Title:

King

Military Rank:

General

First Name:

Charles

Last Name:

Stuart

Memorial Type:

Memorial - Plaque

Does the monument still exist?

Yes

Installation Date:

1802

Inscription:

King Charles II slept here, September 23-24, 1651

Allegiance:

Royalist

Condition:

Very Good

Condition Description:

Plaque was clear and legible in 2025

Memorial Notes:

The plaque is on the outside wall of the much-altered and rebuilt buildings that once formed part of the Castle Inn in Broadwindsor. The plaque refers to an incident during Charles's escape after the battle of Worcester when the fugitive king and the small party accompanying him spent the night in the Inn. But no sooner had they gone upstairs than a detachment of parliamentarian soldiers turned up and also demanded accommodation, trapping the Royal party upstairs. Fortunately for Charles, one of the camp followers with the soldiers went into labour, causing a major row between the soldiers and the village authorities who were worried that the mother and child would be left in their care as paupers. In the event the distracted soldiers left the Inn without ever wondering who had been staying upstairs.