BOSCOBEL HOUSE
I know exactly what you are thinking. That is not my idea of a Great English Country House! But this unprepossessing house played a major role in the course British history.
Charles Stuart (the future Charles II)
In 1651, two years after the execution of his father Charles 1, the 21 year old Charles Stuart sailed from France and landed in Scotland. After raising an army there, he marched south to defeat Cromwell’s Commonwealth Army and restore the monarchy.
The armies met at the Royalist town of Worcester but Charles suffered a terrible defeat leaving hundreds of his forces either dead or wounded. Charles and a number of his closest supporters managed to escape and made the perilous journey north to seek shelter and assistance at the royalist safe houses of Whiteladies Priory and Boscobel House , situated deep in Brewood Forest on the borders of Shropshire and Staffordshire.
A ‘Wanted’ proclamation issued by Parliament for the capture of Charles Stuart
A reward of £1,000 (a huge sum in the 17th century) was offered for the capture of the fugitive Charles and it would have meant the death sentence for anyone found to be assisting him. At 6’ 2″ (the average male height was 5’ 6” then), with a swarthy complexion and long black curly hair, he would hardly have blended into the background!
Avoiding the Parliamentary patrols, he finally arrived at Boscobel House. An attempt to cross the River Severn into Wales was thwarted as the crossing was heavily guarded by the Parliamentarians. So he was forced to return to Boscobel House where he narrowly avoided capture by hiding with a companion in the thick, leafy branches of an oak tree while soldiers searched the woods below him. The tree became famous as The Royal Oak.
The current Royal Oak grew from one of the original’s acorns
Once the soldiers had gone, Charles returned to the house and spent the night in a priest’s hole in the attic.
It must have been a tight squeeze for the 6′ 2″ Charles!
Disguised and travelling from one safe house to another, Charles eventually made his way to the coast and finally escaped to France. He remained in exile until 1660 when he was restored to the throne.
I think Boscobel House deserves a place among my Great English Country Houses. But for the events that occurred there, British history could have been very different. No Diamond Jubilee! No Royal Wedding! No Royal Baby !
Rakes And Rascals 
Carol,
Love the idea of him hiding in the oak and now that the tree is the Royal Oak.
Carol, laughed at you saying that was an unprepossing house. I think it’s lovely with all that half-timbered work! I wouldn’t say no if the current owners gave it to me! Thanks for the piece – really enjoyed it!
Ouch, that’s unprepossessing!
Anna, I was referring to it as unprepossessing in comparison to the other Great Country Houses I’m going to feature in my series of posts. My next post will be about Sandringham House. I wanted to feature Boscobel House because of its historical significance.
Unfortunately, I don’t think the current owner, English Heritage, would be willing to sell!
Sandringham is beautiful and in a beautiful part of the country. I’ve driven past the front gates and friends of mine have been and sent me a postcard, bless them! Look forward to the post.
Anna, I’m planning to post it in August.
I agree it’s not as large or impressive as some of the early houses, but it’s lovely just the same. Wonderful post. I tweeted and shared with facebook.
Thank you so much, Ella 🙂
Great little history lesson! Thanks for sharing, Carol! And I love Kate!
Ever since I went to Boscobel House on a school trip, the story of Charles hiding in the oak tree captured my imagination.
Carol, I love this little history lesson. It’s great! So much we don’t know. 🙂
Thank you Lindsey! This story has always had a special relevance because I actually visited Boscobel House on a school trip when I was about ten. I remember seeing The Royal Oak and the priest’s hole.
That’s so neat! What a fun expeirence.
Carol, Thanks for this historical story that I had never before heard. Now I know where the name for our nearby Boscobal mansion came from. It is located in Garrison, NY along the Hudson River. So many of our towns and historical sites are named after English landmarks, including my home state of New York.
Dot, I didn’t realise just how many places in the USA are named after towns in Britain.
What a wonderful post! I love historical houses. Although I still have not read it ,Charles II’s escape (and Boscobel House????) was fictionalized by Georgette Heyer in book Royal Escape. Have any of you read it?
Here’s the Goodreads link:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/311152.Royal_Escape
Thank you, Victoria! I haven’t read Royal Escape but it would be interesting to see how fiction compares with fact.
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