16 A TOPOGRAPHICAL 



that river were strictly guarded, the King was secreted in a barn 

 belonging to a catholic gentleman named Wolf, of Madeley, where 

 he continued till night-fall, and then returned with Pendrell to Bos- 

 cobel. Next morning, for a better concealment, the King, toge- 

 ther with Colonel Carless, who commanded for his Majesty in the 

 late battle, mounted a large oak, in Boscobel Wood, where they 

 sheltered themselves among the leaves and branches for four-and- 

 twenty hours. On Sunday night Pendrell conducted the King, 

 upon a miller's horse, to the house of Mr. Whitgreave,* a catholic 

 gentleman, at Moseley, where he was received with every mark of 

 loyalty and respect : here he remained till Tuesday night, when 

 bis Majesty took leave of his faithful host, and was taken by Lord 

 Wilmot to Bentley, the residence of Colonel Lane, about four miles 

 from Moseley towards Walsall. During the King's stay at Moseley 

 he occupied Mr. Huddleston'sf (the priest of the family) cham- 

 ber, from whence was a direct passage into a secret hiding-place 

 that still exists, and in which Mr. Huddleston had been often 

 compelled to take shelter in those times : in this hole his Majesty 

 bid himself upon an alarm of the approach of the rebels, but Mr. 

 Whitgreave had the address to prevent a search for the King. 

 On Monday night, Lord Wilmot left Moseley, and went back to 

 Bentley, to consult with Colonel Lane upon measures to be taken 

 for his Majesty's safety. A scheme was here formed for his journey 

 to Bristol. Colonel Lane having a relation in that city, he ob- 

 tained a pass for his sister and a servant to visit him. The King, 

 disguised as a servant, rode before Miss Lane, and reached Bristol 

 in safety ; but no vessel being ready to sail, his Majesty sought 

 a temporary security at Colonel Wyndham's, in Dorsetshire. At 

 length, a vessel was procured at Brighthelmstone, where, after 



* The lateT. H.F. Whitgreave, esq. who died in January, 1816, was the 

 great-grandson of the preserver of Charles II. : he has left heirs male. Three 

 generations of this family have lasted from 1651 to 1816, or 165 years, which is 

 47 years to a generation, and may be reckoned three lives to a century. The 

 late Mr. Whitgreave died in the same mansion in which the King was 

 sheltered. 



t It appears, from some anecdotes of the Rev. John Huddleston, lately 

 published, that Richard Pendrell, the honest and loyal protector of Charles II. 

 died February 8, 1671. Mr. Huddleston was the Kind's constnnt companion at 

 Mr. Whitgreave's, and when his Majesty departed, he took solemn leave of him, 

 with assurances of his friendship. Mr. Huddleston afterwards retired beyond 

 sea, and became a Benedictine monk ; but returning, upon the Restoration, 

 he was appointed one of Queen Catharine's chaplains, and was always except- 

 ed by name in proclamations or edicts issued against the Catholics. 



