Compared with the Civil War clashes of Worcester, Edgehill and Naseby, the Battle of Ledbury was a skirmish.

But evidence for the brief encounter of April 22, 1645, may still be found in the form of relics, including bullets and bullet holes, and an actual sword and helmet.

Naturally, several Ledbury legends have been handed down about "Cavaliers and Roundheads", but even at the time, it was hard to decide what had really occurred.

Colonel Massey, the Parliamentarian commander at Ledbury, claimed in his report to the Commons that he had lost just six or seven men.

But Royalist Prince Rupert, in his triumphant account, claimed 120 Parliamentarians had been slaughtered, and some 400 prisoners had been taken.

However, it is certain that this Royalist victory came about because the Roundheads had been caught napping by Rupert's rapid advance from Leominster.

It is a mystery why Colonel Massey, the governor of Gloucester, was apparently so surprised by Prince Rupert's arrival in Ledbury.

Massey acknowledged that "the enemy" had intercepted eight scouts before the battle, which presumably should have sounded alarm bells.

Massey only commented: "We had no intelligence that they (the Royalists) were near at hand".

A hastily erected Homend barricade was forced by the Royalists and Massey reported that he and Rupert shot the horses from under each other, probably by the Market House.

The Royalists were able to sweep through the lanes of the "Back Homend," for further clashes at the church.

In his own report, Rupert wrote: "Massey was soundly beaten yesterday...and pursued within six miles of Gloucester. He himself, and some of his officers, made a handsome retreat."

As governor of Gloucester, Massey held the city when it was under siege from the King and was the scourge of Royalist garrisons in the Three Counties area.

It is a sign of the times, but by the Battle of Worcester in 1651 he had switched sides and fought for the Charles II. The remains of an emplacement dug by his men in the period leading up to the battle can still be seen at Pool Brook, near Upton-upon-Severn.

It is at the Homend barricade, the Roundhead Major Backhouse, or "Bacchus", is known to have received a mortal wound and died in a nearby house.

An old sword, which was found in a house near Top Cross in 1887, is now on display in St Michael and All Angels' Church and is said to be his.

Sealed Knot weapons expert David Roper and town councillor Noel Roberts, a former Colonel General in the re-enactment group, examined the weapon in the Chapter House and were impressed.

Coun Roberts said: "It is an officer's sword, and would have cost around 17s when the average soldier earned 8d a day."

The weapon is a "mortuary broadsword," so called because many were dedicated to Charles I, after his execution, and bore his engraved image on the hilt. The Ledbury sword is pre-execution, perhaps as early as the late 16th Century, and only has several grotesque faces on the hand-guard.

Mr Roper found the expected "running wolf" makers mark of Soligen in Germany on the steel blade, but decided that the iron "basket" hand guard was possibly the work of an English blacksmith.

In the hand, the sword is wonderfully balanced and less than 2lbs in weight. But the metal grip is too narrow to be comfortable.

Mr Roper explained: "Originally, it would have been a wooden-bound handle, covered in leather with wire binding."

There are a few small nicks on the blade. Perhaps the major had engaged in hand to hand fighting, before his fatal wound?

The parish church itself was the scene of fierce fighting, and musket balls were dug from the north door by the Victorians and are now on display in the sword's cabinet. The holes in the door can still be seen.

In the Burgage House Museum, Church Lane, is a typical "lobster tail" helmet which was found some years ago in the cellar of Oatleys House, originally the wearer's face would have been protected by three horizontal bars.

At the Talbot Inn, New Street, a brass plug now marks the spot where a musket ball was dug from oak panelling. The bullet is said to have passed through the neck of a "serving wench," during fighting between Cavaliers and Roundheads.