Jane Lane, Lady Fisher
Encyclopedia
Jane Lane played a heroic role in the Escape of Charles II
in 1651. The main significance of the story is the key part that the escape played in forming the character and the opinions of Charles.
(near Walsall
). Her parents had married at Blithfield
, Staffordshire in 1608. Their son, John, was born on April 8, 1609, the first child of what was to be four sons and five daughters. There are several early christening dates for a Jane Lane in the International Genealogical Index
which have been estimated by contributors, most probably based on a spurious date for her marriage. However she was known as Jane Lane in 1651 and so was unmarried at that date. Her eventual marriage to Sir Clement Fisher (of Packington Hall, Warwickshire) is known to have occurred on December 8, 1663, being performed by the Most Rev. Gilbert Sheldon
, Archbishop of Canterbury
.
Known birth (and other) dates for Jane Lane's siblings are:
in 1651 in the English Civil War
, Charles II
escaped and headed north into Shropshire
and Staffordshire with several companions, including Lord Derby
and Lord Henry Wilmot
. A reward of £1000 was offered for the capture of the King. It is likely that the King and anyone helping him would have been executed for treason, if caught. The King had a distinctive appearance: very dark and six foot two inches tall (1.92 m). Furthermore there were cavalry patrols specifically tasked with finding the King. At this time it was illegal for Catholics to travel more than five miles away from their homes without a pass from the Sheriff of the County. Helping the King would therefore be hazardous.
Wilmot had gone to Bentley Hall, the home of Colonel John Lane, who had been an officer in the Royalist Army since 1642. His sister was Jane Lane. She was described by John Evelyn
as "an acute wit", "an excellent disputant" though "no beauty". Wilmot learned that Jane had obtained a permit from the military for herself and a servant to travel to the seaport of Bristol
, to visit a relation, Ellen Norton, who was having a baby. Lord Wilmot saw the opportunity of escaping through Bristol in the guise of the servant, since no lady would travel alone. On learning of the King's failure to reach Wales, Wilmot decided that the King should take advantage of the military pass and travel to Bristol as Jane Lane's servant, and then find a ship to take him to France
.
When the King reached Bentley Hall early on 10 September 1651, he was quickly dressed as a tenant farmer’s son and adopted the alias ‘William Jackson’ for the next part of his journey. The party then set out, Charles riding the same horse as Jane Lane. They were accompanied by Withy Petre (Jane Lane’s sister), her husband John Petre, and Henry Lascelles, another related Royalist officer.
Lord Wilmot refused to travel in disguise; he rode openly half a mile ahead of the party and if challenged he said he would claim to be out hunting. This was a risky yet useful decoy. The party rode through Rowley Regis
then Quinton
to Bromsgrove
. When they arrived at Bromsgrove they found that the horse ridden by Charles and Jane had lost a shoe. The King, playing the role of servant, took the horse to a blacksmith.
The King when he later told his story to Samuel Pepys
said, "As I was holding my horse's foot, I asked the smith what news. He told me that there was no news that he knew of, since the good news of the beating the rogues of the Scots. I asked him whether there was none of the English taken that joined with the Scots, He answered he did not hear if that rogue, Charles Stuart, were taken; but some of the others, he said, were taken. I told him that if that rogue were taken, he deserved to be hanged more than all the rest, for bringing in the Scots. Upon which he said I spoke like an honest man; and so we parted."
The party reached Wootton Wawen
where cavalry had gathered outside the inn. Here John and Withy Petre went ahead of the party. The King, Jane and Henry Lascelles with great coolness rode through the troops and then on to Stratford-upon-Avon
, where they spent the night of 10 September at the house of John Tomes, another relation of Jane’s.
On Thursday 11 September they continued through Chipping Campden
and then to Cirencester
, where it is claimed they spent the night of 11 September at the Crown Inn. The next morning they travelled on to Chipping Sodbury
and then to Bristol
, arriving at Abbots Leigh
on the evening of 12 September 1651. They stayed at the home of Mr and Mrs George Norton, who were also Jane’s relations. The Nortons were unaware of the King's identity during his three-day stay at Abbots Leigh. While staying there Charles deflected suspicion by asking a trooper, who had been in the King's personal guard, to describe the King's appearance and clothing at the battle. The man looked at Charles and said, "The King was at least three inches taller than you."
. The next day they reached Trent
in Dorset
. They stayed at Trent House, the home of Colonel Francis Wyndham, another Royalist officer. The King spent the next few days hiding at Trent whilst Wyndham and Wilmot attempted to find a ship from Lyme Regis
or Weymouth. It was whilst he was at Trent that the King witnessed a bizarre event where the local villagers were celebrating, believing that he had been killed at Worcester. It was also this point that Jane Lane and Lascelles returned home.
posing as a "country wench" and travelled to France. She arrived in Paris in December 1651 and was welcomed by the Court in exile. She developed a strong friendship with the King and with Queen Henrietta Maria. The King held her in great esteem. So much so that John Fisher reported a scurrillous rumour had circulated that she was the King's mistress. Even the King's sister, Mary
, in a letter from Holland jokingly referred to Jane as the King's 'wife'.
In 1652 Charles arranged for Jane to become a lady-in-waiting for his sister Princess Mary in Holland. Throughout his exile Charles carried on affectionate correspondence with Jane Lane and often said that he wished he could help her more. Jane received the following letter from Charles in reply to a letter in which Jane had said he had probably forgotten her by now:
finally came did Jane return to England. Charles was then able to give her a pension of £1000 per year and many gifts, including portraits of the King and a lock of his hair. Parliament also voted her £1000 to buy a jewel to commemorate her service. Her courageous loyalty earned for her family the right to add the three Lions of England to the Coat of Arms
. (In later years the lions exempted the Lane family from a tax on coats of arms, as the royal arms were exempt.)
She was married to Sir Clement Fisher of Packington (1613-1683) on 8 December 1663 by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Fisher had served under Jane's brother, John Lane, as a captain in the First Civil War
. There were no children from the marriage.
In later life she lived extravagantly and there were arrears of £6500 in the payment of her pension. Consequently she was deeply in debt. Lady Fisher died at Packington Hall
, between Birmingham
and Coventry
, on 9 September 1689 and was buried at Packington Hall. Because of her debts, her estate was only £10.
Several paintings of Jane exist including one in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery of the King and Jane Lane on a horse (NPG 5251). It was part of a romanticised series about the escape painted by Isaac Fuller
shortly after the Restoration.
Escape of Charles II
The Escape of Charles II from England in 1651 is a key episode in his life. Although it took only six weeks, it had a major effect on his attitudes for the rest of his life.-The fugitive king:...
in 1651. The main significance of the story is the key part that the escape played in forming the character and the opinions of Charles.
Origins
Jane was the daughter of Thomas Lane and Anne Bagot of the parish of Bentley and HydeBentley, West Midlands
Bentley is an area in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall located around Junction 10 of the M6 Motorway. It shares borders with the areas of Willenhall, Beechdale, Ashmore Park, Pleck, Darlaston and Alumwell.- History :...
(near Walsall
Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
). Her parents had married at Blithfield
Blithfield
Blithfield is a civil parish in the East Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. It includes the settlements of Admaston, Newton, along with Blithfield Hall, home of the Bagot family since 1360. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 225. Blithfield Reservoir takes up much of...
, Staffordshire in 1608. Their son, John, was born on April 8, 1609, the first child of what was to be four sons and five daughters. There are several early christening dates for a Jane Lane in the International Genealogical Index
International Genealogical Index
The International Genealogical Index is a database of genealogical records, compiled from several sources, and maintained by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
which have been estimated by contributors, most probably based on a spurious date for her marriage. However she was known as Jane Lane in 1651 and so was unmarried at that date. Her eventual marriage to Sir Clement Fisher (of Packington Hall, Warwickshire) is known to have occurred on December 8, 1663, being performed by the Most Rev. Gilbert Sheldon
Gilbert Sheldon
Gilbert Sheldon was an English Archbishop of Canterbury.-Early life:He was born in Stanton, Staffordshire in the parish of Ellastone, on 19 July 1598, the youngest son of Roger Sheldon; his father worked for Gilbert Talbot, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury. He was educated at Trinity College, Oxford; he...
, Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
.
Known birth (and other) dates for Jane Lane's siblings are:
- Colonel John Lane -- born April 8, 1609.
- Walter Lane -- born May 1611.
- William Lane -- baptised August 7, 1625.
- Richard Lane -- youngest son (became a Groom of the Bedchamber).
- Withy Lane (married John Petre). Withy is stated in the book Flight of the King (Alan Fea, 1908, Methuen) as being the eldest daughter of the family.
- Jane Lane
- Anne Lane (married Edward Birch).
- Mary Lane -- born 1619 (married Edward Nicholas, Esq.)
- Elizabeth Lane.
The ride to Bristol with Charles II
After the Battle of WorcesterBattle of Worcester
The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 at Worcester, England and was the final battle of the English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians defeated the Royalist, predominantly Scottish, forces of King Charles II...
in 1651 in the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
, Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
escaped and headed north into Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
and Staffordshire with several companions, including Lord Derby
James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby
James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby KG was a supporter of the Royalist cause in the English Civil War.Born at Knowsley, he is sometimes styled the Great Earl of Derby, eldest son of William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby and Lady Elizabeth de Vere. During his father's life he was known as Lord Strange...
and Lord Henry Wilmot
Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester
Lieutenant-General Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester , known as The Lord Wilmot between 1643 and 1644 and as The Viscount Wilmot between 1644 and 1652, was an English Cavalier who fought for the Royalist cause during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.-Early life:Wilmot's family was descended from...
. A reward of £1000 was offered for the capture of the King. It is likely that the King and anyone helping him would have been executed for treason, if caught. The King had a distinctive appearance: very dark and six foot two inches tall (1.92 m). Furthermore there were cavalry patrols specifically tasked with finding the King. At this time it was illegal for Catholics to travel more than five miles away from their homes without a pass from the Sheriff of the County. Helping the King would therefore be hazardous.
Wilmot had gone to Bentley Hall, the home of Colonel John Lane, who had been an officer in the Royalist Army since 1642. His sister was Jane Lane. She was described by John Evelyn
John Evelyn
John Evelyn was an English writer, gardener and diarist.Evelyn's diaries or Memoirs are largely contemporaneous with those of the other noted diarist of the time, Samuel Pepys, and cast considerable light on the art, culture and politics of the time John Evelyn (31 October 1620 – 27 February...
as "an acute wit", "an excellent disputant" though "no beauty". Wilmot learned that Jane had obtained a permit from the military for herself and a servant to travel to the seaport of Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, to visit a relation, Ellen Norton, who was having a baby. Lord Wilmot saw the opportunity of escaping through Bristol in the guise of the servant, since no lady would travel alone. On learning of the King's failure to reach Wales, Wilmot decided that the King should take advantage of the military pass and travel to Bristol as Jane Lane's servant, and then find a ship to take him to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
When the King reached Bentley Hall early on 10 September 1651, he was quickly dressed as a tenant farmer’s son and adopted the alias ‘William Jackson’ for the next part of his journey. The party then set out, Charles riding the same horse as Jane Lane. They were accompanied by Withy Petre (Jane Lane’s sister), her husband John Petre, and Henry Lascelles, another related Royalist officer.
Lord Wilmot refused to travel in disguise; he rode openly half a mile ahead of the party and if challenged he said he would claim to be out hunting. This was a risky yet useful decoy. The party rode through Rowley Regis
Rowley Regis
Rowley Regis is a town in the Sandwell metropolitan borough of the West Midlands county and a part of the Black Country in the United Kingdom. Being part of the Black Country, locals speak with the traditional dialect, though in a form regarded by many as the quickest and the hardest to...
then Quinton
Quinton
Quinton may refer to:*Quinton Andrews, American football player*Anthony Quinton, a philosopher*A. R. Quinton, an English watercolour artist*Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, an American Mixed Martial Artist*René Quinton, a French naturalist...
to Bromsgrove
Bromsgrove
Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England. The town is about north east of Worcester and south west of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 29,237 in 2001 with a small ethnic minority and is in Bromsgrove District.- History :Bromsgrove is first documented in the early 9th century...
. When they arrived at Bromsgrove they found that the horse ridden by Charles and Jane had lost a shoe. The King, playing the role of servant, took the horse to a blacksmith.
The King when he later told his story to Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
said, "As I was holding my horse's foot, I asked the smith what news. He told me that there was no news that he knew of, since the good news of the beating the rogues of the Scots. I asked him whether there was none of the English taken that joined with the Scots, He answered he did not hear if that rogue, Charles Stuart, were taken; but some of the others, he said, were taken. I told him that if that rogue were taken, he deserved to be hanged more than all the rest, for bringing in the Scots. Upon which he said I spoke like an honest man; and so we parted."
The party reached Wootton Wawen
Wootton Wawen
Wootton Wawen is a small village and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England. The village is located on the A3400, from Birmingham, miles south of Henley-in-Arden and miles north of Stratford-upon-Avon. The soil is a strong clay and some arable crops are grown,...
where cavalry had gathered outside the inn. Here John and Withy Petre went ahead of the party. The King, Jane and Henry Lascelles with great coolness rode through the troops and then on to Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
, where they spent the night of 10 September at the house of John Tomes, another relation of Jane’s.
On Thursday 11 September they continued through Chipping Campden
Chipping Campden
Chipping Campden is a small market town within the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. It is notable for its elegant terraced High Street, dating from the 14th century to the 17th century...
and then to Cirencester
Cirencester
Cirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold District. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, the oldest agricultural...
, where it is claimed they spent the night of 11 September at the Crown Inn. The next morning they travelled on to Chipping Sodbury
Chipping Sodbury
Chipping Sodbury is a market town in the county of South Gloucestershire, south-west England, founded in the 12th century by William Crassus . The villages of Old Sodbury and Little Sodbury are nearby...
and then to Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, arriving at Abbots Leigh
Abbots Leigh
Abbots Leigh is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, about west of the centre of Bristol.-History:The original Middle English name was Lega and the village became Abbots Leigh in the mid 12th century when Robert Fitzharding , who acquired the village as Lord of the Manor, gave the...
on the evening of 12 September 1651. They stayed at the home of Mr and Mrs George Norton, who were also Jane’s relations. The Nortons were unaware of the King's identity during his three-day stay at Abbots Leigh. While staying there Charles deflected suspicion by asking a trooper, who had been in the King's personal guard, to describe the King's appearance and clothing at the battle. The man looked at Charles and said, "The King was at least three inches taller than you."
Bristol to Trent
Attempts were made to find a ship from Bristol to France but without success. Charles and Wilmot therefore decided to try the south coast. Ellen Norton had a miscarriage and felt that Jane should stay. Consequently Jane had to counterfeit a letter apparently calling her back to Bentley so that she could leave with the King. On the morning of 16 September Charles and Jane set out and reached the Manor House, Castle CaryCastle Cary
Castle Cary is a market town and civil parish in south Somerset, England, north west of Wincanton and south of Shepton Mallet.The town is situated on the River Cary, a tributary of the Parrett.-History:...
. The next day they reached Trent
Trent, Dorset
Trent is a village in north west Dorset, England, situated in the Yeo valley four miles north west of Sherborne and four miles north east of Yeovil. It was formerly in Somerset...
in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
. They stayed at Trent House, the home of Colonel Francis Wyndham, another Royalist officer. The King spent the next few days hiding at Trent whilst Wyndham and Wilmot attempted to find a ship from Lyme Regis
Lyme Regis
Lyme Regis is a coastal town in West Dorset, England, situated 25 miles west of Dorchester and east of Exeter. The town lies in Lyme Bay, on the English Channel coast at the Dorset-Devon border...
or Weymouth. It was whilst he was at Trent that the King witnessed a bizarre event where the local villagers were celebrating, believing that he had been killed at Worcester. It was also this point that Jane Lane and Lascelles returned home.
Jane's exile
However Jane heard on 14 October that the Council of State had been told she had helped with the escape. Before Bentley Hall was searched, she left, walking to YarmouthGreat Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, east of Norwich.It has been a seaside resort since 1760, and is the gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the sea...
posing as a "country wench" and travelled to France. She arrived in Paris in December 1651 and was welcomed by the Court in exile. She developed a strong friendship with the King and with Queen Henrietta Maria. The King held her in great esteem. So much so that John Fisher reported a scurrillous rumour had circulated that she was the King's mistress. Even the King's sister, Mary
Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange
Mary, Princess Royal, Princess of Orange and Countess of Nassau was the eldest daughter of King Charles I of England, Scotland, and Ireland and his queen, Henrietta Maria of France...
, in a letter from Holland jokingly referred to Jane as the King's 'wife'.
In 1652 Charles arranged for Jane to become a lady-in-waiting for his sister Princess Mary in Holland. Throughout his exile Charles carried on affectionate correspondence with Jane Lane and often said that he wished he could help her more. Jane received the following letter from Charles in reply to a letter in which Jane had said he had probably forgotten her by now:
- 1652 the last of June
- Mrs. Lane, I did not thinke I should ever have begun a letter to you in [chiding?] but you give me so just cause by telling me you feare you are wearing out of [my?] memory that I cannot chuse but tell you I take it very unkindly that after [all?] the obligations I have to you 'tis possible for you to suspect I can ever [be so?] wanting to myselfe as not to remember them on all occasions to your advan[tage?], which I assure you, I shall and hope before long I shall have it in my power to give you testimonyes of my kindnesse to you which I desire. I am very [sorry?] to hear that your father and brother are in prison, but I hope it is of no [other?] score than the general claping of all persons who wish me well and I am the more sorry for it. Now it hath hindered you from coming along with my [sister?] that I might have assured you myself how truly I am
- Your Most affectionate friend, For Mrs. Lane
- Charles R.
Restoration
Only when the RestorationEnglish Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
finally came did Jane return to England. Charles was then able to give her a pension of £1000 per year and many gifts, including portraits of the King and a lock of his hair. Parliament also voted her £1000 to buy a jewel to commemorate her service. Her courageous loyalty earned for her family the right to add the three Lions of England to the Coat of Arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
. (In later years the lions exempted the Lane family from a tax on coats of arms, as the royal arms were exempt.)
She was married to Sir Clement Fisher of Packington (1613-1683) on 8 December 1663 by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Fisher had served under Jane's brother, John Lane, as a captain in the First Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. There were no children from the marriage.
In later life she lived extravagantly and there were arrears of £6500 in the payment of her pension. Consequently she was deeply in debt. Lady Fisher died at Packington Hall
Packington Hall
Packington Hall is a 17th century mansion situated at Great Packington, near Meriden, Warwickshire, England the seat of the Earl of Aylesford. It is a Grade II* listed building....
, between Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
, on 9 September 1689 and was buried at Packington Hall. Because of her debts, her estate was only £10.
Several paintings of Jane exist including one in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery of the King and Jane Lane on a horse (NPG 5251). It was part of a romanticised series about the escape painted by Isaac Fuller
Isaac Fuller
-Life:Fuller is said to have studied first in France under François Perrier, probably at the new academy in Paris, under whom he acquired some style from copying the antique. But he was too fond of the tavern. He resided for some time at Oxford. In London Fuller was much employed in decorative...
shortly after the Restoration.