Moseley Old Hall is located in

Fordhouses Fordhouses is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is situated to the north of the city centre, adjacent to the border with Staffordshire, within the Bushbury North ward of Wolverhampton City Council. It is the most northerly ...

, north of

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

in the United Kingdom. It is famous as one of the resting places of

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child of ...

during his escape to France following defeat at the

Battle of Worcester The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell def ...

in 1651. It is now a

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

property.

Hall

The Hall is located in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

Construction and early history

The estate was owned by a Cordsall family until it was purchased by Henry Pitt of

Bushby Bushby is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Thurnby and Bushby, in the Harborough district, in Leicestershire, England. In 1931 the parish had a population of 336. It lies just south of the A47 Uppingham Road, which lead ...

, one of the

Merchants of the Staple The Company of Merchants of the Staple of England, the Merchants of the Staple, also known as the Merchant Staplers, is an English company incorporated by Royal Charter in 1319 (and so the oldest mercantile corporation in England) dealing in wool, ...

, in 1583. He constructed the Hall around 1600 (the exact date is unknown). Originally known as 'Mr Pitt's new Hall at Moseley', it was a half-timbered building located in remote woodland. When Henry died in 1602, the Hall was inherited by Alice Pitt, his daughter, who later married Thomas Whitgreave from Bridgeford, Staffordshire, whose family came from the nearby Whitgreave.

Role in Charles II's escape

After the final battle of the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

, the

on 3 September 1651, King Charles II escaped and was on the run from Parliamentarians. Charles arrived at the back door of Moseley Old Hall in the early morning of 8 September, after the journey from

Boscobel House Boscobel House () is a Grade II* listed building in the parish of Boscobel in Shropshire. It has been, at various times, a farmhouse, a hunting lodge, and a holiday home; but it is most famous for its role in the escape of Charles II after the B ...

.Coote, Stephen (2000). ''Royal Survivor: A Life of Charles II''. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 106-107 He arrived cold and wet, disguised in workman's clothing and ill-fitting shoes that had made his feet bleed. He was welcomed by Thomas Whitgreave, the owner of the house, Alice Whitgreave, Thomas's mother, and John Huddleston, the Catholic priest of the house. They gave Charles dry clothes, food, and a proper bed (his first since Worcester on 3 September). Huddleston cleaned and bandaged the King's feet. Charles was hidden in the

priest-hole A priest hole is a hiding place for a priest built into many of the principal Catholic houses of England, Wales and Ireland during the period when Catholics were persecuted by law. When Queen Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558, there were se ...

on the afternoon of 8 September while a confrontation between Whitgreave and parliamentarians took place outside the Hall. He later rested on a four-poster bed in the Hall. He left the house two days later, having planned out the rest of his escape. He was accompanied by Huddleston.

Later use

The family residence moved to Moseley Court around the 1820s, which was a new Regency-style house built for George Whitgreave. Few structural changes were made to the Hall until around 1870, when the outer walls of the building were replaced by bricks, and casements replaced the Elizabethan windows. Around that time, a first floor corridor was constructed. Descendants of the Whitgreave family owned the house until 1925, at which point the estate was sold. The house was subsequently used as a farmhouse, and fell into disrepair. It was purchased by Will Wiggin from

Bloxwich Bloxwich is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, England. It is located between the towns of Walsall, Cannock, Willenhall and Brownhills. Early history Bloxwich has its origins at least as early as th ...

in 1940, who started to repair the house, but the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

interrupted the repair work, which Will Wiggin was unable to complete before his death.

National Trust ownership

The Wiggin family transferred the ownership of the Hall and an acre of land to the

in 1962, and it was opened to the public in 1963. The Hall was nearly empty of furniture at the time; most of the furniture and pictures in the Hall have been subsequently lent or given to the Trust. In 1981 the roof and brickwork were repaired, and the

bargeboard Bargeboard (probably from Medieval Latin ''bargus'', or ''barcus'', a scaffold, and not from the now obsolete synonym "vergeboard") or rake fascia is a board fastened to each projecting gable of a roof to give it strength and protection, and to ...

s and

finial A finial (from '' la, finis'', end) or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a d ...

s were replaced. It is now fully restored, and furnished with donated period furniture. The original four-poster bed used by Charles stands in the King's room.

Layout

The ground hall includes an entrance hall, a parlour, and a brew-house. The first floor hosts Mr Whitgreave's room and the King's Room, along with the dressing room, study and a corridor. The second floor contains the chapel, ante-room, bedroom, main attic and

garret A garret is a habitable attic, a living space at the top of a house or larger residential building, traditionally, small, dismal, and cramped, with sloping ceilings. In the days before elevators this was the least prestigious position in a bu ...

Garden

The garden features a 17th-century-style (recreated) enclosed garden containing period plants. It has a herb garden, topiary, a fruit orchard, an arbour, a walled garden, and a 'knot' garden.

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite web , url=http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/moseley-old-hall/ , title=Moseley Old Hall , publisher=National Trust , access-date=6 December 2015 {{cite web , url=http://www.gardenvisit.com/garden/moseley_old_hall_garden , title=Moseley Old Hall Garden – review , publisher=Garden Visit , access-date=6 December 2015 {{cite book, last1=Garnett, first1=Oliver, title=Moseley Old Hall, publisher=National Trust, location=Staffordshire, isbn=978-1-84359-118-4, edition=2011 National Trust properties in the West Midlands (county) Country houses in the West Midlands (county) Gardens in the West Midlands (county) Grade II* listed buildings in the West Midlands (county) Grade II* listed houses Houses completed in 1600 Buildings and structures in Wolverhampton Historic house museums in the West Midlands (county)