Boscobel House

Boscobel House (grid reference SJ837082) 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 Battle of Worcester in 1651. Today it is managed by English Heritage.

Location

The building is just inside Shropshire, as is clear from all Ordnance Survey maps of the area, although part of the property boundary is contiguous with the Shropshire - Staffordshire border, and it has a Stafford post code. Boscobel is on land which belonged to White Ladies Priory in the Middle Ages, and at that time it was extra-parochial. The priory was often described as being at Brewood, which is in Staffordshire, and this may have contributed to the widespread belief that the house and priory are in Staffordshire. Brewood is the neighbouring parish, and the house is just south of the small village of Bishops Wood, a constituent part of Brewood. Although technically still a separate civil parish, Boscobel's small population means it shares a parish council with Donington, Shropshire. Local government reform in 1974 brought the parish, including Boscobel House and White Ladies, into Bridgnorth District, which in 2009 was superseded by the new unitary authority of Shropshire Council. The nearest city is Wolverhampton. The house is just north of the M54 Motorway.

Boscobel

Coordinates: 52°40′16″N 2°14′35″W / 52.671°N 2.243°W / 52.671; -2.243

Boscobel is a civil parish in the east of Shropshire, England, on the border with Staffordshire. To the north is the Staffordshire village of Bishops Wood.

According to the 2001 census it had a population of 12. Because of its small population, it shares a parish council with the neighbouring Donington parish. It is the smallest parish in Shropshire by population – the smallest by area is Deuxhill.

Boscobel House

It is the site of Boscobel House, home to the Giffard family, owners of the Boscobel Royal Oak, where Charles II hid in an oak tree after losing the Battle of Worcester in 1651.

A historical romance on the subject was published as Boscobel in 1871 by William Harrison Ainsworth.

The "pine groves of Boscobel" are mentioned (twice) by Charles Kinbote, narrator of Vladimir Nabokov's 1962 postmodern novel Pale Fire, in descriptions of his escape from Zembla.

White Ladies Priory

Also in the parish is White Ladies Priory.

Boscobel (Garrison, New York)

Boscobel is an estate overlooking the Hudson River built in the early 19th century by States Dyckman. It is considered an outstanding example of the Federal style of American architecture, augmented by Dyckman's extensive collection of period decorations and furniture. Today it is a historic house museum and popular tourist attraction.

It was originally located in the Westchester County village of Montrose. Restoration efforts in the mid-20th century moved it 15 miles (24 km) upriver to where it currently stands, on NY 9D a mile south of the village of Cold Spring in Putnam County.

House

Boscobel's distinguishing feature is the unusual delicacy conveyed by the front facade and its ornamentation. Unique among Federal style buildings, carved wooden swags in the shape of drapery, complete with tassels and bowknots, grace the top of the second-story balcony. One-third of the face is glass, with thinner and larger contemporary panels used in the restoration to enhance the existing lightness. The windows are slightly recessed, and the front clapboards are closely fitted and matched in an apparent effort to suggest masonry.