Forest View Wood

The church is located on the site of the Battle of Pilleth (1402). Looking at the steepness of the hill on which the church is located you can easily appreciate how the renegade Glyndower won this battle. Glyndowers forces were ensconsed high up on the hill with reserves hidden around the right flank (as seen from this location). Sir Edmund Mortimer - descendant of Sir Roger Mortimer, the Earl of March (captor of Edward II) - stupidly decided to attempt a fight whilst climbing the hill. It could only have one result. Mortimer was captured and later married Glyndower's daughter. Although fought during the reign of Henry IV, the Mortimers arguably had a stronger claim to the throne than both the House of Lancaster and the House of York. As an aside as I was leaving the site I heard the news that Birmingham City FC had just been relegated from the Premiership (2011). As a Englishman I felt sad for the lose of the battle all those years ago, as a ex-season ticket holder at Aston Villa my mood somewhat changed on hearing the radio.

The Memorial stone was placed in the churchyard by a group of Wellingtonians during the 1870's. The bones of those that fought and fell in the battle are still occasionally found on the hillside. Remains of many of the fighters lie beneath the area located by the stone. The battle was fought between the local militia raised by Sir Edmund Mortimer and the insurgents of the renegade Owen Glyndower. The next time we hear of Glyndower is when he invaded England (aided by the French) and met a proper army commanded by Henry IV at Abberley valley near Great Witley, Worcs. With both sides having command of high ground on either side of the valley neither wanted to move into the lower part of the valley. After several days standoff the forces of Glyndower dissipated and he left the field never to be heard of again.

Gweddillion castell mwnt a beili Normanaidd a elwir Castell Foel Allt. Saif yr amddiffynfa ar lan Afon Llugwy ym Mhilleth. Yn 1402, hanner milltir i ffwrdd i'r gogledd ym Mrwydr Bryn Glas, lladdwyd oddeutu 1500 o Season gan fyddin Owain Glyndwr. The remains of a Norman motte and bailey castle known as Castell Foel Allt (trans. wooded hill with a bare summit) which stands on the banks of the Lugg River. In 1402, less than half a mile away to the north on a hill known as Bryn Glas (trans. Green Hill), an English army was routed by the forces of Owain Glyndwr.

Piler triongli ar gopa Llan Fawr (Lan Fawr?). Yn y pellter gellir gweld Bryn Bache a'r Domen Ddu / Micsen Ddu, dau Hewitt sy dros 2,000 o droedfeddi. A triangulation pillar on the summit of Llan Fawr (probably 'Y Lan Fawr' meaning 'The Big Hill'). In the distance one can see Bache Hill and Black Mixen, two Hewitts over 2,000 ft.

The Welsh forces of Owain Glyndwr occupied the domed hill named Bryn Glas (Blue Hill in Welsh) and the English force, the Herefordshire militia or county levy under the command of Sir Edmund Mortimer, approached from this angle, up the broad valley of the River Lugg and not far from the border and Offa's Dyke, on the Welsh side of course. The outcome a resounding Welsh victory. The Welsh dead are said to be buried in the plot where the three surviving Wellingtonia trees stand. The English dead were said to be left to rot, despoiling the area.

The Wellingtonia trees, originally I think six in number, were planted in Victorian times to mark the mass grave of the dead of both sides in the battle. Some accounts state that only the Welsh dead were buried, with the English bodies left where they fell for weeks afterwards making the area unliveable. The English force may have numbered up to 3,000 men, with maybe 500 to 1,500 being killed. Though the numbers can only be guessed at really and erring on the side of the smaller quantities is probably more realistic.

The site was very probably an important Welsh religious site for centuries, having a well rising here on the hillside. By the medieval period, around the 1200's, this church had been built and it was apparently damaged during or after the Battle of Pilleth in 1402 which took place around this spot. The bell dates from around 1450 and probably relates to the time when the church was restored following the battle. The tower was built at this time too. It was then again burned in 1894. Fitted with a temporary roof by 1909 it was refurbished properly once more only in 2002-2004 with Heritage Lottery funding. Its ancient walls lean precariously.

A short account of the battle and its background and rammifications accompanied by some artists depictions of scenes from the combat and a photo of a representation of Owain Glyndwr are sited inside the church, for visitors interested in the battle, the man and the times.

Pilleth church, St. Mary's, can be seen to the left marking a holy well or spring that emerges on the hillside and below is the modern hamlet of Pilleth comprising Pilleth Court and a collection of barn conversions and farm buildings. The plot with the Wellingtonia trees marks the grave of the men killed in or shortly after the battle. The valley of the River Lugg lies below, looking towards the English border and Offa's Dyke. Offa's Dyke Path follows the skyline. It was probably between me and the trees that the bulk of the English army, really a county levy of the men of Herefordshire, a militia in effect rather than seasoned professional troops were killed. They had Welsh archers firing longbow arrows down on them and had to toil uphill immediately after a long march in full kit under a June sun. Then just to cap it all the contingents of Welsh archers on their own side, serving English lords, changed sides, firing into their backs. Effectively surrounded by superior fire power they were cut down at will with their enemies out of reach. English knights like Sir Walter Devereaux of Weobley and King Henry's Knight-Marshall, Sir Robert Whitney died alongside the yeomen and farmers sons of Herefordshire. They were defeated by inferior training, weaponry, leadership, planning and most cruelly, treachery. Those not killed outright may well have been mutilated by Welsh women camp followers in revenge for the excesses of other English forces in Mid Wales earlier in the revolt when English soldiery raped and ravaged their way around Strata Florida and other localities when campaigning under King Henry IV. Sir Edmund Mortimer, the commander of the English force was captured. Cousin to Henry Bolingbroke / King Henry IV he had maybe a more valid claim to the English crown and was unransomed by the king probably for that reason. Realising this he was soon to join with Glyndwr, marrying one of his daughters, Catrin but subsequently dying during the siege of Harlech Castle later in the revolt, either of starvation or disease.

It was here, almost certainly, that in late June 1402 a force of Welsh men loyal to Owain Glyndwr must have camped, prior to the Battle of Bryn Glas or Battle of Pilleth. The hill is a perfect medieval defensible site, domed with good all round views, with a water supply at a well or spring at Pilleth church and large enough to temporarily house several hundred men, some horses, baggage train and camp followers. It commands the valley of the River Lugg, where a larger English army would have to come. If the English army was too large to be taken on the Welsh would have several escape routes deeper into Wales and across into neighbouring valleys. If battle brought victory then the English border town of Leominster or numerous manor houses and churches down the valley would be within striking distance of men with their blood up.

Looking into Wales the hills get a little higher and more steep, imposing and impressive. It was here that a Welsh army loyal to Owain Glyndwr camped on the night of 21st June 1402 prior to what has become known as the Battle of Bryn Glas or Battle of Pilleth, a resounding Welsh victory just under two years into the revolt against usurper English king, Henry Bolingbroke, King Henry IV. Of course the Welsh force didn't know that they would be victors that night but they must have hoped for it, based on intelligence that the county levy of Herefordshire was a day or so march down the valley. This was no massive English army of professional knights, time served noblemen, seasoned soldiers or men-at-arms but a force comprising farmers, their sons, yeomen and tavern braggards. It was led by Edmund Mortimer and dotted with Herefordshire landowners and their retinues. It also comprised Welsh archers, in service to English lords but possibly already in league with Glyndwr's men and ready to turn on their appointed lords at the precise time instructed.

Where the Welsh force must have stood before the battle, watching the English force approach up the valley of the River Lugg. The Welsh were on home soil. They were prepared. They were rested. The English were footsore, a county levy and a larger force but seemed to walk into a baited trap like greenhorns. The Welsh baited the trap with a vulnerable looking force of longbow archers on the hill, while in the valley to their left they hid their reserves, ready to join battle once the English were committed. The English must have toiled up the hill under a rain of longbow arrows. Welsh archers had already sealed English victories at Crecy and Poitiers over the French armies, under the Black Prince. Their reputation was a known quantity. Welsh archers from Llantrisant, Abergavenny and other localities could fire at a rate that would significantly contribute to the win at Agincourt for Henry V in 12 years hence. But the English came on, uphill, under a hot sun into a hail of death. Why didn't they stand off? Assess. Parley. Maybe they were just up for a scrap, Earl and brawny farmer alike, reckless and feeling superior to the devious 'barefoot dogs' within their grasp. Greedy for glory? Seeing fame and favour? They sweated and panted to their deaths as Welsh arrows struck them down, or wrenching themselves out of the fray they ran back down the hill, back down the valley, back down the River Lugg, sick with defeat and just glad to be a survivor.

Set high up on Bryn Glas, overlooking the Lugg Valley. Seriously damaged by fire in 1894, it has only recently been fully restored. The wait was worthwhile and the Hereford firm have done a remarkable job. Owain Glyndwr won a decisive battle here against Edmund Mortimer in 1402.

The dazzlingly white interior, showing the new plaster ceiling.

Looking West in this battlefield church. The battle of Bryn Glas raged around the church in 1402. Owain Glyndwr emerged victorious, but only after enormous loss of life.

Newly restored and limewashed, loved and cherished by its tiny congregation, the church commemorates the horrific encounter here between the forces of Edmund Mortimer and Owain Glyndwr in 1402. Result : Wales 1, England 0.

From the end of a large lay-by.

The road is at the foot of a hillside field, full of sheep when I passed by, in the next square.