Secret Hiding Places 2nd Ed.

Priest-holes and other secret hiding places add a touch of mystery to many novels and hold an almost mythical status in English country house lore—alongside ancestral ghosts and beds where Queen Elizabeth may have slept. Estate agents list them as charming features of historic homes, and some are open to the public, like King Charles II’s hideout at Boscobel, a tourist draw for 300 years.

In this well-researched book, Michael Hodgetts explores the history and locations of these hidden spaces, drawing on recent findings in architectural and recusant history to shed light on Tudor and Stuart politics and religion. He profiles the legendary carpenter Nicholas Owen, who built priest-holes for fugitives for seventeen years and died under torture without revealing their secrets.

First published in 1989, Secret Hiding Places was the first comprehensive account of the topic in over fifty years and a definitive study of this unique, fascinating subject.