Royal rampages and restoration.

Shropshire, U.K.

The bootprints of invading Romans, Saxons and Danes may have blended into the landscape, but in the county of Shropshire you can still see evidence of 600 years of English history. From the Norman Conquest in 1066, through centuries of Game of Thrones-style conflicts (without the dragons), 16th-century religious upheaval, the Civil War and Cromwell’s rule of the 1640s and 50s there are stories manifest in ancient names, ingenious building design, ruins and even damage to structures from cannonballs.

After their hostile takeover bid, the Normans lavished estates on their loyal French supporters, including three brothers of the Giffard family from Normandy. Their descendants have been at the Chillington estate since 1178, and had a long association with succeeding sovereigns. Although the present hall dates from the 18th century, the ruins of several castles dating from the 12th century remain in the area.

Early in the 16th century, Henry VIII upset the establishment with his decision to resign from the Roman Catholic church and create his own start-up – the Church of England – and embarked on an asset-and-power-stripping campaign of the monasteries. The Giffards, in common with hundreds of other families, remained staunch Catholics despite the relentless persecution during the following century. Priest holes were a common feature in the houses of the time, some of which can still be seen in several manor houses of Shropshire and the neighbouring counties.

Shropshire was home to many Royalist supporters during the Civil War, which ended in 1649 with the execution of King Charles I. Cromwell had been head honcho for a couple of years when the former king’s 21-year-old son made an ill-fated attempt to regain the throne of England. He and his men were decisively defeated at the Battle of Worcester and they fled north – helped by the Giffards of Chillington – hotly pursued by Cromwell’s Roundheads.

They sought assistance first at White Ladies Priory. Charles and a companion then attempted to escape across the River Severn to Wales but the route was blocked by scores of soldiers searching for the royal fugitive. They retraced their steps and sought refuge at Boscobel House.

Cromwell’s soldiers soon arrived and began searching the house and grounds. What they didn’t search thoroughly was a nearby oak tree which was accommodating a royal visitor in its branches. When Cromwell’s soldiers had tired of playing royal hide-and-seek, Charles and his fellow tree-climber descended and sought sanctuary in Boscobel House’s priest hole. This was the first of many that Charles would make use of on his six-week escape route. It would have been a very uncomfortable experience, as in the pamphlets distributed widely in an attempt to flush him out he was described as over ‘two yards high’.

Thanks to the ingenuity and courage of his supporters, Charles succeeded in reaching France, where it is safe to say he spent much of his nine years in and around the French court enjoying the company of young women. On 29th May 1660, two years after Cromwell’s death, the English people, weary of 11 years of the puritan lifestyle, welcomed into London the man who would earn the title The Merry Monarch. It was his 30th birthday and 29th May was thereafter designated Oak Apple Day. As tales of his remarkable adventure spread, hundreds of innkeepers renamed their hostelry The Royal Oak. When you spy one, dive in and raise a glass to the man who restored the fun to England.