Royal Weymouth Volume 3: A Pardon and a Petite Princess

‘Royal Weymouth’ is a four-volume book that we hold within our collection. Like ‘The Extra Illustrated Edition of Hutchins’, it has been put together by A.M. Broadley, but instead of grangerising one book, these volumes are based around several accounts of the Royal visits to Weymouth by King George III and his family.

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The third volume of ‘Royal Weymouth’ contains some intriguing insights into the life of the Royal Family of George III.

There are several letters written by the King to his son Prince Frederick, the Duke of York, and another written to the Archbishop asking him to preside at Frederick’s wedding. More letters between the King and Prince Frederick can be found in Volume 4 of these books.

Prince Frederick was the second son of King George and Queen Charlotte and he joined the army at an early age. He commanded British troops in Holland and the ineffectiveness of this campaign gave rise to the popular rhyme ‘The Grand Old Duke of York’. This rhyme was rather unfair on the Duke, who learnt from his early experiences, identifying weaknesses in the army and implementing reforms that helped make the British army the force it was during the Napoleonic war.

Frederick married Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia, the daughter of King Frederick William II of Prussia and Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg, who was also his cousin, at Charlottenburg, Berlin on 29 September 1791 and again on 23 November 1791 at Buckingham Palace. He was the first of King George’s children to marry, but the marriage was not successful and the couple soon separated.

The Princess Frederica Charlotte was famous for her extremely small feet. They were only 5 ½ inches long. An article about her tiny shoes is one of our favourite additions to this volume.

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Another interesting addition to this volume is an extract from the Queen’s Pocketbook from 1793. This details a visit to Dorchester prison in 1792 during which the King pardoned a prisoner named Pitfield. The first name of this man has been recorded in various sources as both William and Thomas, but in most contemporary newspaper reports and an article in volume 17 of Dorset Notes and Queries, his first name was given as John, which we think was his true name. Pitfield had been in prison since 1785 and the circumstances that led to his incarceration are fascinating.

The trouble started in 1780 when Lord Milton decided to lay claim to a hill near Chideock that was possessed by Lord Arundel. To test his claim Lord Milton built a cottage on the hill and installed Pitfield as a tenant. This cottage was immediately destroyed by Lord Arundel’s men. Determined to assert his claim to the hill Lord Milton took Lord Arundel to court, using his tenant’s name to lodge a lawsuit.

The court decided in Arundel’s favour, and Lord Milton was ordered to pay his costs, which amounted to £220. Lord Milton refused to pay and eventually Lord Arundel decided to force matters by arresting the poor man whose name Lord Milton had used to bring the case, believing that his rival would not let his man languish in jail. He was wrong.

John Pitfield, a 59 year old mason from Whitchurch Canonicorum, was brought to Dorchester prison on 14^th September 1785 and was not released until 10^th September 1792 thanks to the intervention of the King.

We can’t say for sure what happened to John Pitfield after his release as more than one John Pitfield appears in the local area. We did find the following interesting extract from The Ipswich Journal from December 29^th 1792, which can be viewed online through the British Newspaper Archive:

‘Pitfield, who was relieved from Dorchester Gaol by the benevolence of his Majesty, is voluntarily returned to the place of his confinement, declaring that he is so habituated to captivity, that he should be unhappy in any other situation. And Mr Andrews, the keeper, has appointed him to some trifling office in the prison.’

Newspaper articles are not always completely accurate and there is hope that John was eventually able to return to a normal life. In apprenticeship records we find a John Pitfield, mason, of Whitchurch Canonicorum taking on Thomas Beal as an apprentice in November 1793, although we cannot know for sure that this is the same man.

It would be nice to think that John managed to return to a normal life after being imprisoned for so long because of the action of two stubborn lords!

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This blog follows our monthly series on the 12 extra-illustrated volumes of “Hutchins’ History and Antiquities of Dorset.” You can read the rest of the series through the links below:

Part one: An introduction to the history and antiquities of Dorset.

Part two: The Pitt family, a piano player, and a plague of caterpillars.

Part three: Coastline, Castles and Catastrophe

Part four: A Phenomenon, Fake News and a Philanthropist

Part five: Antiquities, Adventurers, and an Actress

Part six: A Gaol, a Guide and a Man of Great Girth

Part seven: Physicians, fires and false allegations

Part eight: Graves, Grangerising and a Man who wore Green

Part nine: Desertion, Drinks and a Diarist

Part ten: Music, medical miracles, and mills

Part eleven: Courtiers, Criminals, and Cuttings

Part twelve: An Abbey, the Arts, and the Athelhampton Ape