Tim Pye, National Curator, Libraries, writes: The National Trust is exceedingly grateful to FNL for a grant that enabled the acquisition of this hugely significant 17th-century missal for the collection at Moseley Old Hall, Staffordshire. The grant from FNL was complemented by an anonymous donation.
John Huddleston (1608-98), the missal’s original owner whose inscription can be found on the title-page, was a Benedictine priest famous for the role he played at several key moments in the life of Charles II. Huddleston was the chaplain and tutor to the Catholic Whitgreave family and was in residence at their Moseley home at the time of Charles II’s famous escape following the Battle of Worcester. Huddleston was instrumental in bringing Charles to Moseley Old Hall early on the morning of 8 September 1651 and was his constant companion during the king’s two-day stay, which included use of the priest hole.
It is known that Charles consulted books in Huddleston’s library and it is possible that the collection included the recently-acquired Parisian missal of 1623. The missal may also have been a witness to the end of Charles II’s life. Huddleston was summoned to the king’s deathbed in February 1685 to hear the king’s confession, administer the Eucharist and officially receive him into the Catholic Church. In his recounting of the occasion, Huddleston records that he ‘read the usual prayers’, perhaps from the present missal.
The story of the missal’s present-day survival is serendipitous, having been rescued by its previous owner from a Liverpool bookseller’s bargain bin in the 1950s. The years before its rescue were not kind to the volume and it is missing any evidence of its original binding. But the text within preserves much evidence of its value to Huddleston and the way in which it was used. Dates of births and deaths of those dear to the priest are recorded in his hand within the calendar section of the book, while numerous candlewax drips provide incredibly tangible insights into the reading of the text, which often must have taken place in a clandestine manner.
The story of the book, its survival and the role it played in a key period of British history, are central to the themes that Moseley Old Hall is currently exploring. The missal’s display will help tell important stories of sanctuary, the persecution of minorities and the significance of the written word. These and other contemporary values inherent in Huddleston’s missal may explain why the acquisition captured the attention of the general public and the media. Several outlets, including The Times, The Guardian and The Telegraph ran substantial stories on the missal, and it was a featured story on Radio 4’s Sunday programme at the beginning of July, 2023.
The Huddleston Missal is a wonderful acquisition for Moseley Old Hall. The way in which Huddleston has inscribed and annotated his missal highlights just how precious and personal this book would have been to him.
