Loop 1. SHREWSBURY TO CHESTER.
Leaving Shrewsbury by the Battlefield Road, and passing through the unprepossessing parts of the old town, the church standing upon the site of the battle becomes a conspicuous object when the higher ground is reached, about a mile from the town. This remarkable memorial of the terrible slaughter which took place in 1403 is necessarily of the Perpendicular period, and at the present time is a simple parish church, to which flocks a congregation eminently agricultural. Restorations have taken place at various periods, but sufficient remains of the original to make it of great interest. The site is that upon which the fiercest part of the battle occurred, and where, after the fight, the dead were crowded by hundreds into vast pits; for the slaughter upon that fatal day was tremendous, numbering probably 8,000 men. The army of Glendower, the Mortimers, and the Percies lost 5,000 men by the most moderate estimate, and that of the victor, Henry of Bolingbroke, was but little less, chiefly owing to the deadly accuracy of the Cheshire bowmen of Percy's army, who at first almost succeeded in winning the fray. But the King's army was double the number of his opponents, and that always told in a civil war. For three hours before sunset the struggle waged round the site of the church, and when at last Percy's army broke and fled, they made for Wem to the north, or the higher, wooded ground to the east. The road to Whitchurch passes through Wem, from which Hawkstone Park may be seen towards the west upon high ground, and the obelisk to Rowland Hill. The scenery upon the route is eminently characteristic of English pastoral life, with farmsteads and cottages nestling in charming seclusion amid a wealth of foliage, or upon the summits of the small undulations which diversify the Shropshire plain. At intervals stretches of heath alternate with the cultivation, while along the whole route the Welsh mountains form a broken sky-line to the west.
Whitchurch is a busy country town with a market, and forms a centre for the trade of the district. The remains of the castle which once existed here were visible down to 1760, but now no traces can be seen.
The Church.—The old church of Whitchurch fell in 1711, and the edifice built upon the site is in heavy Romanesque architecture. There are monuments in it to the Earls of Shrewsbury, one in armour being representative of John, the first Earl, who was killed at Bordeaux in 1453, and whose remains were brought from France to be interred here.
Soon after leaving Whitchurch, Overton Scar forms a conspicuous feature in the landscape, lying to the left near the vale of the Dee.
Cholmondeley Castle, three miles to the west of Malpas Station, is the seat of the Marquis of Cholmondeley, and is situated in the Peckforton Hills. The younger son of David le Clare settled here in Norman times. The present castle is a modern building erected in the Norman style, while the old hall, of Elizabethan foundation, was, unfortunately, placed in the hands of Vanbrugh for restoration, and became so completely altered in appearance that one would hardly guess its origin. The district lying around these hills was the scene of many encounters between the Royalists and Parliamentarians. Near Broxton Station stands Carden Hall, one of the most beautiful examples of timbered mansions in the country. It was built in the time of Elizabeth, but the Cardens were here in the reign of Henry VIII. The Hall was garrisoned by the Royalists, but after being captured by the other side was plundered, like most of the mansions in this county. About a mile farther on Aldersey Hall stands to the left, about ten furlongs from the road. It is asserted that it has been occupied by the family of that name since the Norman Conquest.
In Handley Church a good brass may be seen of the Venables family, and Calveley Hall, once a manor-house and now converted into a farmhouse, has a good oak staircase and some excellent wainscotting in the rooms.
Rowton Moor is reached next, where the Royalists suffered a defeat in 1645. The road passes through the battlefield.
