InfoBritain

 

Battlefield, Shropshire

Battlefield Church: this image is copyright free

The village of Battlefield in Shropshire marks the position of the Battle of Shrewsbury. It was here in 1403 that the forces of King Henry the Fourth defeated a rebellion led by Henry Percy, or Hotspur, son of the Duke of Northumberland. This battle is portrayed in Shakespeare's play King Henry the Fourth Part 1.

The play tells the story of a group of powerful men, some of whom have great respect for the fates that shape their ends, some of whom feel they can shape their own ends. The Battle of Shrewsbury marks a culmination of the tension between confident young men like Hotspur and fatalists like the Welsh rebel Owen Glendower. Glendower refuses to send help to Hotspur at Shrewsbury because he thinks the prophecies appear unfavourable. He is proved right, in the sense that the rebels are defeated; but one of the reasons they are defeated is because Glendower did not send help. The prophecy is self-fulfilling. In this way Shakespeare showed force of will combined with the force of fate, and the impossibility of disentangling the two.

On the morning of the battle King Henry, and his son, Henry the Prince of Wales, look at the sunrise. The King reads his own fears into a blood red sun and a fearfully pale morning. The Prince worries that the southerly wind whistling in the leaves foretells defeat. The King then pulls himself together and remarks:

 

Then with the losers let it sympathise

For nothing can seem foul to those that win (5.1. 7-8)

 

Anything can be read into the sunrise and the wind blowing. Glendower foresaw defeat in such things, and defeat is what he got. Perhaps the battle between armies reflects on an internal battle with our own fears and doubts.

The site of the battlefield has a number of information boards giving information about the battle. The church, St Mary Magdalene, usually known as Battlefield Church, was built on the orders of Henry the Fourth as a memorial to all the men who died here.

Directions: The village of Battlefield is off the A49 just north of Shrewsbury in Shropshire. Click here for an interactive map centred on Battlefield Church.

Access: there are paved footpaths laid out in a circular route around the site of the battlefield. At one point there is a viewing mound.