The Twickenham Museum
People : Royals, Peers and Courtiers

James II
Britain's Last Catholic King
1633 - 1701

Newly crowned James II in the uniform of General Officer by Benedetto Gennari 1685.
From Spare to Heir  

James Stuart as Duke of York was the younger brother of Charles II who regained the throne 21 years after the execution of their father, Charles I. On the death of Charles II in 1685 and with no heir, James became King. As a Catholic, James II has traditionally been cast as a cruel absolutist who oversaw a level of tyranny representing an aberration in British history. More recent research, however, reveals a less callous side to this much misunderstood monarch.For example, he was a gifted publicist and showman ahead of his time, shaping his worldview by means of the greatest displays of military force ever assembled on British soil in peacetime. Having suppressed two rebellions following his coronation, James had his official portrait painted in the uniform of a General Officer. In the background is pictured the first of his Royal encampments on Hounslow Heath where the entire British Army was spread out for three miles across the parishes of Twickenham, Isleworth, and Heston. 
Whitton Warren taken from Moses Glover's survey of the Isleworth Hundred 1635.

A place of encampment  

Of all the heathlands surrounding London, none better linked each of the primary royal power houses of London, Windsor and Hampton Court than Hounslow Heath. Framed by the River Crane, ancient roads from London to the west provided access at either end of Hounslow Heath in the parishes of Twickenham and Isleworth. A day's march from the Tower of London, James looked to build a citadel here where he could grow his new army. There were, however, strict rules in place governing the enclosure of the heath that even extended to the monarch. There were only two enclosures at this time, which James set about renting. One was Whitton Warren in Twickenham parish owned by Lord John Belasyse of Worlaby, a staunch ally of the King.  

The King's Hospital stands by the River Crane and below it the Bakehouse and Barn following today's Percy Road..

A Citadel Close to London

Unlike the grandeur of Charles II's Royal Hospital at Chelsea, founded as a retreat for veterans in 1682, James' Hospital on the banks of the River Crane was built to care for sick and wounded soldiers on active service. Also designed by Sir Christopher Wren, it represented the largest and most impressive building on the local landscape. Today, Hospital Bridge Road roundabout serving the A316 Great Chertsey Road marks the site. Nearby Twickenham School occupies the site of a huge hay and grain barn servicing the needs of the encampment and next to that an industrial bakehouse that produced 2000 loaves of bread a day.

St Albans Farm, Staines Road from Moses Glover Survey of the Isleworth Hundred 1635.

The King's Quarters

The only other enclosure available to James on Hounslow Heath was seven fields off the Staines Road in the Parish of Heston. Today home to a recycling yard and an industrial estate, the site still carries the name of St Albans Farm named after James’ nephew, the Duke of St Albans, the illegitimate son of Nell Gwynne and Charles II. It was here that James established his head quarters within a corrall of re-planted mature trees embracing the grand tented pavilions of his close court, the Royal kitchen and the King's mobile tabernacle.   

John Bane's Prospect of the 1686 Encampment, one of a number of published programmes .

Prospect of the Royal Army

The Great Encampment of 1686 was advertised widely by means of early programmes outlining events or reporting on them. These Prospects as they were known were produced and distributed by several London printers. As a result, many thousands of spectators flocked to see the entire British army train and take part in mock battle on Hounslow Heath. Put to music, this concept was effectively the precursor to the Royal Tournament and military tattoo still popular the world over.   

Buda Hill from a series of drawings documenting the siege by Willem van de Velde.

Mock Siege of Buda

Buda was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Hungary. It was conquered by theTurks in 1541 and lay under Ottoman rule for the next 145 years. With the assistance of Rome, an alliance against the Turks Known as The Holy League eventually returned the city to Christendom in 1686. James II took this demonstration of Papal power as the theme for his 1687 encampment, constructing Buda Hill and the River Danube out of the heathland complete with Castle that was systematically destroyed according to the script laid down by eyewitness accounts of the Great Siege itself.  

Deserted by family and friends, James languished in exile and ignominy until his death in 1701.

An inglorious end

The so-called Glorious Revolution of 1688 ended the briefest and one of the most perplexing passages in British royal history. In a mad rush to erase this uneasy chapter from the country’s collective memory, much of the historic record of James’ reign, including his encampments on Hounslow Heath either went missing or were misplaced. As a result, the identification and management of the historic record of Hounslow Heath has remained as obscure and often as inaccurate as the life and times of James II. 

Further Reading

The Camp on Hounslow Heath: Where James II built the army that cost him his crown. By Ed Harris. 

Published by The Borough of Twickenham Local History Society. ISBN 978 1911 145073

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