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Relics of the Civil War at Dinton Hall

Simon Mayne of Dinton Hall, the regicide and friend of Oliver Cromwell, was given the latter’s sword in the 1640s when Cromwell stayed with him SP7610 : Dinton Hall and its history. The sword (shown here) has remained at Dinton Hall ever since. It is kept there together with one grotesque leather shoe (also shown) belonging to Simon Mayne’s clerk, John Bigg. Bigg is believed to have been the masked axeman at King Charles I’s execution. After the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, John Bigg “grew melancholy” (or perhaps conscience striken?) and he became a hermit and lived in a cave at Dinton dressing himself entirely in leather patches. A nearby inn is named after him SP7709 : “The Dinton Hermit” – Inn sign at Ford near Dinton.
Article about Simon Mayne and the Roundhead conspirators at: Link , and a Gallery at: Link