The small village of Shobdon lies 15 miles north and west of Hereford and 6 miles west of Leominster. Until the AVBCW, it had lead a blameless and relatively uninteresting village life, best known only for being close to both Pearl Lake, the largest natural body of water in Herefordshire, and to Mortimer's Cross, the site of the 1461 "Wars of the Roses" battle resulting in a decisive Lancastrian defeat and the subsequent beheading in High Town, Hereford, of the captured Owen Tudor, grandfather of Henry VII [note1]
The village of Shobdon was, until the fast changing events of the 1930s and the advent both of Shobdon Instructional Centre and Shobdon Airfield, dominated entirely by the Bateman family, who had lived for more than 200 years in the "big house" just north of the village, Shobdon Court. The "Bateman Arms" still remains the village hostelry, and today is an essential stopping off point for any eager (or thirsty) VBCW Battlefield tourist.....
[note1] Following his execution, Owen Tudor's head was placed on Hereford's Market Cross. His body was buried in a chapel on the north side of Greyfriars Church. According to this wiki entry, Owen "had no memorial until his illegitimate son, David, paid for a tomb before the friary was dissolved". The dissolution of the friary took place in 1538, undoubtedly (but ironically) as a result of Owen Tudor's great-grandson, Henry VIII's, reformation of the Church. Nothing remains of Greyfriars Church or Friary : only the local street name of "Greyfriars Avenue" continues to give an indication of where both once stood.
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