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Oliver Cromwell's head
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Oliver Cromwell
Secret Burial
What happened to his head?
In 1957 a descendant of the wilkinson family, Horace Wilkinson died. He bequeathed to his son Horace junior who decided to give it a proper burial rather than leaving it for display. He contacted Sidney Sussex College who accepted the burial. On the 25th of march 1960 the head was placed into an airtight container and was buried. It was only two years later in 1962 when the secret burial had been announced.
The history
of Oliver Cromwell's head
Oliver Cromwell's head had a strange story
after his death in 1658. It all started two years later when Charles II had his body dug up and executed because of Cromwell being on the opposite side of the royalists (parliamentarians). They stuck his head on a pole outside westminster abbey to make a mockery of him.
Josiah wilkinson
Sadly the hughes brothers were not succesful with
the head as they charged people too much to see it on display. There was also speculation that it was a fake. In 1815 a daughter of one of the hughes brothers sold the head in private to Josiah Wilkinson. The head had always remained in their possesion until its burial.
24 Years!!!
Oliver Cromwell's head had stayed on that pole for
24 years. In 1685, a soldier called Barnes found Cromwell's head after it had been blown off its pole due to a strong wind. Barnes took the head home and he hid it in his chimney.
Russel gives head
to James Cox. Who then sells it!
Samuel gave the head to a man called James Cox after a deal they made. In 1799 James sold the head to a group of business called the hughes brothers who bought the head for a total of £230 (about £7'400 in today's money). The head was then placed on display in bond street, London.
Barnes dies
Museum owner dies
When Barnes died, he had told his family where he had hid Cromwell's head. When Barnes's family found Cromwell's head they sold it to a frenchman who then put in his museum.
A young actor called Samuel Russel bought the head after the museum owner had died. He paid his rent by charging people to see it.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we can see that oliver cromwell's head really has had an a amazing journey. Only 53 years it had finally been buried. From this we can see that even though Cromwell had been an enemy of the roylasists in barnes's time, he was still regarded as an important figure which is why his head still surives today.