Medieval Archery in Worcestershire - Worcestershire County Council

Medieval Archery in WorcestershireOne of the most interesting class of field names recorded on the 18thand 19th century Inclosure and Tithe maps includes the term 'Butts’,referring to the place where archery was practiced during the medievalperiod (although butts were also a medieval unit of measurement).Archery butts are also referred to in more general place names such as'Archery Field'. Such names are important in reflecting arguably one ofthe most significant factors in the military success and internationalreputation of England during this period. The butts are typically locatedon the margins of villages or towns, on common land where archerypractice could take place without interruption. Such names arerecorded in c. 50% of Worcestershire villages, with the best knownprobably being The Butts on the north side of Worcester, just outsidethe medieval defences. Examples include:Abberton The Butts TitheBroadwas Butts Bank Meadow TitheDodderhill The Butts TitheElmley Castle Black Butts TitheHadzor Archery Field OtherHolt The Butts TitheLeigh Butts Meadow TithePeopleton Clifton Butts TitheSouth Littleton The Butts TitheStone Butts Lane OtherThrockmorton Butts Close EnclosureWhite Ladies AstonEleven Lands Butts andSmoke Acre Butts OrchardTitheWorcester The Butts Other

Throckmorton Inclosure Plan of 1784 overlain on a modern aerial photograph,showing the location of 'Butts Close' (copyright Worcestershire County Council)Archery butts comprised a level flat area of land, up to 200m long, forming arange along which the archers could shoot. Originally they would contain anumber of circular flat-topped, turf-covered target mounds, often arranged inpairs. The mounds provided a level platform for the targets and were usuallypositioned at either end of the range. No such mounds have yet been recognisedin Worcestershire but they can vary from between 2m to 8m in diameter and are1m to 3m high. The mound may be surrounded by a shallow ditch from which thesoil to build the mound was obtained. (Information from the English HeritageMonument Class Description.)The survival of the butts, even if only as place-name evidence, reflect animportant aspect of medieval society. Archery training was compulsory for allmales, traditionally starting at the age of seven. A series of statutes passed in the14th and 15th centuries banned a large number of field sports and other gamesin order to protect regular archery practice. Edward IV passed a law that everyEnglishman from the age of 16 to 60 should own a longbow (of his own height)and should practise every Sunday after church and on feast days. In 1542 an Actestablished that the minimum target distance for anyone over the age of 24 years

was 220 yards (the modern competition maximum is 80 yards)! A trained archercould shoot 12 to 15 arrows per minute and hit a man-sized target at a minimumof 200 yards. The maximum range of a longbow was about 400 yards.All men from 16 to 60 had a duty to protect the country in time of crisis (the possecomitatus). But a levy of archers for military service could also be taken in eachcounty from anyone with land or rents worth from £2 to £5 (or they could pay for asubstitute). In 1346 at the battle of Crecy, the English army of Edward III had7,000 to 10,000 archers out of a total strength of 19,000 men.The bow used was the longbow, up to 78” in length and made of yew (thefavourite being Spanish yew), Wych Elm, Elm, or Ash. In 1510, Henry VIIIpurchased 40,000 yew bow staves from the Doge of Venice. The draw weightwas up to a remarkable 120 pounds, with the bow drawn 'to the ear' (rather thanto the corner of the mouth as is common in modern archery). The attachmentpoints for the string were protected by horn ‘nocks’. There was no arrow rest onthe handle as on modern bows, with the arrow resting on the index finger. Atshort range, an arrow could penetrate 4 inches of seasoned oak, and couldpenetrate the armour of a knight at 200 yards. A nobleman could therefore bekilled by a common man.The use of archery declined during the 15th century as it became impossible tomaintain the strict training needed to maintain the strength and skills needed toshoot a longbow. This may partly have been a consequence of a more mobilesociety with a shift of former labourers to the towns. In 1477, Edward IV bannedan early form of cricket because it was thought to be interfering with regulararchery practice. The invention of the musket in 1520 sealed the fate of theweapon. Although the musket had a slower rate of fire, it required far lesstraining to use. Archers comprised 17 percent of the late 16th century TrainedBands but in 1595 all bows were ordered to be replaced by musket.There was, however, a considerable nostalgic reluctance to give up the weaponand they continued to be used into the 17th century. In East Anglia in the 1620s itwas even suggested that a return to longbows might so shock invaders from alarger and better-equipped foreign enemy that it would give the smaller EnglishTrained Bands an edge of surprise! Locally, in 1627 there were complaints thattroops in St John’s, Worcester, were not bringing longbows and arrows tomusters or training with them regularly and there were warnings from theConstable that the butts at Holt and Cotheridge were ruinous. The parishioners ofNorthfield (then in North Worcestershire, now outer Birmingham) were betterprepared. In 1620 they spent 4d on repairing the Butts and in 1623 built a newset at a cost of 1s. In 1628-9 the Statute of Henry VIII requiring archery practicewas restored and as late as 1633 Charles I issued an new order for the use ofbows in the Trained Bands, with training to be provided by a master bowman.Indeed, a company of pikemen also armed with bows (the ‘double-armed man’)was formed in Herefordshire in 1642. But despite such efforts, the age of thelongbow had passed into that of gunpowder and longbows saw little serviceduring the Civil Wars, except in the Scottish army.

From its origin in military service, archery developed as a sportfrom the 16th century. Henry VIII started a number of sportingarchery groups – protecting them against prosecution fromaccidentally shooting passers-by! The ‘The Society of FinsburyArchery’, was founded by at least 1594.Further Online ResourcesBadminton Library: ArcheryMary Rose archery findsLa Belle Compagnie'A Shot In Time' (Brief History ofArchery)Society for the Promotion of TraditionalArcheryArticles from the Society of Archer-Antiquaries