17th February 1680
Man convicted of killing Charles I dies in Elizabeth Castle
James Temple had been one of the judges in the trial of Charles I, and his was one of the 59 signatures on the king’s death warrant. When the monarchy was restored following Cromwell’s death, he tried to leave the country, but was captured on his way to Ireland.
Despite his signature appearing on the king’s death warrant, he claimed at his own trial that he had begged Cromwell to spare the king’s life. Thus, Temple’s life was spared in return and he was sent to Jersey to be detained, first at Mont Orgueil, and latterly at Elizabeth Castle, where he died, 31 years to the day after Charles II had been declared king less than a mile away.
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Other events that occured in February
Plane gets lost coming out of Jersey
- A Jersey Airways flight from Jersey to Portsmouth got lost in the English Channel as the fog brought visibility down to less than 20 feet.
- Read more…
A bishop’s daughter is killed on Jersey Railway
- The daughter of the bishop of derry stepped in front of an oncoming engine on the Jersey Railway in 1902.
- Read more…
Jersey author John Lemprière dies
- Lempriere's Bibliotheca Classica, published in 1788, was considered a standard text and definitive reference on classical mythology.
- Read more…
Fishermen discover an unexpected coffin
- When a paddle steamer was grounded, and sank, some of its cargo was lost, including a coffin and the corpse inside it.
- Read more…
