Shropshire Routes to Roots - Shropshire places - Wem
by Samuel Garbet
When the war broke out in 1642, there were very few disaffected persons in Shropshire, that good county, as lord Clarendon calls it, where the king had been so prosperous in forming the army with which he fought the battle of Edge-Hill. The high sheriff, the justices of the peace, and the populace were in general well-inclined to his service; and they that most opposed it, retired to Bristol, or other places. The most considerable of the parliament party were Mr. Mytton, Mr, Mackworth, and Mr. Thomas Hunt, member of parliament for the town of Shrewsbury.
After the taking of Bristol, July 26th, 1643, the gentlemen above mentioned, attended by Mr. Richard Baxter, the famous dissenting minister, having got a small body of troops about the latter end of August, settled a garrison at Wem, being the first which the parliament had in this county. To fortify the town, a rampart, or wall of earth was thrown up; which began at Drayton gate, a little beyond Robert James's house, (which house was built for a sentry) and ran along the side of Sandland's yard, and about four-score yards into Cordwall, where it formed an angle, defended by a wooden tower; then it turned towards the mill, crossing Mr. Whitfield's meadow, (Forgham's yards) and the road just below Oliver's well, and passed along the side of the parsonage garden, adjoining to Buggen's lane, till it came to Shrewsbury gate. It then crossed the middle of the larger alleys, the upper part of the little alleys, and Hill's meadow, to the corner of the school garden, whence it turned through the tan-pits on the cast side the brook to Ellesmere gate. Thence it extended along the Noble-street garden, to two houses then in the fields, where a guard was kept, and from those houses continued to Whitchurch gate, opposite to Pidgeon's barn, thence being carried on in a straight line for forty or fifty yards, it crossed over Shenton's field, to Tyler's garden, ran along the side and the upper end thereof; and then through Morris's garden came up to Drayton gate. Mr. Baxter says that the ditch was little bigger than such as husbandmen enclose their ground with. But from the remains of it in Cordwall, it appears to have been four yards wide, and of a proportionable depth, perhaps it was narrower where the land could be flooded, for the low grounds were laid under water from Woodhouse's croft to Cordwall. The ditch may still be traced in Cordwall, the fields called the Hill's meadow, and Shenton's fields. The earth thrown out of the foss, or ditch made the wall, or rampart, which was strengthened by palisades placed so thick, that a whole coppice in the township of Lacon was cut down for this purpose. All houses and buildings without the wall were burnt, to prevent their giving shelter to an enemy.
1643. In the summer as soon as the king had notice of a garrison placed at Wem, he sent the lord Capel a person of great fortune, and honour, to Shrewsbury, with a commission of lieutenant-general of Shropshire, Cheshire, and North Wales. Probably to oppose him, the parliament sent from London sir William Buerton, a gentleman of competent fortune in Cheshire, and in that parliament one of the knights for that county. He brought with him a troop of horse, and a regiment of foot, and had orders to raise the train bands, and to fortify Nantwich. When lord Capel had got nearly five thousand men, he resolved to attack Wem before it's works were quite finished. At the same time sir William Buerton with his Cheshire forces, drew near the town to support and defend it. The two armies lay within a mile of each other, two or three days, and light skirmishes had happened between small parties, when the lord Capel made use of a stratagem to draw off the Cheshire men. He marched into their quarters, and plundered all the villages about Nantwich, and then under the cover of the night returned back another way. Sir William Buerton with his own men, and almost all the garrison of Wem hastened to relieve Nantwich, but by the time they came thither, the lord Capel was before Wem. Both the wall and the gates were unfinished. The gates had no hinges, being only reared up, and there were but few soldiers left in the town under the command of colonel Hunt. An express was immediately dispatched to sir William Buerton, who finding himself outwitted by lord Capel, would have persuaded his men to march back immediately to preserve Wem, but they being tired with their march home that evening, and vexed at the ravage that had been made in their absence, could not be prevailed on to follow the enemy. So Wem was given up as lost, but about three or four o'clock in the morning their minds changed, and then they would go to Wem, but they moved so slowly, and halted by the way, that lord Capel's army had twice stormed the town, and had been as often repulsed before their arrival. Some field pieces fired on the town, but did no execution, only a cannon ball passed through a hogshead of beer, at the houses in the fields from this accident, called "The Bullet Guard." About eighty men approached the wall on the north side, but fled at the sight of a lighted match, and two rolls of bark which Robert Woodhouse had planted in a tumbrel on the wall, and which he called "A couple of Drakes." The principal attack was made at Drayton gate. Of the parliamentarians, colonel Wyn was slain, and colonel sir Thomas Scriven mortally wounded. The royalists sustained some lost; but we have not the names of any that fell. All the time of action lord Capel sat smoking his pipe about half a mile from Wem, on the Soulton road. Had he boldly led his men on to the attack, and stormed several places at once, he could not have failed of success; there being only forty soldiers, and an undisiplined rabble of men and women to oppose him. The women particularly distinguished themselves, which gave occasion to this rhyme,
The women of Wem, and a few musketteers
Beat the lord Capel, and all his cavaliers.
As the cheshire men approached, the enemy drew off, and secured their retreat over Lee bridge, by seizing that pass, and annoying the army that pursued them from the hedges. The darkness of the night put an end to the engagement. Lord Capel returned to Shrewsbury, and sir William Buerton to Nantwich. 1644. The garrison of Wem seemed better provided for their defence, when prince Rupert seemed resolved to attack them. The Irish army that besieged Nantwich having been defeated on the 25th of January, his highness was sent from Oxford in the beginning of February, with a great body of chosen horse and dragoons, and some foot, for the security of Shrewsbury, and Chester, and North Wales, all which were terrified with this defeat. The prince made new levies at Shrewsbury, and then marched with his little army towards Chester. Wem lay in his way, and he took a full view of it from the Trench farm, and the bank at the Ditches; but then slighted it, saying, "It was a crow's nest that would not afford each of his men a piece of bread."
February 22nd, or 23rd, 1645, colonel Mytton and colonel Langhorn, two very active officers in the parliament service, with a party of fifteen hundred men being the garrisons of Wem and Oswestry, surprised the town of Shrewsbury. Sir Michael Earnley, the governor thereof, had unhappily two or three days before sent a great number of his soldiers upon some expedition. Of those that remained, several were corrupted by the townsmen, with whom the above mentioned colonels kept a correspondence. So in the night, the water-gate below Saint Mary's church was opened, the guard being in the plot, or made drunk, and a great body of the parliament forces was let into the town. By the same treachery they entered the castle, where the governor had been long sick, but rising upon the alarm out of his bed, he was killed in his shirt; whilst he behaved himself as well as was possible, and refused quarter; which did not shorten his life many days, he being at the point of death by a consumption; which kept him from performing all those offices of vigilance he was accustomed to, being a gallant gentlemen, who understood the office and duty of a soldier, by long experience, and diligent observation. To reward colonel Mytton for his good service on this occasion, he was advanced to the degree of major general. In the beginning of May in this year, the king had in the county of Salop, the garrisons of Ludlow, Bradgnorth, Dawley, Shrawarden castle, Caus castle, Moreton Corbet house, Stockley castle, Rowton castle, Lilleshill manor, Appley castle, High Ercal, Carew castle, and Embleden castle. The parliament had Shrewsbury, Wem, and Oswestry. At this time the greatest part of Shropshire was for the king, but after the fatal battle of Nase by, June 14th, he lost ground in almost every part of the Kingdom.
Major-general Mytton was governor of Wem, the garrison whereof took Ercall house belonging to lord Newport; Appley castle belonging to Mr. Charlton; Moreton Corbet house belonging to sir Andrew Corbet; and Shrawarden castle belonging to Mr. Bromley. Moreton Corbet house was set on fire to facilitate the taking of it. Shrawarden castle was surprized while the garrison attended public prayers in the chapel. Great was the plunder brought into Wem, which never flourished more than in these times of confusion.
The Round Heads of Wem was a name of terror. They extended their ravages far, and were very troublesome to the royalists, imprisoning their bodies, and sequestering their estates. Richard Sandland's house in the Noble-street was their prison. They drove doctor Midcalf from the rectory of Wem, John Arnway from that of Hodnet, and James Fleetwood from the vicarage of Prees. They compelled Wm. Allanson of the New-street, in Wem, to compound for his estate, by paying the sum of £80.
Page created 7 September 2003 and last updated 22 June 2007
