Stuarts
Boscobel House and a descendant of the oak tree in which Charles II hid from Parliamentarian forces in 1651

Stuart England

The Stuart era began when James I, who was also James VI of Scotland, succeeded Elizabeth I. The last Tudor queen had died childless in 1603. James's ascension to the throne conjoined the two long-warring nations of England and Scotland.

Use the links below to learn more about life, people and culture in the Stuart era and to explore some of the Stuart sites that English Heritages cares for.

Introduction to Stuart England

People of Stuart England

  • Charles I

    Read about the man at the centre of the most turbulent period of England’s history, and learn about the statue dedicated to him in Trafalgar Square, London. 

  • Charles II and the Royal Oak

    Find out how the future king escaped from Parliamentarian forces after the Battle of Worcester in 1651, hiding at Boscobel House in Shropshire.

  • Blanche Arundell, Defender of Wardour Castle

    Read about how Lady Blanche Arundell heroically led a small band of men and women in defence of her home, Old Wardour Castle, when it came under siege during the English Civil War.

  • Jane Whorwood: Royalist Spy

    Jane Whorwood was one of the agents behind attempts to free Charles I from captivity on the Isle of Wight, notably from Carisbrooke Castle, in 1648.

  • James Chappell

    The heroic actions of James Chappell after an explosion on Guernsey in 1672 were enshrined in legend.

  • Margaret Cavendish

    Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle, was one of the most prolific female authors and philosophers of the 17th century, writing at a time of immense political upheaval. 

  • Lady Anne Clifford

    Read about Lady Anne Clifford, a staunch Royalist who left London to reclaim and restore her family estates in northern England that had been damaged in the Civil Wars.

  • The King and his Favourite

    George Villiers became a favourite of King James I after their first meeting at Apethorpe in 1614. Read about James and George and the surviving love letters between them.

  • The Countess of Kent and a Cookbook

    Find out more about Elizabeth, Countess of Kent, and her connection to the first cookbook in England to trade on a celebrity name.

  • John Dryden

    Read about poet John Dryden, his shifting loyalties after the Civil Wars and where to find his London blue plaque.

  • Samuel Pepys

    Read about diarist Samuel Pepys, a once Republican sympathiser who swiftly adopted Royalist loyalties once Charles II was restored to the throne. 

  • Christopher Wren

    Read about Sir Christopher Wren, Britain’s most famous architect. Following the Great Fire of London in 1666 he built dozens of new churches, including St Paul’s Cathedral.

War and Unrest

  • The English Civil Wars

    Discover how the Civil Wars unfolded at English Heritage’s properties – from ferocious sieges to a castle where Charles I was held prisoner.

  • The Siege of Goodrich Castle

    In June and July 1646, Goodrich Castle in Herefordshire was the scene of one of the most hard-fought sieges of the Civil War. 

  • THE SIEGE OF DONNINGTON CASTLE

    Discover how Donnington Castle in Berkshire held out for Charles I during a 20-month siege in 1644–6, and played a key role in the Second Battle of Newbury.

  • Charles I: a Royal Prisoner at Carisbrooke Castle

    Learn about Charles I’s time as a prisoner of Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight, including his many attempts to escape.

  • Battle of the Downs

    How a major sea battle between the Dutch and the Spanish on the Kent coast revealed as much about the English navy as it did about its participants.

  • The Civil Wars and the British Army

    Discover how the reorganisation of the Parliamentarian army during the Civil Wars marked the beginning of the modern British Army tradition.

  • Border Reivers and Hadrian's Wall

    How a fort, built for troops manning the frontier of Roman Britain, became a locus of crime and unrest in Stuart England.

More about Stuart England

  • Stuarts: Architecture

    From the grand country houses of the early Stuart period to Christopher Wren's new churches that rose from the ashes of the Great Fire of London.

  • Stuarts: Commerce

    The economy of much of Stuart England was largely based on traditional industries. London, however, was at the centre of a growing international network of trade.

  • Stuarts: Parks and Gardens

    The influence of the great formal gardens of the Renaissance gradually gave way to the opulence of the Baroque during the Stuart period. 

  • Berry Pomeroy and the ‘Other’ Seymours

    How an extravagant but unfinished castle tells a story of family rivalry and competitive housebuilding in 17th-century England.

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