On the 10th of June there was a farther order on the subject. “At a Comon Hall it was agreed that the Chamberlain of the towne should cause the Towne Hall to be taken down with all convenient speed according to the foregoing order from Sir Lewis Kirke, governor of the said towne, and other above-named Commissioners, and that the Chamberlain shall make sale thereof for the most benefit of the towne, and what they cannot sell thereof, to cause the timber which shall remain to be carried into the church, there to remain until further use shall be for the same for the towne. And the New House is in the like manner to be taken down if needs require. And it is further also agreed that the Towne’s Bonds and writings concerning the towne, which are in the New House, shall be left with the Towne Clerk, or in any other place which the Bailiffs and he shall think fit. And if they shall happen to be taken from them the towne is to bear the loss of them, and not they, because they are not able to warrant them, nor anything else that they have of their own, as it is very well known both to the towne and country, whereof they are all very sensible, this towne being every day in danger of being taken.” The Town Hall, which, as it appears by a deed, dated Oct. 20th, 1645, stood upon the site of the old Poor House, of St. Leonard’s Parish, outside the North Gate, was accordingly pulled down forthwith, and in the month following, July, 1645, the New House was also pulled down. [_Apley Papers._] Four days after the date of this order, was fought another great battle, at Naseby in Northamptonshire—fatal to the fortunes of the King; for here again, through the impetuous and fiery temper of Prince Rupert, who could brook no delay when an enemy was in sight, and listen to no counsel that was not prompted by a spirit as daring as his own, the King’s troops were hurried on prematurely to the attack, and though they displayed a courage worthy of the Cavalier who led them, they were eventually routed, and suffered a signal defeat. All the cannon, ammunition, and baggage, were taken, and the whole of the infantry made prisoners. The King in person had the command of the main body, and, as Whitelock observes, “displayed in this action all the conduct of a prudent general, and all the valour of a stout soldier;” [_Hume, Vol._ VII, _p. 54_.] but he was forced at last by the solicitations of his friends to retire, leaving the insurgents masters of the field. He retreated to Lichfield, thence to Bewdley, thence to Raglan and Chepstow Castles, and afterwards to Wales, uncertain as to the best place for collecting the remnant of his army, and for providing for his own personal safety.