Moseley Old Hall is located in

Fordhouses Fordhouses is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is situated to the north of the city centre, adjacent to the border with Staffordshire, within the Bushbury North Ward (politics), ward of Wolverhampton ...

, north of

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

in the United Kingdom. It is notable as one of the hiding places of Charles II 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 1642 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell def ...

in 1651. Now owned by the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

, the hall is a

Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

Hall

The Hall is located in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

Construction and early history

The estate was owned by a Cordsall family until it was purchased by Henry Pitt of Bushby, 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 or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

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

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 A bargeboard or rake fascia is a board fastened to each projecting gable of a roof to give it strength and protection, and to conceal the otherwise exposed end grain of the horizontal timbers or purlins of the roof. The word ''bargeboard'' is pr ...

s and

finial A finial () 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 dome, spire, tower, roo ...

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. In 2023, the Trust bought John Huddleston’s

prayerbook A prayer book is a book containing prayers and perhaps devotional readings, for private or communal use, or in some cases, outlining the liturgy of religious services. Books containing mainly orders of religious services, or readings for them are ...

at auction, and placed it on display at the hall.

Layout and listing

The ground floor 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 with sloping ceilings. In the days before elevators this was the least prestigious position in a building, at the very to ...

t. The hall is a

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) Bushbury