In 1903 a medal was struck for the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Shrewsbury, which was fought on a site just outside the town, now aptly known as Battlefield. In the battle (made famous in Shakespeare) King Henry IV’s forces defeated the rebel army of Harry Hotspur and his allies. The medal shows the church put up on the site by Henry VII as an act of gratitude toward God.
On the obverse of the medal can be seen the arms of Shrewsbury and Shropshire with their loggerheads. The other two shields of arms are the Royal Arms and one other which I can’t identify. It might be the arms of the Earl Of Powis, the Lord-Lieutenant of the county at the time. Can anyone identify it?
Interestingly, one of the most famous mayors of Shrewsbury, Herbert Southam, was in office at the time, and he has somehow wangled it that this name is on this medal too (in the rim), though there is no real reason why it should be there. Politicians don’t change….!
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