 Henry VII sent his heir Prince Arthur to Ludlow, where he was joined briefly by his wife Catherine of Aragon later to become wife to Henry VIII, who was living in the Castle Lodge at the time.Ludlow Castle was therefore the site of perhaps the most controversial wedding night in English history, when Catherine's claim that the marriage was never consummated became central to the dispute concerning Henry VIII and Catherine's annulment in 1531.After 1610, the cloth industry declined but the wealth of the town was little affected until about 1640, when the activities of the council were suspended and the town's population promptly fell by 20%.