SHREWSBURY. 



Elder it had the privilege of a mint. In 1006, king Ethel- 

 red kept his Chriftmas here ; but in about ten years there- 

 after, the inhabitants having declared againft that prince in 

 favour of his rival Canute the Dane, his fon, prince Edmund, 

 afterwards king Edmund Ironiide, attacked and took the 

 town after a fhort fiege. On this occaiion Shrewfbury 

 feems to have fuffered greatly ; as in the reign of Edward 

 the Confedor, its houfes only amounted to 252 in number. 

 Pofterior to the Conqueft, it was beitowed upon Roger de 

 Montgomery, who was created earl of Shrewfbury, Arun- 

 del, and Chicheiler ; and appears from Domefday book to 

 have then paid 20/. in taxes to the king and fheriff. Earl 

 Roger, on acquiring pofleflion of this city, (for fo it was 

 ftyled in his time,) fixed his rehdence in it, and founded 

 both a caftle and an abbey. He did not, however, long 

 polTefs them undillurbed, for in 1067, Owen Gwynnedd, 

 prince of Wales, affaulted it with fo formidable a force, 

 that the conqueror deemed it advifable to repel the invafion 

 in perfon. He accordingly marched hither from York, 

 raifed the fiege, and overthrew the Welfh with prodigious 

 flaughter. Shrewfbury was again beiieged in the reign of 

 Henry I., in confequence of its then pofTeffor, Robert, fon 

 to eavl Roger, having united his forces to thofe of the re- 

 bellious barons ; and it was probably only faved from the 

 horrors of an aflault by the fubmiiTion of the earl, who was 

 banifhed to Normandy, and had all his immenfe eftates for- 

 feited to the crown. 



ShrewCbury being efteemed the molt important town and 

 fortrefs on the marches of Wales, continued, during fe- 

 veral centuries, to be one of the principal places of rendez- 

 vous for the Englifti armies, and hence was often vifitcd by 

 its monarchs. Numerous conflifts tooi. place in its imme- 

 diate vicinity, and its inhabitants frequently fuffered the evils 

 incident to fieges. During the wars between Stephen and 

 the emprefs Maud for the iucceflion to the crown, William 

 Fitz-Alan, a powerful baron, then governor of Shrewfbury 

 caflle, fupported the claims of the latter. Stephen, how- 

 ever, early obtained pofleflion of it, and ungeneroufly put to 

 death many of the brave knights by whom it was defended. 

 Fitz-Alan fled to the continent, where he remained an exile 

 till the acceflion of Henry II., who rellored him to all his 

 honours and poileffions. In the reign of king John, the 

 royal council allembled here to confider of the bell means of 

 checking the incurlions of the Welfh ; when the prince of 

 Powis came, and frankly offered terms of accommodation : 

 but to the difgraceof the Englifh lords, inllead of receiving 

 him with relpeft, they threw him into prifon. Soon after- 

 wards, however, he was releafed, and a treaty with the 

 Welfh was concluded, for the performance of which twenty- 

 nine children were delivered as hollages, all of whom were 

 moll inhumanly hanged by king John, in confequence of 

 feme infringement of its terms by the prince of Wales. 

 But this barbarous maflacre did not long remain unpunillied ; 

 for in I 2 1 5, the Welfh having difperfed all the armies of the 

 lords marchers, fuddenly appeared before Shrewfbury, which 

 fubmitted without refiltance. How long the Wclfli held 

 their conqueft, or how they loft it, is uncertain ; but in 

 1221 Shrewfbury had again palled into the poflclTlon of the 

 Englifli. In the feventecnth year of Henry HI. it was 

 plundered and burnt by the earl of Pembroke and other 

 faftious barons, who had joined their arms to thofe of prince 

 Llewellyn. The rebel Simon de Montfort, earl of Lei- 

 celter, likewife feized upon this town ; but it foon reverted 

 to the king: and in 1267, Henry aflcmbled a large army 

 here, with the defigii of crufliing the Wellh power, but the 

 interference of the pope prevented the execution of his 

 views. Edward I., who, during his father's life-time, had 



been inverted with the government of Skrewfbury, made it, 

 in 1277, the principal feat of his court, and removed hither 

 the courtJ of exchequer and king's bench, that he might the 

 more ealily accomplifh his favourite objeft, the fubjugation 

 of Wales. 



During the rebellion which the infatuated attachment of 

 Edward 11. to the Spencer family gave rife to, the king 

 was received at Shrewfbury with great military parade, and 

 a tournament was held here, attended by the knights and fol- 

 diers of the marches. Afterwards, when Edward was de- 

 prived of his liberty and throne by his queen, and her para- 

 mour, Roger Mortimer ; Edmund Fitz-Alan, earl of Arun- 

 del, who had been faithful to his allegiance, was feized by 

 the inhabitants, and put to death ; for which fervice Morti- 

 mer, in the name of the king, granted to the burgeffes of 

 Shrewfbury, whom he calls " the good men of Salop," all 

 the goods and chattels found upon the earl. Richard II. 

 held a parliament here in the 20tli year of his reign, on which 

 occaiion he gave a fumptuous fealt to the members in the 

 abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul. The next event of im- 

 portance which occurred at this town was the famous bat- 

 tle of Shrewfbury, in which Henry V., then prince of 

 Wales, firft diflinguifhed himfelf in the field, and the gallant 

 Hotfpur fell, after performing, in conjunftion with his rival 

 Douglas, the molt brilliant atts of prowefs. 



Throughout the whole of that eventful period, marked by 

 the contentions of the rival houfes of York and Lancafter, 

 the inhabitants of Shrewfbury ileadily adhered to theinterefts 

 of the former. The learned author of the " Account of 

 the ancient and prefent State of Shrewfbury," contends that 

 it was here, and not at Salifbury, as commonly fuppofed, 

 that Henry Stafliord, duke of Buckingham, was executed 

 by order of Richard III., who was chiefly indebted to him 

 for his ufurped crown. When Henry VII. landed in 

 Wales, he marched direftly towards Shrewfbury, where he 

 was received " with raptures of joy" by all except the 

 " head bailey," who for a time refufed him admittance. 

 Here he was firll proclaimed king of England, and here he 

 collected and organized the greater part of thofe forces with 

 which he achieved the lignal and decifive vittory of Bof- 

 worth Field. In confequence of thefecircumllanccs, Shrewf- 

 bury was greatly favoured by that monarch, and was fre- 

 quently vifited by him during his reign. 



From this period till the reign of Charles I. no event of 

 hillorical importance happened here. When the parliament- 

 ary war broke out, however, the king came hither, and was 

 cordially welcomed by the inhabitants, though they had 

 been ilrongly prejudiced againll him by the commiliioners 

 for the parliament. The greater part of the army with 

 which he firll took the field was compofed of pcrfons reli- 

 dent in this town and the adjoining counties. After the king 

 left Shrewlbury, it was garrifoned in his caufe ; but the bad 

 health of the governor having prevented him from enforcing 

 the difeipline of the foldiery with fuflicicnt vigour, tliey be- 

 came negligent and debauched. The parliamentary olFiccrs, 

 colonels Mitton and Bowyer, being informed of the llatc of 

 the garrifon, made feveral attempts to lurpri/.e tlie town, and 

 at length fucceeded in their objeil, in February 1645. By 

 this event the parliament gained the important advantage of 

 culling off the king's communication with North Wales, and 

 a formidable aflociation, which was on the point of being 

 f )rmed between the loyal inhabitants of the counties of Salop, 

 Woroeller, Chefler, and Flint, was ddlroycd in the bud. 



In Cromwell's life-time, and alio inuiiediately jifter his death, 

 two attempts were made to gain pofleflion of Shrewlbury 

 in favour of Charles H.; but both of them were fruflrated. 

 The laft circuraftaiice which hillory records worthy of notice, 



occurred 



