Top historical pranks
We all like to play a prank or two every now and again, and our ancestors were no different. Here are some of the top tricks played at English Heritage sites over the centuries.
The Courtaulds' bitey pet lemur
Stephen and Virginia Courtauld were wealthy aristocrats who owned Eltham Palace in south London in the 1930s. They had a very unusual pet: a mischievous ring-tailed lemur called Mah-Jongg (or ‘Jongy’ for short) that they bought from Harrods.
The Courtaulds loved their lemur so much that they took Jongy with them as they sailed the world on their yacht (he even had his own deckchair). But, despite lashings of lemur luxury, Jongy regularly disgraced himself by biting the Courtaulds’ dinner guests – one guest even described the lemur as a ‘nasty, vicious animal’.
The queen consort dressing up as a village maiden
Catherine of Braganza was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland, but because she was a Roman Catholic, Catherine was unpopular in England.
In 1670, on a trip to Audley End in Essex, Catherine wanted to attend a country fair in the nearby town of Saffron Walden. Knowing she could be easily spotted, she and her ladies-in-waiting disguised themselves as village maidens to blend in with the crowd. However, their secret was soon discovered and Catherine had to make a hasty retreat.
Father Christmas appearing from a fake chimney
In the 1970s and 80s, Wrest Park in Bedfordshire saw a number of mysterious appearances by Father Christmases. In one instance, children saw Santa abseil down from the skylight in the staircase hall!
Another time, when children arrived for a Christmas party they could see Santa on the roof – then, once inside, he suddenly emerged from a fake chimney in the staircase hall, giving the impression he had come down the chimney. The children couldn’t believe their eyes.
Charles II hiding in a tree
In 1651, Charles II was on the run after he had attacked Parliamentary forces to try to regain his executed father’s throne. He was defeated and fled to Boscobel House in Shropshire.
With his enemies hot on his heels, Charles knew that staying in the house would be too dangerous, so he hid in a large, bushy oak tree a short stroll away from the house. He stayed in the tree for a whole day and managed to evade the search of the Parliamentary troops who were looking for him in the nearby wood.
William’s army pretends to flee at Hastings
On 14 October 1066, two great armies fought for the throne of England at Battle, near Hastings: the English forces of Harold, who had been crowned king nine months earlier, and the Norman troops of Duke William of Normandy, who believed he was the rightful king.
After an early stalemate, the Normans faced the English forces on a hillock, but couldn’t make them break ranks. So the Normans decided to pretend to flee, causing the English to pursue them. The Normans then turned round to fight, with the English defences in disarray. The Normans went on to win the battle and William became William I of England, later known as William the Conqueror.
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