The Westminster Abbey Arrow
The first phase of most medieval battles was a missile bombardment from both sides in order to soften-up or provoke the enemy to attack. These arrowstorms could be devastating as at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403 where many of indentured Welsh archers would have fought.
A contemporary chronicler wrote of the arrowstorm from Hotspur?s archers...
Initially arrows designed to travel as far as possible (whilst still being effective) were shot, these were called bearing arrows. An arrow that was discovered in the roof of Westminster Abbey during maintenance over a century ago was likely to have been of this type. This arrow is medieval, not Tudor (as the Mary Rose arrows are but share many similarities). The nock is reinforced with a delicate sliver of horn and a similar
compound has been applied over the feather bindings like so many of the Mary Rose arrows. The 29? (approx) shaft has been tapered to a slim nock and perhaps made of aspen although Dr. Hardy and Dr. Pratt were unable to definitively identify the wood when they carried out the most in-depth investigation of the arrow to date. Warbow Wales' first-hand observation of the arrow showed that no discernable annual growth rings are apparent, as with ash (which is surprising as Hardy and Strickland, in The Great Warbow, suggest it is indeed of ash?). This made birch another a possible candidate. To ensure enough forward of centre the widest part of the shaft, 11.2mm starts 1/3rd of the way back from the base of the arrowhead. This tapers to a little over 7.5 mm at the base of the nock. The arrow head socket is 11 mm in diameter.
The witness marks on the shaft shows the feathers were a little over 7" and bound on by fine tread, likely to have been silk, at around 1/4" a turn. The overall weight is a tad over 43g but an amount must be added for the feathers, damaged arrowhead and possible desiccation over time.