_Capture of Henry the Sixth._--At Waddington in Mytton stands a pile of
building known as the "Old Hall," once antique, but now much indeed
despoiled of its beauty, where for some time the unfortunate king, Henry
the Sixth, was concealed after the fatal battle of Hexham, in
Northumberland. Quietly seated one day at dinner, "in company with Dr.
Manting, Dean of Windsor, Dr. Bedle, and one Ellarton," his enemies came
upon him by surprise, but he privately escaped by a back door, and fled
to Brungerley stepping-stones (still partially visible in a wooden
frame), where he was taken prisoner, "his legs tied together under the
horse's belly," and thus disgracefully conveyed to the Tower in London.
He was betrayed by one of the Talbots of Bashall Hall, who was then
high-sheriff for the West Riding. This ancient house or hall is still in
existence, but now entirely converted into a building for farming
purposes: "Sic transit gloria mundi." Near the village of Waddington,
there is still to be seen a meadow known by the name of "King Henry's
Meadow."
In Baker's _Chronicle_, the capture of the king is described as having
taken place "in _Lincolnshire_," {182} but this is evidently incorrect;
it is Waddington, in Mytton, West Yorkshire.