Battle of Shrewsbury 1403
Who Fought
Royal army 12,000-14,000; rebel forces approximately 10,000
History & Significance
The Battle of Shrewsbury was fought on 21 July 1403, waged between an army led by the Lancastrian King Henry IV and a rebel army led by Henry "Harry Hotspur" Percy from Northumberland. The battle, the first in which English archers fought each other on English soil, reaffirmed the effectiveness of the longbow and ended the Percy challenge to King Henry IV of England. Part of the fighting is believed to have taken place at what is now Battlefield, Shropshire, England, three miles (5 km) north of the centre of Shrewsbury. It is marked today by Battlefield Church and Battlefield Heritage Park.
During the fight of Henry Bolingbroke, the future King Henry IV, against Richard II of England, Henry was heavily supported by Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, Thomas Percy, 1st Earl of Worcester and Henry Percy nicknamed Hotspur. As reward Henry Percy, the Earl of Northumberland, was appointed Constable of England and Warden of the West March; Hotspur Warden of the East March and justiciar of north Wales and Thomas, the Earl of Worcester, was made Admiral of England, and in 1401 steward of the household. When Henry IV launched his campaign in Scotland in 1401, he shifted the immense financial burden onto the nobility of northern England, while later denying them the lucrative ransom payments from the Scottish nobles captured at the Battle of Homildon Hill.
At the same time, a conflict between Owain Glyndŵr, the Lord of Glyndyfrdwy in North Wales, and Lord Grey of Ruthin, a Lancaster supporter and councillor, had escalated into an armed Welsh revolt. When during an English campaign to end the revolt Edmund Mortimer, the brother in law of Hotspur, was captured the king refused to pay ransom to Glyndŵr.
Realising Henry would eventually leave them in the lurch at his convenience the Percies publicly renounced their allegiance to King Henry IV. In a manifesto they charged him with perjury because he claimed the throne in addition to his old lands and titles, raising taxes despite his promise not to and imprisoned and murdered King Richard II.
In early July 1403, Hotspur had started the march south to meet his uncle, Thomas Percy at Cheshire, where he began raising an army. When Henry, who was in Burton-on-Trent at the time, learned of the Percies’ betrayal, he marched first to Stafford on July 18, where he spent the night. After receiving word in Stafford that Hotspur was on his way to Shrewsbury, he set his troops in motion on July 20 and reached Shrewsbury, 32 miles away, that very same day, where he was awaited by his son Henry of Monmouth.
At the same time, Hotspur had marched south from Chester. Since the king’s rapid arrival prevented him from entering Shrewsbury, he was forced to change course. He retreated three miles northwest to the village of Berwick for the night. From there, he sent scouts across the River Severn in search of his Welsh allies. The armies of the Percies and their allies were divided into three separate groups, widely scattered: In the north were still considerable forces under the Earl of Northumberland. Somewhere in the southwest lay Glendower’s army; and in between, facing the king’s united army, was Hotspur’s hastily assembled army, consisting mainly of volunteers from Cheshire.
The ground they fought on
The site of Battle of Shrewsbury 1403 lies on Triassic Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Triassic. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.
This battlefield is listed on the Register of Historic Battlefields — a national designation identifying Britain's most significant battle sites for protection and further research. Reference: NHLE 1000033.
Frequently Asked Questions
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- Battle of Shrewsbury 1403 · Historic England
- Battle of Shrewsbury · Wikidata
- Battle_of_Shrewsbury · Wikipedia
- Battle of Shrewsbury · BritishBattles.com
- Siege of Shrewsbury · Wikidata
- Battle of Shrewsbury · Battlefields Trust