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Introduction
Shrewsbury, in common with the rest of the country, underwent a period
of turmoil in the middle of the seventeenth century. The war, itself, has
been closely studied both in Shrewsbury and in the rest of the country.
The years before the war, however, including the 'Eleven years of tyranny’,
have received less attention. The purpose of this study is to draw a picture
of life in the town during the early years of King Charles' reign and to
examine the events of 1642 in the light of this background.
The existing sources can be divided into three main groups. Firstly, the
central government records. The state papers and the parliamentary journals
contain many references to the town and its residents. There is, however, a
danger in relying too heavily on this sort of information, because most of the
business that merited communication between Shrewsbury and London must have
been, in some way, special. To attempt to build up a picture of life in Stuart
England from this source would lead to an error of emphasis, with a picture of
constant conflict resulting. The normal life of the town would tend to be
ignored.
The local records, which could overcome this problem, are limited in their
extent. The records of the county Quarter Sessions are in print but are
incomplete before 1696, the earliest reference being for 1638
1. The corporation
order books are no longer in existence
2 but they have been extensively
quoted in Owen and Blakeway's history of the town. 3 The most important
of the town's guilds, the Drapers' Company, has left very comprehensive
records and these have formed the basis of a recent study 4. Other records
exist in manuscript form but they are beyond the scope of this paper. In
combination, these first two groups of sources enable the comparison of
local events and national trends so that a balanced picture can be built
up.
Lastly there are personal reports and memoirs. The papers of Sir Francis
Ottley have been published but they give little insight to the period before
the outbreak of the war. 5 Clarendon is of special use because he actually
came to the town in 1642. 6 The only near contemporary history is that of
the village of Myddle, which makes some references to the neighbouring
town. 7 There is, however, a shortage of this last type of source, which
makes it difficult to interpret the attitudes of the local residents.
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