Ah good day to you!
I see you found our beautiful 'woodland home', our 'Bosco bello' as we like to call it in Shropshire
or Boscobel House to everyone else.
My name is William Pendrel. I am the wood ward of Boscobel and I live here with my wife Joan.
I'm just finishing off the monthly reports of the estate owner, Madame Cotton.
We sold two cart loads of timber at Wolverhampton market the other week
so no doubt she'll be pleased to hear about that.
But I am very happy to answer any questions you might have, so what would you like to know?
Hi, my name is Jake and I am 10.
Oh a good day to you.
Is it true that you saved Charles II from Oliver Cromwell's army?
Indeed it is.
Now you might know that Charles II has now been rightfully restored to the throne
so we are free to tell our story without fear of punishment.
Because you see my wife Joan and I, along with my four brothers,
we helped protect and save young King Charles II on his escape from the Parliamentarian army.
Let me cast my mind back it was...it was September 1651
and Charles was on the run after the disastrous defeat of the Royalists at the Battle of Worcester.
At just 21 years old he was forced to flee for his life.
My brother Richard met the King at White Ladies Priory and attempted to guide him
towards Wales but that whole area was so heavily patrolled by Cromwell's army
that they couldn't even manage to cross the River Severn.
Boscobel though was known as a refuge of Catholics and Royalists so instead,
he brought him here to our home.
Tell you what let me show you around and I'll answer some more questions.
The house was built in the 1620s
but this, this is the inner hall and this is the oldest room in the house.
This dates back to the 1500s.
Now, anybody got any other questions? Who's next?
Hello my name is Leila and I am 7 years old.
Good day to you.
What was it like when you first met the King?
Joan and I were suddenly awoken in the night by loud knocking on that very door.
We rushed downstairs to answer and to our surprise,
there was my brother Richard and next to him was the King.
Your majesty.
I'll never forget the sight of him. He was soaked to the bone and shivering in my brother's clothes.
Richard had cut his hair short and oiled his face to disguise him as a servant and
certainly didn't look like royalty.
Anyway we ushered him in and did our best to protect him knowing that if we were caught,
our lives would be at stake as well.
Thank you.
Are there any more questions? Yes, yes you, you go ahead.
Hi, my name is Harriet and I'm 10 years old.
Oh good day.
Where did you hide the King at Boscobel?
Well we first welcomed him into the parlour room that's where Joan and I spend most of our time and
where we receive guests.
Joan dried his boots and socks by the fire.
I remember noticing how large his feet were but then I suppose he is six foot two inches tall.
Then daybreak came and we heard from my brother George that there were already Parliamentarian soldiers
searching the area so, we came up with the plan of hiding the King during the day in one of our oak trees.
Sure enough by midday the troops had arrived and they searched the grounds and
scoured the woodland.
Fortunately the King was safely hidden away in one of our big oak trees.
Finally, by the end of the day the troops left frustrated and the King was safe.
Now one other hiding place I must show you is our priest hole up here in the attic.
Indeed the King spent the whole night hiding down here once the troops had left.
So scared was he being caught that he refused our offer of a bed!
Now you might be thinking what is a priest hole.
Well, since the reformation in the last century it's sort of been a crime to be a Catholic
and if you're caught you might be fined or imprisoned.
So, many houses have these secret compartments where a priest could hide himself
if he ever thought he was going to be caught trying to conduct a private mass.
I think I have time for one more question so uh, who's next?
Hi, I'm Jasper and I'm 10 years old.
Oh nice to meet you.
What is your typical day like?
As the woodward of Boscobel I spend most of my day outside
looking after the estate.
Tell you what, I'll show you if you like - come on.
So here we are in the garden.
That's our arbour - it's lovely isn't it?
To answer your question what would a typical day be for me, well, it would be maintaining
the 200 acres of woodland here at Boscobel.
That could be clearing the undergrowth, it could be maintaining the pastures.
Could be coppicing the trees with the other labourers to source wood to sell at market.
And there's always a fence to mend and, well, vegetables to grow and not to mention emptying the outside privy,
which then we would use as manure for the garden.
And speaking of all this, I think it's time I should get back to work so...
Well I hope you've enjoyed hearing my story and well it's been a pleasure showing you around our home.
Good day.