76 Church Street

Did Bonnie Prince Charlie stay here?

Lancaster has a rare double link to Bonnie Prince Charlie, one of which is quite illuminating. It’s known that the Young Pretender, who aimed to restore the throne to the Stuart dynasty, stayed in Lancaster twice: once when marching south from Scotland with his 7,000-strong army, in November, 1745, and again in December, as they marched back to Scotland, to their ultimate defeat at Culloden. It’s widely reported that the Bonnie Prince stayed at 76 Church Street, a fashionable townhouse in the lower part of the city, near to the old bridge over the River Lune. Once rested, the Catholic prince marched south and reached Derby before deciding to head back to Lancaster. From here, he returned to Scotland, where he was routed at Culloden, and fled over the sea to Skye, and on to another period of exile in France.

Number 76 continued to have an interesting existence, being residential, then the headquarter of Lancaster Conservative Association, before being bought by local businessmen. The premises may look classically Georgian in design, but number 76 in fact dates back to Jacobean times, the frontage being but a Georgian façade.

Another interesting detail about number 76 is a rare torch extinguisher ‘link’, still to be seen outside the splendid porch and doorway of this refurbished Georgian residence. The ‘link’ is a metal, cone-shaped hood that operates on the same principle as a candle snuffer. At night time, before the advent of 19th-century gas street lighting, a ‘link boy’ would carry a flaming torch of rags and pitch to light the way for the well-to-do, who were often transported around in Sedan chairs by burly men. In London and Bath, torch links can still be found on buildings, but the Lancaster link is the only one remaining in the city. It’s known that Bonnie Prince Charlie went on walkabout in Lancaster, but was it by torchlight or daylight?

Address 76 Church Street, Lancaster, LA1 1ET | Getting there Three-minute walk from Lancaster bus station or seven-minute walk from Lancaster railway station; by car, from the south, follow the A 6 to the Judges Lodgings | Hours Always visible outside; guided walks inside available from John Regan (email reganjf@outlook.com) | Tip The Music Room – a beautiful, hidden Grade II-listed building that was built as a summer pavilion in number 76’s long-vanished garden – now houses a ground-floor coffee shop, but upstairs is a sumptuous Landmark Trust holiday flat.