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THE
ROYAL MIRACLE
THE ROYAL
MIRACLE
A COLLECTION OF RARE TRACTS, BROADSIDES,
LETTERS, PRINTS, & BALLADS CONCERNING THE
WANDERINGS OF CHARLES II. AFTER THE BATTLE
OF WORCESTER (SEPTEMBER 3— OCTOBER 15, 1651).
WITH A PREFACE, HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION,
APPENDIX, BIBLIOGRAPHY, AND ILLUSTRATIONS
: : By A. M. BROADLEY :
AUTHOR OF "DR. JOHNSON AND MRS. THRALE," '-CHATS ON
AUTOGRAPHS," « NAPOLEON IN CARICATURE," ETC. ETC.
Post Mortem Patris fro Filio
(Legend on Pontefract Siege Shilling of 1648)
LONDON: STANLEY PAUL & CO.
31 ESSEX STREET, STRAND : MCMXII
TO MY COMPANIONS
IN THE Pilgrimage
OF September 3 — September 9, 191 1
OVER THE ROUTE FOLLOWED BY
King Charles II
DURING HIS WANDERINGS
BETWEEN September 3 and October 15, 165 1
AND TO those GOOD FRIENDS
WHO WELCOMED THE PiLGRIMS
AT Worcester and Brighton
THIS BOOK is inscribed
The Knapp,
Bradpole,
March 17, 191 2.
Contents
PAGE
Preface . . . . . . ... II
Historical Introduction . . . . . . . 17
White-Ladies . . . . . . ... 49
The History of His Sacred Majesty's Most Wonderful Preservation . 71
The Royal Oak . . . . . ... 83
The Royal Patient Traveller . . . . . . 91
The Wonderful and Miraculous Escape of Our Gracious King . 99
Miraculum-Basilicon, or the Royal Miracle . ... 107
Claustrum Regale Reseratum . * . . ... 143
The Letter of William Ellesdon of Charmouth to the Earl of
Clarendon . . . . . ... 171
Captain Gregory Alford's Narrative of the Adventures of
Charles II in West Dorset, September, 1651 . . . .187
Mr. Robert Phelipps's Narrative of the Occurrences between
September 25 and October 15, 165 i . . . . -195
Song of Thanksgiving . . . . ... 207
The Last News from France . . . . . .211
His Majesty's Miraculous Preservation by the Oak, the Maid, and
Ship . . . . . . ... 217
To His Sacred Majestie Loyal Reflections . . . .221
Some Other Political Broadsides of 165 1-2 . . . .225
7
Contents
APPENDICES
The Escape of Charles II from Worcester
The Municipal Accounts of Expenses Incurred at Worcester
Items Relating to the Battle of Worcester
Charles II at Brightelmstone
The "Miraculous Divergence" of September 23, 1651
The Flight of Charles II .
The Carolean Commemorative Pilgrimage .
The Alfords, Ellesdons, Wesleys, and Limbrys
The Earliest Parliamentarian Account of the Battle of Worcester 297
Bibliography
Iconography
Index .
PAGE
263
273
281
321
327
List of Illustrations
Charles II in I65I. From the engraved portrait by Hollar after Abraham Diepenbecck Frontispiece
FACIHG PAGE
Charles II in 165 1 • 17
From the portrait in John Gadbury's "Nativity of the late King Charles" (1659) in
possession of the writer.
Almanack for August, September, and October, 1 65 1, showing the phases
of the moon during those months. From the original in the British Museum . 20
Collection of Loyalist Badges, etc., 1 649- 165 1 . ..... 23
Formed by the writer and arranged by Messrs. Spink.
Plan of Worcester in l6$l. From an engraving of 1660 in possession of the writer . 24
"William, Duke of Hamilton, who died of his wounds at the Commandery,
Worcester, September 12, 1651, and was buried near the altar in the
choir of Worcester Cathedral . . . . . . .28
After engraving by S. White.
Charles II as a boy. From the rare mezzotint by W. Vaillant in the possession of the writer 34
Charles II in 1651 4^
From the original in the British Museum.
The Tombstone of Charles II in Westminster Abbey .... 48
From a photograph taken by permission of the Dean and Chapter for this work.
Title-page and Frontispiece of the copy of " Whiteladies " (1660) in the
British Museum . . . . • • • • • • 5^
Early view of Whiteladies and Boscobel 56
From the original in possession of the writer.
Pictorial heading of the unique Broadside of 1660 in possession of the
writer, containing one of the first accounts published of the adventures
of Charles II during his six weeks' wanderings after the Battle of
Worcester ........... 73
The Title-page of Danverd's "Royal Oak" (1660) 85
From the copy in possession of the writer.
Pottery relating to the Royal Oak and the Flight of Charles II . . .86
In the Willett Collection, Brighton Museum.
Title-page of one of the two copies of the Miraculum-Basilicon or Royal
Miracle (1664) I09
Now in the British Museum.
The Title-page of the first edition of Anne Wyndham's Claustrum Regale
Reseratum (1667) 145
From the copy in possession of the writer.
Giles Strangways, of Melbury,.who assisted Charles with money at Trent . 154
From the rare original print in the collection of the writer.
9
List of Illustrations
FACING
PAGE
Humphrey Henchman, d.d., Bishop of Salisbury and London (1592-1675) . 200
Afttr an original sepia drawing in tlie collection of the writer.
Portrait of Charles II. in 1650 200
From the contemporary engraving of W, Hollar, after the design of Cornelius Schut.
MS. Ground Plan of Hele House, Wilts, and the surrounding grounds as
they were in the seventeenth century ...... 202
By permission of the present owner, the Honble. Louis Greville.
A Roundhead Broadside, published after the Battle of Worcester, Novem-
ber 6, 1 65 1, by Robert Ibbitson, London 227
From the original in the British Museum.
Broadside published by Robert Ibbitson, London, early in 1652, giving a
list, with portraits, of those slain or taken prisoner at Worcester,
September 3, 1651 229
From the origmal in the British Museum.
A Satirical Broadside of 1651 ridiculing the treatment of Charles II by the 230
Scottish Covenanters .........
From the original in the British Museum.
Charles and the five Penderels . . . . . . • -234
From the foliing-plate in the edition of "Boscobel," published in 1769 by S. Gamidge,
Worcester.
The " King's House," Worcester, in the eighteenth century . . . 234
From an etching executed in 1861.
The Old Deanery, Worcester, now demolished ..... 248
From an eighteenth-century engraving in possession of Mr. F. J. Spackman.
Proclamation offering ;^iooo reward for the apprehension of the fugitive
King issued by the Parliament on September 10, 165 1 • • • 265
From the original in possession of the writer.
Stone erected by the writer on September 23, 1901, to commemorate the
escape of Charles II and his companions by turning out 'of the
Dorchester Road into Lee Lane, Bradpole, on the afternoon of Septem-
ber 23, 1 65 1, since known as the "Miraculous Divergence" . . 266
Group of those taking part in the "Miraculous Divergence " Episode in
the West Dorset Pageant, July 20, 21, and 22, 1911 . . . 272
Sketch-Map showing the course of the flight of Charles II from Worcester
to Brighton and Shoreham, September 3-October 15, 1651 • • 275
The Carolean Pilgrims at Whiteladies, September 3, 191 1 . . . 289
From a photograph by Max Fischer, Worcester.
Promissory Note signed and sealed by Charles II during his exile . . 296
In the collection of the writer.
Dutch Portrait of Charles II in 1 65 1 317
After the engraving by Frederick de Wilt in the British Museum.
Dutch Portrait of Charles II cir. 1650 319
Engraved by Danckers after Hanneman. In the collection of the writer.
Dutch Portrait of Charles II in 1650-51 320
From the original in the British Museum.
10
Preface
ON the evening of September 23, 1889, the late Sir Augustus
Harris produced at Drury Lane a romantic drama entitled
"The Royal Oak," of which he and Mr. Henry Hamilton
were the joint authors. The subject was not a new one,* as
plays dealing with the same theme had achieved some success at the
" Little Theatre " in the Haymarket both in 1 732 and 1 8 1 1 . The date
selected for the first night of the Drury Lane drama was unwittingly a
felicitous one, for it was on that very day in 1651 that the fugitive
King and his companions had avoided capture by turning promptly out
of the Dorchester and Bridport main road into Lee Lane, by which they
reached the village of Bradpole in the picturesque valley of the Asker.
The high hedges of Lee Lane, broken here and there by the presence
of old and weather-beaten oaks, are clearly visible from the house
in which I was born, as well as from the windows of the room where
I am now writing. In 1885, my friend, Mr. J. S. Udal, of Symonds-
bury, had contributed to the Proceedings of the Dorset Field Club a
paper on the subject of the wanderings of Charles II in West Dorset,
which contained a great number of new and interesting facts ; but it
was not till 1897 that Mr. Allan Fea, in his Flight of the King^ first
identified the farm still known as " EUesdon's," situated in the parish
of Monkton Wyld near Charmouth, as " the house in the hills " where
Charles had spent the afternoon of Monday, September 22, 1651, the day
on which he had left Trent Manor, near Yeovil, in the hope of effecting
* See Bibliography, p. 320.
II
Preface
his escape to France from some convenient creek on the Dorset littoral.
In the spring of 1897, before the appearance of Mr. Fea's book, the then
Vicar of Lyme Regis, Canon C. Myers, and I both arrived at a similar
conclusion as to the important part played by " EUesdon's " in what
has often been described as " the most soul-stirring romance of English
history." The satisfactory identification of " the house in the hills,"
doubtless much more secluded in 1651 than it is in 19 12, was
followed by that of Lee Lane, where the occurrence, already alluded
to, which old Thomas Fuller describes as the " Miraculous Diver-
gence," took place some twenty-four hours later than the conference at
" EUesdon's " Farm. It was undoubtedly the Drury Lane play of
September, 1889, which first turned my attention to the close associa-
tion of West Dorset with the royal adventures of September, 1651.
"The Ro)al Oak" was staged with due attention to both historical
and antiquarian detail : Mr Arthur Collins (upon whose able
shoulders the mantle of " Druriolanus Imperator " descended) went
down to Boscobel in search of local colour, and the part of Charles
was taken by the late Mr. Henry Neville, with Mr. Henry Loraine
as the " Rev. Melchizedek Seek-and-Find " and Mr. Harry NichoUs
as " Walk-in-the-way Dear Love," with Miss Fanny Brough as
"Patty Woodrofl^s" and Miss Winifred Emery as "Mildred Claver-
ing." It was during the preparations for the " Royal Oak " that I
made the acquaintance of Mr. James Penderel-Brodhurst, the lineal
descendant of " loyal Humphrey " and now one of the co-heirs to the
Penderel pension. Between 1897 and 1901 I succeeded in obtaining
a considerable number of the various editions of the Boscobel tracts,
and my interest in the subject was confirmed and intensified by each
new discovery. The latter year was the 250th anniversary of the
"Flight of the King"; and in it, on the 23rd September, Mr.
Penderel-Brodhurst unveiled the rough block of Bothenhampton
stone set up at the junction of the Dorchester Road and Lee Lane,
upon which passers-by may read the words : —
12
Preface
King Charles II.
escaped capture through this lane
Sep XXIII MDCLI
" When midst your fiercest foes on every side,
For your escape God did a Lane provide."
Thomas Fuller's " Worthies."
Erected Sept^ xxiii, MDCCCCI.
A. M. B.
Shortly afterwards, commemorative tablets were, by public sub-
scription, placed on the front walls of "Ellesdon's" Farm, the "Manse"
at Charmouth and the " George " at Broadwindsor, all of which
places are associated with the events of September 22-24, 1651. It
was in 1901 that the idea of a journey by road "in the footsteps of
the King," from Worcester to Brighton, the beginning and the end of
Charles' adventurous ride, occurred to me. Circumstances postponed
its realisation indefinitely ; but I continued from that time onwards to
collect with unabated vigour literary, pictorial and artistic matter
of every description relating to the " Royal Oak." I very soon dis-
covered that the thrilling story of 1651 had fascinated others quite
as strongly as myself. Lord St. Leonard's in his old age " extra-
illustrated," or grangerised, a copy of the 1766 edition of " Boscobel "
into a huge volume of elephant folio size. This book, after one or two
intermediate sales, came into my possession, and about the same time
a copy of JVhiteladies, thitherto described as unique, fell into my hands.
To the collection of books, prints and autographs I now added that of
the loyalist badges* in various metals (many of them decorated with the
"Royal Oak") worn by the sturdy loyalists of 1 649-1 660. It was
soon apparent that I was not the only " Boscobel " collector in the
field, for in the person of the late Mr. Frederick L. Mawdesley of
Fulford Cottage, Dormans Park, Surrey, I had an enthusiastic and
* See p. 23, and illustration facing.
13
Preface
successful rival. In the early part of 1909 we compared notes.
Whilst he frankly envied me my Whiteladies^ he was justly proud
of the rare and unpublished broadside "The History of his Sacred
Majestie's most Wonderful Preservation after the Battle of Worcester,"
published at the Turk's Head, Ivy Lane, in 1660,* which is now
reprinted in the present volume.
Mr. Mawdesley had somehow overlooked the St. Leonard's
collection, and, like myself, had long sought in vain for Abraham
Jennings' Miraculum Basilikon of 1664 and a pamphlet supposed to be
entitled "The Five Faithful Brothers." A little later Mr. Mawdesley
died, and on 21 November, 19 10, the whole of his valuable Stuart
library was sold at Sotheby's. At that sale, I was fortunate enough to
secure the Turk's Head broadside and nearly all the " Boscobel " books
I did not already possess. Feeling that the search after Jennings'
book was practically hopeless, I arranged for the transcription of the
entire workf from the two copies in the British Museum, which had
hitherto been erroneously described as imperfect. A careful examina-
tion of the " Boscobel " items in the Bodleian Library leads one to
think that the " Five Faithful Brothers " pamphlet, which so puzzled
Mr. Mawdesley, is in reality the ballad | "The Wonderful and
Miraculous Escape of Our Gracious King," in which the words " the
five loyall & faithfull Brothers " appear conspicuously as the sub-title.
In the summer of 191 1 a West Dorset Pageant was held at
Bradpole. As might be expected, the " Miraculous Divergence " of
September 23, 1 65 1, — beyond a doubt the most interesting and important
event in the annals of the village — was selected for dramatic representa-
tion. § It was played with remarkable success just two months before
the 260th anniversary of its actual occurrence. The evolution of the
motor-car made a Carolean pilgrimage from Worcester to Brighton far
easier to accomplish in 191 1 than ten years previously. It was finally
decided on before the West Dorset Pageant was over, and was carried
out without a single hitch between September 3 and September 9 of last
year. The successful excursion will always remain a cherished memory
* See p. 73. t See p. loi. % See p. 109. § See p. 265.
14
Preface
with all those who took part in it, and one of its enduring consequences
is the publication of this book, which, in addition to some entirely new
information, contains several tracts and broadsides never previously
reprinted. Before the Pilgrims had left Worcester, two very valuable
papers* dealing with what we may call the first scene in the drama were
read in the historic Commandery, where " Duke Hamilton " died of his
wounds a few days after the fight of September 3, 1651. They evoked
a good deal of discussion ; and quite two months later a native of
Worcester, Mr. Robert Price, now settled at " La Nouvelle Vigne,"
Hillary, Natal, wrote home of the pleasure it had given him to recall
the memories of the timbered dwellings near the King's House (in
one of which he had lived), the old custom of wearing oak-leaves on
September 3, and the bitter significance of the threat " off to Barbadoes
you go." At Brighton a serious argument arose f as to the precise posi-
tion of the "George Inn," where the last arrangements for Charles II's
escape were made on the evening of Tuesday, October 14, 1651.
It has been deemed expedient to maintain as far as possible the
original form and spelling of the various items selected for re-publica-
tion, concerning which further information will be given in the Historical
Introduction. Any attempt to modernise the language would destroy
its old-world charm, without materially assisting the reader. The
papers read during the Carolean Pilgrimage of September 3-9, together
with a narrative of the Pilgrimage itself and its itinerary, are, in order
to avoid confusion, placed in the Appendix.
I desire to express my gratitude for help afforded to me, either in
connection with the Pilgrimage or during the preparation of this
volume, to Dr. Ede, Dean of Worcester, the Rev. Canon Wilson,
Mr. Joseph Littlebury, Mr. J. W. Willis Bund, f.s.a., Mr. F. J.
Spackman and Mr. R. H. Murray, all of Worcester ; Mr. and Miss
Brown-Westhead, of Lea Castle ; the Rev. Canon Carr and Mrs. Brown,
of Boscobel ; Colonel Bullen, of Catherstone ; Miss L. B. Symes, of
Charmouth ; the Rev. W. Jacob, of Lyme Regis ; Mr. W. J. Peak-
Mason, of Trent Manor ; the Rev. T. G. Wilton, Vicar of Trent ;
* See Appendices I and II. f See pp. 45-6.
15
Preface
Mr. A. W. Gerrard ; the Hon. Louis Greville, of Heale House ;
Mr. Charles Thomas-Stanford, the Mayor of Brighton, Mrs. Thomas-
Stanford ; Mr. Henry W. Roberts, Director of the Brighton Public
Library, Museums and Fine Art Galleries ; Messrs. Richard, Walter,
and Frederick Harrison, of Brighton ; Mr. F. J. W. Crowe, Organist
of Chichester Cathedral; and Mr. T. M. Woodhead, of Bradford. In
the preparation of the original itinerary of the Pilgrimage invaluable
aid was accorded me by Mr. Charles G. Harper, our greatest authority
on English roads, and Mr. Bernard Penderel-Brodhurst. Since the
execution of the tour, the itinerary has been carefully revised by my
friend, Mr. Alfred Brewis, of Newcastle-on-Tyne, himself one of the
pilgrims. Much valuable information has been given me by Miss
M. L.Arthur, Mr. J. Horace Round, Mr. James Penderel-Brodhurst,
the Rev. Canon Mayo (Editor of Somerset and Dorset Notes and Queries),
Mr. T. M. Baker, the Rev. F. E. Trotman, Mr. R. R. Conway (a de-
scendant of the Cogans of Coaxton), and Mr. P. M. Gainsford Tombs
(a descendant of Charles II's host at Long Marston). My publisher,
Mr. Stanley Paul, has spared no pains to obtain artistic reproductions
of the seventeenth-century engravings, and I am specially indebted to
Mr. G. L. de St. M. Watson for the English version of the very
crabbed Latin lines below two of the contemporary portraits of the
youthful hero of the great adventure of 1651. Since the greater part
of the text of this volume was printed the whole of the MSS. of the
late George Roberts (i 804-1 860), the historian of Lyme Regis, has
come into my possession. This has enabled me to add an important
note on the subject of the Alfords, the Ellesdons, and the Wesleys in
the Appendix. Mr. Roberts clearly shows from the Lyme archives
that Charles II revisited the scenes of his West Dorset adventures of
1 65 1 in the summer of 167 1. At the last moment I have also been
able to insert what I think must be the earliest contemporary account
of the Worcester fight, written only a few hours after the battle.
A. M. B.
The Knapp, Bradpole,
May I, 1912.
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i<-o
Historical Introduction
THE fateful year 165 1 began with the gloomy ceremonial
which attended the Coronation of Charles Stuart, King of
England de jure, as King of Scotland de facto, at Scone.
Born at St. James's Palace on May 29, 1630, Charles II
was only in his twenty-first year, but he had already sown a plentiful
crop of wild oats both in France and Flanders, if not in England as
well. The astrologers * carefully noted that he came into the world
at 10.21 a.m., and his horoscope in consequence portended a chapter
of untoward accidents, the most serious of which might be expected to
occur in the years 1640, 1642 and 1644, when he suffered from attacks
of jaundice, measles and scarlet fever. Still more serious mischief was
foretold for 1651, and both in the dismal Scotch coronation on New
Year's Day and the disaster at Worcester eight months later many saw
the fulfilment of those forebodings of evil. Wise men gravely shook
their heads when they read that " on the very day of the battel at
Worcester, it is observable, the sun was in Quartile to his Radical
place. Jupiter was in Quartile to the Ascendant of the Radix ad
gradum ; Mars was in opposition to the place, and Midheaven ; and
the Moon in square to Mars & Venus." All this was written in
1659 when the fortunes of Charles seemed brighter, and the seer, with
a pardonable disposition to hedge, tactfully concluded his examination
of the royal horoscope by stating the obvious fact that the future
" must bring either good or evil." " If it hap to prove good," he
continued, " my acquainting the world therewith might render me
* See The Nativily of the Late King Charles, etc., by John Gadbury. 1659.
B 17
The Royal Miracle
dangerous unto the powers that protect me. If it should be bad, my
publication thereof would be accounted for envy." In 1659 prudent
prophets as well as prudent politicians were content to sit on the fence.
Both in the years 1650 and 165 1 broadsheets were published
plentifully in the interests of both parties to the great quarrel, which
drew the attention of all Europe to these distracted realms and
especially to the gallant young prince, who lacked neither personal
courage, ready wit nor good loolcs, and was engaged in a desperate
struggle to recover his father's lost throne. These curious human
documents are now very useful aids to history-making. At the com-
mencement of the sixth decade of the seventeenth century peace
prevailed over nearly the whole European continent. In France the
protracted struggles of the Frondeurs were gradually coming to an
end, although as recently as January, 1649, the infant King Louis XIV
(the son of Charles's godfather Louis XIII, and his junior by eight
years) had been compelled, together with his mother Anne of Austria
and her favourite minister Cardinal Mazarin, to leave Paris, and for
a time wander from province to province in search of a place of refuge.
The extent of the interest felt in the supreme effort of the youthful
King of Scotland to assert his hereditary rights on the other side of
the border is attested both by the number and the character of the
engraved portraits* of him published at this juncture, openly in
Holland, and secretly in England, where those who were willing to
risk both life and fortune in giving practical expression to their belief
in the motto Post mortem Patris pro Filio^ which is conspicuous on the
Pontefract " Siege Shilling" of 1648-9, were far more numerous than
was generally imagined. Of the fine portraits distinguished by the
presence of symbolical figures and accessories, the most remarkable are
those etched by W. Hollar after Abraham Van Diepenbeeck and by
the same artist after Cornells Schut.t The first-named forms the
* See Appendix XI, Iconography, pp. 321-4.
t See Appendix XI, Iconography, pp. 323-4, Nos. 18 and 28.
Historical Introduction
frontispiece of this volume. Under each of these portraits are some
verses in the crabbed Latin then in vogue, rendered occasionally more
difficult by the accidental errors of the letter-engraver. To Mr. G. L.
de St. M. Watson I am indebted for a metrical translation of the
inscriptions under both prints. Below the Van Diepenbeeck portrait
we read : —
" To the Phoenix, restored to life,
To the Morning Star, putting the mists to flight,
To the Sun, utterly abolishing the darkness,
To Charles II D.G. King of Great Britain & Ireland —
Hell's winged brood, murk-steep'd, doth flee the Stars,
And grisly Horror shuns the Orb of Day :
So to its Stygian bourne the Tribe that wars
Is beaten back by Charles's Scion's ray.
A golden Light chanced at thy birth t'illume