By repute, the shoes worn by Charles I on the day of his execution, Tuesday 30th January 1649,

Footnotes

“I go from a corruptible crown to an incorruptible crown”

Three letters accompany the shoes, all dated March 1949, from Hedley Hope Nicholson.

The first (20th March) details his interest in the shoes in his capacity as a member of The Committee of the Society of King Charles The Martyr and stating that he believes the shoes are in the possession of Queen Mary. He then states he saw the shoes in a glass case at the Antique Dealers Fair where Copper & Adams exhibited the shoes prior to passing them to sale at Sotheby’s. He refers to the shoes being in a local museum prior to being bought by the Lowther Family.

The second letter (24th March) in response to a reply when matters have clearly been set right, the date for the Antique Dealers Exhibition is given as 1947. Nicholson has now spoken to Copper & Adams who confirmed Queen Mary was to buy the shoes but failed to follow matters up. Copper confirms the shoes were sent to Sotheby’s and Nicholson confirms the sale of the shoes to Hall.

Copper confirms the relics were purchased in a sale at Lowther Castle in the spring of 1947 and alludes to them being originally from Cowsthwaite Museum.

Nicholson then states “I think it very likely that the King wore such a pair of shoes on the scaffold. He would have changed into them after the walk from St. James’ Palace – he took special care of his appearance that day, which he referred to as ‘ my second marriage day’”.

The third letter (24th March) mainly relates to genealogical details, possibly relating to pencil notes that Nicholson had made on the provenance of the shoes when he first saw them displayed at The Antique Fair.

A further typed note accompanies the shoes and is by Bryan Hall:

“For various reasons my Father subscribed to Sotheby’s Catalogues dealing with small antiquarian objects. It was in one of these catalogues I saw the lot comprising the black shoes worn by Charles I when walking to the scaffold.”

While much has been written concerning the execution of Charles I, both contemporary and later, the the accounts are often contradictory. Contemporary images of the execution have varying degrees of detail, often varient to the known architectural details of the scene at the Palace of Whitehall. It is not therefore surprising that no image portrays Charles at his execution in comparable shoes.

A painting by Hendrick Pot, in the Royal Collection, shows Charles with Henrietta Maria and her eldest child, Prince Charles, Charles I is apparently pictured wearing the same or very similar shoes.