The Battle of Shrewsbury

How is the Battle of Shrewsbury remembered?

Battlefield Church on the northern edge of Shrewsbury is the most obvious reminder of the Battle of Shrewsbury. The Church was built on the site of the Battle, as a way of remembering the thousands who died there.  The dead were buried in a large pit, on which the church was built. In a similar way, Battle Abbey in Sussex, was built on the site where Harold is believed to have been killed during the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

In 1406 Richard Hussey applied for a royal licence to build a chapel commemorating the thousands who lost their lives at the Battle of Shrewsbury. The battle was fought on the eve of the feast of St. Mary Magdalene and the chapel was dedicated in her name. Most of the chapel had been built by 1409 though the tower was erected around a century later.

In 1410 the chapel was converted into a College of Chaplains, which, among other privileges, was granted immunity to taxation. Here a master and five chaplains said daily mass for the dead. The church is the only college building to survive. However, on the south wall of the church it is still possible to make out a scar that marks the position of a three-storey building once part of the complex.

Each of the college chaplains had a chamber, the use of a garden and a fishpond. The remains of eight fishponds can still be seen. These were used to store and rear fish for the college kitchens.

The college closed in 1548 and the college buildings either fell down or were demolished for their stone and building materials. By the mid 18th century the church too was in a poor state of repair, the nave of the church having lost its roof. However, the Corbet family carried out restoration work in 1861, repairing the roof and adding a mortuary chapel. Today the church is cared for by The Churches Conservation Trust and, although no longer used for worship, remains a consecrated building.