BACK TO THE STUARTS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21876, 11 August 1934, Page 3 (Supplement)

BACK TO THE STUARTS

CHARLES 11. PENSIONER DIES

ROMANCE OF THE OAK TREE ESCAPE FROM THE IRONSIDES A pension that dates back to the reign of Charles 11. is automatically surrendered by the death in Florence recently' of Professor Francis Cox .Walker, of the University of British Columbia, who was a descendant of the Penderell family that saved Charles Stuart after his defeat by Cromwell at the Battle of Worcester, in 1651, saya the Hkrald's Vancouver correspondent. : Fleeing from the Roundheads, Charles crept into the grounds of the Penderell home, in Boscobel. Approaching Elizabeth Penderell, he told her who he was, and that he must be hidden. /So she summoned her five brothers and held a conference. At first they suggested hiding him in Bome cupboard, but, assured that the Roundheads would make an exhaustive search, they decided he should climb an old oak tree, with a heavy trunk and thick branches. For a whole day Charles sat cramped in a fork of the tree while Cromwell's Ironsides passed and repassed below. After sunset he climbed down and escaped. Ascending the throne as Charles 11., the fugitive did not forget Elizabeth, who was credited with the plan to bide him in the oak —the Royal Oak to this day. He awarded annuities in perpetuity to her and her brothers. Elizabeth's share was £SO. The ppnsions, which in those days were more than ten times their present value, were charged upon certain fee farm rent then payable to the Crown. These were transferred to trustees to administer for the benefit of the Penderells and their descendants. On failure of all the descendants, the rents were to divert to the Crown. Some years ago the British Government disposed of this reversionary interest, and the • Penderell pensions are now paid by private trustees. Elizabeth's pension passed to her eldest son, a Yates. From the Yates family it went to the Dysons, who changed their name to Walker. For a short time, during the life of Professor Walker's grandfather, the pension lapsed, but was restored. Professor Walker visited England in 1928 and was presented with young green shoots from Charles' tree.