Author: Alf Thompson, The Earl of Northampton’s Regiment

Orders of the day, Volume 33, Issue 2, 2001

An Historical Skirmish to Coincide With the Muster at Hawkstone Park

Once again we have the opportunity of engaging in re-enactment at this picturesque Shropshire venue. Hawkstone is a beauty spot covering many acres of park and farm land. The landscape weaves a tapestry that integrates natural beauty and unique features. Hidden among sandstone ridges and rocky outcrops are wooded glades and ravines that would entice the most reluctant of townies to take a walk along a series of pathways into the world of Tolkien - there is enchantment around each twist and turn. Within the natural magic are tastefully scattered follies to enhance the spell. From the highest vantage points are open views across Shropshire and Cheshire to the mountains of North Wales. It is an idyllic setting to appreciate the experience of the Northern Marches, or as one child remarked when we were last at Hawkstone, 'to be in Narnia’.

Although there is no recorded military action directly associated with Hawkstone Park, the area saw more than its share of strife during the Civil War period. The park is only four miles from the small market town of Wem which was the Parliamentary H.Q. for the Cheshire Committee and seven miles from Shrewsbury, arguably the Royalist capital of the Marches until February 1645. The heights of Hawkstone are a mile from the main Shrewsbury to Whitchurch road and the area would have been in the centre of many comings and goings of rival armies along the ancient Marcher route. Mee (1939) recalls local legend about the cliffs of Hawkstone being a hiding place for escapees during the Civil War and that the 100-foot caves offered sanctuary from capture.

The King, having raised his standard at Nottingham in August 1642, arrived at Shrewsbury on 20th September. He was well-received in the ancient market town and established his first headquarters of the Civil War at the Council House. The Marcher lands and the Welsh borders had already been identified as being generally sympathetic to the King's cause and appeared to be fertile ground for recruiting and financing the Royalist war effort. During Charles’s occupation of the town a mint was established that coined the first royal coinage of the Civil War. This was a necessity, as Parliament held London and the Royal Mint. Once established at Oxford the Shrewsbury Mint ceased and coining transferred to Oxford. A printing press was established at Shrewsbury in order to support the Royalist war effort. Only six other presses existed outside London and it was crucial for the King to develop a base to print his own propaganda, which had become a major weapon in the 17th century and as an instrument of war as vital as powder and ball.

The Royalist contribution to the plethora of propaganda material produced during the Civil War was poor compared to the wealth of material produced by Parliament. Certainly before the King had established a firm base at Shrewsbury the Parliamentary war machine was circulating broadsheets that cast disparaging rhetoric to the effect that 'the King's soldiers in Shrewsbury wore crucifixes around their necks and openly drank the health of Phelim 0’Neill, the instigator of the massacre of Irish Protestants'. One particular broadsheet claimed that 'with papists, atheists and desperate ruffians they have made Shrewsbury strong'. It became clear as the war progressed that there was many a Parliamentary sympathiser in Shrewsbury who was prepared to filter out propaganda information, some essentially true, some blatantly false, but then true or false it was grist to the propaganda mill. It also became clear that a Parliamentary spy network was successfully operating in Shrewsbury and that fifth-column activities greatly affected military incidents in the locality to the detriment of the Royalists and ultimately contributed to the fall of Shrewsbury to Parliament.

Whilst in Shrewsbury the King wasn't so much paying out of crown coffers to recruit to his cause, but rather having others pay him to serve in his cause. Charles openly sold dignities and titles during his campaigning stay in the town, and much Parliamentary ado was made in respect of the King's ‘racketeering’ at this juncture of the war. It is recorded that Sir Richard Newport of High Ercal paid £6,000 for a peerage and became Lord Newport (some sources state £10,000), and that James Lister (Lyster) of Routon purchased a knighthood for a vast sum. The town council presented Prince Charles with £100 and gave his younger brother James £60, while a further £200 was contributed to raise a piece of ordinance. Although the Parliamentary propaganda machine made hostile profit from the King's bartering there was of course nothing new in a monarch selling titles to augment the royal coffers.

Charles left Shrewsbury on 12th October 1642 and so began his journey to Edgehill and the Civil War proper. There were scenes of jubilant celebrations as he led a flower-strewn parade through the streets. One eye-witness told of a vast column of marching men led by armoured and helmeted horsemen who with feathers and plumes about their helmets were like the knights of Agincourt. He describes how these proud men carried basket-hilt swords and two pistols each with battle-axes hung from their saddles. Some of the foot companies were dressed in fine attire with coats of the same colour, whilst following on were companies of poorly-clad farm workers carrying 'pitch-forks to reap a harvest of death'. The King left behind Sir Ottley as Governor with an initial garrison of 200 foot and 60 dragoons. The town was considered to be impregnable and local Royalist gentry families sought safe house within the town walls, not only for their own personal safety, but for the safe keeping of their valuables; so much so that when the town unexpectedly fell to Parliament it was a veritable treasure trove.

The King appointed Arthur Lord Capel as his Lieutenant-General for North Wales and the Marches and gave him a mandate to secure all of Cheshire and Shropshire for the crown. Although little territorial advantage lay in Parliamentary hands there was stern resistance from Cheshire and Shropshire Parliamentarians who appeared to be growing in strength and threatening strategic Royalist garrisons. In March 1643 Lord Capel entered Shrewsbury at the head of his army. It was not long before he set about his task; unfortunately for the King whatever Capel attempted to do failed. Indeed between March and December 1643 Capel had brought about a reverse effect and lost rather than gained ground in the region. He clearly underestimated the abilities of Sir William Brereton and Sir Thomas Myddleton in leading and harnessing Parliamentary resolve in Cheshire and the Borders.

One argument suggests that Capel delayed too long and allowed Parliament too much time to establish garrisons and a military presence in the region. Given that he was operating out of Shrewsbury it beggars belief how Parliament managed to implant a major garrison at Wem and construct fortifications to establish a formidable headquarters for the Cheshire Committee, Wem being only seven miles from Shrewsbury and five miles from Whitchurch which was then a Royalist garrison. However in August 1643 Thomas Mytton, along with other leaders of the Parliamentary Cheshire Committee, established a garrison under the nose of Capel. By the time Capel began to act Parliament had taken Whitchurch and reinforced Nantwich, and held Middlewich and Beeston Castle.

Capel’s prime goal was Nantwich as the Royalists considered the town to be the most strategically important in breaking Parliamentary resistance in the region. In October 1643 he led an army of 4-5,000 out of Shrewsbury to attack Nantwich. Parliament got wind of his plans and Brereton and Myddleton mustered the Cheshire and Shropshire garrisons to meet him. On arriving outside Nantwich Capel aborted the attack in the face of Parliamentary reinforcements advancing upon him; he about-turned and retreated towards Shrewsbury and instead commanded the Royalist van of about 1,000 to attack Wem. The garrison had sent most of its force to join Brereton and only 300 men remained; however the garrison troops were reinforced by the women of the town who repulsed wave after wave of Royalist assault. The Wem fortifications must have been considerable as the Royalists never broke through, as must have been the courage of the garrison men and women. It was recorded that at least six carriages of dead were taken away and 17 more bodies left on the ground, and that nine Royalist senior officers were either killed or taken prisoner. As for the Parliamentary dead, only one senior officer and one soldier were killed, though a further six were killed at Lee Bridge when the Parliamentary forces under Brereton were in hot pursuit of the Royalist army as it retreated from its savaging on the ramparts of Wem. The bravery of the women of Wem is recorded in a vitriolic ditty contemporary to the Royalist defeat:

"The women of Wem and a few musketeers
Beat the Lord Capel and all his Cavaliers".
      (Lewis 1996 F.27)

As for Capel, his days were numbered as Lieutenant-General for the region. Having gained no ground and lost some, he faced the King’s displeasure and was replaced by Lord Byron in December 1643. Capel, although obviously unsuccessful, was much maligned and continued to serve the King faithfully until his execution following the equally unsuccessful South-East rebellion in the Second Civil War. Byron fared no better than Capel. After he had been reinforced by the Royalist Irish army which landed on the Welsh coast in November 1643 he gained some initial success: all the Royalist garrisons on the North Wales Coast were regained, Beeston Castle taken and Middlewich returned into Royalist hands. However the prize of Nantwich was still the Royalists’ main goal and at the battle of Nantwich in January 1644 Byron was severely defeated.

Remnants of the Royalist army defeated at Nantwich retreated to Chester and Shrewsbury. Senior officers of the Irish army went to Shrewsbury, notably Sir Fulke Hunckes and Sir Michael Ernley. In February 1644 they were joined by Colonels Tyllier and Broughton who had also landed in North Wales with a further 1700 reinforcements. On landing, Byron wrote to Ottley requesting that Shrewsbury billet the whole of the Irish army, as Chester was unable to cope with so many reinforcements. Ottley, as Governor of Shrewsbury, obeyed his senior officer’s request, although Shrewsbury was in no better position; it had been consistently and systematically denuded of resources in favour of Chester throughout the war. In fact it was the threat on Chester by a besieging force that gave Prince Maurice cause to leave Shrewsbury open to attack as he went to Chester's aid in 1645.

Avenging angel or demon, depending on your allegiance, Rupert was sent by the King to remedy the failures of Capel and Byron, and to restore Royalist territory in the north of England. By the spring of 1644 all of Lancashire had been taken by Parliament except for Royalist garrisons at Greenhalgh Castle and Lathom House; Cheshire was rapidly falling under Parliamentary control and the Scots had crossed the border in support of Parliament. The King's Northern Army, commanded by the Earl of Newcastle, was stranded in North Yorkshire, sandwiched between the advancing Scots and the Parliamentary forces in Lancashire.

On receiving the King's orders Rupert wrote to Ottley; he had heard that the town was in an ill-disciplined state and warned Ottley that he expected it fit for his arrival. Ottley replied, assuring Rupert that things were in good order and that he had recently executed a corporal for ill-discipline. Ottley had previously sent out letters from Shrewsbury highlighting his concern about the Parliamentary spy networks and unashamed concerns about lack of resources and the overall ill-discipline. Indeed when Sir Fulke Hunckes replaced Ottley as Shrewsbury's governor he attempted to rectify the poor discipline by a regime of punitive control. His measures were so zealous that the town council feared mutiny and requested that he be replaced as Governor. He was replaced by Colonel Broughton, who in turn was captured at the Battle of Montgomery, then by Sir Michael Ernley. As Sir Fulke Hunckes left Shrewsbury as its departing governor he issued a warning that if discipline was not restored then Shrewsbury would destroy itself.

Rupert had obvious concerns and was probably well aware that a cosmopolitan township of English, Irish and Welsh, under-resourced, under-paid and under continual threat, would not be a haven of contentment. Furthermore there was a need for success and a rallying of the King's cause. On 18th February 1644 Rupert arrived at Shrewsbury to fuel the fires of his uncle’s cause and gain control over Northern England. No sooner had he arrived and begun to plan his campaign, events at Newark took over. The King ordered that his immediate task should be to relieve Newark of the Parliamentary siege. In March Rupert set out for Newark and inflicted a severe defeat on Meldrum's besieging forces; in April he was back in Shrewsbury for his initial mission. In May, at the head of an 8,000 strong army, Rupert marched north. Parliament thought that he might have targeted Nantwich and cut a swathe through Cheshire; instead he skirted Cheshire and Staffordshire, making for Lancashire. He was a man on a mission and time was of the essence; he had to support the Earl of Newcastle as quickly as possible whilst smashing the Parliamentary grip on Lancashire.

After the events at Newark this short period in the Civil War was to be Rupert's zenith. Within six weeks of leaving Shrewsbury he had stormed Stockport and Bolton, chased the Parliament garrisons out of Wigan and Preston, captured Liverpool, taken Clitheroe Castle and relieved the besieged garrisons at Lathom and Greenhalgh. Unfortunately for Rupert, his ascendancy was short-lived as he suffered defeat at Marston Moor on 2nd July. By the end of July he was back in Shrewsbury and all that he had gained was once again lost or under threat.

Whilst Rupert was campaigning in the north the Earl of Denbigh and Sir Thomas Myddleton with a combined force stormed Oswestry on 22nd June. This was a major Parliamentary gain in the Marcher lands and in September 1644 Parliament beat the Royalists at the Battle of Montgomery. Armies fighting out of Shrewsbury suffered major losses and the Shrewsbury garrison was severely depleted. By the autumn of 1644 only Chester in Cheshire and Shrewsbury in Shropshire remained as Royalist strongholds.

Shrewsbury was thought to be impregnable and Chester more vulnerable. Furthermore Chester was considered more important to the Royalist cause, because it was the gateway to the North Wales coast and, more importantly, the only port accessible to the Irish sea-board. In February 1645 Prince Maurice stripped Shrewsbury of most of its available arms and men and marched to the relief of Chester which was being besieged by Brereton's Cheshire forces. Byron had also been stripping Shrewsbury in support of Chester for over twelve months and the actions of Prince Maurice, however honourable, left Shrewsbury extremely weak. Prince Maurice achieved his immediate goal of relieving the Chester siege and forced the Parliamentarians back into the suburbs of the city. He then joined up with Prince Rupert and recaptured Beeston Castle which was considered to be of strategic importance.

Had Prince Maurice known what was to happen at Shrewsbury during his absence then he might have thought twice about campaigning with Rupert, as Shrewsbury was a high price to pay for Beeston. Once Maurice had left it seems that Parliamentary spies quickly communicated the weak state of the town to the Parliamentary Cheshire Committee at Wem. Malbon (1889) cites contemporary records that describe Shrewsbury as being in a wretched state and the King's cause waning in the town. The denuding of the town’s supplies had caused the townsfolk to rise up against the ruling Royalist authority and the garrison soldiers who remained were ill-disciplined, unruly and drunken. It is recorded that the Governor, who was himself weak and sick, constantly attempted to bring calm to the half-mutinous soldiery. Sir Fulke Hunckes’ prophecy of the town endangering itself through ill-discipline was coming to fruition.

Certainly Parliament were kept well aware of the state of affairs in Shrewsbury by fifth columnists. It was obvious that the time was ripe to strike a blow. Sir Michael Ernley was attempting to govern a self-inflicted disaster, as Sir Francis Ottley, Shrewsbury's first Royalist governor, had communicated that he had uncovered a plot to give Shrewsbury over to Parliament. Indeed Mercurius Aulicus of January 1645 reported a Court journal informing that “some false bretheren in Shrewsbury communicated intelligence to the garrison at Wem that they were able to surprise a part of the King's forces at Ellesmere”. Two names are associated with the espionage: a minister named Huson and a soldier William Willier serving in Hunckes’ regiment. Both men had quitted the town by mid-February 1645 and Huson immediately reported the weak state of Shrewsbury to the Wem committee. He also briefed the Parliamentary officers on the distribution of the garrison and the vulnerable points in the town’s defences.

Urged on by Huson, the Parliamentary Committee at Wem decided upon an immediate surprise assault on Shrewsbury. During the hours of darkness of February 22nd 1645 a combined Parliamentary force mustered out of Wem. Brereton sent horse and foot to join the forces of the Wem garrison under the command of Col Bowyer; the combined forces of Cheshire, Staffordshire and Shropshire companies numbered approximately 3,000.

Arriving outside Shrewsbury at about 4.00 am Parliament knew which points of the town’s defences were vulnerable to attack. Following the information of their spies, carpenters were sent out across the ditches and palisades to cut through the weak points. Having made breaches in the town’s defences without causing alarm, the foot companies poured into the town, opened the gates, and once the cavalry charged into the streets it was all over within two and a half hours. Apart from one pocket of resistance within the town it capitulated without much fight. Parliament took many notable prisoners and secured Royalist booty that had been held in the town for safe-keeping. It was a well executed surprise attack that should not have surprised anyone, given the nature of the known espionage. It is recorded that less than ten Royalists died in the assault and that only one Roundhead was killed. The English/Welsh elements of the garrison were allowed under terms of surrender to march with colours to Ludlow, the Irish element being bound over for execution.

Bibliography/Sources

• Memorials of The Civil War in Cheshire and the Adjacent Counties, T Malbon, Record Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, Vol. 19, 1889
• Tracts Relating to The Civil War in Cheshire 1641-1659, Ed. Rev. James Augustus Atkinson, Chetham Society Vol. 65, 1909
• Memoirs of The Civil War in Wales and the Marches, J Rolan Phillips, 2 Vols., 1874
• The King’s England - Shropshire, A Mee, 1937
• The Garrisons of Shropshire During The Civil War, M Stackhouse Scott, 1867
• The Letter Books of Sir William Brereton, 2 Vols., Ed. R N Dore 1984 Record Soc. Lancashire and Cheshire Vols 123/128
• Fire and Sword Along The Marches, John Lewis, 1996
• The Civil Wars in Cheshire, R N Dore, 1866
• North Wales in The Civil War, N Tucker, 1958