About
Boscobel House in Staffordshire is one of England's most historically significant small manor houses, famous as the hiding place where the future King Charles II concealed himself following his catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651 — the last battle of the English Civil War. Managed by English Heritage, this evocative timber-framed farmhouse set in peaceful woodland near Bishops Wood preserves the very rooms where a king took refuge, including the priest hole in which he hid while Parliamentary troops searched the house below.
The house was built around 1600 for John Giffard, a Catholic recusant family who had already constructed the concealed priest hole designed to shelter Catholic priests during the years of Elizabethan and Jacobean persecution. When Charles arrived at Boscobel in disguise after Worcester, fleeing northwards with a price of £1,000 on his head, the Penderel family who farmed the estate sheltered him at great personal risk. The most celebrated episode of his flight saw Charles spend an entire day hiding in the branches of a dense oak tree in the woods surrounding the house while Parliamentary soldiers searched below — an event so resonant that the oak became one of the most famous trees in English history, and the name 'Royal Oak' entered the language as a symbol of concealment and loyal service.
The interior of Boscobel House has been furnished to reflect the period of Charles's stay, with authentic seventeenth-century objects, oak furniture, and period textiles creating an atmospheric recreation of the farmhouse environment in which a hunted king sheltered for precious days. The priest hole — a cramped secret chamber in the attic — can be viewed and its ingenious construction examined. Interpretation throughout the house tells the story of Charles's flight from Worcester to his eventual escape to France via the south coast, a six-week adventure involving dozens of loyal subjects who risked execution to help him.
The Royal Oak tree in the grounds is a descendant of the original tree (planted in the seventeenth century and itself no longer surviving), and continues to draw visitors who connect to one of the most romantic stories in English royal history. English Heritage has developed excellent displays on the Civil War context, the plight of Catholic recusant families, and the remarkable network of loyal supporters who formed what became known as 'the Sealed Knot' to assist the king's escape.
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Annual Visitors (2019)
28,000
Plan Your Visit
⏱️ Recommended Visit Duration
📅 Best Times to Visit
Quietest: Wednesday, Thursday
Busiest: Sunday
💡 Weekday morning in late summer or early autumn when woodland foliage is beautiful and visitor numbers are lower
💡 Visitor Tips
- Boscobel House is a seasonal attraction. Check the English Heritage website for current opening days and times before visiting — opening is typically Wednesday to Sunday from spring to autumn, with very limited winter access. English Heritage members enter free.
- The priest hole in the attic requires climbing steep narrow stairs and crouching in a confined space to view. If you have limited mobility, steep stairs may prevent access to upper floors. The ground floor parlour, grounds, and Royal Oak are accessible on the level.
- Combine Boscobel with a visit to nearby Moseley Old Hall (National Trust), another house where Charles II sheltered during his escape, to get a fuller picture of the Royal Flight story. White Ladies Priory ruins, just a half-mile walk, are included in your Boscobel admission.
- The RAF Cosford Museum is only 8 miles away and offers free admission — it makes an excellent complement to Boscobel for a full day out in Staffordshire/Shropshire, particularly appealing to families with children interested in aviation as well as history.
- The surrounding Staffordshire countryside is beautiful for walking. The woodland setting around Boscobel House, where Charles hid among the trees, is peaceful and atmospheric — arrive early for the quietest experience and most evocative sense of the landscape that sheltered a king.
- Children respond well to the drama of the Royal Oak story and the priest hole adventure. English Heritage's interpretation makes the Civil War and royal escape accessible and engaging for younger visitors. The 'spot the hiding place' element of the priest hole makes it a genuine discovery moment.
- Photography is welcome throughout the grounds and most interior spaces — the Royal Oak and the timber-framed exterior of the house are the most photogenic subjects. The interior lighting is dim in atmospheric rooms, so allow eyes to adjust rather than using flash.
Highlights
The Royal Oak Tree
The descendent Royal Oak growing in the grounds of Boscobel House is one of England's most historically resonant trees, standing on the spot where the original oak sheltered King Charles II for an entire day on 6 September 1651. After his crushing defeat at the Battle of Worcester, Charles hid in the dense branches of the tree while Parliamentary cavalry searched the woods below.
The episode gave rise to the English expression 'Royal Oak' and inspired dozens of pub names across Britain.
The current tree is a descendant planted in the seventeenth century from an acorn of the original, which was eventually destroyed by souvenir hunters who stripped its bark. Standing beneath this tree, visitors touch the living continuation of one of the most dramatic episodes in English royal history.
The Priest Hole
Hidden within the roof space of Boscobel House, the priest hole is a tiny concealed chamber constructed in the early seventeenth century to shelter Catholic priests during the years of religious persecution under Elizabethan and Jacobean penal laws. The hole is ingeniously disguised — a secret door concealed behind wood panelling leads to a cramped, dark space where a man could lie hidden for hours or days.
This very space sheltered Charles II when troops searched the house, making it one of the most historically significant priest holes in England.
The cramped dimensions make vivid the desperation of those who concealed themselves within — Charles, who was six feet tall, could barely straighten his legs. English Heritage interpretation explains the construction techniques used by priest hole makers and the network of Catholic households that harboured fugitives.
The Parlour and Stuart Furnishings
The main ground-floor rooms of Boscobel House have been furnished to reflect their appearance around the time of Charles II's stay in 1651, with authentic seventeenth-century furniture, textiles, ceramics, and household objects recreating the modest but comfortable environment of a Catholic recusant farmhouse.
The oak furniture is particularly fine — heavy, carved pieces typical of early Stuart domestic interiors. Carved chests, joint stools, rush-seated chairs, and a substantial table recreate the practical furnishings of a working farm household that also maintained the cultural standards expected of gentry.
English Heritage's conservation team has researched period inventories to ensure historical accuracy in the room arrangements. The rooms convey the sense of a household suddenly transformed by the arrival of a fugitive king — ordinary domesticity disrupted by extraordinary history.
The Story of the Royal Flight
Compelling interpretive display tracing the extraordinary forty-three-day journey of Charles II from his defeat at Worcester on 3 September 1651 to his eventual escape by boat to France from Shoreham in Sussex on 15 October. The route, covering hundreds of miles of English countryside under near-constant threat of capture, involved the assistance of over fifty loyal subjects from all walks of life — Catholic gentry, yeoman farmers, innkeepers, sailors, and servants.
Interactive maps show the route through the Midlands, the Welsh Borders, and finally through the south-east, with the key locations where Charles sheltered highlighted.
Portraits of the key helpers, documents recording Parliamentary rewards offered for information, and analysis of how such a large secret was maintained illuminate one of the most remarkable episodes of Stuart history.
Collections
Boscobel House's collections centre on the historic fabric of the timber-framed farmhouse itself, with its concealed priest hole and Stuart period rooms. English Heritage furnishings reflect the early seventeenth-century domestic environment with authentic period furniture, textiles, and household objects.
Interpretive collections cover the English Civil Wars and the Battle of Worcester, the royal flight of 1651, and the Catholic recusant tradition represented by the Giffard family.
The grounds contain the descendant Royal Oak and a recreated seventeenth-century formal garden. Archival materials in the visitor centre interpretation include documents, portraits, and maps relating to the Stuart period and Charles II's escape.
The Royal Flight 1651
Comprehensive account of Charles II's forty-three-day escape from Worcester to France, with interactive maps, portraits, and documentary evidence of the journey and the loyal subjects who helped.
📍 Visitor centre and throughout house
The English Civil Wars
Contextual exhibition on the conflict of 1642–1651, covering causes, key battles, characters, and consequences, with military artefacts and period documents.
📍 Visitor centre
Stuart Domestic Life
Furnished rooms recreating the early seventeenth-century domestic environment of a Catholic recusant gentry household, with period furniture, textiles, and household objects.
📍 House interior, ground floor
Themes
Time Periods
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.