ON SOME RELICS OF KING CHARLES I., NOW IN THE 

 POSSESSION OF MAJOR J. BENETT-STANFORD, OF HATCH 

 HOUSE, TISBURY. (See p. xxxti.J 



JTJHE history of the letters is as follows: In the year 

 1875 my father was destroying a lot of old 

 documents that belonged to his grandfather and 

 were of no particular interest ; whilst burning 

 them he came across a packet having written in 

 the corner of it the words Charles Rex. On 

 opening this packet he found that it contained a 

 large number of letters from the King to Prince Rupert, from 

 Prince Rupert to the King, and also from many leading Cavaliers, 

 such as Lord Grandison, Lord Loughborough, Lord Derby, the 

 Duke of Richmond, Sir Arthur Ashton, the Earl of Huntingdon, 

 Sir Wm. Vavasour, the Duke of Newcastle, Sir Jacob Astley, 

 Lord Ethyn, and others addressed to the Prince, and many 

 replies of his to them. 



These came into our family through my ancestor, Colonel 

 Bennett, son of Thomas Bennett, of Pyt House, M.P. for 

 Shaftesbury, secretary to Prince Rupert all through the war. 

 He afterwards represented Shaftesbury in Parliament for some 

 25 years, obtaining the name whilst so doing of " Honest Tom 

 Bennett." 



