POLITICAL HISTORY were laid waste, and Brampton village was reduced to ruins, but the castle still remained untaken when Lingen was compelled to retire on 6 September, on the news of the failure of the siege of Gloucester. Lady Harley, worn out by anxiety and hardship, died on lo October, shortly after the siege was raised.*^^ Military interest now centred round Gloucester, the sole remaining parhamentary stronghold of importance in the west. Most of the Here- fordshire levies took part in the siege, which lasted from lo August till 5 September. On its unsuccessful conclusion Vavasour returned with the appointment, under Lord Herbert, of commander-in-chief of the counties of Gloucester and Hereford, and the title of colonel-general of Gloucestershire. He had it in his order to distress Gloucester from the side of Wales, and to garrison Tewkesbury,*" and he was to look for assistance to the Commissioners of Array. The monthly war contributions, which had fallen into arrears since Waller's inroad in April, were strictly collected through the chief constables of the hundreds, who were ordered to distrain upon all who refused to pay, and in failure of distress to bring them to Hereford. Vavasour was reinforced by a thousand foot and a hundred horse from the army in Ireland under William Saint-Leger and Nicholas Mynne, which landed in Bristol, and marching through Thornbury and Wotton, took up a position at Newent in Gloucestershire, just beyond the Herefordshire border. The winter was passed in skirmishes in western Gloucestershire, between Tewkes- bury and Newnham. These two posts on the Severn above and below Gloucester were held by the Royalists, but the intermediate course of the river was in the power of Parliament. Early in 1 644 the position of Herefordshire was affected by the adverse course of the war elsewhere, particularly by the defeat of Hopton at Cheriton on 29 March. In April Vavasour was recalled and a great part of his troops drafted off to reinforce Hopton. Partly to replace these the commissioners for the Associated Counties of South Wales were ordered to press 2,500 men, of whom Herefordshire's share was 600. At the same time the western administration was reorganized ; Prince Rupert by a commission made out at the end of March was appointed president of North Wales, with the addition of the counties of Gloucester, Hereford, Monmouth, Brecknock, Cardigan, Carmarthen, and Pembroke. He also had the command of Staffordshire. On the departure of Vavasour Sir John Winter was left in temporary com- mand of his district, but on i o June Colonel Nicholas Mynne was placed in charge of the military forces in the counties of Gloucester and Hereford, and Monmouth was also placed under his care.*^' On 17 April Brampton Bryan, the only Parliamentary stronghold in Herefordshire, was compelled to surrender after a second siege of three weeks. After Lady Harley's death it had been held by Nathan Wright, the family physician, who had taken his share in the earlier defence under Lady Harley. On 13 March the neighbouring Puritan stronghold of Hopton in Shropshire had fallen, and its captor. Sir Michael Woodhouse, proceeded after an interval to lay siege to Brampton Bryan. The defence was gallantly conducted, but «« Webb, Mem. i, 3 14-20. The letters of Brilliana, Lady Harley, were published by the Camden Society in 1854.
- " Corbet, Military Government of Ghuc. (Bibliothcca Glouc), 59. "* Webb, Mem. ii 8-10.
