CHAPTER ONE
The Sealing of the Magna Carta
The Barons and King John attempt to seal (or is it sign?) the Magna Carta.
Visit St Mary‘s Priory, the Ankerwycke Yew and the Runnymede Meadows at National Trust Runnymede and Ankerwyke. See the four remaining copies of the Magna Carta at Lincoln Castle, Salisbury Cathedral and the British Library.
CHAPTER TWO
The Coin Counterfeiter
A cat and mouse game of chase between William Chaloner, coiner and confidence trickster, and the Master of the Royal Mint, Sir Isaac Newton, takes both men from London to Egham.
Learn more at The Newton Project, an online resource run by Oxford University. Read Newton and the Counterfeiter by Thomas Levenson.
CHAPTER THREE
The Egham Races
A fun day out at the Egham Races turns to debauchery and disorder.
Learn more at the Egham Museum and visit the Runnymede Meadow at the Runnymede and Ankerwyke National Trust.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Last Fatal Duel in England
An argument leads two French revolutionaries, Lt. Frederic Constant Cournet and Emmanuel Barthélemy (both immortalised in a novel by Victor Hugo) to a dual ending in one man’s death.
Visit The Barley Mow pub, Englefield Green where Frederic Cournet died, and his grave at St. John‘s Church cemetery, Egham. Read Les Misérables by Victor Hugo.
CHAPTER FIVE
The Diggers
A contemporary eco group naming themselves after the Diggers movement invoke the Magna Carta, creating parallels to the original Diggers or True Levellers of the mid 1600s.
Explore sites of significance using the Surrey Diggers Trail.
