The house that saved a king

Ferdy came back from school this week really excited about the story of Guy Fawkes, and it struck me that, as a boy whose life is so enriched by stories, he may really enjoy learning about history.

It also linked quite nicely to one of the places on my list that we haven't been to yet, Moseley Old Hall, the house where King Charles II hid for a few days when fleeing the Parliamentarians, only some fifty years and two kings after Guy Fawkes's execution (one of the words Ferdy and Gil learnt today along with tortured, hanged, drawn and quartered..).

First we explored the grounds.

tl-br clockwise: mud kitchen; mapreading; treehouse; swinging; climbing; reading signs; hiding; more climbing; balancing

We followed the map to find and climb, what might be, the best treehouse. Ever.

We ran though the woods, balanced on logs, played Narnia, swung in the trees, insisted on walking around pulling a tree, cooked in the mud kitchen. And we hadn't even had our lunch yet.

Over lunch, I told them the story of Charles II (which I had looked up as, I am ashamed to say, I have rather a potted history of the kings and queens of England) and his escape, disguised as a huntsman over the fields to the Hall, where he was hidden in a priest hole whilst the catholic owners, Thomas and Alice Whitgreave fended off Oliver Cromwell's troops.

Both Ferdy and Gil were fascinated and off we went to find the priest hole, the bed Charles II rested in and the kitchen in which he ate.

tl-br clockwise: looking out to the knot garden; Gil/King Charles in the chapel;
eating at the table; holding a real gun and sword; wearing a (very heavy) Cavalier's helmet;
looking into the priest hole.

What I hadn't quite realised (but should have guessed, knowing my children as I do) was that we were going there to act out the story, scene by scene. Gil was Charles II, I was Alice Whitgreave and Ferdy was Oliver Cromwell's troops, and Thomas Whitgreave. Gil even insisted I wash Charles' bleeding feet. Luckily, there weren't many people at the house, and luckily it was a quiet game as we had to keep a tired and hungry Charles II hidden.

The game momentarily stopped for us to attend part of a guided tour led by the volunteers of the house, who were dressed in the attire of the time. Gil bravely asked one of the guides whether they still had King Charles' disguise and was very excited to hear that the volunteer was wearing a huntsman outfit similar to that which King Charles would have worn when on the run.

Ferdy thoroughly enjoyed it when Pancake (the guide, and yes, it was his name) requested that Ferdy be his assistant for some magic tricks. Pancake also thrillingly got out a REAL gun and two REAL swords for Ferdy and Gil to hold.

It was such a delightful day, I didn't even mind that our game carried on all the way home (our car was the horse and carriage taking Charles II to the boat and crossing to France).

For us, Moseley Old Hall is the house that brought a king to life.

Gil's depiction of Charles II (left) and Thomas Whitgreave.
Notice that Charles II is big because we learnt he was very
tall for his era.