Ludlow History: A Great Day For Ludlow
No one in Ludlow on 23rd April 1582 could possibly forget a day which had been months in the planning. The long procession included members of the Council in the Marches of Wales together with bailiffs, aldermen and burgesses of Ludlow Corporation, and representatives from the town’s guilds.What made the event particularly memorable was the great array of flags being carried aloft.
Sir Henry Sidney was the Lord President of the Council and he was a Knight of the Garter. Each year, on St George’s Day, all the Garter Knights were expected to be present at the annual ceremony of the Order, to be held that year at Greenwich Palace. A Knight had to have a good reason not to attend, and somehow Sir Henry got permission to be absent.The rules said that any Knight not attending must recreate the Garter Ceremony in a suitable church wherever he was.This is what Sir Henry was doing and he wanted it to be a big event. As the other Gar ter Knights were not present, he had flags made for all of them, showing their coats of arms.
For the Garter Ceremony the church had to be set out in a certain way, with a ‘throne’ for the absent sovereign. Sir Henry’s own seat was to be placed in the same relation to Queen Elizabeth’s as it would have been at the main event. As the procession entered the church, the flags of the Garter Knights were carefully positioned around the church, making a wonderful sight. They remained there for weeks afterwards before being placed in the New House, forerunner of the Buttercross.
Image: Four Knights in the Garter Procession in 1576