Charles I, anointed King of England and Scotland, stood at the scaffold at Whitehall. Although it was January, he didn’t shiver, wearing a double layer of clothing so that the crowd would not perceive any trembling from the wintry cold as fear. Before kneeling to place his head on the wooden block, he is said to have uttered, ‘I go from a corruptible to an incorruptible crown, where no disturbance can be, no disturbance in the world’, referring to the Civil War which in 1649 claimed his life. But there is another, more cryptic last word, a parting shot, that he uttered to his minister standing alongside him. The weary king, passing his medal of St George to William Juxon, Bishop of London, spoke the single word, ‘Remember’. Kneeling, his head was severed from his neck with an axe, and the monarchy's rule, which had existed for more than a thousand years, came to a bloody end.

Charles I, Metropolitan Museum, Public Domain

But what did Charles mean? He may have been referring to the solemnity of the event – a nation beheading its rightful king on charges of treason and for inciting war and dissension in the realm. It was unprecedented. Queens had been executed on the scaffold, two on charges of adultery and two for treason, but up until 1649 no king had suffered in this way. Alternatively, Charles may have been bidding a last goodbye, telling Juxon to remember this moment and any consequences that might follow. Charles was a stubborn and righteous king, who believed he ruled via Divine Right granted to him only by God. Answerable only to Him, the king angered his subjects and triggered increasingly hostile sanctions from Parliament. It is entirely logical that Charles considered his legal murder an affront to God, and believed that divine punishment would follow. 

By the end of the seventeenth century though, there was another explanation. The writer John Aubrey, who was twenty-three years of age at the time of Charles’ death, claimed that the king predicted that his son would come to the throne despite the Civil War’s abolishment of the monarchy and his own death sentence. ‘After King Charles the First was condemned’, wrote Aubrey, ‘he did tell Colonel Tomlinson that he 'believed the English Monarchy was now at an end.' About half an hour after, with a radiant countenance, and as if with a preternaturally assured manner, he affirmed to the Colonel, positively, that his son should reign after him. This information I had from Fabian Phillips, Esq., of the Inner Temple, who had the best authority for the truth of it.’ Was Juxon supposed to remember the occasion's futility, Charles believing that the monarchy would be once again restored under his son Charles II, which happened in 1660? 

A spooky prediction or significance given by Aubrey and others long after the event? What do you think? 

Liked this? You might also like 7 Historic Events That Happened in Hampton Court and Elizabeth Dormer, the Tragic Countess of Carnarvon.

Sipping a hot cup of coffee, I sat opposite our friend at his kitchen table. We had been chatting about one of our favourite books, Charles Spencer's The White Ship. 'Makes you wonder', he said philosophically, 'how history would have changed had that boat not sunk'. A thought trickled across his face as he shot up from the table, his voice trailing away as he disappeared into another room. 'If you liked that book, you'll love this one', he said, handing me a small faded paperback, the outside edge of its pages browned and vanilla-scented with age. The book's title shone, emblazoned in metallic copper foil. 

He was right. Tim Severin's 1978 book The Brendan Voyage was a fascinating read. It follows the story of St Brendan who sailed from Ireland in the sixth century in a small leather boat across the Atlantic Sea and reached the New World, the Americas. It had been a myth, told in an ancient manuscript called The Navigatio, and there was some debate among historians whether Brendan's trip could have been even possible, considering medieval technology and the challenges of such a long and dangerous mission across open sea. The tale told of the crew encountering pillars of crystal, sea monsters with teeth attacking one another and a blacksmith's island where they were pelted with hot pieces of coal before one of the crew members caught fire and died on the spot.

The book discusses the making of the boat in detail, and Severin's priority in using medieval methods and traditional techniques will make any history lover happy. The difficulties and challenges faced by the crew are given in life-like detail and with careful descriptions so you almost feel as if you're on the boat with them. Their journey not only confirmed that the sixth century trip was possible but tested out medieval boat-building techniques, food supplies and clothing. There's also a great sense of community as word spread via radio and in the press about the trip, and larger ships and control towers regularly make contact with Brendan to ensure they have enough food and batteries for their torches, a luxury the original Brendan wouldn't have had. I also found it interesting that Severin noted the crew's interaction with whales in context with whale populations. As he noted, back in St Brendan's day there would have been many more whales in the Atlantic than today, making it likely that they would have encountered larger numbers of them. 

The book is also easy to read - it's as if you're listening to Severin tell the story - and there are some great photographs captured on the boat during the trip, published throughout the pages in coloured sections. The research is valuable from a historical perspective too, and you can only admire the crew for their passion in setting out to complete such a dangerous and ground-breaking trip, along with their teamwork and good spirits throughout the journey. I'd definitely recommend this book. I think it's still in print in some places but there also seem to be many copies available second-hand. Give it a read and let me know what you think!

You might also like Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England and Anglo-Saxon Law and Order: Was it Really Brutal and Chaotic? 

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A painting, in the collection of Royal Museums Greenwich, depicts the death of the heroic naval commander Lord Nelson, which took place on 21 October 1805. The work, completed in 1807 by William Arthur Devis, portrays a commotion around the leader as prominent men linked to the battle busy themselves as he lies pale and dazed on the floorboards of his ship, partly covered with a white sheet. They include Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy, the ship’s captain; William Beatty the surgeon and the ship’s chaplain, Dr Alexander Scott. There are around a dozen figures in all, but there is at least one notable person missing from the scene: Mary Watson...

This is a paid subscriber-only post - read the full article on Substack

Copy of ‘The Death of Nelson’. Wellcome Collection, Wikimedia Commons

The Church of St Mary in Warwick is hugely underestimated. Inside, it's bigger than it looks from the outside, it has a stunningly beautiful crypt which you can venture on down to, and some real gems in medieval and Tudor monuments. Like this one, the tomb and effigy of Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick. 

Richard's effigy is made from gilded brass, with a marble tomb below on which are depicted men and women from the earl's life as his 'weepers'. The bear rests at his feet, a symbol of the earls of Warwick, along with a griffin and a swan. The 'cage' structure seen over the top of Richard's effigy is believed to have once supported a covering of crimson velvet - something that William Dugdale in the eighteenth century reported had long been removed by his time. To walk around the tomb and examine the 'weepers' is to look into the faces of key men and women of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war that gripped England (and had consequences for Wales, Ireland and Scotland) in the fifteenth century.

The identities of the figures on the earl's lower tomb are given by their respective shields, showing their individual arms. They include Margaret Countess of Shrewsbury and her husband John Talbot Earl of Shrewsbury; Richard Neville and Alice Montacute, Earl and Countess of Salisbury and Richard Neville and Anne Beauchamp, later Earl and Countess of Warwick. 

The inscription on the tomb, and recorded by Dugdale, gives the date of Richard's death and states that he was 'visited with a long sickness in the Castle of Rouen' while he was serving as Lieutenant General and Governor of the Realms of France and Normandy under Henry VI. His body was sent from France to England and arrived at Warwick for burial on 4 October 1439.

Interested in the Wars of the Roses? My first book explores the roles of women from all sectors of fifteenth century society and the impact they had on the Wars of the Roses conflict. Order your copy here. 

My second book, Power Couples of the Tudor Era, published by Pen and Sword Books, explores the contributions sixteenth century couples made to their own times as well as how they influenced our own. Robert Dudley and Elizabeth I have their own dedicated chapter. Order your copy here. 

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Source:  The Antiquities of Warwick and Warwick Castle, Sir William Dugdale. 1786. On archive.org.

Amy, my painting partner, knows all about my quest to visit old pubs. We were working on a mural in Salisbury and it was a 2-hour drive home. On the final day, we packed up at about 5pm and decided, as we had worked super hard, that we would stop off at the beautiful town of Stockbridge in Hampshire for some dinner before the long drive home. 

We had a little chat about where we could go, and while she drove, I Googled some of the likely contenders. One of them, The White Hart, caught my eye straight away.

The 12th century St Peter's Church next door, Stockbridge

Check out The White Hart's website for more of its history and details on the rooms and their food menu. 

Enjoyed this? You might also like The Mystery Lady of Romsey Abbey and A Mysterious and Tragic Murder at Littlecote House. 

Interested in Tudor history? You might also like my second book, Power Couples of the Tudor Era, published by Pen and Sword Books, which explores the contributions couples made to their own times as well as how they influenced our own. Order your copy here. 

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