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Auction: 26066 - Historical Documents, Autographs and Ephemera
Lot: 1048

Robert Hammond - The Jailor of King Charles I
1648 (6 October) document signed "Ro:[bert] Hammond" being a pass to "Permitt the Lord Seyour [2nd Duke Duke of Somerset] with his servants and horses to passe your guards into this Isle of Wight and to returne without molestacon". A pencilled note at foot reads "to see King Charles".

Very fine and a most important document.

Provenance:

Dominic Winter, 8 Sept., 2021
Sothebys, 27 April, 2021 when offered as part of a large group of Civil War papers.

Notes: Lord Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset remained exceptionally loyal to the King, all the way until his execution. He was one of only four Lords who petitioned to take the blame for the King's actions and be executed on the scaffold in his place.

That Hammond allowed him on to the Island is surprising in its own right. Charles had been under custody of Parliament since November 1647 and made multiple attempts at escape, managing to do so from Hampton Court and attempted escape from Carisbrooke twice. Hammond was also keen to prove to his Parliamentarian employers that he was entirely unsympathetic to the King and his cause.

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Estimate
£1,000 to £1,500

Starting price
£800