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  • 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.

Ah good day to you!

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