How did Charles II escape Cromwell

Charles II

A. Charles II became King upon the execution of his father in 1649 and continued to wage war against the Parliamentarian forces. But he was beaten soundly at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September, 1651, and had to flee for his life.

Q. On his own

A. No. The 21-year-old King was accompanied by the ever-faithful Lord Wilmot (later Lord Rochester). They fled north.

Q. This was all planned

A. Oh yes. And we have it in Charles's own words. Thirty years later, he told the diarist Samuel Pepys what happened: 'After the battle was so absolutely lost as to be beyond hope of recovery, I began to think of the best way of saving myself, and the first thought that came into my head was that if I could possibly, I would get to London as soon as possible, if not sooner than the news of our defeat could get thither. And it being near dark I talked with some, especially my Lord [Wilmot]... about their opinions of which would be the best way for me to escape ...' He decided to go through London, but told no-one except Wilmot. They went to a former priory near Boscobel, Shropshire, called White Ladies. It was known to their guide, Charles Giffard.

Q. And he was welcomed there

A. Yes - and it was here that he disguised himself. He took off his buff coat and red sash, swapping them for a green jerkin, grey breeches, leather doublet and soft hat - the clothes of a woodman. He also trimmed his long hair, shaved his beard, and darkened his faced with soot. There, a servant called George Penderel looked after him. 

Q. What about the oak tree

A. It was here that the famous incident happened. Penderel's brother Richard took Charles to a nearby wood called Spring Coppice. There Charles waited as Penderel went to nearby Boscobel House to ensure the coast was clear. He found Major William Careless, one of Charles' officers from Worcester, hiding there. He was a local man known to the Penderels and trusted utterly. The King takes up the story: 'Careless told me that it would be very dangerous for me to either stay in that house or go into the wood ... and that he knew but one way how to pass the next day, and that was to get up into a great oak ... where we might see round about us, for the enemy would certainly search all the ... Of which proposition I approving, we went and carried with us some victuals for the whole day, viz, bread, cheese, small beer ... and got up into a great oak that had been lopt some three or four years before, and being grown again, very bushy and thick, could not be seen through, and here we stayed all day.'

Q. And there they stayed

A. Yes. It was a dreadful summer's day and despite the pouring rain, Charles and Careless stayed up the oak 14 hours.

Q. Then

A. Charles left Boscobel House on 7 September. With the four Penderel brothers and Francis Yates, they crossed into Staffordshire and made for Moseley Old Hall, where Charles met Lord Wilmot again. From Moseley they went to Bentley Hall and it was here that Charles took on the guise of a serving man and together with Jane Lane, the owner's daughter, they went down to Brighton. On 5 October, 42 days after the Battle of Worcester, Charles sailed to France from Shoreham aboard a coal ship called Surprise.

Q. But what happened to the oak tree

A. When Charles was restored to the throne in 1660, the Penderels revealed their part in his escape ... and hordes of souvenir-hunters descended on the tree and hacked it to pieces. The present oak at Boscobel is said to have grown from an acorn of the original tree, planted in the same spot. Oak Apple Day is celebrated on 29 May, anniversary of Charles's restoration.

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By Steve Cunningham