On the 12th of October the King left Shrewsbury, and quartered for the night at Bridgnorth, where, Clarendon observes, “there was a rendezvous of the whole army, which appeared very cheerful.” [Vol. 2, p. 42.] Here the king stayed three days; and I am one of those who feel, that our town and Castle were never so honoured by a royal visit as on this occasion. Many of the Monarchs of England have been here; many crowned heads have entered the portals of our Castle, and rested within its walls—Normans, Plantagenets, and Lancastrians—but to none of them, in my mind, attaches the same deep interest, and to none is due the same tribute of veneration, as to this unhappy monarch of the House of Stuart. Not only was he by far the most accomplished Prince that ever sat on the English throne, and endowed with considerable intellectual powers,[48] as his successful controversy with Henderson, the Presbyterian Minister, clearly proved; but he was distinguished in all the relations of private life by the highest moral principle: by a purity, fidelity, and love, which are rarely seen in king’s courts, and have seldom been equalled in retired domestic circles; and these virtues in him were combined with a deep-seated reverence for religion. He was not blameless in his public conduct; far from it. There was a weakness and want of stability in him, which justly exposed him to the charge of inconstancy, if not of insincerity. He was subtle and evasive, and it may be at times, under the pressure of very trying circumstances, disingenuous in his transactions with his opponents, so that they complained that they could not depend upon him. But he was refined in the furnace of affliction. “Sweet” to him, as they have been to others, were “the uses of adversity”; so that when his end drew nigh,[49] there appeared in him, as his enemies allow, a calm heroic fortitude—saintly magnanimity—a firmness, combined with a gentleness and forgiving love—which we do not often find surpassed even in the early Martyrologies. No memorial then connected with our Castle, is to me of equal interest to that of its having been occasionally, during his declining fortunes, the residence of Charles I.

It was on one of these visits that he passed that eulogium, so well known, and, in the opinion of many, so well deserved, on our Castle Walk; namely, that it was the finest walk in his dominions. We can easily picture him to our minds, (for there is no King with whose lineaments we seem to be so familiar, in consequence of the many inimitable paintings of him by Vandyke) we can easily picture him, with measured step and pensive aspect, taking his walk along this terrace, and his face for a moment lighted up with pleasure at the fair scene which burst upon him; each step as he advanced bringing into view some new and striking object—the bold front of the High Rock—the wooded declivities of Apley—the graceful winding of the Severn, with its “margent green,” and the sloping uplands on either side of it. But he could not give free indulgence to such pleasurable emotions, for a heavy burden of care lay upon his mind, which did not admit of his thoughts being long diverted to anything else.

He left Bridgnorth on the 15th of October, and eight days after was fought the famous Battle of Edge Hill,[50] in Warwickshire, where, if it had not been for the fiery impetuosity of Prince Rupert, such a signal victory might have been gained by the King over the forces of the rebels, as to decide the fate of the campaign in his favour. Then followed the taking of Banbury Castle, the march of the King’s army to Oxford and Reading, and the capture of the town of Marlborough. These military operations in different parts of the country convinced the authorities of Bridgnorth of the necessity of making further preparations for the defence of the town, and we find a Common Hall order was passed for this purpose, dated November 29th, 1642:—“Watch and ward shall be duly set day and night in all convenient places of the towne where the Bayliffs shall think fit, and the open places within the said towne to be made up as the Bailiffs shall find expedient; and such as are minded for their own safety, and the safety of the towne, to bear arms, they are desired with all convenient expedition to provide arms at the general charge of the towne.”

But in the beginning of the next year they deemed it necessary to introduce a few horse soldiers into the town, as appears from a Common Hall order, dated January 25th, 1643; by which it was agreed that nine dragoons should be maintained at the general charge of the said town. Towards the charge of the said nine dragoons, it is stated that Mr. Thomas Corbett undertook to lend a horse and provide a rider, so that the town should bear the charge of the horse and rider. Thomas Glover undertook to provide two horses, saddles, and bridles, at 1s. per day for the hire of each horse. Several other persons furnished a horse and sword, and a bandolier each. Captains of the watch and ward were appointed, with orders that the said watch and ward be from Six o’clock in the morning until Six o’clock in the evening, and from Six o’clock in the evening until Six o’clock in the morning; and it was appointed that eight men should watch in the night, and six men in the day.

In the beginning of this year, the King had made Lord Capel, Lieutenant Governour of our county, than whom there is not one in either party during those troubled times that bore a more honoured name—a loyal-hearted servant of the crown—a dutiful and devout member of the Church of England—one of the firmest, as well as noblest, champions that the royal cause could boast of.[51] While exercising his function as Lieutenant Governor of Shropshire, he was not unmindful of so important a post as Bridgnorth, but adopted means for its security, as we find by an order of the Common Hall, of May 23rd, 1643:—“The Right Honorable the Lord Capel, Lieutenant General to the Prince his Highness, of his Majesty’s forces in the countyes of Worcester, Salop, and Chester, and the six northern countyes of Wales, hath appointed Sir Thomas Wolrich, Knight and Bart., to draw his forces of the trayned band of this county which are under his command, to this towne and neighbourhood hereabouts of Bridgnorth; it is agreed that fortifications be made in all fords and places about this towne, and the liberties thereof, where the said Thomas Wolrich shall think good to appoint, and that all the men of this towne shall come themselves, or send labourers to this work, with all speed; unto which work Edward Cressett, Esq., and Edward Acton, Esq., justices of peace of the said county, being present, do promise to send labourers and workmen out of the country. Secondly, whosoever has volunteered will bear arms for the defence of this towne, and the neighbourhood hereabouts, shall be listed, and attend the service of training weekly, upon every Tuesday, to be exercised therein, whose teaching and training for that service Lieutenant Billingsley (at the towne’s entreaty) is pleased to undertake.”

The year 1644 was a disastrous one to the royal cause, in consequence of the signal victory, which Cromwell gained over Prince Rupert at Marston Moor, July 2nd; and the following year opened very gloomily on the fortunes of the king; but the people of Bridgnorth did not desert the cause of their sovereign, though recent events had proved it to be a failing one, but they made further preparations for resisting the insurgents, and for holding out against them.

It appears that a Committee had been formed for the purpose of hastening forward the works, and for putting the town in as good a posture of defence as the circumstances would allow. The following is a copy of another order made by them, dated May 21st, 1645:—

It is ordered that with all convenient speed Colonel Billingsley shall place soldiers and arms in the North Gate, in Whitburn and in the Hungry Gates, and that the barns without the works be pulled down, and that the prisoners who are there be taken thence and disposed of elsewhere, by Mr. Bailiffs, and that the Towne Walls on both sides North Gate, and the works about the towne, be presently made up, and the Towne Hall and New House pulled down, and for the making of the said wall the treasurer to lay out money not exceeding £10 for workmen, to be repaid out of the first money raised out of the delinquents’ Estates. Copia vera.”