Issue 39 Sept 23 - Journal - Page 87
Rare prayer book owned by
priest who helped save the
life of King Charles II goes
on public display
400-year-old ‘missal’ belonged to Fr John Huddleston, who saved Charles II twice - ‘first his body, then his soul’.
Fr Huddleston helped Charles seek refuge after Battle of Worcester, and may have used the missal at the
conversion of Charles II to Catholicism on his deathbed.
Missal’s owner was later made chaplain to the King’s mother and his wife, Catherine of Braganza.
Rare prayer book will help tell the story of Charles II’s remarkable escape, and how Roman Catholic books were
used and circulated at a dangerous time for the faith.
A 400-year-old prayer book that once belonged to a priest
who helped save the life of King Charles II, has gone on
public display after being bought for the nation by the
National Trust.
Father John Huddleston’s (1608 – 1698) personal missal
[1] can now be viewed at Moseley Old Hall, near
Wolverhampton, the house where he was Chaplain when
Charles sought refuge after escaping Cromwell’s troops
following the Battle of Worcester in 1651.
The book, bearing Fr Huddleston’s signature, was
purchased by the conservation charity at auction thanks
to a generous donation from a volunteer and support from
the Friends of the National Libraries. The successful bid
means this important piece of history has been saved for
the nation and has returned to Moseley, some 363 years
since it was first there.
Published in Paris in 1623, the rare copy of the Missale
Romanum was possibly used to convert Charles II to
Catholicism on his deathbed.
Fr Huddleston was a Benedictine priest who lived at
Moseley Old Hall, dressed as a servant, with the Catholic
Whitgreave family, who had stayed loyal to the Royalist
cause following the execution of Charles I.
Following defeat to the Roundheads at Worcester, Charles
fled to Boscobel House in Shropshire, where he hid in an
oak tree, before arriving at Moseley Old Hall the following
night. Flanked by a small group of supporters, he entered
via the studded oak back door, still in place today, and
given shelter.
Below,helped
inscriptions
and annotations
Fr Huddleston
Fr Huddleston
Charles
to seekbyrefuge
in his
highlight
precious
personal
the missal
wouldroad
have
first-floor
room,how
which
hadand
a view
of the
approach
been to him. National Trust Images by James Dobson
