uncommon e-book believed to have been used to transform an English king to Catholicism has gone on public show.

The copy of the Missale Romanum, or the Roman Missal, was owned by Father John Huddleston, who helped to avoid wasting the lifetime of King Charles II and had the e-book with him when the monarch transformed to the Catholic religion on his deathbed.

A missal is a e-book containing prayers supplied by the priest on the altar in addition to every part that's learn or sung in reference to the Mass all through the ecclesiastical 12 months.

The e-book, revealed in 1623, was bought by the National Trust at public sale and shall be placed on show at Moseley Old Hall, close to Wolverhampton, 363 years after it was first there.

It incorporates Fr Huddleston’s signature and even drops of candle wax on some pages.

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It can be essential for our understanding of how Roman Catholic books had been used and circulated at a time when it was harmful to be something apart from Anglican.

Tim Pye, nationwide curator on the conservation charity, mentioned: “The Huddleston Missal is a wonderful acquisition for Moseley Old Hall. Not only is the 1623 edition of the Missale Romanum a rare book – just one other complete copy is recorded in UK libraries.

“It is also crucial for our understanding of how Roman Catholic books were used and circulated at a time when it was dangerous to be anything other than Anglican.

“The way in which Huddleston has inscribed and annotated his missal highlights just how precious and personal this book would have been to him.”

Fr Huddleston was a Benedictine priest who lived at Moseley, dressed as a servant and guarded by the Whitgreave household, who had been Catholics and remained loyal to the Royalists’ trigger following the execution of Charles I on the finish of the English Civil War.

During the Anglo-Scottish War, also called the Third English Civil War, from 1650-52, Charles II’s royalist forces had been defeated by Oliver Cromwell’s Parliamentarians, ultimately forcing the monarch into exile.

Following the Battle of Worcester in 1651, Charles famously hid from Parliamentarian troops in an oak tree on the grounds of Boscobel House in Shropshire, earlier than fleeing to Moseley the next night time.

He was there given shelter by Fr Huddleston and proven to a priest gap beneath a cabinet ground when armed troops arrived on the home in search of the king.

The mattress on which Charles slept stays at Moseley right now, and he consulted a number of books – together with the missal – in journeys to Huddleston’s library.

Displaying and deciphering the missal will present a compelling focus and renewed impetus for telling the story of Charles II’s exceptional escape.

Following Charles’ restoration, Huddleston was made chaplain to the King’s mom, Queen Henrietta Maria, and later his spouse, Catherine of Braganza.

As Charles lay dying in 1685, Huddleston heard the King’s confession, administered the Eucharist and obtained him into the Catholic Church.

The missal was beforehand owned by Joseph J Procter, who paid a Liverpool bookshop simply sixpence for it, within the late Fifties, earlier than being bought by the National Trust.

Sarah Kay, cultural heritage curator, mentioned: “We’re delighted to have secured this important book which is central to the story of Moseley.

“If we hadn’t acquired it, it is likely to have gone into private hands and not been accessible by the public.

“Displaying and interpreting the missal will provide a compelling focus and renewed impetus for telling the story of Charles II’s remarkable escape.”