THE FORTRESS

Chapter 9

A MONARCH DEPOSED ON THE ROAD TO SHREWSBURY

The monarch Edward “Longshanks” was succeeded by his son Edward in 1307, who as King Edward II was said to have visited Chester in 1312 to meet and welcome Piers de Gaveston who was returning home from Ireland. He in turn was later succeeded by his own son King Edward III in 1327, who was the English King that had 5 sons, all of whom were raised to the rank of Duke. Sadly this would create a situation which would almost inevitably lead to years of deep division, mistrust and hostility between subsequent generations of the royal family.

This King Edward’s first son was Edward the Black Prince, who was born in 1330 and as the monarchs first born, was made Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall and Earl of Chester. Following his death in 1376 while involved in a military campaign in Spain, the Black Prince’s young 7 year old son became the legitimate heir to the English throne and later succeeded to the crown as the ill fated Richard II. During his minority, the young prince should have been counseled by his uncle, John of Gaunt, but he was so despised by the English Baron’s that an advisory council was appointed instead.  

King Edward III’s second son was Lionel of Antwerp who was born in 1338 and died in 1368, at the comparatively young age of 30. He was made the Duke of Clarence and during his brief life he was said to have married Elizabeth de Burgh, the daughter and heiress of the Earl of Ulster. Together they had one daughter, Philippa, who later married Edmund Mortimer, the Earl of March

Edward’s third son was the infamous John of Gaunt, who married Blanche Plantagenet and was made the Duke of Lancaster. Although he was a highly experienced soldier, Gaunt never commanded the level of respect offered to his father or his older brother Edward, a slight that seemed to follow Gaunt throughout his life.

He was reported to have been married 3 times, his first wife being Blanche Plantagenet. His 2^nd wife was Constance of Castille, whose younger sister, Isabella, had also married into the royal family. His third and final wife, Katherine Swinford, had initially been his mistress, but later became his legally recognized spouse. Through his marriage with Blanche, John had one son called Henry who was made the Earl of Derby and two daughters, Philippa who married John of Portugal and Elizabeth who married John, the Earl of Huntingdon.

Along with his mistress Katherine Swinford, John was recorded to have had 3 sons and 1 daughter who were all born out of wedlock and therefore deemed to be illegitimate. However, these children were later legitimized by an Act of Parliament and took the surname of Beaufort, after the name of their father’s castle in France. John Beaufort was made the Marquis of Somerset, Thomas Beaufort became the Duke of Essex and Henry Beaufort entered the church. His one and only daughter, Joan, was said to have married Ralph Neville, the Earl of Westmoreland.     

Edward’s fourth son was Edmund of Langley, who was made the Duke of York. He married Isabella of Castille, the younger sister of Constance who had been married to John of Gaunt. Edmund and his wife had two sons, the first of which was Edward who was made the Earl of Rutland. Their second son, called Richard was made the Earl of Cambridge and their daughter, later married Thomas, the future Earl of Gloucester.

King Edward’s youngest son was Thomas of Woodstock, who was made the Duke of Gloucester. From his marriage he had a single daughter called Anne, who was married 3 times and was the foundation for the Stafford Dukes of Buckingham and the Bourchier families. Thomas was said to have been appointed Justice of Chester in around 1393, but he was so disliked by the local people that they rose up against him. His nephew the king, Richard II, having been made aware of this local antipathy towards Gloucester and having a regard for the local population, finally removed his uncle from office.

Legend suggests that Richard was invariably a mean spirited and ruthless individual who was given to both erratic and violent mood swings. Despite the best efforts of his uncle, John of Gaunt, who tried to moderate the young king’s behavior, Richard seems to have been loathe to accept any sort of advice and was thought to have been responsible for the murder of the Duke of Gloucester, his uncle and John of Gaunt’s brother. The monarch was also said to have been liable for the murder of the Earl of Arundel and for the exile of the Dukes of Warwick and Norfolk.

Henry Bolingbroke was the eldest son of John of Gaunt, and a grandson of the late Edward III, giving him a direct lineage and legitimacy to the throne of England. He was first made Earl of Derby and following his father’s death was the rightful heir to inherit the title of Duke of Lancaster. However, the family was so deeply distrusted by their relative, King Richard II, who suspected that his late uncle, John of Gaunt and his sons were all conspiring to usurp him as the ruler of England and to seize the crown for their own.

Perhaps to forestall any attempt by the Dukes of Lancaster and their supporters to oust him, on the death of his uncle, John of Gaunt, the suspicious Richard seized the lands and titles of his relatives and exiled his cousin Henry Bolingbroke from the country. The Earl of Derby had his period of exile extended from 10 years to life by the spiteful prince, who refused to allow Henry, the eldest son of John of Gaunt to succeed to his father’s titles and estates in 1385. It was a malicious act that would ultimately have disastrous results for the malevolent Richard and would lead him to lose both his kingdom and his life.   

The ill-fated king was reported to have been married to Anne of Bohemia, the daughter of Emperor Charles IV, who unexpectedly died in 1394. Richard was said to have been so devastated by the loss of his Queen, that he visited Ireland in 1394 in order to distract himself from his sorrow

For his part Richard appears to have been extremely fond of Chester and visited the city many times between 1398/9 and this fondness for the city and county is best represented in his decision to employ 2000 Cheshire archers as part of his personal bodyguard. However, relations with the city were not always so cordial, it being reported that Richard ordered the Constable of Chester to march against the Duke of Gloucester with a force of 5000 local men. This force was subsequently beaten by Gloucester’s army at Radcote, with a large number of local men killed, forcing the king to pay the city 3000 marks in compensation.

One of Richards leading supporters, Baldwin de Radington who was the controller of the royal household, was reported to have visited Chester in 1394, to procure accommodations and stores for the king, who was traveling to Ireland to distract himself from the loss of his Queen. The royal agent was empowered to imprison any citizen or person that failed to comply with his requests and having reached the city he immediately presented himself at the Abbey of St Werburgh.

Whether or not the Abbot refused his demands for accommodation and supplies is not entirely clear, but it was reported later that De Radington and his men attacked the Benedictine house, occupied its precincts and helped themselves to large quantities of the Abbey’s wine stores.

A number of local men, who had called to investigate the disturbance were then seized by Radington’s followers and were held against their will. The city’s Mayor, along with his two Sheriff’s then demanded to see the king’s agent, in order that he might explain himself and his actions. Believing the Mayor to be in grave danger, someone sounded the alarm within the city, which resulted in a large number of heavily armed citizens rushing to the rescue. Needless to say, a riotous affray broke out in and around the Abbey, resulting in Radington and his men having to flee the city by way of the “Kale Yard” gate at the rear of the Abbey and across the monk’s vegetable gardens.

Furious at the treatment he had been handed down, De Radington returned a few days later with a much larger force of men, determined to avenge his humiliation. Unfortunately for him, his approach had been witnessed by the local authorities and all of the city’s defenses were shut up against him.  

Being able to claim direct descent from King Edward III, by 1399 the exiled Bolingbroke had a large number of supporters within England and Richard’s often brutal suppression of his political opponents or those that had a direct claim to his throne simply drove them closer to the exiled Henry’s cause.

Confident that he had strong support within the country, Bolingbroke returned to England determined to reclaim his position and titles from the unpopular Richard. Having landed back in England, the exiled Duke made his way to London and enlisted the aid of a large number of the nobles within Richard’s court, having first persuaded them of his good faith and intentions.

Bolingbroke now had the military strength and popular will to confront his cousin King Richard and to settle heir differences by force of arms should that become necessary. Marching north, first to Shrewsbury and then on to Chester, Bolingbroke was later joined by a large military force to support his cause against the monarch. Richard was away in Ireland at the time and the rebel Duke knew that the king would have to land in North Wales before he could hope to confront Lancaster’s forces.

Bolingbroke knew that Richard’s military support in the country was waning, as his was increasing and it was perhaps in view of this that he chose to illustrate his resolve and lack of pity for Richard or his followers. A leading supporter of the king, Sir Piers Legh, who was seized at Chester, was executed on the orders of the Lancastrian leader and his decapitated head displayed for all to see. It was a stark reminder to those that might question their loyalty to him or were considering any possible support for his opponent. Legh’s severed head was displayed for some time, but later retrieved and buried along with the rest of his corpse by members of the city’s Carmelite order.

It was possibly a sign of his confidence in his own military position that Bolingbroke does not appear to have marched into North Wales to meet the returning Richard. Instead it was reported that he sent a small party of nobles, headed by another cousin, Henry Percy, to meet and deliver the monarch to the Castle at Flint, where the two feuding cousins might meet to finally resolve their dispute.

It has been suggested that Lord Henry Percy had received an undertaking from Bolingbroke that he had no plans to seize the crown for himself, but was simply seeking to restore the family titles and lands which had been sequestered by the king. At the behest of the Duke, Percy and his small band of men rode into North Wales to meet the newly disembarked sovereign and having assured him of his safety, escorted him first to Rhuddlan Castle, then on to Flint Castle.

Richard was said to have been accommodated overnight at Flint and the following day Bolingbroke arrived at the Castle to speak directly with the monarch. The meeting between the two cousins was said to have been a fairly brief affair, both of them being aware of the situation and of the likely outcome, little or nothing that was said was going to change their individual fortunes.

Following this tense exchange, Bolingbroke ordered that Richard and his companions be transported to Chester, where the prisoners were temporarily held in one of the gateway towers. Some short time later, the Lancastrian Duke, escorted the king to London and to his imprisonment at the tower, prior to being deposed by Bolingbroke who subsequently ascended the English throne as Henry IV.

Bolingbroke, as Henry IV reigned for a period of 14 years or so, between 1399 and 1413. He was then succeeded by his son Henry V, who is regarded by many as possibly the greatest warrior king that England ever produced.         

Three years after the deposition of Richard II the city hosted Henry “Hotspur” Percy, a former sheriff of the city, within its ancient precincts, an event which would cause Henry IV to mistrust Chester and its inhabitants in subsequent years. Percy and 200 of his local confederates, along with their retainers, led a revolt against the king that would culminate in the Battle of Shrewsbury and result in the rebels being defeated by the monarch’s forces. One quarter of Henry Percy’s dismembered body was later sent to Chester along with the severed heads of two of his allies, so that they might be publicly displayed as a direct warning to any other potential rebels.

The son of the Duke of Northumberland and his wife Mary Plantagenet, a grand-daughter of Edward III, Henry “Hotspur” Percy was reported to have been the “shining light” of his generation. At 11 years of age, he was said to have been knighted by the then king, Richard II and within a few years was being celebrated throughout England for his dashing good looks, his personal valor and chivalrous behavior.

At the preposterously young age of 12, Percy was reported to have led the final charge in the relief of Berwick, which had been captured and occupied by Scottish forces, who had crossed the border on one of their regular incursions in around 1376. Commanding his forces from the front, the young knight was said to have been surrounded by a large body of faithful Northumbrian troops who were dedicated to keeping their young Lord safe from harm.

Having lost Berwick to the Northumbrians and the young Lord Percy, the Scots, under the command of the Earls of Montgomery and Douglas, once again invaded northern England with an army of some 50,000 men. As before, they were to be faced by the Northumbrians and their charismatic young leader, who instead of confronting the Scottish army head on, allowed them to pass by his own force and only moved against them once he was sure that he had cut off any possible lines of retreat. Effectively trapped by the English, the Scottish leader Douglas, challenged Percy to a bout of single combat, which the young knight perhaps foolishly accepted. Douglas was much more experienced than Percy and was thought to have easily unseated his young Northumbrian opponent.

Having been unseated by the Scottish knight, Percy might well have been captured by his enemies, had his comrades at Newcastle not rushed out to recover the temporarily incapacitated young lord from the dangerous situation. Later, as he slowly recovered his senses, Percy realized that he had not only lost his seat to Douglas, but more importantly, he had lost his lance to the Scottish leader, a disgrace he was honor bound to redress.

Douglas too, recognized the importance of the captured lance to Percy and was reported to have publicly belittled “Hotspur” regarding its loss. Having defeated the Northumbrian prince in single combat, the Scottish army besieged Newcastle and made several attempts to take the defenses by force. With Percy now fully recovered, he and his brother Ralph were to be found in the vanguard of the defenses and engaged in fierce hand to hand fighting. Time after time the Scots attacked the city, but each and every time they were repulsed by its valiant defenders.

Realizing that they were unable to capture the city, Douglas and Montgomery decided to lift the siege and withdraw back into Scotland. As they withdrew, Douglas was thought to have taunted Henry Percy for a final time with his captured lance; it was an insult that “Hotspur” vowed to avenge.

As the Scots withdrew northward, towards the safety of their borders, Percy quickly gathered his forces and set off in pursuit of them. By the end of the day, he was said to have caught up with the Scottish army and immediately engaged them in fierce hand to hand fighting. The resulting Battle of Otterburne, which involved much bitter fighting between the two armies, saw Percy victorious and Douglas defeated. True to his nature though “Hotspur” then made the reckless decision to pursue the remnants of Douglas’ army across the border and was subsequently captured by the Scots.

Although held captive for a period, “Hotspur” was eventually freed, a ransom having been paid to guarantee his release. Following the bitter battle at Otterburne and the death of Douglas, the border area between the two countries seems to have remained relatively settled, apart from minor disputes which arose occasionally.

In the same period when the Scottish border area was becoming settled and peaceful, the rest of England was beginning to fracture and divide, as opposing factions within the country vied with one another for influence and power. The sovereign, Richard II, had appointed a number of highly unpopular individuals to positions of power within the country and in doing so had alienated some of his previously loyal and most influential supporters. True to his highly erratic and unpredictable nature, the monarch rewarded and punished members of the nobility in an often arbitrary and casual manner, with his decisions often made on the basis of a perceived or unproven act.

For his part Henry Percy seems to have remained largely in Richard’s favor and was reported to have been appointed as Justice of North Wales and Constable of the castles at Chester, Flint, Conway, Denbigh and Caernarvon, by the king. He was also made a Knight of the Garter, Governor of Carlisle and Warden of the Western Marshes.

The Percy family’s successes were generally regarded with great suspicion and jealously by their cousins, the Dukes of Lancaster, who saw them as potential rivals to the English throne. The death of John of Gaunt, the king’s uncle, in 1399, marked a pivotal point in the fortunes of the family, caused in part by the actions of the king himself. Because of his uncle’s conniving and plotting, Richard deeply distrusted all of his relatives, including Henry Bolingbroke, John of Gaunt’s eldest son, who was the rightful heir to the lands and titles of his late father. Instead of allowing Bolingbroke to succeed his father as the Duke of Lancaster, instead Richard seized his lands and titles and exiled his cousin to France.

Dismayed by the sovereign’s actions, Hotspur later found himself under suspicion because he had dared to question Richard’s unreasonable behavior. It has been suggested that Royal Warrants were issued for the Percy’s arrest, but that the family were forewarned by their allies at court and left London for their estates in Northumbria. Fortunately for Hotspur and his family, troubles in Ireland seem to have distracted Richard and the warrants were never served on the family. These events however, did illustrate to Hotspur the erratic and tenuous nature of the family’s relations with the king and perhaps informed their future dealings with and attitudes towards Richard II.

While the sovereign was occupied in Ireland, his cousin Henry Bolingbroke had returned from France, having been persuaded by his supporters that the time was right to contest his claim against Richard. Two of the first nobles to meet with him on his return were Henry Percy, along with his father, the Earl of Northumberland. They requested Bolingbroke to forego any claim against the crown, but to simply settle for the return of his inheritance that had been unjustly taken from him by the king. Whether or not Bolingbroke was genuine about the undertaking he gave the Percy’s in respect of his claim to the crown isn’t known, but his later actions tend to suggest that he agreed the Percy’s terms simply to reassure them and to gain their military support against the king.

Richard had returned from Ireland to find the majority of the country set against him and his army either disbanded or fragmented. As he arrived at Conway, instead of being met by a loyal army waiting to fight his cause, he simply found messengers carrying news of his opponent’s gains and military assets. With few options left open to him, Richard sent the Earl of Essex to meet with Bolingbroke at Chester, where the exiled Duke was mustering his forces.

Having imprisoned Essex, Bolingbroke asked Percy and his father to meet with Richard, who was likely to be more trusting of his relatives, than he would of a stranger. Riding westward along the North Wales coast, the Earl and his son Hotspur, soon met up with the king, who reluctantly accepted their guarantees for his safety and their offer of escort. Having issued arrest warrants against the Percy’s, there was little reason for Richard to trust them, but given the situation he found himself in, he had little if any choice.

For their part, whether or not Hotspur and his father believed that Richard would remain safe wasn’t an issue. They had received an oath from Bolingbroke that he would not pursue his claim to the throne and they were content that he would stand by that solemn undertaking.

In the first instance, Richard was conveyed to Rhuddlan Castle by the Percy’s and shortly afterwards was moved to Flint Castle. Having sent a messenger to Bolingbroke at Chester, the king and his escorts had to wait overnight for him to arrive. The two cousins met and spoke together for a short time, before the entire party made their way back to Chester, with the king and his companion astride two poor quality horses. Richard was then held in a tower at the Castle’s gateway and watched over by the sons of two noblemen that the king had ordered to be executed.

The ill-fated monarch was later transported to London where he was held at the Tower, while Bolingbroke engineered his deposition as King of England and later, according to legend, his untimely death. Having broken his sacred vow to the Percy’s not to pursue the crown, the new monarch Henry IV, now sought to exclude Edmund Mortimer, the rightful heir to the throne who was in the care of the Percy family.

Perhaps recognizing that Henry Percy had the same rights and claims to the English throne as himself, Henry IV sought to reward the family’s services to him. The Earl of Northumberland was said to have been made the Lord High Constable of England, while his son Hotspur was appointed as the Warden of the Eastern Marshes and named Governor of Berwick, Chester and Flint. The Percy family also gained possession of the Isle of Man and its dominions.

Despite the granting and receipt of lands and titles between the two parties, the relationship between the Percy’s and Henry IV continued to be cool and fractious. Charged with holding the troubled North Wales area for the king, Hotspur had to continually demand payment from the monarch to pay his troops and maintain the regions defenses. Eventually, the young Knight became so exasperated by the task that he resigned his post, much to the displeasure of Henry IV.

Around 1402, a series of border skirmishes allowed Hotspur to distract himself from all the political intrigue and factional infighting that was circulating throughout the country. These incursions were only finally stopped when Percy met and defeated the Scottish raiders at the Battle of Nesbitt Moor. In response to this defeat the Scots once again launched a full scale invasion of England with a force of over 10,000 men. Yet again, Hotspur was called on to meet the military challenge and repeated his earlier strategy of allowing the invaders to pass by, before blocking their retreat and then attacking them with his troops. Percy’s force now included a large number of Cheshire Archers, who devastated the Scots lines and led to a relatively easy victory.

Having captured a number of the Scottish leaders, Hotspur had planned to adopt the custom of the time and ransom them back to their families or exchange them for English prisoners. However, these plans were upset by the king, Henry IV, who demanded that the Scottish leaders should be held as hostages in London, to prevent further incursions from the north. Outraged by the demand, Hotspur was not inclined to comply with the sovereigns orders. When he finally did obey the king’s command, he ensured that the main Scottish leader, the Earl of Douglas, was not amongst their number. Furious at Percy’s refusal to hand over Douglas, Henry IV demanded that the young Lord appear before him personally to explain his actions.

The fearless young knight traveled to London to face his monarch and to explain his refusal to hand over his prisoner. No doubt aware, that his position still remained highly tenuous, the sovereign refrained from punishing Hotspur, aware that the young lord could easily become a focal point for his enemies. Instead, the king granted Percy and his father, the Earl of Northumberland, the lands and titles of their prisoner Douglas. It was a deliberate and planned act by the monarch, who was relying on Hotspur and his father pacifying these new lands, at no financial or military cost to the English crown.

Henry IV already had it in mind to seize the Percy lands and estates at a point in time of his own choosing; an act deliberately designed to force the family into a military conflict with the crown. Given the Percy’s claim to the throne, which was equal to his own, the king had decided on a winner takes all strategy, which would either end or ensure his right to reign England unopposed.

The king’s antipathy towards the Percy family may well have been strengthened by Hotspurs marriage to Elizabeth Mortimer and the later birth of a son to the couple. Elizabeth was an aunt of Roger Mortimer, the Earl of March and the legitimate heir to the English throne. The young son born to Percy and his wife was also a threat to Henry IV’s role as monarch and simply reinforced the Percy/Mortimer claim to the crown, at the king’s expense.

Having been made aware of the king’s plans, Hotspur decided to pre-empt the monarch by publicly proclaiming for the Earl of March and disputing the kings right to the crown. Making sure that his wife and young son were safe, Percy rallied his forces and began his fateful journey southward, towards Cheshire and North Wales. The Earl of Northumberland, Hotspur’s father did not immediately join his son, but remained in the North, to gather allies that might support a rebellion against Henry IV, citing him as a common enemy.

Around July 1403 Percy was reported to have been in Chester, where he was seeking men to support his cause on behalf of the Earl of March and to publicly denounce Henry IV for his treatment of the ousted king Richard II. It was said that Percy announced that Richard was still alive and being held prisoner by the former Henry Bolingbroke, but this is unlikely, as Percy and most of the assembled men that were present, must have known that Richard was dead and had been for some time.

Hotspur’s other reason for being in the region was thought to have been to meet with Owain Glyndwr, the rebel Welsh leader that was an opponent of Henry IV and a potential military ally to Percy’s cause. In earlier times, Glyndwr had held Edmund Mortimer as a captive for his own ends, but following the Earl of March’s marriage to Glyndwr’s daughter, had now become a supporter of the young Edmund’s claim to the English throne.

From an early age Henry “Hotspur” Percy was famous for his gallant and chivalrous behavior and the treatment he accorded those under his care or in his custody. Despite having a distant claim to the English crown himself, history suggests that he only ever sought to serve his monarch, regardless of the financial or physical cost to himself or his estates. It is not unsurprising therefore, that following Henry IV’s decision to renege on his earlier promises, Percy took the young Edmund Mortimer, the rightful heir to the throne, into his personal care.

A number of leading English noblemen, who were equally disgruntled with Henry IV, were thought to have joined Percy’s rebellion, supported as he was by Glyndwr and Edmund Mortimer, a legitimate candidate for the English throne. There were also thought to be those that would not openly declare for Hotspur’s cause, but decided to remain neutral in any future engagement and would wait to see the outcome of any confrontation between the two men.

Along with his assembled force, Percy left the city of Chester and moved on to Sandiway, where he was to be joined by his uncle, the Earl of Worcester with his own armed retinue who would join the rebellion against the king. After mustering their combined forces, Hotspur and his uncle moved towards Shrewsbury, where they expected to finally confront their mutual enemy.

Prince Henry, later the famed warrior king, Henry V, who had been accompanying Percy on his earlier travels, was thought to have been stationed at Shrewsbury along with his own forces as the day of battle dawned. Some historians have suggested that the young prince actively participated in the later Battle of Shrewsbury against Percy, while others have stated that he deliberately withheld his force from the confrontation, because he could not face having to oppose his former friend in combat.

Having arrived at the gates of Shrewsbury, the presence of Henry’s standards in the town confirmed to Hotspur that his opponent was already in attendance and was prepared to meet him. Moving his forces slightly northwest of the town, Percy and his retinue were thought to have stayed at the nearby Berwick Grange on the eve of the Battle. He was still hoping to be joined by the Welsh leader Owain Glyndwr, as well as the Earl of Northumberland in his fight against the king and was confident that their combined forces would be more than a match for the king’s army. Sadly as it later transpired both of these potential allies were more than a day’s ride away and would afford Percy little aid in his subsequent battle with the king. Unknown to Percy, his father, the Earl of Northumberland had been struck down by illness, which had delayed his arrival from the North.

At the forthcoming battle, Percy’s forces would once again be supported by a large number of Cheshire Archers, considered to be some of the finest fighting men in the country. The following morning, Percy and Worcester began to assemble their forces in a field a little over 2 miles outside of Shrewsbury in the parish of Albright Hussey and lying close to the main Whitchurch Road. Opposite them, the army of Henry arrived from Shrewsbury and as both sides began to settle themselves into their military formations, the scene of battle was slowly beginning to be set.

In a final bid to try and prevent a bloody confrontation between the two parties, the king sent a messenger forward, asking Percy and his uncle to come before him, in order that they might resolve their differences in a peaceful manner and without having to resort to force of arms. Unfortunately, by this time the monarch was so mistrusted by Percy and his uncle that they simply refused his invitation and so an armed conflict became inevitable.

His plea for parley having been rejected by his former ally and aware that Percy might be reinforced by Owain Glyndwr or the Earl of Northumberland at any time, the Battle of Shrewsbury was thought to have been started by the king’s army. His opening act was immediately met by a hail of arrows fired by Percy’s Cheshire Archers who were in the vanguard of his force and were devastatingly effective. Having decimated the leading ranks of Henry’s army, the fearless and headstrong Hotspur instinctively galloped forward to engage the enemy.

Fighting his way into the main body of the opposition forces, Percy caught sight of what he thought was the king and pushing himself forward fell upon Henry and cut him down. A shout went up, that the king was dead, but then yet another figure appeared dressed in the royal attire. It soon became evident that the monarch had arranged for a number of knights to carry his colors, in order to distract and confuse Hotspur and his men. The king himself was safe at the rear of his forces, having been escorted there by a number of his leading supporters.

In the heat of the battle and perhaps to try and clearly identify his enemy, Hotspur was thought to have lifted his visor, a fatal mistake that would have fatal consequences. A stray crossbow bolt, fired by a member of the king’s contingent, found its way through the young knight’s defenses and bit deep into his unprotected forehead, killing him instantly.

Immediately a shout went up from the monarch’s men that the Lord Percy was dead, revitalizing their own faltering attack. With their charismatic young leader dead, Hotspur’s forces began to waver and in some areas they began to flee the field, anxious to escape the inevitable fate of a defeated army. The battle now swung fully in the king’s favor and within a short time there were few of Percy’s men left alive and those that had survived soon faced Henry’s inevitable revenge. For those that had fled the field in the hope of surviving the king’s wrath, it was a forlorn hope, as each one was hunted down by their enemy and forced to face Henry’s royal retribution.  

Following the end of the bloody Battle, Henry ordered a search to be made for the body of Hotspur. The young knight’s remains were reported to have been taken to a Chapel near Whitchurch, where prayers were said for his eternal rest. Initially, Henry was said to have been distraught at his former ally’s death, but shortly afterwards ordered Hotspur’s body to be dismembered and one quarter displayed on the city gate at Chester, as a deterrent to any other would be rebels.

Because of the city’s perceived support for Percy’s cause, Henry IV deeply mistrusted the people of Chester as well as their Welsh neighbors. He ordered the city authorities to issue a series of local ordinances which restricted the rights and movements of Welsh citizens within the city limits, with severe penalties applied for any infraction of the new laws. All Welshmen were ordered to leave their arms at the city’s gates and they were prohibited from meeting in groups of more than 3 people. They also had to leave the city precincts by the end of the day or risk the threat of execution.  

The city’s fortunes did eventually improve in the coming years and later monarchs would be far more generous to Chester and its citizens. Henry IV died in 1413 and was then succeeded by his son Henry V, who is still regarded by many as the greatest warrior king that England has ever produced.

In later years and prior to the historic Battle of Agincourt, this Henry was reported to have executed a number of English noblemen who were said to be trying to depose him in favor of Edmund Mortimer, the Earl of March who was the son of Philippa of Clarence, a cousin of the late Richard II.

By around 1420 Henry was thought to have secured the throne of France through his force of arms, but a little over two years later he was dead. The English crown was then passed to his six month old son, who had been born to Henry’s French Queen, Katherine de Valois. Following her husband’s death, Katherine would later begin a long term liaison with the Welsh Lord Owen Tudor and bear him 4 children, Edmund, Jasper, Owen and Tacina. The family which subsequently arose from this union would later go on to found the Tudor dynasty and create two of England’s most notable monarchs, the infamous Henry VIII and his renowned daughter Elizabeth I.

When Henry VI finally came to visit Chester in 1454 it was reported that he could only get to within twelve miles of the city by sea, so extensive was the silting of the river. In order to reduce the hardship on the city, the king agreed to reduce the royal levies that were due to him. Edward, the son of Henry VI was crowned Earl of Chester in 1454 and it would be some forty years before Henry VII, Henry Tudor, would visit the city with his queen in 1494. By the time of his visit, it was said that large sea-going vessels could no longer reach Chester’s ancient port at all and that only relatively small, shallow draught boats could gain access to the city’s ancient harbor.

In response to these changes, the city’s traders and shipping merchants were compelled to construct new harbor facilities further west, along the northern bank of the river. Initially, the new site was said to have been based at Blacon Point in Chester, where cargoes would be unloaded and transported into the city either by road or other smaller river craft. Sadly, this was only ever a temporary solution and as the silting worsened, so the port facilities were pushed further north and west to Shotwick, Parkgate, Hoylake and finally Meols, at the tip of the Wirral peninsula. Each and every one of these sites would be used in an effort to try and maintain the city’s international trading routes, but all would ultimately prove to be unsuccessful.

(Next Chapter)

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