Oak boughs for Penderell and King Charles

Richard Penderell, one of the brothers who hid Charles II after the battle of Worcester, was buried in the churchyard of St Giles in the Fields, and it was once the custom to dress his monument with oak branches every 29 May. Caulfield thought the practice had declined as kings grew less popular, though Brand put it down to the passing of time. In the 1840s the statue of Charles I at Charing Cross was still decked with oak leaves on the anniversary.