Once I was a clever boy learning the arts of Oxford... is a quotation from the verses written by Bishop Richard Fleming (c.1385-1431) for his tomb in Lincoln Cathedral. Fleming, the founder of Lincoln College in Oxford, is the subject of my research for a D. Phil., and, like me, a son of the West Riding. I have remarked in the past that I have a deeply meaningful on-going relationship with a dead fifteenth century bishop... it was Fleming who, in effect, enabled me to come to Oxford and to learn its arts, and for that I am immensely grateful.


Thursday, 5 February 2026

Evidence for the attempted assassination of Prince Charles Edward in 1746


The Daily Telegraph carried a story yesterday which reinforces the claim of an attempt to assassinate Prince Charles Edward in January 1746. At the time the Prince had been taken ill and was staying at Bannockburn House whilst his troops besieged Stirling Castle. Local legend has preserved the story of an attempt to shoot the Prince whilst he was confined to through a window, although there is no contemporary written evidence of such an attempt.

Last year evidence of a bullet hole or musket shot was found in the wall of the room the Prince is believed to have occupied and now it has been announced that conservation work on the bed has revealed in the headboard the remains of a projectile shot. Whilst not absolute proof it does make the traditional story look more probable.


Wikipedia has an account of the house and its history at Bannockburn_House

There is a video about the specific scanning project which revealed the pistol or musket ball which can be viewed at A Hidden Bullet and a Bed of Secrets: Bannockburn House Discovery Brings Jacobite History to Life




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