Royal Oak, Frindsbury unclear, but one reported theory is that it was named after the 17th-century warship HMS "Royal Oak", which was sunk at the nearby Raid on the Medway in 1664. Local people say that one of the beams in the pub comes from the ship, the remains of which may have been broken up at a nearby shipyard after the battle. Another theory is that it was named after the Royal Oak that Charles II of England hid in following the Battle of Worcester. In the late 18th or early 19th century it was given a Flemish Bond brick face and
Royal Oak Major and Colonel. Careless suggested that the house was unsafe and recommended that the king hide in an oak tree in the woodlands surrounding Boscobel House. The king and Careless took some food and drink and they spent all day hiding in a pollarded oak tree which became known as the Royal Oak. From the oak they could see patrols of Parliamentary soldiers searching for the king. Later Charles spent the night hiding in one of Boscobel's Priest holes. He was then moved from Boscobel to Moseley Old Hall, another Catholic redoubt near Wolverhampton, and ultimately escaped the region posing