Remember Bonnie Prince Charlie? This plaque marks a significant moment. It tells a tale of ambition and lost causes. In November 1745 Jacobite forces under Charles Edward Stuart used this site as a gun park.
Bonny Prince Charlie sought to reclaim the British throne. He aimed to restore it for his father James Stuart. James was the son of King James II of England and Wales. He was also James VII of Scotland. The Jacobite rising of 1745 was his attempt.
Earlier the Jacobites won a victory at Prestonpans in September. Hopes rose that they could surpass the failed 1715 rising.
With 6000 troops Bonnie Prince Charlie arrived in Manchester. The troops were manoeuvring as part of the Jacobite rising of 1745. A wealthy merchant and Jacobite sympathiser John Dickenson welcomed Charles. He was the Borough Reeve the most senior municipal officer in Manchester. Dickenson offered Charles accommodation at his town house. The house was at 44 Market Street.
This prominent building became Charles’s headquarters for three days. It was nicknamed “The Palace”. Dickenson actively joined the Jacobite cause. He collected pledges on the levy Charles placed on Manchester. Here the rebel forces gained many English recruits. They formed the Manchester Regiment.
Despite early wins the Jacobite Rebellion failed. The Battle of Culloden in April 1746 ended the movement. It also ended backing for the Stuart cause. Charles escaped to France. He remained in exile until his death in Rome in 1788.
During his stay in Manchester Bonnie Prince Charlie gathered considerable support. The Prince’s army aimed to march to London. They hoped to gain more supporters along the way. However the Jacobites turned back at Derby in early December. This was a major tactical blunder. London was in panic about their possible arrival.
Chetham’s Library has relevant pieces relating to this year in Manchester’s history. One surviving image of “The Palace” appears in town maps by Russel Casson and John Berry. These maps cover 1741 to 1757.
Dickenson’s house had some notable features. It stood back from the street with a garden. There was a double flight of stairs and a private chapel. It was one of the few brick-built properties. Items Charles used were saved and moved to Dickenson’s other home Birch Hall. These included stone pillars the bed his pistols and his handkerchief. People even cut up pieces of his blanket for souvenirs.
Another link to the Bonnie Prince exists in the Library. A carved bookshelf in the reading room has unique origins. It comes from a rare sixteenth-century bed. The bed was made for Adam de Hulton a Lancashire gentleman. Tradition says Bonnie Prince Charlie slept in it. Royal visitors always received the best bed. In the early nineteenth century it became a sideboard. Part of a Chetham’s chained library was added. William Hulton donated this unique piece to Chetham’s in 1827. He was one of the Library’s governors.
So here we stand before a simple plaque. It marks a complex history. It speaks of a prince a rebellion and a city caught in the crossfire. Remember Bonny Prince Charlie and his brief but impactful time here in Manchester.