn to the year 1783.

71i« names of the BaUiffi of the Toim of Ludlow riace the
incorporation and charter, atmo regni R^u Edtvardi Quarti
prima annoque Domini 1461.

Edtvardm quartua. ^nmo Domhn.

2. Nicholas Cresset, Bichard Barber ... ... 1462.

8. John Shermon, Philip Osborne ... ... 1463.

4. John Dodmore, John Adams ... ... 1464.

nu ytar King Edward mtiTTied EUnbcIh, danchter to Jaqnclt
Dulchdi of BedTord, Ule wife to Sr John Otwjt, tlain at Coutoa
fflald on King Heni;> partj. n« DtA* of Somataai and di?cn
Mhen beheaded.

5. John Hoeier, Thomas Stevens ... ... 1465.

King Henry taken and comilted to Iha Tower.
C. John Sparcheford, Harry CoUall ... ... 1466.

nil yiar ware Sir Thoimia Hungetford and Henry Conitnej, rJfht
Heir lo the Earl or Deronihire, beheaded.
7. Philip Oebome, William Griffiths ... ... 1467.

Lady klargaiei, the King'a eiiier, manM the Duka of Baiboa.

THB HISTORY OK LUDLOW. 487

8. Bichard Bowdler, Thomas Hooko ... ... liGS.

9. Bobert Barbor, Watkin Cother ... ... 11G9.

Edgecourt fficld. Lord Rivers with hit sonne and two ol' (he
Herberts beheaded by comandment of the Duke of Clarence and
the Earl of Warwick.

10. William Griffith, David Skewe ... ... 1 170.

Ths Lord Willoughby, Lord Wells, and many others, bcheaJed for
the comotion in Lyncolnshire. The Duke of Clarence aud (he
Earl of Warwick flie into France.

King Edward flieth into Prance. iCing Henry is restored.

King Ed : Queen is forced to take sanctnarie, and there is Prince
Edward borne.

11. Nicholas Cresset, William Boyer ... ... 1171.

Kinff Edward landed at Ravenspur. King Henry sent arain to
the Tower. Bamett Field. Great Warwick and many others
tiaine. Teux^ury Battle. Prince Edward slain. King Henry
murdered.

12. Thomas Hooke, Thomas Ludford ... ... 1472.

18. Henrie Colwall, Philip Wrothe ... ... 1473.

The Duke of Exeter found dead upon the sea betwixt Dover and
Callies.

14. John Adams, John Wilkes ... ... ... 1474.

Km^ Edward with a most royal army by the Duke of Burgoins
procurement went for France. But in the end a peace was con-
cluded between the two kings, and the army returned without
fBght

15. John Hosier, Walter Moorton ... ... 1475.

Many states created.

16. Thomas Steephens, Thomas Fferror ... ... 1476.

17. Watkin Cother, Walter Hubbold ... ... 1477.

The Duke of Olarence drowned in a butt of malmeseye.

18. William Bowjer, John Paris ... ... 1478.

19. John Hosier, Boger Moorton ... ... 1479.

20. Thomas Hatford, John Lane ... ... 14$0.

21. Thomas Ludford, John Cookea ... ... 14b 1.

22. John Wilkes, John Sheffield ... ... 1182.

The king feasted the mayor of London and his bretheren.

23. John Lane, Walter Moorton ... ... 1483.

In thie year, the 9th day of Aprill, died King Edward the Ffourtb,
and by reason that his heirs were murdered by Richard duke of
Glocester, this mans who after was made protector, the Lord
Richard usurped the crowne and made himself king. But during
the time of his protectorshipp the Lord Rivers, the queen's
brother with others were put to death at Pomfrett, and the Lord

488 THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

Hastuigcs iu the Tower of London. The Queen took MnciaAric.
The protector is proclaimed king and crowned in June, 1483.

Richardus tcrlius. ^nno prima. Anno Dm. 14Sd.

1. The Ba} lifts before named.

And in that year were the young princes murdered. Banister be-
traicth his master the Duke of Buckingham, who was beheaded.

2. Eoger Moortoii, John Marshton ... ... 14Si.

King Hcnr>''s body rom«»vod to Winsor. TVucc wtb. Scotland f«>r ^
year?.

3. John Sheffield, John Hopton ... ... 14So,

Henrie earl of Richmond landed at Milford Haren, fighteth a
battle at Bosworth with King Richard, killeth him hand to
hand, and began his reign the 22nd of Augnst, 1486.

Henrieus Septimus, tamo supradicto.
In the first year of his reign the Duke of Clarence, his Sonne and heir,
was comittcd to the Tower. The yeomen of the goard first made.
2. Walter Moortou, John Malmeshill ... ... 1480.

Note, that the year before the king did marry Elizabeth, dau«f
to Edward the fourth, which marriage united the families of
York and Lancaster, which had been long dirided.
8. William Bonner, John Tipper ... ... 1487.

Prince Arthur bom, anno supradict.

4. Thomas Ludford, John Whoorest ... ... 148S.

5. Thomas Cookes, Will". Paris ... ... 1489.

An insurrection in the North. The Dnke of Northumberland tlaine.

6. Walter Hubbold, John Heywood .,. ... 1490.

7. John Lane, Kichard Dodmore ... ... 1491.

King Henry the Vllltb. bom.

8. John Malmeshill, John Stecphcns ... ... 1492.

9. Tliomas Ludford, Will"- Bower ... ... 1493.

10. Will"- Paris, Thomas Greene ... ... 1494.

Sir William Stanley, the kings chamberLine put to death.

11. John He\-wood, W'«- Wliotton ... ... 1495.

12. John Steephens, Richard Gibbius ... ... 1496.

13. John Tipper, Eichard Lano ... ... 1497.

Comoccn of Cornish men, under Lord Dudley.

14. John Lane, Will^- Cheney ... ... 1498.

15. Thomas Cooke, John Pratt ... ... 1499.

Edicartl Plantntfrnett, earl of Warwick beheaded. Parkin Warbech
handed tihu fcichnrd himself to be King Edward's second son.
10. John ShoHiokl, Kichard Downo ... ... 1500.

Tlic kii z iiM i\\\Qvr\ \trnt to Callis.

THR HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 489

17. Siehanl Hibbins, Thomns Toanie ... ... 1601.

Katherine daughter to tlic King of Spaine came into England and
%vas married to Prince Arthur the l-lth November, and in April
following he died in Ludlow.

18. John llookc, William Cheucv ... ... 1502.

Queen Elizabeth died.

Margaret the king's eldest daughter married to the King of Scotts.

19. John Pratt, Richard Dicp ... ... ... 1503.

A new coine.

20. John Hey wood, Will". Jevans ... ... 1504.

A cnyner hanged.

21. John Pratt, Thomas Cleuton ... ... 1505.

The King of Castile came into England.

22. Bichard Downc, Hichard Smalo ... ... 150G.

Thit year the king discharged all prisoners that laic for xl** debt
and under in London.

23 . Eichard Hibbins, Ricliard BerP3'o ... ... 1507.

24. Eichard Dyer, Walter PhiUips ... ... 1508.

This year King Henry the Seventh died the 22 April, having
rayned 23 years and eight months.

Henricus Oeiavus. Anno primo.

1. William Cheney, John Hare ... ... 1509.

The king marrieth Prince Arthur's late wife and were both crowned.

2. Eichard Lane, Eichard Braddock ... ... 1510.

Henry the king's first son bom but lived not
Empson and Dudley beheaded.

8. John Hare, John Cother ... ... ... 1511.

Scottish ships taken.

4. Eichard Lane, Eichard Sherman ... ... 1512.

Lord Admiral of England slain.

5. Tliomas Clenton, W"- Clongonford ... ... 1618.

A great tubeidie. The king besiegeth Tyrwyn, It is yielded,
razed, and burnt. He besiegeth Tumey and it was yielded.
The king created dukes and earls. In the king's absence
JamM King of Scotts being twome to keep peace invaded
England, but was overthrown and slain by the queen's anny
under the noble Earl of Surrey, with 3 bushopt, 2 abbots, 12
earlt, 17 lords, besides knighta and gentlemen, and seventeen
thousand Scotti.

6. William Braddock, Walter Eogers ... ... 1514.

Pence proclaimed bctAveon England and France.

7. Eichard Downes, Jolin Yorke ... ... 1515.

77us year, in October, Lewis the French kinp. married Lady Mary,

90 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

the king's sister, who, in May after, being widow, was mankd to
Charles Brandon, duke of Sufiblke.

8. John Hare, Tho«- Brougbton ... ... 1516.

Lady Mary, after queene, this yeare bom. Also the Queen of Scotu
fled into England.

9. W»- Clongonford, Will"*- Bennett ... ... 1517.

May day the Queen of Scotts returned.

10. John Hare, Eichard Berry ... ... ... 151S.

11. Walter Eogers, Harry Pickering ... ... 1519,

Lord TAomaa Howard, earl of Suney and L' Admiral, sent into Irdsnd.

12. Bichard Lane, Will"- Langford ... ... 1520.

Tho Emporor Charles landed in England. The king and queen west

to France.
The Duke of Buckingham accused, comitted, and after arnyned, focsfd

guilty and beheaded. All this was done in this year following.

18. John Cother, John Stone ... ... ... 1521.

14. Will"»- Clongonus, Thomas Crofton ... ... 1532.

Tho omperor was received in London most honourably.
The Turkes took Rhodes.
Tho Lady Hfmgtrford hanged.

15. Walter Sogers, John Baylis ... ... 1523

Tho King and QtMsn of Denmark anrired in En^and. A great subsidk.

16. Thomas Clenton, Bichard Dayies ... ... 1524.

Warn begin twixt England and France.

17. Bichard Lane, William Ffoxe ... ... 1525.

Tko Fronek king taken prisoner.

Romo taken and sacked. Great states created at Bridewell.

18. Walter Sogers, Walter Phillips ... ... 1526.

Gold inhanced. Great land waters.

19. Will-- Irfuigford, John Taylor ... ... 1527.

20. John Hare, Sobert Biaddock ... ... 1528.

21. John Crowther, Soger Feame ... ... 1529.

Tko kinft marriayo with Queen Katharine called in question. Th*
cardinal's downfall. Tks New Testament printed in English .

22. Will". Clongonus, Will"- Jerans ... ... 1530.

Tho cardinal arrested by the Earle of Northumberland, and sickcnf th
and died.
28. Walter Bogers, John Bradshew ... ... 15dL

Note, that in the year before, the clergy were condempned in the

primunirey, whereupon they gave 100,0001^' to the king for their

pardon, and did acknowledge him supreme head of the draidws of

England and Ireland.

^Ifo^ there wis a cooke boyled in Smithfield for poysooinge.

24. William Ffoxe, Thomas Lewis ... ... 1532.

THS HI8T0RT OP LUDLOW. 491

Sir Rice Griffith beheaded. The king gocth for Fnnce in October,
and in November foUoti'ing rctumeth.

25. John Hare, John Tonilins ... ... ... 1533.

Th$ Lady Anne Bullcn proclaimed queen upon EasterT day, upon

Whitsunday after cro\i'nod with exceeding royaltie and charges.
QiiMtM Mar}% dowager of Ffrance, the king's sister, died.
7!ltf birth and royal christening of the Lady EUzabM.

26. Will"- Langford, John Lane ... ... 1534.

The holy maid of Kent hanged.

27. John Bradshawe, Eob*- Hoodes ... ... 1535.

Sir Tho** Moore and Bushop of Rochester beheaded.

The Lady Katherine, downger, died.

28. John Taylor, Wm«- Phipes, Prea. ... ... 1536.

7!ltf L&rd Roehsford and many others beheaded about the queen, and
she herself put to death likeiiise. The king married to the Lady
Jane. Henry, duke of Richmond and Somerset, the king*s.base son,
died. The Lord Thomas Howard comitted to the Tower for
making a privy contract with the Queen of Scotts dau^ter.

29. Will"- Ffoxe, Thomas Cother ... ... 1537.

Prine§ Edward boni. States created.
Ld» Tho«- Howard deceased in the Tower.

80. Will-- Jevans, Thomas Wheeler ... ... 1538.

The Earl of Devon and others beheaded.

81. Will«- Langford, John Pasaey ... ... 1539.

Ths kmff married the Lady Ann a Cleres.
The Earls of Oidbrd and Essex deceased.

82. John Taylor, John Lokier ... ... ... 1540.

Lord Cromwell beheaded. The king divorced from Lady Ann a Cleves.

He marrieth Lady Katherine Howard.

83. John Bradshew, Bichard Bradford ... ... 1541.

The Countess of Salisburie and Lord Leonard Greye beheaded. Lord

Dacrc, of the Southe, hanged. King Henrie proclaimed King of
Ireland. Queen Katherine beheaded. A maide boyled in Smithfield
for poyssoning three householders.

84. Thomas Wheeler, Richard Hanlev ... ... 1542.

Th4 Duke of Norfolk entercth Scotland, taketh the Lord Maxewell and

two earles, and overthrew their army of 15000 Scotts.

85. Will"- Langford, John Alsopp ... ... 1548.

Th» king married to the Lady Katherine Pair.

86. Thomas Cother, Will-- Coxe ... ... 1548.

L9itk§ taken and spoyled. Edenberge burnt by the lA- AdmyraU of

England. Th$ king went to Bullen.

87. Will-- Ffoxe, Bichard Langford ... ... 1544.

88. John Taylor, John Hooke ... ... ... 1545.

In thii year the AdmyraU of France came to London. The Duke of

49S THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

Norfolk and the Eurl of Surrey ^ent comittcd to the Tower. 1 1-
Earl of Surrey Avas beheaded, aud King Henry departed thi^ \\k :L>
XXVI nth of Januar}', when he had reigned 37 3-car>, 9 uKuiih-. a--
six days, and that day began King Edward's reign.

Edwardus Sextus jln^- prhno.

1. John Pasaey, Lewis Phillips ... ... 15l<».

Th€ Earls of Ilartfoixl made Protector, who induwed the kiiu; tiitl. tb

order of knt.whoud, which done, he was created Duke of Som- r-^ ••
and many others advanced to titles of dignitie. He was cnmntNi ih
20ih of Februar)'.

2. Will«. Phillips, Tho«- Bluffield 1547.

In this year of our Lord and Bayliffs time, was the Musklcborowv i£i M

where were slain 14 thousand Scotts, and 1500 prisoners taken. .il>!
not above three score Englishmen taken or slain. Divine Si>ni •.
read again in the English.

8. Lewis Bradford, William Partridge ... ... 154^.

Lord Thomas Scj-mer beheaded. Great comotions this year, in wLi« L>

the L'- Sheffield was slain. The Lord Protector comittcd to the

Tower by the Conned.
4. Bichard Langford, Thomas Eytou ... ... 1549.

The Protector delivered out of the Tower.

6. Thomas Bluffield, John Cocks ... ... 1550.

Th0 fiirst ifaU of base money. Swetting sickness. Another flail of
co>'ne. Dukes and earls created. The Duke of Somerset comitted
againe, arraigned, and beheaded.

6. John Hooke, Lewis Croother ... ... 1551.

Sir Ralphe Vane and others executed.

7. John Alsopp, Will"- Taylor ... .. 1552.
A ParUammU. Bridewell given to the city of Loudon; J4>Mel« and

church plate called into the kings hands. Three famous ^larTia|^>
in one day during the kings sickness. This vertuous king hatuic
raigned six years, five months and odd daj-s, left this life the sixth
of July, 1553, and Queen Mar}' began her reign.

Queen Mary An^- Prima,

1. Will" Ffoxe, John Taylor ... ... ... 1553.

The Duke of Somerset with others beheaded, fiuahop GanleniY madi

.Q: chauncelour. Service said in Latin. A new eoine. Tbc
cc»ronation. Wiate riseth in arms, is taken, and with a number ot
his accomplices, b put to death. L'* Guildforde Dudley. Lady Jam-.
the Duke of Suffolke, all beheaded.

2. Thomas Wheeler, William Dedicot ... ... 1554.

TheQ: marrieth King Phillip. The Prince of P)Temont cam* i«>
England. Rog(«rs and Bradford brent .

THB HI8T0RT OP LUDLOW. 498

8. Will"- Partridge, Bobert Maaon ... ... 1555.

Kini^ Phillip went for FUindcrs. Ridley «nd Latimer brent, with
D*"* Craimi»' and many uiurc tliU year.

4. Lewifl Phillips, AV»»- PoiighncU ... ... 1556;

A fTalsc accuser burnt in both the checks, and put upon the pillcxy.

Would God all siii Ii were so used. An aimy sent to St> Qucntein.
Lady Aimc a ClcuM'a died.

5. John Pasaey, John Cocks ... ... ... 1557.

Si* Quinim'a taken. Three Dukes, the Prince of Mantua, vith diren

other states of great command taken. Calis left by the English.

6. John Cocks, John Bell ... ... ... 1558.

This year Queen Af ary died the 17th of Norbr* She had reigned fire

yean, four months and U days, and the same day began the Queen
Eliaabeth's reigne.

Elizabeth, queen ofEngV^

began her nign by Proclamation the XVII. of Norember, 1556.

Anno Prime. Auo Dui

1. Tho* Blashfield, Lawrence Beck ... ... 1559.

Quceu Mary buried. Charles the emperors obsequies. Divine Service

read in Engli:»h. The Corofuition. A Parliament. A subsidy
granted. The Citizons of London mustered. Bushops deprived.
Imager burnt * The <»bseqiuos of the French king.

2. Bichard Langford. John Shcrnion ... ... 1560.

Duke of Norfolk v*ith aii army into Scotland. Lord Grey bcs<ngeth

Loethe. The third tall of base money, and Paul's steeple fired.

8. Will"- PoughueU, Bichard Starr ... ... 1561.

An army to Newhaven.

4. John AIsopp, Bobert Lewis ... ... 1562.

In thU ymr there died of the plague in London twenty thousand, one
hundred and thirty-six, besides other diseases. A great earthquake.

5. Bobert Mason, J ohn' Hulland ... ... 1563.

TmrtM kept at Herefford. Greacon of barons. Obsequies for the
emperor Ferdinando.
0. Lawrence Beck, Bichard BastoU ... ... 1564.

Btmy SitwtrcU Lord Damley married the Queen of Scot tea. Lady
Linnox sent to the Tower. Madam Ch'cclia, wife to the Bfargrave of
Baden, and sister to the King of Sweden, landed in England, wia
here delivered, and her MiO<^^^® christened the child, naming him
Edwardus Ffortunatus.

7. The*- Wheeler, Bichard Blashfield ... ... 1565.

The burse in Comhill built. Soldiers sent into Ireland.

8 s

494 THE HISTORY OF Lri)lX)W.

8. Johu Sheniion, Will"*- Sk\nmer ... ... 15CU.

Nuto, iliiit ill the fonuor year of her Majo^iies reign Charles James, uur

now Kiiijr, NXiis bom, hm was rhristrncd in thris BaylilTea limes, tn4
tlio {;Iios>ipi)$ Mi-re hor Royal Majestie, pxlniotker, and Charles, K.
of Ffmiicc, and PhiUipl>ey, Duke of Savoy, godiatlicn, and
shortly a Her the King of Seottes Mras murdered.

9. Eobert Lewis, Edward Badger ... ... 1567.

10. Richard Farr, John Taylor ... ... 1568.

The Great Lottery, The Duke of Norfolk sent to the Tower. Tlie
Earlcs of Wosimorland and Nortliumbcrland rcbell.

11. Tho»- Blashfieia, Eichard Baylie ... ... 1569.

Scverall Roadcs made into Scotland this year. The northern rcbeUf

breed great trouble. The earles flie and are proclaimed.

12. Will"*- PoiiglmcU, Morris Frees ... ... 1570.

The renewing of the earthquake in Herefordshire.

13. Rich'*- Mason, Richard Ilookes ... ... 1571.

Tho Duke of Norfolk bi headed and the Earl of Northumberland also.

14. LaiiTcucc Beck, John Brasier ... ... 1572.

Hiiie sent into Scotland, llie castle at Edcnbergc l>cing bcseiged.

15. John BeU, WUH Powis ... ... ... 1573.

16. Richard Roscoll, Thomas Dejea ... ... 1574.

An earthquake.

17. Will'"- Poiighuell, Rich^i Swanson ... ... 1575.

18. John Shannon, Thomas Candland ... ... 1576.

19. Richard Baylie, John Clee ... ... ... 1577.

Great execution this year, especialy of pyrates.

20. Richard Farr, Richard Heathe ... ... 1578.

21. Thomas Blashfield, Hany Clobeiye ... ... 1579

22. John Brasier, John Waites ... ... ... 1580.

23. Will'"- Pynncr, Roger Gearke ... ... 1681.

24. Will"- Pouglinell, Edward Crowthep ... ... 1682.

25. Richard Rascoll, John Blashfield ... ... 1688.

The lAfrd Pagett fled over seas : Ffrancos F(rogmorton put to death.

26. Thomas Candland, Richard Brasier ... ... 1584.

Pcrcye Earl of Zi orthumberland slew himself in tho Tower with a

dagger.

27. Thomaa Bhishficld, John Crowther ... ... 1685.

28. Edward Crowlher, The*- Bower ... ... 1686.

Sir Henry Sidney Knt. Lord Pres:>idcnt of the councell in the Marches

of Wali^, twice lA- Deputie of Ireland, and one of Her Bfi^jeatie'e
Privy Count cU, as alM) Knt* of the roost honorable order of th«
Garter, died at Worcester ; and upon his death bed chaifed, that hia
heart should be buried in Ludlow church, in remembmiM oC th«

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 495

iutirc lovu he bare to the tuMii, \ihirli wa^ d.>n.\ ami hU budy Wiw
carried to I'ciu'ehuist with all h*»ii'Hir. Ai*" iIjc XIUI i'laylvrs
Avcro oxetutod at London.

20. Johu AVaitcs, Thomas Langford ... ... 15^7.

An anny sent to riaiulors. The llou^'^- Sr. r!.i.".ip ^i.;:l• y ^lain*- nt
Zutphen.
30. Bicbard Bailie, Thomas Jevaus ... loSS.

Sir James Croft committed to the ficet. A fhvi ^vvul to P i\\ja\.

81. Richard Hickes, Eobcrt Berry ... ... 15b9.

The Earlc of .Vnuidell condempned for treason.
32. Bichard Blasbficld, Williani Woogan ... ... 1590.

Sudden \«'eaiher and mighty baiUtoncs fell at DctrJlrv and ihen abouts.

that did very much hurte. Veal a puritan ]Tca<.iier x^a^ h.ingod in

Southwarke.

83. Thomas Candland, Bobert Sanders ... ... 1591.

Th€ gT9atJight at tho Inland, between the Lord Thomas Ho^%ard and
the Spanish Armada, wherein that worthy kni|;ht Sir liichord
Grcenvilc was slain and tlie Revenge smik.

84. Bobert Beny, WiU» Beck ... ... ... 1592.

85. Thomas Jevans, John Devanor ... ... 1593.

36. AVilliam Woogan, Edward Powis ... ... 1594.

A greato banic in Lemp»ter fired by a cuinitt and burr.ed L") days.
In anno Lj9o, was a great sickness of the small pox in Ludlow, and
5 women died in childbed. Also a great setting out of soldiers for
Ireland.

87. Thomas Langford, Will" Cleobuiy ... ... 1595.

88. John Crowtber, Bicb**- Benson ... 1596.

Callis won by the Spaniards.

89. Will"- Beck, Edmond Lloyd. . . 1597.

ThU ymr Tyr<m§ gave a great overthrow to the £ug:i>h army in
Ireland.

40- Tho«- Candland, Will™- Cooke ... ... 1698.

41. Bobert Saunders, Charles Wigley ... 1599.

42. Edward Powis, Will"- Hughes ... ... 1600.

Essex downfall.

48. Bobert Berry, Bic^ • Langford ... ... 1601.

44. Bichard Barley, Joseph Candland ... ... 1602.

This year Queen Elizabeth died the 24th day of March 160*2. when she

bad reigned 44 years, four months, and 7 days.
James the first, king of England, 21 March, 16(>2. and was prKJaimcd

in Ludlow the 26th day of the same March, by Edward Lord Zouche,

then Lord President.

Bichard Benson, Symon Cupper ... ... 1603.

496

TUX HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

Edw*- Crowther, Rich*^ FfiBhcr ... .. ... 16W.

Will"- Coote, Sam»- Parker ... ... ... 1605.

Thomas CandLmd, Bichard Edwards ... ... IG06.

Sobert Saunders, John Deyca ... ... ... 1G07.

Sjmon Clipper, Will"* Grcgoiy ... ... ... 1608.

Bichard Fisher, Bobert Cotton ... ... ... 1009.

Edward Powis, Thomas Powle ... ... ... 1610.

Samuel Parker, Walter Langford ... ... 1611.

Bich<«- Edwards, Will"- Lane ... ... ... 1612.

Bobert Berry, Bichard Shermon ... ... 1613.

Edward Crowther, Thomas Heath ... ... 1614.

This year the young Overbuiy wit poisoned m the Tower, for vhicb
Mrs. Turner and others were executed, 1615.

John Dejes, Thomas Hill ... ... ... 1615.

In this year the troubles of the Lord Otr, Eail of Somenet, and his
bad lady Countess of Essex, fell ; and the Eari of Pembroke made
Lord Chamberlaine in his place.

Will"- Gregory, Tho«- Bkshfield ... ... 1616.

Sjmon Cupper, Bichard Prichard
Bichard FHsher, EUia Beddoe ...
Boger Cotton, Bichard Heath ...
Walter Langford, Thomas Edwards
Thomas Heath, Valentine Dawes
Tho*- Bkshfield, Bichard Baker ...
Thomas Lovell, Adam Acton
Ellis Beddoe, Edward Cowbach ...

TMm ymr King Charles began his reisn 27th Uaicb, 1635.
Valentine Dawes, Edward Jones
Bichard Edwards, John Ambler
Bichard Ffisher, Will-* Llojd ...
Walter Langford, Samuel Llojd...
Thomas Heath, Thomas Colerich
Adam Acton, Henrj Prichard, who died being

and Edward Powis elected in his place.
Edward Jones, John Patchet
Bichard Baker, Will-- Powis . . .
Edwd. Cowbach, Thomas Crowther
Thomas Edwards, Edward Gregoxy
Ellis Beddoe, Edward Edwin ...
Adam Acton, Balph Hackluit ...

1617,
16ia
1619.
1620.
1621.
1622.
1628.
1624.

1626.
1696.
1627.
1628.
1629.

168a
168L
1682.
1688.
1684.
168S.
1686.

THR HI8T0BT OF LUDLOW. 497

Edward Jones, Phillip Clarke ... ... . . 1637.

Samuel Lloyd, Ricliard "VVilkes ... ... ... 1G38.

Edward Powis, John Acton ... ... ... 1639.

John Patchett, Walter Stead ... ... 1040.

Non:. — Thai in Ociubor IGlO, the truce lor 2 m-'ntlw waa uwdc

between iho king and Scotts, who was to have £*2,jm) for each
month, till the parliament had agreed the diiii. ronce. Thi:J year the
Karl of Stradord, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was beheaded fur
trea.son, adjudged by |uirliament.

Thomas Heath, William Cowbatch ... ... 1641.

Adam Acton, Thomas Ilitchcot ... .. ... 1642.

William Powis, Eichard Davies .. . ... 1643.

Thomas Crowther, Edw''- Turford ... ... 1644.

Edvr** Jones, Samuel Weaver ... ... ... 1645.

Phillip Clark, Isaell Lloyd ... ... ... 1646.

Bichard Wilkes, Robert Coles ... ... ... 1647.

Oiiver^s Uitirpatioiu
King Charleti the U\. beheaded 30th of January 1G4S.

Walter Stead, Will"- Botterell ... ... ... 1648.

John Acton, Eichard Williams ... ... ... 1649.

Bichard Davies, Eowland Williams ... ... 1650.

William BottereU, WiUiam Griffiths ... ... 1651.

John Aston, John Eeynolds ... ... ... 1652.

Bobert Case, Eowland Earslej ... ... ... 1653.

WiUiam Colebach, John Cleobury ... ... 1654.

Edward Turford, Walter Jonea ... ... ... 1655.

Samuel Lloyd, Eichard Colo ... ... ... 1656.

Bichard Davies, Thomas Powifl ... ... ... 1657.

Bobert Cole, Walter Lea ... ... ... 1658.

William Botterell, John Acton ... ... ... 1659.

29th May lOGO King Charles the second tmred at London.

Samuel Weaver, Samuel Eeynolds ... ... 1660.

Eowland Williams, Charles Baldwyn ... ... 1661.

Will"*Oriffith8, Thomas Jones ... ... ... 1662.

John Eeynolds, Balph Sharret ... ... ... 1663.

Samuel Eeynolds, lUchard Cupper ... ... 1664.

Bichard Davies, Samuel Bowdler ... ... 1665.

Bichard Wilkes, John Pearco ... ... ... 1666.

Eowland Williama, Edward Bobinaon 1667.

498

THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

Samuel Weaver,' Tamberlnin Danes ... ... 1068.

The*- Jones, Richard Colo ... ... ... 16G9.

William Griffiths, John Bowdler ... ... 1G70.

John Beyuolds, Eichard Wheigham ... 1671.

Eichard Cole, Richard Scott ... ... . . 1672.

Ralph Sharrett, Thomas Lano ... ... ... 1G73.

Richard Davies, Wai»- Archer ... ... ... 1674.

William Griffiths, Edward Stedman ... ... 1675.

Thomas Powis, Richard Cam ... ... ... 1676.

Ricliard Cupper, Edward Dayies ... ... 1677.

Will"- Archer, Richard Daviea ... ... ... 1678.

Edward Robinson, John Colebatch ... ... 1679.

Walter Lea, George Young ... ... ... 1680.

John Pearce, Roger Powis ... ... ... 1681.

Samuel Danes, Phillip Cole ... ... ... 1682.

Richard Cole, Rowland Earsley ... ... ... 1683.

John Bowdler, George Haughton ... ... 1684.

King Charles the second died. King James the second prochumed

King, and granted a new charter to Ludlow, making it a Mayor

corporation.

Sir Job Charlton ICnt. and Barrt., Recorder.

John XJnderhill, Esq. ...

Humphrey Cornwall, Esq.

John Bright, Esq.

King James the second at Ludlow Gtstle.

Richard Cole, Esq.

King James abdicated.

King William and Queen Mary.

F^rancia Charlton, Esq.

Thomaa Powis, Esq.

KoTE. — Upon the abdication of King James the second in 1688, the
Prince of Orange and his Princess, were declared king and qneett
of England, and they this year gnntad a new charter to the town of
Ludlow, appointing Bayliils.

Francia Uojd, Esq., Recorder

Mr. Smallman, Town Clerk

Mr. Thomaa Powis, Mr. Richard Cupper ... ... 1080.

Mr. Thomaa Powis, Mr. Thomaa Lea ... ... 1601.

Mr. Thomaa Le% Mr. Will"- Archer ... ... 1682.

Mr. Kichard Gam, Mr. John Sharrett ... ... 1608.

16S5.
1686.
1687.

1688.

1680.
1690.

THB HISTORY QF LUDLOW. 499

Mr. Richard Davica, Mr. Samuel BowcUer ... 1694.

Mr. JohD Colobatcli, IMr. Jolm Bocston ... ... 1695.

Mr. Geor<»c Loup:, Mr. Edward Robiusou ... 1696.

Mr. Phillip Colo, Mr. Tliomas Sabrey ... ... 1697.

Mr. Rowlaud Earaley, Mr. Samuel Jordan ... 1698.

Mr. Tho«- Lea, Tlio* Jones, Esq. ... ... 1699.

Mr. John Sharrctt, Mr. Tho»- ninton ... ... 1700.

Queen AntCs accession to the crown.

Mr. John Colebatch. Ho died, and Mr. Rich**' Cam

elected in his place. Mr. Tho** Davis ... 1701.

Mr. Richard Cam, Mr. William Waring ... ... 1701.

Mr. Sara* Jordan, Mr. Jolm Dipplo ... ... 1702.

Mr. Tho»- Jones, Mr. John Acton ... ... 1708.

Jolm Becston, Gent., Mr. Will"- Price ... ... 1704.

Mr. Edward Robinson, Benjamin Karrer, Gent. ... 1705.

Mr. Tho«- Sabrey, Mr. Edw". Lea ... ... 1706.

Mr. PhiUip Cole, ^Fr. Nicholas Payne ... ... 1707.

Mr. Tho»- Ilinton, ]Mp. Rich'*- Davies ... ... 1708.

Mr. Thomas Lea, Mr. Tho«- Tillotson ... ... 1709.

Mr. George Long, WiU" Qower, Esq. ... ... 1710.

Mr. John Sharrett, Charles Pearce, Gent. ... 1711.

Mr. Samuel Bowdler, Dr. Francis Bayley ... ... 1712.

Mr. Samuel Jordan, Mr. Joseph Pearce ... ... 1718.

King George the First proclaimed.

Mr. Edward Robinson, Mr. Somerset Danes ... 1714.

Mr. William Price, Mr. John Davies ... ... 1715.

^£r. Phillip Cole, Richard Davies, Esq. ... ... 1716.

Benjamin Karver, G^ent., Mr. Tho«- Meyrick ... 1717.

Mr. Edw^- Lea, Mr. Samuel Wareing ... ... 1718.

Mr. Nicholas Payne, Mr. Richard Bowen ... 1719.
Abel Ketclby Esq. Recorder, instead of Sir Thomas Powia, Ka^ deo^
Richard Perks Gent., Town Clerk instead of Mr. SmaUmtn.

Mr. Tho"- Tillotson, Mr. James Wyke ... ... 1720.

Dr. Prancis Bayley, GK?orgo Walcot, Esq. ... 1721.

Mr. Joseph Pearce, WredenhaU Pearce, Oent. ... 1722.

Mr. Somerset Davies, John Wolley, €^ent. ... 1728.

Mr. Thomas Meyrick, (died in his office) Mr. Samuel

Wareing, Mr. Ralph Botterell ... ... 1724.

Mr. Richard Bo wen, Richard Browne, Oent. ... 1725.

600 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

Qeorge Walcot, Esq.. Jobn Hollondy Gent. . . . 1726.

King Gcorgo the Second proclaimed.

Benjamin Bjirver, Gent., Mr. Henry Daviea ... 1727.

Bowland Bauglis, Esq., Henry Arthur Herbert, Esq. 1728.

Ealph Botterell, Gent., Tho« Vernon, Gent. ... 1729.

Henry Dayies, Esq., Francis Herbert, Esq. . . . 1730.

Somerset Jones, Gent., Csesar Hawkins, Geut. ... 1731.

Tho«- Vernon, Gent., Edw<»- Botterell, Esq. . . . 1732.

Francis Herbert, Esq., James Wilde, Gent. ... 1733.

Samuel TVareing, G^nt., Edward Baugh, Gent. ... 1734.

Ralph Botterell, Gent., Tho*- Turbuck, Gent., Mr.

Turbuck died, Mr. Wilde elected ... ... 1735.

Henry Davies, Gent., Henry Salwey, G^nt. ... 1736.

CiBsar Hawkins, Gent., Thomaa Smyth, Esq. . . . 1737.

Edward Baugh, G^nt., Bichard Flumer, Gent. ... 1738.

Tho*- Vernon, Gent., "W*"- Bright, Gent. .. . ... 1739.

WaiT proclaimed ag|t the Spamaids. Mr. Veinon died. Mr. Botterell
was elected.

James Wilde, Gent., Bich'- Baldwyn, Esq. ... 1740.

Heniy Salwey, Esq. Piyce Turbuck, Esq. . . . 1741.

Bichiud Plumer, Esq., Job Charlton, Esq. . . . 1742.

Francis Herbert, Esq., Alexander Stuart, Esq. ... 1743.

Richard Baldwyn, Esq., Somerset Dayies, Esq. ... 1744.
Mr. Recorder Ketelby died. Richard Kni^t, Esq., elected in hta
place.

Job Charlton, Esq., Edward Baldwyn, Esq. ... 1745.

Cesar Hawkimi, Esq., Robert Galloway, Esq. ... 1746.

A New Iicdger.

William Bright, Esq., Benjamin Howton, Esq* ... 1747.

Peace proclaimed. Earl of Powis svom Recorder.

Fiyce Turbuck, Esq., Samuel Wareing, Esq. ... 1748.

Somerset Davies, Esq., William Child, Esq. ... 1749.

James Wilde, Esq., Caleb Hill, Esq. ... ... 1750.

Edward Baldwyn, Esq., Francis Walker, Esq. ... 1751.

Mr. Perks Comis Cler : died, Mr. Baugh elected, approY'd and nrotn.

Job Charlton, Esq., John GriflELths, Esq. ... 1752.

Sam. Wareing, Esq., Thoa. Ffolliot Baugh, Esq. ... 1758.

Bichard Baldwyn, Esq., Ffrederick Cornwall, Esq. ... 1754.

William Bright, Esq., John Taaker, Esq. . . . 1755.

War proclaimed ag»t the French.

Somerset Daviea, Esq., Samuel Monger, Esq. . . . 1750.

THB HI8T0RT OF LUDLOW. 601

Alexander Stewart, Esq., Herbert Cole, Esq. . . . 1767.

The old alms house whioh was built by John Hosier, merchant, in or
about 1 178, was taken down in March, 175b, and rc>built the same
vcar.

"William Childe, Esq., Robert Jones, Esq. .. . .. 1758.

John GriflBths, Esq., Henry Davies, Esq. ... 1759.

Francis Walker, Esq., Ed>v^- Perks, Esq. ... ... 17(50.

25 Oct : 1760, Gcori^ the IIo<l- died att Kensington, at 7 in the morning,

suddenly. Gcorpe the IW^- proclaimed 3 Nov : in Ludlow, married

the 7th August, and croxined the ^2^» 1761.

Edward Baldwin, Esq., "William Bishop, Esq. ... 1761.

Samuel Monger, Esq., Thomas Jones, Esq. ... 1762.

Fredif- Comewall, Esq., Tho«- Wotton Hill, Esq. ... 1763.

Gaolford tower and gate taken do>vn, and a new gaol built.

Herbert Cole, Esq., Edward "Wood, Esq. ... ... 1764.

Bobert Jones, Esq., Thomas Hill, Esq. ... ... 1765.

Francis Walker, Esq., Thomas Knight, Eeq. ... 1766.

Henry Davies, Esq., William Baldwin, Esq. . . . 1767.

Sam: Monger, Esq., Ba : Thomas, Esq. ... ... 1768.

William Bishop, Esq., Thomas Baugh, Esq. ... 1769.

Herbert Cole, Esq., William Hodges, Esq. ... 1770.

Bobert Jones, Esq., Kichard Plumcr, Esq.... ... 1771.

Thomas, Jones, Esq., Francis Danes, Esq. ... 1772.

10 Sep : 1772, Earl of Puwis died. 2S Octo : 1772, Sir Francis Charlton
chose recorder in his room.

Henry Davies, Esq., John Edwards, Esq. .. . ... 1773.

W** Bishop, Esq., Job W. Baugh, Esq ... ... 1774.

Tho*- Wotton Hill, Esq., EicW Hodges, Esq. ... 1775.

9 Octo : 1776, Sr- Francis Charlton re&igned his office, and the R<* Hon.
Earl Powis chose in his room.

Bicy- Plumer, Esq., Tho*- Johnes, juii'- Esq. ... 1776.

Tho«- Wotton Hill, Esq., Edward Burlton, Esq. . . . 1777.

BicW* Plumer, Somerset Davies, jun'- ... ... 1778.

Will«- Baldwyn, Edw^- Bau2:h ... ... ... 1779.

Balpb Thomas, Fred*^- Walker Comewall ... ... 1780.

Major Tho*- Baugh, Bt. Hon. Lord Clive ... ... 1781.

Francis Davies, John Salwey ... ... ... 1782.

Balph Thomas, Bich''* Hodson ... ... ... 1783.

Here the parchment roll ends ; and the record of tha baiUiTs for Um ntxi
two yean being in the handn of a master in chancery, «• hare not

St

602 THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

been able to ascertain their names. Thoee which follow are pren
from the corporation books, imtil the year 1834, when the office of
bailiffs was abolished by the Municipal Reform Bill.

Job W. Baugb, Thomas Owen ... ... ... 17S6.

Somerset Davies, Folliot H. "Walker Comowall, clerk 17S7.

Richard Hodges, Thomas Andrew Eiiigbt... ... 17SS.

Thomas Johnes, Thomas Bix)wnc ... ... 17S9.

Bichard Hodges, Edward Me jricke ... ... 1790.

Edward Burlton, Edward Wellings ... ... 1791.

Bichard Hodson, Charles Wolkston ... ... 1792.

Edward Acton, Bichard Cowdell ... ... 1793.

Edward Burlton, William Clire ... ... ... 17M.

Thomas Owen, Edward Baugb, clerk ... ... 1795.

Edward Acton, Samuel Waring ... ... ... 1796.

Thomas Owen, William Clive ... ... ... 1797.

Edward Meyricke, Samuel Acton ... ... 1798.

Edward Wellings, William Eussell ... ... 1799.

Francis Dayies, Bichard Hodson ... ... ISOO.

Charles WoUaston, John Foxton ... ... ISOl.

Charles WoUaston, Thomas Hodges, clerk. . . ... 1802.

28th August, 1802, then the Right Honorable Horatio Lord Viscount

KcUon, of Bumham Thorpe, in the County of Norfolk, Duke of

Bronte, Vice Admiral of the Blue, Knight of the Bath, &c. «as
unanimously elected an Honorary Burgess of this Corporation.

Thomas Andrew Knight, Bicliard Salwey ... ... 1803.

Thomas Brown, William Walcot ... ... 1804.

William Clive, Charles Bogers ... ... ... 1805.

Edward Baugh, clerk, James Collier ... ... 1806.

Thomas Brown, The Bight Hon. Edward Herbert

Viscount Clive ... ... ... ... 1807.

Francis Davies, Bichard Baugb, clerk ... ... 1808.

Samuel Acton, Edward Bogers ... ... ... 1809.

Samuel Acton, John Bobinson ... ... ... 1810.

William BusscU, Job W. Baugb... ... ... 1811.

Bichard Hodson, Jonathan Green ... ... 1812.

William Bussell, Thomas Trudell ... ... 1813.

Bichard Salwej, James Volant Vasbon, clerk ... 1814.

Bicbard Hodson, Thomas Matthews ... ... 1815.

Jobn Foxton, Hemy Clive ... ... 1816.

Thomas Hodges, clerk, Thomas Wellings, clerk . . . 1817.

THE HISTORY OK IXOLOW. 608

Charles Kogers, Edward Green, clerk ... 1818.

John Foxton, Jonathan Dalbv ... ... ... 1819.

•r

Thoma?j Ilodijcs, clork. Sir AVatkin Williams AVynne, Bart. 1S20.

Kichard B:ni^'h, clork, William Mosolev ... ... 1821.

Eichard Pan i;1i, clerk, John Acton ... ... 1S22.

Edward Yrcllhi<^8, Edward Prodc^crs ... ... 1S23.

William Clivo, Samncl Johncs Knii^ht, clerk ... 1824.

Edward Holers, Frederick Hamilton Coruewall . . . 1825.

Job Walker Baup:h, clerk, Thomas Hill Lowe, clerk 1826.

Sanuiel Acton, Richard Nicholas Sankov ... ... 1827.

Jame:$ A'olant Vashon, clerk, Eichard llodi^es ... 1828.
William Russell, The Hon. Gustavus Frederick Hamilton, 1829.

Richard Ilodson, Thomas Evton... ... ... 1830.

Samuel Acton, Edward Hodson ... ... ... 1831.

Eichard Xicholos Sankey, Edmund Lechmere Charlton, 1832.

Edmund Lechmere Charlton, William Acton . . . 1833.

Samuel Acton, Edmund Lechmere Charlton . . 1834.

504 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

INDEX.

Abbeys, vide '' Monastic houses.'*

Aber, castle of, 155.

Aben'stwith castle taken by prince Henry and re-taken by

Glyndwr, 264.
Acheland, parson of Cainham, 120.
Adey, see " Oakley Park."
Acley priory, Herefordshire, 205.
Acombury, near Hereford, nunneiy at, 96 ; forest of, grant of

land in, to Margaret de Lacey, 147.
Acton, the oak iuclosure, 25.
Adventures of the younger Fulke Fitz Warine, 63.
Agaymeth, Walter, selects the site of Wigmore Abbey, 118, 119.
j£lla founds the kingdom of the South Saxons, 4.
iElniundes-tune, 32.
Albeny, PhUip de, 136.

Alberbury, Shropshire, house of black monks at, 204.
Alderbury castle, G6, 72.
Alditheley, or Audeley, James de, 171, 186 ; barons aummonad

to meet at Ludlow, 172.
" Alleston" granted by Henry 11 to Pulke Fitz Warine, 60.
Alnodes-treow, 32.

Angles, settlement of, on the eastern coast, 4.
Anglo-Saxon, (vide Saxons) ; laws, 5, 6, 25 ; words, 25 ; state of

the border under, 5 to 39, passim ; their deities, 80 ; name*

of places, 1S9.
Auglo-Nonnau language, 193.
Antiquities of the twclflh century on the border, 83.
Archenfield, advance of the Danes to, 11 ; origin of the name, id.
Arthur, prince of Wales, son of Henry YII, at Ludlow, 824.
Arundel castle, fortified by Bobert de Belesme, 41 ; taken by

Henr}- 1, 42.
Asche, James, parson of Stanton, Worcestershire, 887.
Ashford Bowdler, 187 ; origin of the name, 189.

THR UISTOKT OF LVDLOW. 606

Aflbford Carbonell, 187; origin of the name, 189.

Aston ^fajor, bainlet of, 189.

Aston churcb, Norman architecture iu, 99, 101.

Atbelbriht, laws of, 25.

Atheltstaiie, homage of the Welsh to, 16.

Athelstone, surrender of a bouse of friars at, 340.

Awdlay, John, a border poet, 200.

Ajmestrey, entrenchments in mountain pa:»se8 of, 2 ; neighbour-
hood, supposed scene of the last war against Caractacus,
ibid ; Eoman road at, 3 *, Danes iu the valiej of, 12 ; manor
of, possessed by queen Edith, 20 : produce of, 25 ; origin
of name, 32 ; church, antiquity of. 99, 103 ; grant of to
Wigmore abbey, 122.

Badlingham, 145, (note).

Baggot or Baghard, family of, 189.

Bailiffs of Ludlow, 486.

Baldwin's toN^Ti, 36.

Baldwin, archbishop, preaching of, 60.

Ballads, see 'Songs\

Bamet, battle of, 318.

Barton, Shropshire, priory at, 204.

Baronial wars, 13d.

Basset, Balph, of Drayton, 172.

Bassingbum, Warine de, 175.

Bath, Bichard de, 185, 186.

Baxter, Bichard, his residence at Ludlow, 421.

Beaufort, Sir Thonuu , keeper of Ludlow Caatla in the reign of

Henry IV, 257.
Beaumaris castle, built by Edward I, 215.
Beaumes, Bichard de, or de Belmeis, appointed steward of

Shropshire and Herefordshire, 44; created bishop of

London, id.
Beavers, rivers inhabited by, 26.
Berkeley, Heniy III at, 149.
Beerly, Richard, a monk of Pershore, 334.
Belesme, Bobert de, earl of Shrewsbuxy, 40 ; his tyranny and

cruelty, 41 ; insurrection against Henry I, 41, 42 ;

surrenders to the king, 43 ; banishment and death, 48.

606 TUB HISTOUT OP LUDLOW.

Beodume, field of^ near Wigmore, 118.

Beowulf, Anglo-Saxon romance of, 27.

Bernoldyne, 32 ; held bv Hugo L'Asne, or Hugh the ass, 83.

Berrington, supposed derivation of, 32.

Berringfcon, ehurcli of, brolccn into bv Alice do Haumou, 185.

Berwin mountains, English amiy encamped at tlie foot of^ 53.

Bestiaries.. 173, 171.

Beton, Sir Eobert dc, bishop of Hereford, 105 ; dispute betrreen,
and Milo earl of Hereford, 107 ; his death and burial. 111.

Bever-ege, the isle of Beavers, 12, 26.

Bezile, Macy de, 172.

Birmingham, derivation of name, 32.

Biriton, see ^Berrington.'

Bishops' Castle, 8G.

* Blancmuster' (Oswestry) castle, 85.

Blestium^ tide Monmoutli.

Bloreheath, battle of, 289.

Blyth, Jeffrc}', bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, president of
"Wales and the Marches, 376.

Blyth castle, Nottinghamshire, fortified by Bobert de Belesme,
41 ; taken by Henry I, 42.

Bohun, Ileniy dc, 216.

Bohun, Humphrey de, 216 ; the younger, 177, 216, 218, 219.

Bohuns, family of the, 216.

Bolder antiquities of the twelfth century, 83.

Border history, previous to the Conquest, 1; under the
Conquest, 21 ; from the Conquest to the end of the
twelfth ccntuiy, 34; condition of the border, at the
beginning of the i^ign of Edward I, 179 ; hiwless state oC
as exhibited by the Hundred BoUs, 183, 1S5 ; language
and literature of the, 193 ; condition during the fourteenth,
and early part of the fifteenth centuries, 227 ; during the
wars of the Boses, 269.

Bordesley, Worcestershire, abbey of, 359 ; sale connected with, id.
Boreton, chapel granted to Wigmore abbey, 122.
Boriton mill, granted to Wigmore abbey, 122.
Bosbuiy, Herefordshire, 221, 222.
Boeworth, battle of, 822.

THB H18T0RY OF LUDLOW. 607

Botiler, Balph le, 172 ; lord of Worn, 187.

Botiller, AVilliam, receiver of Brecknock, 265.

Bourue, Gilbert, president of AVales and the ^larches, 395.

Brampton Br}'nn, vroodLinils beyond, 20 : cattle, So ; derivation
of name, 189.

Brampton, Brjan de, 85, 120, 187.

Braose, William do, lord of Builth and Brecknock, 52 ; besieged
in his castle by Gwenw)Tiw}Ti, 62 ; bated by the Welsh,
62 ; incurs the kiug's displeasure and flies to France, id, ;
makes peruo with the king, 135, 136; grant of Ludlow
castle to, 136.

Braose, Maude de, wife of William de Braose. her present to the
queen, 62 ; staned to death with her sou, by king John,
63.

Braose, Giles de, bishop of Hereford, 141.

Braose, Heginald de, 149.

Bravinium, probable site of, 3, 15 ; definite traces of, liare disap-
peared, 6.

Brecenau-mcre, vide Brecknock.

Brecknock, taken by Ethelfrida,*^ 11 ; castle taken by prinoe
Edward, 173 ; inhabitants of district, disarmed and par^
doned by Henry IV, 258.

Brecknockshire invaded by the Norman barons. 36.

Bredege, produce of, 25.

Brekull, lands of Eichard earl of Cornwall near, 162.

Brewood, Shropshire, priory of, 203.

Bridgnorth, built by Ethelileda. 11 ; castle, 85 ; strengthened by
Eoger de Montgomery, 36 ; fortified and provisioned by
Bobert de Belesme, 41 ; siege of, by Henn* I, 42 ; mge
of, by Henry II, 60; taken by chancellor Hubert, 61;
king John at, 134, 142; castle delivered to the earl of
Chester, 145, 147; Henry III at, 149, 150. 151, 162
license to the burgesses to cut do\Mi timber, 149
garrisoned against Henr}- III by Siuior. de Montfort, 178
taken by the borderers, 176 ; settlement of Hospitalers at,
207 ; surrender of house of friars at, 340 ; its condition,
841.

Brimfield, produce of at the Conquest, 25.

Brinshop, rent of, granted to Wigmore abbey, 122.

608 THE HISTORY OF I.UDLOW.

Bristol, king John at, 135, 137, 138, 140, 142, 145 ; Henry III

at, 150 ; reception of Edward lY at, 314.
Brome, Sir John, vicar of Stanton Lacev, and curate of Ludford,

336.
Bromfield, (Griffith de, 160, 170.
Bromfield, supposed site of Bratinium^ 8; Tumuli on race

course, thid (note) ; legend relating to village of, 28 ;

chiurch mentioned in Domesday, 34; Walter de Lacej

retreats from Ludlow towards, 55 ; priory of, 94.
Bromfield and Tale, lordships of, 233.
Bromyard, Herefordsihire, plunder of the town by Boger de

Mortimer, 221.
Bnincester, John Ic Shepherd of, 221.

Brut, Walter, the Lollard, a native of Herefordshire, 237, 832.
Brut of Layainon, the poem of^ 193.
Buckingham, duke of, his insurrection in the reign of Richard

III, 321, 822 ; beheaded at Salisbury, 822.
Bucknell, church of granted to Wigmore abbey, 120.
Budlers, or Bowdlers, Henry de, 187.
Buildwas abbey, 94, 95.
Boilth castle, seized and garrisoned by the barons, 144 ; besieged

by the Welsh, 151 ; taken by Llewellyn, ▲. d. 1260, 171 ;

Llewellyn ap Gr}'ffith slain near, 218; inhabitants of

district pardoned and disarmed by Henry IV, 258.
BuUedon, Hugh de, 184.
Burford, wood of swine at, 24; mills at» id: poeaessed by

Osborne Fitz Bichard, 88; churcht remains of Norman

architecture in, 99.
Burley, church of, 105.
Bumells, family of the, 187.
Buttington, anciently Butdigingtune, near Welshpool, entrench^

ment of the Danes at, 10.

Cadwallan killed by Boger de Mortimer's attendants, 124.

Caermarthen, Henry IV at, 259.

Cainham,,near Ludlow, 28; caatle, tci, 68, 86; held by eaii
Morcar, 83 ; afterwards by Balph de Mortimer, 88 : wood
of Swine at, 24 ; mill, id: salt produced at, 25 ; establish*
ment of Jooe de Dinan at ; 58, 69 ; attacked by Walter

THE HI8T0BT OF LUDLOW. 509

de Lacy, 59 ; church granted to Wigtnore abbej, 120 ;
niamor s^raiitcMl to "VVij^moi'C abbey, 121, 122, 125, 127;
possessed by Koj^er de jMortiiuer, 187 ; giveu by him to
the prior of Broinliehl. ISS.
Caldcford, porta de, ckir * Gaollbrd.'

* Caucresselly,* iuhabitnntii of the district of^ pardoned by Henry

lA^ 2oS.

* Cans,' a town of Paine Fitz Jolm, 46.

CaractacuH, avcno of the lasit actions of the war against, 2.
CarboneJI, Ilui^li. 1S7.

Cardiff castle, taken by the barons temp. Edward I, 219.
Canines of the stalls in catliedral and collegiate chuivhes, on

the, 471.
Castles on the Welsh border, 23 ; built by William Bufus, 40 ;

fortified agiiiust Stephen, 47 ; list of, in Herefordshire

and Shropshire, in the 12th centur}% 84 ; sei/od by King

John, 144 ; erected since the 12th ccntur}-, 207 ; placed

in a state of defence by Edward HI, 231, 237 ; structure

of ^Torman and other, 441, 442.
Castle Frome, early font in the cburch of, 101.
Catalogue of furniture in Ludlow castle, ▲. n. 170S, 436.
Cause castle, ^Shropshire, 85 ; held by the Duke of Buckingham

as the representative of the Corbets, 322 ; giveu hj

Bicbard III to Sir Thomas Mytton, 322.
Caynham, vide ' Cainham.*

Ceiriog, river, defeat of the Welsh on the banks of, 53.
' Cerlestru,* produce of, 25.
Cerdic founds the kingdom of West Saxons, 4.
Champ- Oeneste, Norman name for Bromfield, 55.
Chartubuy of AVigmore, 96 (note) ; of St. Victor at Paris, i^.
Chaatel, Herbert du, 122.
Cheilmers, town of, 110 ; church of granted to Wigmore abbey,

122.
Cherlton, or Charlton, Shropshire, 218 ; Cherlton, Edward, eari

of Powys, 254.
Cherlton, Jolm de, 218, 219; the younger, 225; cbims the

lordship of Powys, 233.
Cheahire, inhabitants of obnoxious to the neighbouring counties,

Sv

510 THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

238, 240 ; pardoned by Heniy IV, 242 ; their turbulent
behaviour in the reign of Henry Till, 392.

Chester, county palatine of, curious privileges of, 229.

Chester, Eoman road between and Monmouth, 3 ; singular
office connected with, 138, 139 ; king John at, 140, 141 ;
Henry III at, 167; taken by the borderers opposed to
Simon de Montfort, 176 ; Edward I at, 211, 214; men of
in rebellion at the accession of Henry lY, 240.

Chester, earl of, see ' Bantilph.'

Chinbaldescote, hai^e at, 25; derivation of name, 32.

Chirbury, Salop, fort erected at by Ethelfleda, 11 ; priory of,
97, 204 ; hundred of, estates in obliged to furnish soldiers
for Montgomery castle, 188.

' Christesheth,' village of, 183.

Churches, in the neighbourhood of Ludlow, 98, 99 , traces of
Norman architecture in, id: wood employed in the
construction of, 99 ; and chapels granted by sir Hugh de
Mortimer to Wigmore abbey, 122 ; on the Welsh border,
205 ; reparation of, out of monastic property, 364.

Churchyarde the poet's description of Ludlow castle, 90.

Church Stretton, on line of Boman road, 3.

Clare, family of, 216.

Clare, Boger Earl of, at the battle of Coleshill, 52.

Clare, Gilbert de, 214, 216, 218.

Clee, lands in, held by Helgot, a retainer of Boger de Mont*
gomery, 33.

CleOy Salop, held by the king's physician, 83; bailiwick of^
payments in, 182.

Cleobury, Salop, castle of, possessed by Balph de Mortimer, 88 ;
residence of Hugh de Mortimer, 120; derivation of name,
189; broil between the men of^ and the gate-keeper at
Ludlow, 184.

Cliffords, family of the, 145, (note) 187.

Clifford, Walter de. Sheriff of Herefordshire, 136 ; the younger,
King John's castles delivered to, 145.

Clifford, Boger de, 174, 176, 212.

Clifford castle, 85 ; held by Balph de Todenei, 88 ; posseaaed by
John Gifford, temp. Edward 1, 188 ; cell of Ouniao iconln
founded at, 94.

THX UUTORY OF LUDLOW. 511

Clan castle, Shropsliire, 86; seized and garrisoued by the

barons, 14rli ; King John at, id. .• Welsh forces defeated

at, 174 ; seized by the barons in the reign of £dw. I, 219.
Clunton, hiua: at, 25.
Clwyd, river, Denbighshire, 140.
Colchester, condition of the inhabitants of, as shown by their

property taxed at the commencement of the fourteenth

century, 229 to 232.
Ooleshill, Flintshire, battle of, 51.
Comberton, origin of name, 25.

Combes, Suffolk, inquisition concerning the manor of, 232.
Comfort castle, annual assemblage of the people of Leominster

at, 15.
Corbet, Thomas, 172 ; family of, 186.
Corfe castle, Maude de Braose and her son starred to death in,

by order of king John, 68.
Corfham castle, Shropshire, 85, 184, 187 ; the constable of, his

lawless conduct, 184, 185 ; how obtained by the Cliffords,

187.
Com lands, extensive at the conquest, 24.
Cornwall, Bichard earl of, his possessions in Shropshire, 187, 188.
Corve-dale, honour of granted to Fulk Fitz Warine, 59 ; castles

along, 86.
Corve river, country around, given to Joce de Dinan, 44 ; mill

on, 184.
Creed of Piers Ploughman, political poem so called, 237, 238.
Cresswell, or Careswell priory, Herefordshire, 204.
Croft, Thomas, act of parliament against, 823.
Croft, belonged to earl Edwin, 33 ; at the conquest the residence

of William de Scotries, 38; castle, perhaps of Saxon

origin, 85.
Culmington, supposed derivation of name, 82 ; the property of

Walter de CUfford, 145 (note).
Cwatbricge, tide Quatford.

Cygony, Engelard do, 143 ; keeper of Ludlow castle, 143.
C^o-birig, vide Chirbury.

Danes penetrate to the banks of the Severn, 10 ; to the borders
of Wales, 11 ; attack Wigmore, id. ; establishment of
on the Welsh borders, 12 ; at Ludlow, 13.

61S THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

DaTid, prince of AValefi, 164; imprisons his brother Ghriffith,
164 ; Henrj' III treaty with, id. ; surrenders his brother
and swears fealty to the English crown, 165; his subse-
quent revolt and death, 166, 167.

David, brother of Llewell}^, 212 ; turns against Edward I, his
capture and execution, 214.

Dean, forest of, 175.

De Burgh, Hubert, warden of the Marches, 136; Hereford
castle, committed to, 145 ; invested with the district and
castle of Montgomery, 155 ; imprisoned by the king, 158 ;
forcibly released, 159; restored to fiivour, 168; again
accused and deprived of his castles, 164.

Dee, Dr., visits the borders of Wales, 405.

D'Evereuz, Stephen, 145 (note).

De hi Pole, Griffith (of Pool), 234.

Delvoryn castle, 178.

De Pionia^ priory of, see ' Wonnesley.'

Despenaer, Hugh, carried prisoner to Wigmore castle, 219.

Despenser, Hugh, the younger, his execution at Hereford, 223.

Deva» Vide Chester.

De Yere, Bobert, duke of Ireland, 239.

Devynock, near Brecknock, Henry IV at, 258.

Diddlebuiy, Shropshire, monastic house at, 204.

Diganwy, castle of, Caernarvonshire, 140, 167 ; destroyed by
Llewellyn, 174.

Dinan, Joce de, 44; broil with Hugh de Mortimer, 51, 113;
Walter de Lacy, 54, 59; death of at Lamboume, 59;
Sibille and Hawyse, daughters of, 55.

Dinan, town of, 54 ; vide ' Dinham.'

Dinham, Danish origin of name, 13, 34; not mentioned in
Domesday, 84; name originally given to the town of
Ludlow, id.f 44.

Dinmore, suggested origin of, 12 ; settlement of Hospitallers at,
207.

Diserth, Flintshire, Henry III encamped at, 170; castle de-
stroyed by Llewellyn ap Griffith, 174.

Domesday, description of the border, 22, 25.

Donville, Hugh, bailiff of Stottesdon, 184.

Dore .abbey, 95 ; abbot of directed to receive the fealty of
Llewellyn, 211.

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 513

Downton, the inclosure on the hill, 25 : establishment of Flemings

nt, 45 ; chnpcl granted to Wiginore abbev. 122.
Dudley Castle, fortilicd by Kalph Pagauel, 47; ^Stephen at, 48.
Dunstanville, Walter dc, 172.
Button, Lawrence, lord of Duttou, 130.
Dynnn, vide * Diiiliani,'

Dynas, inhabitants of district of pardoned by Henry IV, 258.
' Dynmorehille,' 267.

Eadfrid, or Otfrid, visits Mercwald, chieftain of the Hecanaa, at
Kiiigsland, 8 ; made abbot of Leof-minster, id. ; legend
respecting, id.

Eardislcy castle, 85, 171 ; church, early font in, 101 ; Mary
de Bezile and the bishop of Hereford imprisoned by the
Welsh in the castle of, 172; possessed by the Clifbrds,
188.

Eaton, the inclosure by the river, 25.

Edith, queen, earl Godwin's sister, 20; property in Hereford*
Bhu*e, id. ; name preseiTcd in Stoke Edith, id.

Edric the Saxon, conflict with the Normans, 35.

Edward I, condition of the border at the beginning of the reign
of, 179; crowned at Westminster, 210; marches to the
border, 211; returns to London, 212; again marches to
the border against Llewellyn, 212, 213 ; resides in Wales,
215.

Edward II, events comiected with the border in the reign of,
219, 223.

Edward III, events on the border in the reign of, 224 ; enter-
tained by Roger de Mortimer at Ludlow and Wigmore,
224 ; places the border castles in a state of defence, 234.

Edward IV, son of Kichard Plantagenet, duke of York, 293 ;
defeats the Lancastrians at Northampton, 295 ; becomea
pretender to the throne on the death of his father, 306 ;
defeats the Lancastrians at Mortimer's Cross, 306; pro-
claimed king, 308 ; marches northward, 309 ; gains the
battle of Toi^-ton, 310 ; grants a charter to Ludlow, 316 ;
death in 1483, 321.

Edward V, as prince of Wales sent to Ludlow castle 810;
removed to London on the death of Edward TV, 821.

514 THE HISTOBY OF LUDLOW.

Eels, formerly reckoned as property, 24, 26; number taken
jearlj in Leominiiter and district at the conquest, 26.

Elgiva, abbess of Leominster, 16.

Hllesmere, castle of, 85 ; defended against Stephen, 47 ; possessed
by Jenrerth Drwyndwn, 60.

Elmunde-wic, 82.

Elton, conjectural derivation of name, 32 ; chapel and land of
granted to Wigmore abbey, 122.

Emley, hamlet of, 193.

Eode, parson of Ajinestry, 103, 104.

Erdington, Thomas de, 136, 145 ; grants to, 186, 143.

Ermenberga, wife of Merewald, 9.

Essex, Henry de, standard bearer to Henry II at the battle of
Coleshill, 51, 52 ; judicial combat between and Bobert de
Montfort, 52 ; becomes a monk, id.

Ethelbert murdered at Sutton, 10 ; his shrine at Hereford, id. dS.

Ethelred, son of Fenda, 8 ; indolence of, 12 ; buried in Leo-
minster priory, 92.

Ethelfleda, daughter of Alfred, 11.

Evesham, battle of, 177 ; marks the close of a distinct period of
history, 179 ; resignation of the abbot of^ 389.

Ewyaa, the head castle of Boger de Lacy, 38, 85.

Ewyas Lacy, castle of, 85 ; derivation of name, 189.

Ewyaa Harold, castle of, 85 ; priory, 94.

Ewyaa, Bobert de, 95.

Ejye church, Norman architecture in, 99 ; remoyal of the monka
from Shobdon to Eye, 112.

Fkiries, supposed inhabitants of lows, 29.

Falcasius de Breaut^, a foreign mercenary of king John, 144.

Fish reckoned as produce of property, 24 ; considered as game
by the Qermanic tribes, id.

Feckenham, Worcestershire, king John at, 184.

Femlow, produce ot, 25.

' Feverlege,' religious house at, 96.

Fields, indosure of, 24.

Fitz Alan, William, lord of Oswestry, rice-comes of Shropshire,
44 ; &T0ur8 the claims of the empreM Matilda, 47 ; flies
at the approach of Stephen, 48 ; restored to the office of

THR HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 515

sheriff of Shropshire bv Heniy II, 50 ; founds Haghmou
abbey, 94 ; the younger. 186.

Fitz Akn, John, lord of Chm, 148, 172, 186, 187 ; his hinds
seized by king John. 148.

Fitz Ahin, Edmund, earl of Arundel and lord of Clun, Oswestry,
and Shrawardine, 231.

Fitz Alan, Biehard, 234.

Fitz John, John, 177.

Fitz Nichohis, Walter, 08.

Fitz Norman, Willinm, a chief proprietor of the southern
border, 83; gives Kilpeck priory to St. Peter's abbey,
G-loueester, 94.

Fitz Osborne, William, earldom of Hereford conferred on, 85 ;
his character, id,

Fitz Peter, Beginald, 169.

Fitz Ponce, Simon, 94.

Fitz Swain, William, 205.

Fitz Warines, Bomance of the, 29, 54 ; family of, 54.

Fitz Warine, Fulke, 54; his valour, 55; marries Hawyse de
Dinan, 56; becomeslordof Whittington,58, 59; wounded
in a skirmish with Walter de Lacy, 59 ; supposed grant of
Ludlow castle to, ou death of Joce de Dinan, kf. ; ap-
pointed lieutenant of the Marches, 60; defeats the
Welsh, id. ; death of in the reign of Biehard I. id,

Fitz Warine, Fulke, the younger, 186 ; adventures of, 63 ; sum-
moned by Henry III to Ludlow, 172.

Fitz William, Boger, earl of Hereford, his treason against the
Conqueror, 86 ; his plot discovered and his punishment, 37.

Flanesford priory, near Goodrich castle, 204.

Flaxley, Forest of Dean, king John at, 142.

Flemings, settlement of in England, 45 ; in the army of Henry
ni, 158, 160.

Fletcher's chancel in Ludlow church, 29, 465.

Forest laws, 182.

Forests, extensive on the Welsh border, 28, 180 ; employed to
feed swine, 24 ; infested by wolves, 26 ; the haunt of
thieves and robbers, 180.

Forest of Dean, miners from the, 151.

Foliot, (Hlbert, bishop of Hereford, 50, 112 ; complains to the
king of Hugh de Mortimer, 117.

516 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

Foliot, Walter, archdeacon of Salop, 120.
Foliot, sir Eoberfc, bishop of Hereford, 122.
Fonts, early fonts in churches, 101.
Ford, Shropshire, 187.
Fulling-mill at Ludlow, 98.

Gamme, David, 265.

* Gkinnoc,' vide Diganxnr.

Ghirden, Anglo-Saxon name for, 24.

' Ckdeuen,' produce of, 25.

Genville, family of, 187, 188.

Oemon, Bobert, held Lnrpole of the Conqueror, 88.

Oifford, John, 175, 170 ; of Brimsfield, 218, 214 (note).

Oilds, ancient, 206.

Gipsies, numerous on the border, 889; not known in Europe

until the sixteenth century, id,
Gloucester, castle of fortified against Heniy II, 50; delirered
to prince Edward, 173; Henry II at, 59; abbey of
St. Peter's at, 93 ; king John at, 134, 137, 138, 140, 144,
145, 147 ; Henry III at, 148, 150, 151, 152, 159, 160,
162, 169, 177; imprisonment of the burgesses, and
amercement of the town by prince Edward, 173 ; taken
by the borderers, 176 ; Edward I at, 212 ; Henry lY at,
264 ; parliament holden at, 204, 266 ; surrender of mo-
nastic houses at, 339, 340.
Gloucestershire, inhabited by the tribe of the Hwiccas, 7, 9.
Glover, John, prior of Leominster, 850.
' Glynboug,' inhabitants of district of, pardoned and disarmed

by Henry IV, 258.
Glyndwr, Owen, 243; personal history of, 248, 244; inradea
the border, 245 ; his insurrections and rariouB campaigns^
245 to 266 ; treaty with France, 261 ; his death and place
of burial, 266.
GaoUbrd gate, Ludlow, 184, 204.
Godwin, eaH, 15, 17 ; family of, 16, 18 ; possessed estates in

Herefordshire, 20 ; fiite of, id.
Goodrich castle, 85.
Grey, John de, 169.

Grey, of Buthyn, lord, 241 ; taken pxiaoner by Owen GHyndwry
247 ; ransomed by the king, 255.

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 517

Grosmont castle, 85; repairs of, 185; restored by John to
William de Braose, 135, 186 ; subsequently given to Jolui
de Monmouth, 144 ; seized and garrisoned by the barons,
id. ; restored to John de Monmouth, 145 ; Henry 111 at,
159, 160; defeated by the barons at, 159, 160; taken
from Hubert de Burgh, 164 ; town burnt by the Welsh,
262 ; defeat of the Welsh at, by prince Henry, id.

Oiyffyth, prince of Wales, ravages Herefordshire, 17, 18 ; slain
by the Welsh, 19.

Gryffyth, prince of Wales, son of Llewellyn, 164, 165.

OryiTyth ap David ap Gryffyth, a Welsh insurgent, 241.

Guines, Baldwin de, a Flemish knight, 160; his bravery, 160,
161.

Gwenwynwyn, prince of Wales, 62; detained a prisoner at
Shrewsbury, 188.

(Jwynned, Owen, prince of North Wales, 51; submits to
Henry H, 52.

Hagmon Abbey, 94 ; abbot of directed to receive the fealty of

Llewellyn, 210, 211.
Halesowen, abbey of Prsemonstratensian canons at, 204.
Halton, Simon de, 187.
' Hanfeld ' castle, 164.
Hanley castle, king John at, 142.
Hardicnut, 12.
Harold, succeeds his &ther, Godwin, 18 ; contcstt with the Welsh,

19 ; death at Hastings, 20 ; legend respecting, id., 21.
Harold, lord of Ewyas, 94.
Hartlebuiy, Edward I at, 218.
Hawardine, castle of^ 212.
Haverfordwest, district of given to Flemish refugees, 45 ; king

John at, 188; town of burnt by the French, 261.
Haverfordeast, 848.

Hay, Norman derivation of places containing the word, 25.
Hay, castle of, seized and garrisoned by the barons, 144 ; kbg

John at, 146 ; destroyed by him, id. : Henry III at, 158 ;

taken by prince Edward, 178; by Simon de Montford

and Llewellyn, 174 ; inhabitants of the district pardoned

and disarmed by Henxy IV, 258.

Sx

518 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

Heath chapel, Nonnan architecture in, 99, 100 ; font in, 101.

Heath, Nicholas, bishop of Worcester, president of Wales and
the Marches, 395.

Hecanas, tribe of, 7.

Hedges, origin of word, 24 ; offence of breaking through, 25.

Helgot, a retainer of Boger de Monl^meiy, 88.

Herdington, Giles de, lord of Wellington, 186.

Heniy 1 leads his army to suppress the insurrection of Bobert
de Belesme, 41, 42 ; represses the Welsh, 44, 45 ; narrow
escape of on one of these occasions, 46 ; death o^ id.

Heniy II, commencement of his reign, 50; nanow esei^^ at
the siege of Bridgenorth, 50; campaign against the
Wekh, 51 ; grants Ludlow castle to Fulke Fits Warina,
59 ; treaty with the Welsh, 60.

Henry III crowned at Gloucester, 147 ; bis progrenes on the
border, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 157, 158, 159, 167, 171,
177.

Henry IV, accession to the throne, 289, 240; rnfrhm into
Wales, 246; returns, id, ,• mores towards Wales again,
254 ; at the battle of Shrewsbury, 257.

Henry V at Shrewsbuiy as prince of Wales, 247 ; letter to tiie
privy council, id. ; appointed lieutenant in Wales, 257,
258 ; movements in Wales and on the border, 259, 260,
264 ; defeats the Webh at Ghrosmont, 262.

Henry YI, unsettled state of the country at the commencemant
of his reign, 274; plots against him, 275; his illness, 282;
taken prisoner at St. Alban's, 284 ; public recondliatioii
with the Yorkists, 286; hostilities renewed, 289; Henij
marches to Worcester, 290 ; reaches Ludford and oom-
pelled to retire, tt/. .* defeated at the battle of Northampton
and becomes a prisoner, 295; again liberated by the
battle of Bamet, 805 ; flight from Towton, 810.

Heniy Vll, visits of to Ludlow, 824.
Henry VIII, proceedings at the Beformation, 884.
Herbert, William, lord, created earl of Pembroke, 818.
Herbert, William, eari of Pembroke, lord president of Wales

and the Marches, 417.
Herbert, Heniy, eari of Pembroke, lord president of Wales, 417.
Hereford, Boger, eari of, fortifies the castle of Hereford against
Henry II, 50 ; restored to obedience, id.

TUB H18T0ET OF LUDLOW. 519

Hereford, deriyation of name, 7; Norman garriaou at, 17;
battle near, between Saxons and Welsh, 18 ; slaughter of
Haiold*s seryants at, 19; cathedral built by bishop
Athelstan, 18; burnt bj the Welsh, id,: burnt by
Oeoi&ey Talbot, 49', early font in, 101; city plundered
and burnt by the Welsh, 18; rebuilt by Harold, 19;
held by the Conqueror, 88 ; garrisoned under comuumd of
Bichard Screope, 85 ; seized by (Jeofirey Talbot on behalf
of the empress Matilda, 47; attacked and taken by
Stephen, id,: partially burnt by Talbot, id.: sacked by
him, 49; fortified against Henry II, 50; castle confided
to Boger Bigod, 61; re-delivered to new keeper by
chancellor Hubert, id. : earldom o( 85 ; castle, 85 ; expen*
diture upon the repair o^ 184, 185 ; inhabitants of the city
excommunicated, 107; St. Ghithlac priory at, 98; king
John at, 184, 187, 140, 142, 144, 145 ; castle committed
to the custody of Hubert de Buigh, 145 ; transferred to
Walter de Clifford, 145 ; subsequent delivery to Walter
de Lacy, 147; Llewellyn, prince of Wales, at, 148;
Heniy III at, 151, 152, 157, 158, 175 ; fortifications put
in order, 151; prince Edward at, 178, 175; his escape
from Simon de Montford at, 175 ; foundation of the grey
friars at, 205; hospitalers at, 207; Boger de Mortimer
and queen Isabella at, 228 ; Hugh Despenser and others
executed at, id. : Henry lY at, 258, 262.

Herefordshire possessed by the tribe of Hecanas, 7, 9 ; vales of
fiivourite xeeort of Ofik, 10; ravaged by Gbyffyth, prince
of Wales, 17, 18; woods of infested by wolves, 26;
Norman possessors of, 88 ; invaded by the Welsh, 46, 60 ;
list of castles and monastic houses in, in the twelfth
century, 84 ; Qnd in the thirteenth century, 204 ; distri-
bution of property in, temp. Edward I.

' Hertland,' 56.

Hightree, or Hegetre, a former hundred of Herefordshire, 27.

Hobkin of Ludlow, 178.

Hodnet, Salop, lands near held by Boger de Lacy, 88.

Hodnet» Baldwin de, 151, 152.

Hodnet, Odo de, 186.

Holgate castle, 86; built by Helgot, a retainer of Boger de
Montgomen% 88.

520 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

Holgod castle near Ludlow, Shropshire, 85, 186, 187.
Home Lacy, abbey of, Herefordshire, 204, 206.
Honey, former abundance of, 24, 26, 145 (note).
Hope, near Leominster, produce of, 25.
Hope Baggot, near Ludlow, 187 ; derrration of name, 189.
Hopton (Hopton Wafers), 187 ; derivation of name, 189.
Hopton, Walter, abbot of Wigmore, 868.
Horses, fiimous breed of, introduced by Sobert de Beleame, 43.
Hospitalers of St. John of Jerusalem, settlement of in Shropshire
and Herefordshire, 206, 207.

Ida founds the kingdom of Northumberland, 4.

Ine, king of the West Saxons, laws of, 5, 6, 26.

Inquisitions in the reign of Edward 1, 181.

Irchingfield, Herefordshire, plundered by the Welsh, 260.

' Inchonefelde,' mde ' Irchingfield,'

Inventory of goods in Ludlow castle, ▲. j>. 1660, 422.

' Jenkyn Hanard,' constable of Dynevor castle, letters of to

John Eairford, 250, 251.
John, king, state of the border in the reign ot^ 61, 62, 184; his

cruelty to Maude de Braose, 63; his visits to the border,

184, 135, 187, 140, 142, 144; at war with his barons,

188 ; his death and burial, 147.
Jorwerth ap Bees prince of Wales, 42; impriaoned bj

Heniy I, 44.
Jorwerth Brwyndwn, prince of Wales, 59 ; invades the Marehea

in aid of Walter de Lacy, id,
Jutland, Saxons from, established in Kent, 4.

Kedewyn granted to Boger de Mortimer, 178.

Kempsey, near Worcester, 177.

Kenchester, Boman road to from Wroxeter, 2, 8 ; the site of

Magna covered with ruins in the time of Leland, 6;

supposed abode of fairies, 29.
Kenilworth, conflict between the forces of prince Edward and

the younger Simon de Montford at, 177.
Kent, establishment of Saxons in, 4.
' Keueuenleis* (Cefnllys, Badnorshire) castle, 85.

TIIK HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 521

Kerry f Montgoinerrshire, castle founded at by Henry III, 155 ;

battle between the Welsh and king's forces near, 174;

granted to Roger de Mortimer, 178.
Kevelioc, Owen, prince of Powis, 53 ; wounds Fitz Warine in

a skirmitjih at Cainham, 59.
Keyonbom, vide Cainham.
Kidderminster, Henry III at, 150, 151, 152.
Kilpeck, Hugh de, 147.
Kilpeck castle, 85 ; king John at, 140, 142 ; priory, 94 ; church,

94, 98.
Kinardsley, vide * Kinnersley.'
Kinastons of Shropshire, family of, act of parliament passed

against, 822, 323.
Kineburga, daughter of Penda, 8.
Kineswitha, daughter of Penda, 8.
Kingsland, derivation of name, 7 ; supposed residence of chief

of Hecanas, id. 8.
Kingsmead, king John at, 146.
Kingston, Bichard, archdeacon of Hereford, letter of to Henry

IV, 252.
Elinnersley castle taken by the Welsh, 150 ; restored to Baldwin

de Hodnet, 151.
Knights Templars, settlement of on the border, 206.
Knighton, castle of, Eadnorshire, 86 ; granted by king John to

Thomas de Erdington, 136.
Knockin castle, 148 ; taken by the Welsh, 171.
Kynleth (KinletP) church giyen to Wigmore abbey by John

de Brampton, 121.

Lacy, Walter de, 35; feud between and Jooe de Dinan, 53;
is made prisoner by the latter, 56 ; their reconcilement, id. :
surprises and takes possession of Ludlow castle, 58;
obtains assistance from the Welsh, 59; vanquishes and
imprisons Joce de Dinan, id, : releases him at the com-
mand of the king, id. : restored to his possessions, 142,
143 ; Hereford castle delivered to, 147 ; death of and
extinction of the family, 164.

Lacy, Hugh de, claims lands held by Joce de Dinan, 54.

Lacy, Bobert de, 186, 187.

52S THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

Lacy, Margaret de, grant of land to, 147.
Lacy, Boger do, his extensire possessions in Herefordshire, 83 ;
espouses the cause of duke Bobert against William
Bufus, 88.
Lacy, Boger de, baron of Halton, sumanied Hell, 180.
Lacy, GKlbert de, supporter of the empress Matilda, 49 ; owner
of fulling mill at Ludlow, 98 ; seises the property of the
canons of Lantony, 108.
Langeley, G^ffirey de, 168.
Language of the inhabitants of the border, 198.
' Lantely' castle, 185.

Lantony abbey, 95; seizure of the canons property at, by
sir GKlbert de Lacy, 109 ; resignation of the priory of at
Gloucester, 889.
Larder, why so called, 24.
Larpole, manor of belonged to queen Edith, 20 ; produce of, 25 ;

held by Bobert Gtemon, 88.
Lawrence de Ludlow, 204.
Layamon, the Brut of, 193.
Lechlade, establishment of monks at, 127.
Ledbuiy, Herefordshire, king John at, 184 ; hospital at, 206 ;
depredations of Boger de Mortimer, of Wigmore, at, 222.
Ledbuiy-north, or Lydbury, Shropshire, castle of, 185 ; church,

105, 118, 117 ; font in, 101.
Ledeoot, near Shobdon, Herefordshire, 108, 106.
Ledwich, near Ludlow, 187, 188.
Lee, Boland, lord president of Wales and the Marches, 876 ;

letters of, 378 to 894.
L^iends, local of the Welsh border, 27, 29 ; of St. Lawrence,

457.
Legion Cross, Boman road by, 8.
Leinthall, produce o^ 25 ; chapel of granted to Wigmore abbey,

122.
Leintwardine, Boman road passes by, 8 ; church, eariy font in,
101 ; mill granted to Wigmore abbey, 122 ; offerings to
■ilyer image at, 857.
Leof-minster, Saxon name for Leominster, 8.
Leofirie, eaii, a benefactor to the churches of Leominster and
Wenlock, 19, 92 ; fiunily of chief possessors of ettatea
on the borders of Walen, 82.

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 6S3

Leominster, chief of the Saxon tribe of Heoanas lived near, 7 ;
origin of name, 8 ; custom of inhabitants to assemble at
Comfort castle, 15 ; taken and plundered by the Welsh,
19 ; held by the Conqueror, 38 ; Stephen's army encamped
at, 49 ; nunnery of, 91, 92 ; destroyed by the Danes, 92 ;
given to Heading by Henry I, 92 ; manor of in the &mily
of Godwin, 20 ; produce of at the conquest, 25 ; church,
92 ; assembly at in the twelfth centur}% 109 ; king John
at, 146 ; market day changed from Sunday to Thursday,
148; Henry III at, 151; Edmund de Mortimer impri-
soned at by Owen Glyndwr, 249 ; armies of Henry lY
and Owen Olyndwr encamped near, 258 ; priory of, 849 ;
letter respecting, 850 ; estates of retained by the crown,
id. : seal of, 361.

' Leominster manuscript,' poems of the, 196, Ac.

Leonard, St. chapel of in Ludlow, 207.

Leonis-monasterium, vide Leominster.

L'Estrange, John, 148, 186; the elder and younger, 172;
Hamo, 172, 174, 186.

Letters of intelligence respecting the movements of Owen
Olyndwr, 247 to 254 ; and 9ee ' Fasten correspondence' ;
respecting the Palmer's GKld, Ludlow, 867; of bishop
Boknd Lee, 378 to 394.

Leybume, Soger de, 174.

Lichfield, surrender of house of friars at, 840.

Lilleshall abbey, 95.

Lincoln, battle of^ 49.

T^ingMtiy Bobert de, 96.

Lingebroke vide ' Lymbroke.'

Linney, in the vicinit}' of Ludlow castle, 58; derivation of
the name, 192.

Lisle, Arnold de, companion of Walter de Lacy, 56; amour
with Marion de la Bruero, tc^. ; treacherous surprise of
the castle, 57, 58 ; is slain by Marion, 58.

Little Bridgenorth, manor oi^ 189.

Little Hereford, between Ludlow and Tenbuxy, mills at, 24;
Stephen's army encamped at, 49 ; church, Norman archi*
tecture in, 99.

Literature of the border, 198.

524 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

Ljinbroke, near Wigmore, nunnery at, 96.

Jjjnejey'^vide Linney.

Llanbadam castle, besieged and taken by the Welsh, 259;
besieged by the English, 263.

UeweUyn Breu, a Welsh chief, invades Gloucestershire, 218.

Llewellyn, prince of North Wales, 188; at war with king
John, id, : sues for peace, 141 ; treaty with Henry lU,
campaigns and incursions of, 149 to 164 ; his death, 164.

Llewellyn (ap Qriifyth), 171, 210; arms against Edward I,
210. Ac ; his marriage, 212 ; death, 218.

Lords marchers, clashing privileges and claims of, 288, 284.

Lords presidents of Wales and the Marches, 876.

Low, a sepulchral mound, assembly of Anglo-Saxons at, 15 ;
legends connected with, 27, 28, 29.

Lucas, the beadle of Cleobury, 188.

Ludford, or Leode-ford, origin of name, 15 ; mill at, 24 ; bridge
over the Teme at, 98 ; armies of the Yorkists and Lan-
castrians encamped at, 290.

Ludlow, supposed residence of the Danes at, 18, 84; Saxon
origin of name, id. 84 ; church, origin of town, 15 ; legend
respecting, 29 ; silence of Domesday as to, 84 ; caaile
founded by Boger de Montgomery, 84, 86, 90; finished
by Joce de Dinan, AA ; commencement of the town, 84 ;
bridge over the Teme erected, 44 ; castle seized by Gkrvaae
Faganel for the empress Matilda, 47 ; besieged by Stephen*
48; the siege raised, 49; subsequently falls into the
king's hands, 50 ; restored to Joce de Dinan, id ; impri-
sonment of Hugh de Mortimer in the castle, 51 ; feud at
between Joce de Dinan and Walter de Lacy, 54, 60;
imprisonment of de Lacy, 56 ; surprise of the garrison
and slaughter of the inhabitants of the town by de Lacy,
57, 58 ; siege of the castle by Joce de Dinan, 58 ; extent
of the town in the reign of Henry 11, id. ; castle granted
by Henry II to Fulke Fitz Warine, 59; but probablj
retained by Walter de Lacy, 60 ; town rebuilt after its
destruction in the wars between de Lacy and Joce de
Dinan, 60, 88 : castle delivered to Gilbert Talbot, 1194,
62 ; re-delivered by chancellor Hubert, 61 ; description of
the castle, its fort^cations and present remains, 86 to 91,

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 525

440 ; church enUrged in 1199, 8S ; indiguificauce of the
town iu the twelfth ccntur}-, 97 ; hospital of St. John the
Baptist at, 08 ; castle possessed by Walter de Lacy, 136 ;
granted with the to\Mi to Willuim de Bmose, id, : castle
in the custo<ly of Engelard de Cygony, 143 ; delivered to
Walter do Lacy, id, : Henr}- III at, 162 ; peace concluded
between Henry and LleweUjTi at, 154; castle taken by
Simon de Moutford, 174 ; retaken by the borderers, 176 ;
barons summoned by Henry III to meet at, 172 ; to%\'ns-
men of, ill treatment of by their neighbours, 184 ; in tho
family of the Gknvilles, 187, 188 ; passed by an heiress to
the Mortimers, 187, 217 ; houses in the town held by the
tenure of furnishing articles to the castle, 188, 189;
old fish pond at, 189; names of fiimilies derived from,
190 ; house of Augustine friars at, 204, 848 ; house of
white friars at, 204, 848 ; church of St. Lawrence at, 205 ;
gild of palmers at, 206, 866 ; grammar school of, 206 ;
possessions of hospitalers at, 207 ; cliapel of St. Leonard
at, 207 ; chapel erected in the castle by Boger de Mortimer,
of Wigmoro, 220, 221 ; tournaments and festivities at, on
occasion of the visit of queen Isabella and Edward III,
224 ; license to hold a fair in, 235 ; manor of possessed by
Boger de Mortimer, earl of March, 235 ; caatle and manor
enfeoffed to William Latymer, knight, and others, 235,
286 ; entrusted to sir Thomas Beaufort, 257 ; the chief
residence of Bichard Fhintagenet, duke of York, 275;
tumults at, 281 ; town plundered by the Lancastrians, 291 ;
grant of a charter by Edward IV, 815, 875 ; partiality of
Edward for the town, 318 ; Edward V, as prince of Walas,
and his brothers at, 819, 821 ; Arthur, prince of Wales,
son of Heniy YII, at, 824 ; Henry YII at, id. : surrender
of the convents of Augustine and white friars at, 848 ;
inventory of furniture of, 844, 846 ; paments connected
with, 859, 860; repair of the mills, 865; Palmer's Oild
reserved at the dissolution of the monasteries, 866 ; charter
of Henry VIII, 875 ; castle repaired and strengthened bj
BoUnd Lee, 378 ; prison of the castle, 403 ; conduits of
water for, 412 ; buildings and repairs of the castle, exe-
cuted by sir Henry Sidney, 415 ; the town notorious for

526 THE HISTORY OF LUDIjOW.

the number of its inns and its latr^ers, 421; castle
occupied by the royal party during the civil war, 422;
surrendered to sir William Brereton, id, ; inventory of
the goods in, id, : secured for the prince of Orange, 435;
occupation of the castle subsequent to the abolition of the
lords presidents of the Marches, 435 ; catalogue of the
furniture in, 436. Castlx, historical and architectural
account of, 440. Chubou, description of, 454.

Lug river, 112.

Lugwardine, near Hereford, 188.

Lumton, produce of, 25.

Luston, near Leominster, manor of possessed by queen Edith,
20 ; produce of, 25.

Magna, vide Kenchester.

Magna Charta, signed by king John, 144.

Maelienydd, battle at, between Owen Olyndwr and Edmnnd de

Mortimer, 248.
Malefant, sir Thomas, complaint of his widow, 272.
Malvern, Great, abbey of^ 365.
Manors, names of, 189.

Map of the world in Hereford cathedral, 202, 203.
Marches of Wales, origin of name, 4 ; «€» ' border.'
Mareschal, John, warden of the Marches, 148.
Mareschol, William, earl of Pembroke, 149 ; hia lands seiied by

Llewellyn, 153 ; distrust of the king towards him, 154.
Mareschal, Bichard, 158, Ac. 163.
Mareschal, Oilbert, 163 ; slain at a tournament, 169.
Mareschal, Walter, 164.
Mareschal, Anselme, the last of the £unily, 164.
Marion de la Bruere (Marion of the Heath), aides the esc^>e of

Walter de Lacy and Arnold de Lisle fiom Ludlow casde,

56; amour with Arnold de Lisle, 56, 67 ; kills him for his

treachery, 58 ; suicide of, 58.
Maserfield, defeat of Northumbriana at, 7.
Matilda, castle of (castrum Matild»), 157, 160.
Mauduit, William, lord of Castle Holgod, 187.
Mawardine, 188.
Maylour, possessed by Jorwerth Drwyndwn, prince of Wales, 00.

THB H18T0BT OF LUDLOW. 527

Meadow, Anglo-Suou name for, 24.

Meole-Bracy, church of granted to Wigiuore abbey, 110.

Mercia, derivation of, 4 ; Fenda, king of, 7 ; last of the Ajiglo*
Saxon kingdoms which received CliriBtioniiy, 8.

Mercians, destruction of Soman towns by, 6 ; composed of
different tribes, 7 ; victory over Northumbrians, 8 ; al-
liance with the Welsh, 9 ; subsequent battles between, 10.

Merestun, waste ground at Wigmore so styled in Domesday,
22 ; produce of, 25.

Merewald, son of Fenda, 8.

Merlimond, sir Oliver de, founds a religious house at Shobdon,
06, 103 ; dispute with Hugh de Mortimer, 108.

Merlimond, Simon de, abbot of Wigmore, 121.

Micelgros, fioger de, estates of, 88.

Mioelton, the great enclosure, 2S.

Milburga, daughter of Merewald, 9 ; (fnde St. Milburga).

Mildrithai daughter of Merewald, 9.

Milgitha, daughter of Merewald, 9.

Milford Haven, French army land at, 261.

Millar, Elias of Ludlow, violence done to by the foresters of
Wigmore, 184.

Millar, William of Ludlow, 189.

Mills, com mills numerous at the Norman conquest, 24.

Mill street, Ludlow, 865.

Milo^ constable of Gloucester, a supporter of the euipreas
Matilda, 49; created earl of Hereford, 49, 50; dispute
with the bishop of Hereford, 107.

Moccas church, Norman arch and tympanum in, 99 (note).

Molineuz, Thomas, constable of Chester, 288, 289.

Monastic houses of Herefordshire and Shropshire in the twelfth
oentuiy, 84, 91, 03 ; in the thirteenth century, 203, 204,
205 ; dissolution of, 825 ; destruction of the fabric, 862 ;
property of^ 868.

Monastic seals, 861, 862.

Monkland, near Leominster, alien priory of, 205.

Monmouth, Boman road between and Chester, 8; castle, 85;
king John at, 142; Henry III at, 149; combat at
between the king's forces and the barons, 160, 161 ; castle
destroyed by Simon de Montfort, 176.

628 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

MonniouthBliire occupied by the Saxons, 9 ; lawless oondhioii of
in the reign of Elizabeth, 899.

Monmouth, John de, 144 ; castles delivered to, itL^ 147 ; his
hmds invaded, 160, 162.

Montfort, Simon de, 168; his lands invaded bj Boger de
Mortimer, 172 ; conducts the siege of Oloocester, 172,
178 ; his movements on the border, 178, 174, 175, 176 ;
detains the king and prince of Wales as prisoners, 174,
176 ; sUiin at the battle of Evesham, 177.

Montfort, Peter de, 169, 171.

Montgomeiy, Boger de, 88, 86 ; obtains the earldom of Shrop-
shire and possessions of Edric, 86 ; builds Montgomery
castle, 86 ; opposes William Bufus, 88 ; death, 89 ; rebuilds
Wenlock abbey, 98 ; and monastexy at Shiewsbuiy, id.

Montgomery, castle built by Boger de Mon%omei7, 86; de-
stroyed by the Welsh, and the garrison massacred, 89;
Henry III at, 151, 162, 177 ; new castle built by Heniy
III, 161 ; materiab supplied, 162 , entrusted to Baldwin
de Hodnet, id. / garrison attempt to clear the neighbour-
hood of robbers, 155; entrusted to Hubert de Burgh,
166 ; neighbourhood plundered by the Welsh, 156, 157 ;
retaliation of the garrison, 156, 166, 167 ; held by John
L'Estrange the younger for Henry III, 174; placed in
the charge of sir Thomas Talbot, 257.

Mon%omery, Hugh de, 89; invades North Wales, 40; killed
by the Danes, id.

Mordiford, village of, Herefordshire, 267.

Morfield, or Momerfield, a cell of Shrewsbury abbey, 206.

Mortimers, family of the, 162, 216 to 227.

Mortimer, Balph de, his possessions in Herefordshire^ 88, 85 ;
employed against Saxon insurgents, 85 ; opposes William
Buius, 88 ; founds a college at Wigmore, 95.

Mortimer, Hugh de, 102; fortifies Bridgenorth castle against
Henry II, 60, 116; compelled to sufrender, 61; im*
prisoned in Ludlow castle, uLf 118; founds Wigmora
abbey, 96, 102, 120, 121 ; grant of Shobdon to Oliver
de Merlimond, 108; they quarrel, 108; endowment of
Wigmore abbey, 122; death of, 128, 168; burial at
Wigmore, id. : masses for his soul, id.

THK UlSTOHY OF LUDLOW. 5S9

Mortiiner, Boger de, son and heir of Hugh, in the king^s
custody, 124 ; his conduct to the abbey of Wigmore, 125 ;
at war with David, prince of Wales, 164 ; defeated by
the Welsh, IGO ; ravages the huids of Siinon de Montfort,
172 ; castles bestowed on him by prince Edward, 173 ;
forced to make peace with de Montfort, 174; assists
prince Edward's escape from Simon de Montlbrt, 175;
lands bestowed on, 178; his possessions in Shropshire,
187 ; holds a tournament at Kenilworth, 217 ; death, and
burial in Wigmoro abbey, 217.

Mortimer, Edmund de, son of Boger, 217.

Mortimer, Boger de, of Wigmore, son of Edmund, 217, 218 ;
marries Joane do G^neyille, id. : appointed lord lieutenant
of Ireland, 219 ; arms against the king, 219 ; imprisonment
in, and escape from the tower, 220; builds a ch^)el in
Ludlow castle, 220, 221 ; depredations of in Herefordshire,
221, 222 ; proceedings of with queen Isabella, 222, 228 ;
created earl of March, 223, 224 ; entertains Isabella and
Edward III in his castles, 224 ; his capture and execution,
id. ; place of burial, 225 ; hia descendants, 225, 227.

Mortimer, Boger de, of Chirk, 219, 220.

Mortimer, Edmund de, son of Boger, of Wigmore, 220.

Mortimer, Boger de, grandson of Boger, of Wigmore, 226;
restored to the title of earl of March, til.

Mortimer, Edmund de, his son, third earl of March, 226.

Mortimer, Boger, fourth earl of Blarch, 226, 227, 289.

Mortimer, Edmund, fifth earl of March, 227, 274.

Mortimer, Edmund, uncle of the fifth earl of March, 248 ; battle
with Owen Glyndwr, in BadnorBhire, 248 ; taken prisoner,
249 ; joins with Olyndwr, 255, 256 ; marries his daughter,
256.

Mortimer, dame Maude de, wife of Boger, 176, 177.

Mortimers of Wigmore, the, 210.

Mortimer*8 Cross, battle of, 806.

Mortimer's tower, in Ludlow castle, 51, 452.

Munslow, William de, 186.

Myrk, John, or Myrkes, canon of Lilleshal, a tersifyer, 201.

Myr€na4and, or Myrena-rice^ Lmd of the borderers, 4.

M}'tton, sir Thomas, sheriff of Shropshire, arrcft of the duke of
Buckingham by, 322.

630 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

Names of places, 189 ; families and persons, u^., 190, 191, 192.
Newton, land of, granted to Wigmore abbey, 122.
Nick-names, see * Names.'
Nigellus Medicus, the Conqueror's physician, held Clee, Salop,

and other lands, 83.
Norman architecture in monastic houses, 97 ; in churches, 99 ;

in castles, 441, 442.
Nonupton (Nun's Upton), large oak at, 181.
Northampton, battle of, 294, 295.
Northumberland, kingdom of founded by Ida, 4.
Northumbrians, defeat of by the Mercians, 7.
Nottingham castle, built by William the Conqueror, 85 ; king

John at, 141 ; parliament at, temp. Bichard II, 289.

Oakley Park, 187.

Offi^ king of Mercia, 10.

Offii's Dyke, 10.

Oldcastle, sir John, lord Cobham, takes refuge on the Welsh

border, 288.
Oldcastle, Bichard, Esq. servants of attack Robert Whittington,

Esq. 267.
Old-Field, Tumuli at, 8, 15, 29 ; Boman coins found at, 28.
Oney river, Boman road crosses, 8.
Onibuxy, Salop, 187.
Orleton, Bichard de, 185.
Orleton, Adam de, bishop of Hereford, 221.
Oileton church, Herefordshire, early font in, 101.
Osbome Fits Bichard, lord of Bichard's castle and Ludford,

possessions of, 26, 88 ; arms against William Bufiis, 88.
Osric, king, founder of St. Peter's abbey, Gloucester, 93.
Oswald, king of the Northumbrians slain at Maserfield, 7 ; part

of his body buried in St. Peter's abbey, GHouoester, 93.
Oswestry, deriyation of name, 7 ; king John aasembles an army

at, 141 ; church of seized by the king, 143; burnt, 146;

town and castle of, accounts relating to, 207.

Paganel, Balph and (}er?ase, measures of in &Tour of the
empress Matilda, 47, 48.

Paganus, or F^yn Fits John, goremor of Shropshire and Here-
fordshire, 44, 46.

THK HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 5S1

Polmers GHld at Ludlow, 206; excepted out of the statute,
1 Edward VI, 366.

Panage, fee for, 147, 148 (note), 182.

Pantulf, William, of Wem, 42.

Paston, John, letter to, 284.

Paston correspondence, 292, 801, 805.

Peada, son of Penda, 8.

Pembridge, dean of, 113.

Pembrugge, William de, 205.

Pencadair, near Caermarthen, surrender of Bhees, prince of
South Wales, to Henry II at, 62.

Penda, king of Mercia, 7.

Pendorer tower, in Ludlow castle, 66, 67, 87.

Percy, Henry (Hotspur), 244, 246; his proceedings against
the Welsh insurgents, id,; joins with Owen Glyndwr,
266 ; slain at the battle of Shrewsbury, 267.

Perjury, act for the punishment of, in jurors, in the Marches of
Wales, 824.

Pererel, William, arms in favour of the empress Matilda, 47 ;
Melette, daughter of, 64.

Piers Ploughman, the Poem of, 199, 237.

Phmtagenet, Bichard, duke of York, succeeds to the title of earl
of March, 275 ; his residence at Ludlow castle, id, .* letter
to firom his sons, 276 ; leares Ireland for London, 277 ;
letter to the burgesses of Shrewsbury, 278 ; encamps at
Brentheath, 280; imprisoned, and subsequently allowed
to retire to Wigmore, 281 ; elected protector, 283 ; again
retires to Ludlow, 283 ; marches to London, id. ; defeats
the royalists at St. Alban's, 283 ; appointed protector a
second time, 286 ; public reconciliation with the royalists,
286; subsequent outbreak and march to Ludlow, 289;
escapes to Ireland, 290; returns to England after the
battle of Northampton, 801 ; slain at Wakefield, 804.

Bantagenet, Edward, earl of Blarch. vide * Edward IV.'

Poems of the period of the Wars of the Boses, 286, 296.

Poetiy of the border, 198 to 202.

Political poem on the deposition of Bichard II, 240.

Powia*]and, entered by Henry II, 68.

Powys, lordship of dairoed by John de Cheiiton, 288.

58i THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW.

Prene, Preone, or Prune, prioty of, Shropshire, 205.

Presidency of Wales and the Marches, 876 ; annual expense
of the court of, 899 ; its gradual decline, 418 ; act for
abolishing, 485.

Presteign, bishop Boland Lee at, 380.

Priories, vide * Monastic houses.*

Puddleston church, Nomian architecture in. 99.

Purslow Hundred, Salop, obliged to fumisli soldiers for Wig-
more, 188.

Quatfordy Danish fortress at, 10.

Quo Warranto, writ of to John de Warren respecting the
lordships of Bromfield and Yale, 283.

Badoot bridge, defeat of Bichard II at, 289.

Badnor, castle of, 85 ; king John at, 146 ; des^yed by him, id, :

possessed by Boger de Mortimer, 188; bish<^ Boland

Lee at, 880.
Badulf, cowardice of and Norman garrison at Hereford, 18.
Banulph, earl of Chester, hostilities of the Welsh to, 188;

custody of Salop and castles of Shrewsbury and Bridge-
north deUrered to, 146, 147.
BoUingcope, Botchinchop, or Botelynghope, a cell to Wigmore,

205.
Beligious houses, see * Monastic houses.'
Bhuddlan castle, Flintshire, 138; Banulph, earl of Chester,

besieged in, id. ; Henry III at, 165 ; taken possession of

by Edward I, 212; besieged by Llewellyn, 212; Bdward

I at, 212, 213, 214.
Bees, prince of South Wales, surrenders to Henry II, 52;

uncourteous treatment of by Bichard I, 61 ; qnand of

his sons after his death, 61.
Bhys ap Meredith, rise of the Welsh under, 214.
Bhys ap Tudor, see 'Tudor.'

Bhys Ddu, plunders Shropshire, 265 ; executed in London, kL
Bichard I, crusades of, 60; provokes the resentment of tiie

Welsh, 61.
Bichard 11, insurrections at the commencement of the reign oC,

237 ; shows fayour to the Welsh, 288 ; his wanderings

THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW, 5SS

on the Welsh coast, 239 ; surrenden to Henxy of Lan-

caster, 240.
Kchard III, progress to the West after his accession, 821.
Bichard*s castle, between Ludlow and Leominster, 28 ; founded

by Bichard the Scrub, id. : of Saxon origin, 85 ; grant of

fiiirs to bj king John, 146; passes into the fiunOy of

Mortimer, 145 (note) ; taken by Simon de Montfort, 174 ;

pbced in the charge of sir Thomas Talbot, 257.
Bobert of Gloucester, a border poet, 196.
Bobert ap Soger, seditious words spoken by, 887.
Bobin Hood, legend respecting, 29.
Boman roads, Wroxeter to Kenchester, 2, 8; Chester to

Monmouth, 8 ; castles skirting lines of, 85.
Boman stations between IJriconium and Magna, 8.
Boman towns, England cotered with in the fifth century, 4;

destroyed by the Saxons, 6.
Boman tumuli at Bromfield, 8 (note).
Boman coins at Old Field, 28 ; at Kenchester, 29.
Bomance of the Fitz Warines, 29, 64, 91.
Boss, Herefordshire, district of given to Flemish refugees, 45.
Bowton, Boman road passes by, 8.
Bussell, Bichard, constable of Salop, 188.

Salt produced at C/iinham, 25.

Saltmore, near Ludlow, 25.

Sampson, Bichard, bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, president

of Wales and the Marches, 894.
Saxons, invasion of England by, 8 ; destruction of Boman towns

by, 6.
Say, Bobert de, 186.
Says, family of the, 189.

Scotries, William de, supposed to have lived at Croft, 88.
Scudamore, John, letter of to John Fairford, 249.
Scudamore, Philipot, plunders Shropshire, 265.
Scudamore papers in the British Museum, 859.
Screnfrith castle, 85« 185 ; repairs at, 185 ; restored by John to

William de Braose, 185, 186; Henry III at, 149, 150;

taken from Hubert de Burgh, 164; supposed treasure

in, 408.
S z

684 THE HISTOUY OF LUDIX)W.

' Sete, la/ vide ' the Slieet.'

Severn, beavers in the river, 26 ; bridges over broken down bj
the barons, temp. Henry III, 175 ; origin of the name, 193.

Sheet, the, near Ludlow, 184 ; possessed hj Boger de Moitiiiier,
187.

Shelderton, Shropshire, 187.

Shobdon, Herefordshire, derivation of the name, 83 ; religious
house founded at, 95, 103 ; the monks driven away and
settle at Wiginore, OH, 115 ; church, 104; remains of, 98;
dedication of, 105 ; chapel, 90, 103 ; town of granted bj
Hugh de Mortimer to Oliver de Merlimond, 103; ivtaken
from the canons of Shobdon by Hugh de Mortimer, 111.

Shrawardine, church of seized by king John, 148.

Shrewsbury, origin of name, 7 ; besieged by the Wel^h, 85 ;
besieged by Stephen, 48; king John at» 187, 142, 144,
146 ; taken possession of by Llewellyn, 144 ; Henry HI
at, 149, 150, 151, 152, 157, 165, 177; license to the
burgesses to cut down timber, 149 ; put in a state of
defence by Henxy III, 151; burnt by Llewellyn, 162;
castle fortified by Bobert de Belesme, 41 ; surrendered to
the king, 48 ; Edward I, at, 172, 212, 219 ; monastery of
St. Peter and St. Paul at, 93 ; church of^ id. ; house of
grey fnars at, 204; garrisoned by Simon de Montfort
against the king, 173 ; men of forbidden to quit tiieir
houses, ▲. B. 1869, 236 ; parliament holden at^ 289 ; ordered
to be put in a state of defence, 242; prince Henzy
(Henxy Y) assembles his army at, 247 ; battle of Snirewa-
bury, 257 ; gates of the town closed against Henry IT^s
forces, 264 ; ravages of Owen Olyndwr at, 266 ; surrender
of monastic houses at, 340 ; description of the houses of
friars, 842.

Shrewsbury, earldom of, 85.

Shropshire, possessed by the tribe of the Hecanaa, 7, 9; at
the time of Domesday survey belonged to Boger de
Montgomery, 83, 85 ; ravsged by the Welsh, 85, 60; list
of castles and monastic houses of in the twelfth century,
84 ; delivered to the custody of the earl of Chester, 146;
chief families of in the reign of Henry III, 186; monas-
teries of founded in the thirteenth centuiy, 203 ; letter

THB HI8TORT OP LUDLOW. 535

from the inhabitants of to the privy council, ▲. n. ltU)d,

256 ; insurrection in, in favour of Owen GHvndwr, 261.
Sidney, sir Henry, president of Wales and the Marches, 895,

896; his administration of the border, 896 to 417;

death in Ludlow castle, 417.
Skenfrith, wte * Screnfrith.'
Smart, John, the last abbot of Wigmore, 851 ; articles against,

852 ; pension to, 868.
Smyth, William, bishop of Lincoln, first lord president of Wales

and the Welsh Marches, 376.
Snede, or Sned, Salop, priory of, 204,
Snowdon, king John encamped at the foot of, 141.
Snytton, town of, 121 ; granted to Wigmore abbey, 126, 127.
Songs of the period of the Wars of the Boses, 298, 808.
St. Alban's, monastery of^ erected among the ruins of Verula-

mium, 6 ; battle of, 288.
St. BriaveFs, castle of, 85 ; king John at, 187, 142.
St. Clair, Hugh de, saves the life of Heniy II at the siege of

Bridgenorth, 50, 51.
St. Ethelbert, vide 'Ethelbert.'
St. Ethelred buried in Leominster priory, 92.
St. Ghithlac priory at Hereford, 98.
St. John of JenuuJem, Hospitalers of, eee ' Hospitalers.'
St. John the Baptist, hospitol of at Ludlow, 98.
St. Lawrence, church of, Ludlow, 205, 454 ; legend of, 457.
St. Milburga, placed over Wenlock abbey, 9, 92; legends

respecting, 9; discovexy of her tomb at Wenlock, 98.
St. Peter's abbey, Gloucester, 98.
St. Peter and St. Paul, monastery of at Shrewsbury, 93.
8t. Victor at Paris, abbey of, 104.
St. Werburga, 8.

Stafford, Heniy IV at, 258 ; 8uri*cnder of houses of friars at, 340.
' Stafford Knottia,' 802.
Staffordshire, ravaged by the Welsh, 42, 48.
Staneford, John de, Masonne of, 221.
Stanton, the indosure of stone, 25.
Stanton, Salop, lands in held by Helgot, a retainer of Boger di*

Montgomery, 88.
Stanton Lacy, 187 ; origin of name, 189.

5S6 THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

Stanton, Andrew de, lord of Bucknell, 120.

Stanwaj, 128.

Stephen, conspiracy against in favour of the empress Matilda,

formed bj the barons of Herefordshire and 8alop,'47 Ttlie

king's proceedings, id.^ 48 ; taken prisoner at the battle of

Lincoln, 49.
Steyenton, Slm>p8hire, 184, 187.
Stockton, near Leominster, produce of, 25.
Stoke Edith, 20.
Stoke Lacy, 20.

Stoke Prior, near Leominster, produce of, 25.
Stoke St. Milburgh, 9.

Stokesaj, Salop, 187 ; derivation of name, 189.
Surrender of monastic houses at the reformation, 840.
' Straddle,' Harold established in the yalley of^ 19.
Street, Boman road by, 8.
Strich, John, petition of, 271.

Stretford bridge, Boman road crosses the riyer Oney at, 8.
Stretford bridge (between Aymestry and Kencheeter), Boman

road passed by, 3.
Stretton, manor of^ 188.
Strignil, Henry IH at, 149.
Stuteville, William de, lord of Burford, 187.
Sun, extraordinary phenomena accompanying the, 157.
Surnames, tee * Names.'
Sussex, establishment of Saxons in, 4.
Sutton, palace of Offit at^ 10.
Sutton walls, id.
Swansea, king John a;t, 188.

Swegn, ravages the southern districts, 12 ; death ot, 20.
ine, herds of in the middle ages, 24, 182.

Talbot, Gtoofiey, proceedings of against Stephen, 47, 49,

Talbot^ GKlbert custody of Ludlow castle deliyared to, ▲. s.
1194, 62.

Talbot, sir Thomas, keeper of Bichard's castle, and of Mont-
gomery, 267.

Tedstone Delamere, eariy font in the church of, 101.

Teme river, bridge over at Ludlow, 44, 54, 98.

THB HI8T0BT OF LUDLOW. 6S7

Temede, vide * Teme river.*

Tenby, district of given to Plemiah refugees, 46.

Tenures of estates on the border, 188, 189.

Tewkesbury, king John at, 185, 187, 188, 142, 144, 145;

Hemy UI at, 148, 168 ; battle of, 819 ; Bichard m at,

821.
Thorpe, Qodbej de, 189.
TickhiU castle, Yorkshire, fortified by Bobert da Bdesme, 41;

surrendered, 42.
Titley, manor of, 26 ; prioty, 205.
Todenei, Balph de, held Clifford castle, 88.
Tostig, slaughter of Harold's servants at Hereford by, 19 ; &te

of, 20.
Town, derivation of name, 24.
Towton, battle of; 810 ; ballad on, 811.
Treasure of Mortimer, land so called, 181.
Trivelle, wood of; 147.

Tudor, William ap, 248 ; revolts against Hemy lY, id., 244.
Tudor, Bees ap, 248 ; revolts against Henry lY, 248 ; besieged

in Conway castle by Henry Percy, 244.
Tudor, Jasper, earl of Pembroke, 806, 818, 819.
Tullington, 175 ; park at, 176.
Tumuli at Old-Field, 8 (note).
Tumulus on site of Ludlow churchyard, 14, 101; a Boman

sepulchre, 15.
Tun, Anjg^Sazon name for indosure, 24, 25.
TnrbeviUe, Hugh and Boger de, 174.
Tuifbrd, Shropshire, hamlet of; 207.
Tyrel, Boger, keeper of Oaolford gate, Ludlow, 184.

XJndergod, Peter, founder of the hospital of St. John the

Baptist at Ludlow, 98.
XJpton Bish<^, king John at, 184.
Upton, between Leominster and Tenbury, produce of, 25.
XJrioonium, Yirioonium, vide ' Wroxeter.'

Yalenoe, William de, earl of Pembroke, 175.
Yerdun, John de, 186 ; his possessions, 187.
Yenilamium, vide * St. Albans.'

6S8 THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

View, the, or * Weho,' Shropshire, 187.
Vifliona of Fiera Ploughman, 237, 831.
Visitations previous to the reformation, 834, 888.
Vojsej, John, bishop of Exeter, president of Wales and the
Marehes, 876.

Wafre, Bobert de, 187.

Wakefield, battle of, 8M.

Walerand, Bobert, 175.

Warren, earl, legend respecting, 28.

Warren, John de, earl of Surrey, 175, 288.

Warrens, fiunilj of the, 187.

Wars of the Boses, 269.

Warwick, Bichard de. 111.

Watling street, Saxon name for Boman road, 80 ; course o( 81.

Wax, duly of supplying to Ludlow castle, 189.

Wellington, forestal priyileges appertaining to, 182.

Welsh, origin of the word, 6 {$ee border).

Welsh, alternate alliances and conflicts between the Meraana
and, 10, 11 ; subdued by the Saxons, 16 ; ravages of on
the border, 21, 22, 85, 87, 89 ; remarkable custom of the,
22; unite with the Saxons against the Nonnans, 85;
assist the Norman barons against William Bufiia, 38;
repressed by Henry I, 44 ; enter Cheshire and massacre
the inhabitants, 46 ; sue for peace, id. .* their hoetilities
during the reign of Henry 11, 51, 60 ; John, 188, 140,
141 ; Henry HI, 149, ftc. ; Edward I, 210 to 215 ; their
civilization after the death of Llewellyn, 215 ; Edward III,
his suspicions of the, 234, 286 ; arm against Henry IV,
240 ; Welshmen disabled from holding land on the English
side of the border, 243 ; minstrels and othen forbidden, id. .*
insurrection of under Owen Olyndwr, 248 to 266 ; their
subsequent condition, 266, 267.

Welshpool, Danes in the neighbourhood o( 10.

Wenlock, abbey founded by Merewald, 9 ; nunnery founded by
St. Milburga, 92; destroyed by the Danes, 12, 92; rebuilt
by Soger de Montgomery, 98 ; Llewellyn at, 168.

Wenlock-edge, pass of forced by Henry I, 48.

Wennewin, Griffith ap, 172.

THR HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 539

Weobley, castle of, Herefordahire, garrisoned by Oeoffirej
Talbot against Stephen, 47 ; possessed by tbe king, id. :
neighbourhood of plundered by the Welsh, 471 ; duke of
Buckingham at, 822.

Wessex, Cerdic founded kingdom of, 4.

WhitcliiTe, near Ludlow, 64 ; woods adjoining, 67.

White Castle, 86 ; repairs of, 136 ; seized and garrisoned by the
barons, 144 ; Henry III at, 149 ; taken from Hubert de
Burgh, 164.

White Ladies, prioxy of, 201.

Whitney castle, 86.

Whittington castle, defended against Stephen, 47; inherited
by Fulke Fitz Warine, 64; possessed by Jorwerth
Drwyndwn, prince of Wales, 60; restored to Fulke Fits
Warine the younger, 68, 82 ; gee also yarious allusions to
Whittington in the Bomance of the Fitz Warines, 63, 88 ;
besieged and taken by Llewellyn, 160 ; restored to Fulke
Fitz Warine, 161.

Whittington, Bobert, attack upon at Mordiford, 267.

Wicinga-mere, vide * Wigmore.*

Widemarsh, Hereford, escape of prince Edward from Simon de
Montfort at, 175.

Wigley, land in held by the tenure of guarding Ludlow castle,
188.

Wigmore, Boman road by, 8 ; built by Edward, 11 ; attacked
by the Danes, id. ,- origin of name, 12 ; castle supposed to
hare been rebuilt by William Fitz Osborne, 22, 86;
possessed by Balph die Mortimer, 88, 86 ; estates depen-
dent upon, id, f seized by Edric the Saxon, 86 ; who was
expelled by Balph de Mortimer, 86; castle, remains of^
86, 86, 218 ; abbey, 96 ; founded by Hugh de Mortimer,
96 ; histoxy of the foundation of, 102—182 ; selection of
the site, 118; foundation stone laid, 120, 121; endow-
ments of by Hugh de Mortimer, 122 ; castle held by the
king after the death of Hugh de Mortimer, 124 ; miracles
performed at, id. : abbey plundered by the Wdsh, 168 ;
college founded at by Balph de Mortimer, 96; castle
besieged and taken by Simon de Montfort and Llewellyn,
172, 178; prince Edward received at, 176; ralley of

540 THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW.

plundered by the Welah, 171 ; foresters o^ ihdr kwIeiB
conduct, 184 , entertainment of IsabeUa and Edward IQ
at, 224; bodj of Soger de Mortimer remoyed to» 225;
surrender of the abbey at the reformation, 852 ; destroo-
tion of the buildings, 860; bam of the Gbange, 8G0, 861;
letter of Dr. Dee respecting the muniments of the nbhey,
860 ; seal of the abbey, 861 ; castle used as a prison, 4M.

Willey, origin of name, 82.

William the Conqueror, state of the border under, 21 ; proceeds
in person against the Welsh, 85, 87.

William Bufus, opposition of the border barons to, 88 ; marches
to the Welsh border, 89.

Williams, sir Jolm, president of Wales and the Marches, 885.

Wilton castle, 85.

Wine sent to Hereford by Henry III, 152.

Woland, parson of Burley, 105.

Wolphy hundred, Herefordshire, 27.

Wolston, bishop of Worcester, defence of the dty, 88.

Wolves formerly infested Herefordshire, 26 ; tribute of to the
English croTHi by the Welsh princes, id.

Wombridge, monastery of^ 208.

Woodhouse, near Cleobury Mortimer, house of Augustine fiian
at, 204.

Woofferton, origin of name, 82.

Wool, trade in established by the Flemings, 45.

Worcester, a Soman station, 7 ; men of slay the Danish tax-
gatherers, 12 ; city burnt, id. ; attacked by Normans and
Welsh under Osborne Pits Bichard, 88; plundered by
the adherents of the empress Matilda, 49; taken 1^
Stephen's army and partially burnt, 50; cathedral, de>
struction of in the twelfth century, 97; king John at,
185, 187, 188, 144, 147 ; Henry HI at, 148, 149, 150,
151, 152, 164, 177 ; Llewellyn, prince of Wales, at, 148 ;
taken by the borderers, 176 ; Edward, prince of Wales,
assembles his army at, ▲. j>. 1277, 211; Edwardl at^ 218;
Henry IV at, 246, 258, 262, 268 ; prince Henry (V) at,
260, 262; surrender of monastic houses at, 840; inren*
tories of priories at, 841 ; controTersies with lawyers of,
401.

TUK HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 541

Woicettenhire inbabited by the tribe of Hwiccas, 7 ; ravaged

by the Welsh, 37, 38.
Wormelow, 27 ; tump, 28.
Wormesley, 28 ; priory, 204.
* Wormeslowe,' near Hereford, battle of, 60.
Wroxeter, Boman road from to KeDchester, 2, 3; origin of

name, 6 ; important position of, 7.
Wulfere, son of Penda, 8 ; introduction of the Christian religion

among the Mercians by, id,
Wulrerslow, Thomas de, bailiff of Ludlow, 184.
Wydmersh, see * Widemarsh.'
Wye riyer, allusion to in early English poem, 197.
Wyrmes-hlspw, vide * Wormelow.'

Yrcinga-feld, the field of hedge-hogs, vide ' Archenfield.'
2ouch, Alan de la, 168.

'II

rHE END.

B. J0VZ8, YBIKTXH, BfiOU) 8TBBXT, LUDLOW.

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