Throckmorton Inclosure Plan of 1784 overla<strong>in</strong> on a modern aerial photograph,show<strong>in</strong>g the location of 'Butts Close' (copyright <strong>Worcestershire</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Council</strong>)<strong>Archery</strong> butts comprised a level flat area of land, up to 200m long, form<strong>in</strong>g arange along which the archers could shoot. Orig<strong>in</strong>ally they would conta<strong>in</strong> anumber of circular flat-topped, turf-covered target mounds, often arranged <strong>in</strong>pairs. The mounds provided a level platform for the targets and were usuallypositioned at either end of the range. No such mounds have yet been recognised<strong>in</strong> <strong>Worcestershire</strong> but they can vary from between 2m to 8m <strong>in</strong> diameter and are1m to 3m high. The mound may be surrounded by a shallow ditch from which thesoil to build the mound was obta<strong>in</strong>ed. (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. <strong>Archery</strong> tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g was compulsory for allmales, traditionally start<strong>in</strong>g at the age of seven. A series of statutes passed <strong>in</strong> the14th and 15th centuries banned a large number of field sports and other games<strong>in</strong> 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 m<strong>in</strong>imum target distance for anyone over the age of 24 years
was 220 yards (the modern competition maximum is 80 yards)! A tra<strong>in</strong>ed archercould shoot 12 to 15 arrows per m<strong>in</strong>ute and hit a man-sized target at a m<strong>in</strong>imumof 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 <strong>in</strong> time of crisis (the possecomitatus). But a levy of archers for military service could also be taken <strong>in</strong> 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” <strong>in</strong> length and made of yew (thefavourite be<strong>in</strong>g 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 <strong>in</strong> modern archery). The attachmentpo<strong>in</strong>ts for the str<strong>in</strong>g were protected by horn ‘nocks’. There was no arrow rest onthe handle as on modern bows, with the arrow rest<strong>in</strong>g on the <strong>in</strong>dex f<strong>in</strong>ger. Atshort range, an arrow could penetrate 4 <strong>in</strong>ches 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 decl<strong>in</strong>ed dur<strong>in</strong>g the 15th century as it became impossible toma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> the strict tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g needed to ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> 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 <strong>in</strong>terfer<strong>in</strong>g with regulararchery practice. The <strong>in</strong>vention of the musket <strong>in</strong> 1520 sealed the fate of theweapon. Although the musket had a slower rate of fire, it required far lesstra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g to use. Archers comprised 17 percent of the late 16th century Tra<strong>in</strong>edBands but <strong>in</strong> 1595 all bows were ordered to be replaced by musket.There was, however, a considerable nostalgic reluctance to give up the weaponand they cont<strong>in</strong>ued to be used <strong>in</strong>to the 17th century. In East Anglia <strong>in</strong> the 1620s itwas even suggested that a return to longbows might so shock <strong>in</strong>vaders from alarger and better-equipped foreign enemy that it would give the smaller EnglishTra<strong>in</strong>ed Bands an edge of surprise! Locally, <strong>in</strong> 1627 there were compla<strong>in</strong>ts thattroops <strong>in</strong> St John’s, Worcester, were not br<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g longbows and arrows tomusters or tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g with them regularly and there were warn<strong>in</strong>gs from theConstable that the butts at Holt and Cotheridge were ru<strong>in</strong>ous. The parishioners ofNorthfield (then <strong>in</strong> North <strong>Worcestershire</strong>, now outer Birm<strong>in</strong>gham) were betterprepared. In 1620 they spent 4d on repair<strong>in</strong>g the Butts and <strong>in</strong> 1623 built a newset at a cost of 1s. In 1628-9 the Statute of Henry VIII requir<strong>in</strong>g archery practicewas restored and as late as 1633 Charles I issued an new order for the use ofbows <strong>in</strong> the Tra<strong>in</strong>ed Bands, with tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g to be provided by a master bowman.Indeed, a company of pikemen also armed with bows (the ‘double-armed man’)was formed <strong>in</strong> Herefordshire <strong>in</strong> 1642. But despite such efforts, the age of thelongbow had passed <strong>in</strong>to that of gunpowder and longbows saw little servicedur<strong>in</strong>g the Civil Wars, except <strong>in</strong> the Scottish army.