Church of St Mary Magdalene, Battlefield

Today's the day ........................ for the two Henrys

Before we left this part of the Shropshire, we went to find out a bit more about the Battle of Shrewsbury which took place on 21 July 1403 - a few fields away from where we were staying.

The battle was fought between an army led by the Lancastrian King, Henry IV, and a rebel army led by Henry ‘Harry Hotspur’ Percy from Northumberland. It was the first battle in which English archers fought each other on English soil - and it demonstrated 'the deadliness of the longbow'.   There were many casualties on both sides but King Henry IV emerged the victor.

This large, dignified church stands on the site of the battle - probably built on a mass burial pit. In 1406, Roger Ive, the Rector of Albright Hussey, the parish in which the battle was fought, gained a licence from Richard Hussey, the Lord of the manor, to acquire the site on which to build the church. Its initial purpose was to act as a chantry chapel to sing masses for the souls of those killed in the battle.

Although it is now no longer in active use, a service is still held each year in July to commemorate the anniversary of the battle..................