[A] BATTLEDEN lies between the two great north-western roads. The family of Firmband, or Fremband, twice represented the county in parliament, as early as the reign of Edward III. In the reign of Elizabeth it became the property of the Duncombes; and it is to one of this family that we are indebted for the accommodation of the now antiquated sedans, or close chairs; and in the year 1634, Duncombe is said to have procured a patent, which vested in him and his heirs the right of carrying persons "up and down in them," for a certain term. "It is probable, (observes Lysons,) that Sir Saunders, who was a great traveller, had seen them at Sedan, where Dr. Johnson, supposes that they were first made; and it is remarkable that Captain Bayley first introduced the use of Hackney Coaches in the same year." In the year 1706, this manor was purchased by Allen Bathurst, Esq., a distinguished political character during the reigns of Queen Anne and George I. It was for many years the country seat of Lord Bathurst, and the resort of a celebrated constellation of wits, of whom he was the patron and friend. [Sidenote: The invention of Sedan chairs.] [B] BATTLEFIELD is a parish in the liberties of Shrewsbury, and derives its name from a sanguinary battle which was fought there on Saturday the 21st of July, 1403, between Henry the Fourth and the Rebels, under Percy, Earl of Nothumberland, and in which Lord Henry Percy, well known as the valiant Hotspur, was slain, together with nearly 2300 gentlemen and others, and upwards of 600 common soldiers fell on that memorable occasion. After this signal victory, Henry the fourth caused a collegiate church to be erected on the spot for secular canons, which was dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene, the battle having been fought on the anniversary of that day. This college was dissolved in the general wreck of establishments of this kind, when its revenues amounted to L54 10s. 4d. per annum; it is now the parish church. At the east end, over the altar window, is a figure of Henry the Fourth, much defaced by the corroding hand of time. In a niche in the south wall, is a rude carving in wood of the Virgin and child; and in the east window are still to be traced some mutilated remains of stained glass; but the most interesting object in this church, is a splendid gothic monument, recently erected to the memory of the late John Corbet, Esq. of Sundorne. This beautiful specimen of architecture is called the Tudor gothic; the interior represents the miniature aisle of a cathedral or cloister, with its elaborately groined roof, and the front is adorned by the heraldic blazonings of the family. This fine and highly prized piece of art was designed by the Rev. Archdeacon Owen, of Shrewsbury, and most admirably executed by Messrs. Carline of that town, in a warmly tinted fine grained stone, from the Grinshill quarries in the neighbourhood. [Sidenote: Battle between Henry the Fourth and Percy of Northumberland.]