Their guns caused considerable damage to the walls but the castle held out. When the Parliamentary forces finally took the castle on 30 August they found that the bishop had died of a heart attack during the siege and most of the defenders were either drunk or had gone into town drinking in the taverns. The castle was sacked but enough of the building remained to be used as a prison for Royalist gentry. With the development of turnpike trusts in the 18th century as a method of financing road building and improvements, coach travel throughout England had become faster and more reliable. With its position on the main London to Chester road Eccleshall became an important stopping point for coaches on several different routes and the town prospered, the inns in particular. Until recently the large stables at the Royal Oak Hotel could be seen. For three centuries leather working and shoemaking had been important domestic industries in Eccleshall, but by the end of the 19th century both had almost ceased, with the growth of the mechanised shoe factories in nearby Stafford. Bishop William Overton (1580–1609) was probably responsible, in 1580, for bringing two glass making families from Lorraine, Tyzack and Henzey to Bishop's Wood near Eccleshall to set up glass production. Manufacturing ceased around 1615, however, the site of one glass furnace has been excavated in recent times and is preserved and can be seen in Bishop's Wood. The film I Know Where I'm Going!, Powell and Pressburger's classic romantic comedy made in 1945 highlights Eccleshall in the scene where Joan Webster (Wendy Hiller) meets up with her father in London, and he informs her that he had travelled all the way from Eccleshall to see her that evening. Community The high street has numerous shops, pubs, restaurants and businesses. A farmers' market is held every month and the town holds its major festival every two years. The Eccleshall Show is held every summer at Sugnall Parks. Eccleshall High Street, with many Georgian and earlier buildings, is a conservation area. The town has been a regular winner in the Britain in Bloom competition and, in summer, the main parts of Eccleshall are bedecked with colourful floral baskets, organised by the town's civic group, the 'Ecclian Society'. Eccleshall F.C. are an English non-league football club. They play in the North West Counties League Division One. The reserves play in