The Restoration And The Coinage Of Charles II

In the last episode we looked at the Commonwealth period which followed the execution of Charles I in 1649.

- Richard Kelleher

After the death of the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell in 1658, his son Richard was elevated to Protector. However, his lack of support in either Parliament or the New Model Army soon saw him forced to abdicate, after just 264 days in office, in favour of Parliament. Within a year the scene was set for the restoration of the monarchy.

Background Charles II had fled England following defeat to Cromwell at the Battle of Worcester in September 1651 (Fig.1). With a small party of followers he headed north, making for Boscobel House in Shropshire, where he famously spent a night hiding from Parliamentary search parties in a tree (Fig.2), and later in one of the priest holes inside the house (Fig.3). Charles’ aim was to reach London, and then take a ship to the Continent. Over the next six weeks a disguised Charles travelled 615 miles, following a route south through Warwickshire and Gloucestershire to Bristol. No ships were sailing to France for a month, so Charles was moved into Dorset while his aides looked for a ship from the south coast (Fig.4).

After several near-misses with Parliamentary troops the king moved through Wiltshire to Shoreham in West Sussex where he boarded a coal boat called the Surprise, which sailed to Fecamp near Le Havre. The king made for Paris where his mother, Queen Henrietta Maria, was based.

Charles II – the Return of the King

Disillusionment with the Commonwealth government led to George Monck, the Governor of Scotland, made to march on London. His troops forced Parliament to readmit members who had been excluded, and this led to a general election in which a balance was struck between royalist and parliamentarian members.