Cromwell's Death

Cromwell died on the 3rd of September 1658 of a fever resulting from a gall stone infection. His funeral on the 10th of November was estimated to cost between £30,000 and £60,000, far more than any Royal funeral previously. He was laid in an imposing tomb in Westminster Abbey in the chapel of King Henry VII.

Following the restoration of Charles II in 1660 Cromwell's body was taken from its grave. Due to his role in the execution of Charles I the body was hung on
the Tyburn gallows before being decapitated. His body was buried beneath the gallows and his head displayed with those of other executed regicides on a spike at Westminster Hall.

His head is said to have been displayed at Westminster until 1688 when it blew down in a storm. What happened to Cromwell's head after this is the source of much controversy. A head claimed to be Cromwell's was on public display for half a crown a ticket in Bond Street London in 1799.

In 1935 research on the remains of a head concluded that from its age and what was known of his appearance it had been Cromwell's. This rather gruesome remain was finally buried in 1960 at Sidney Sussex College in Cambridge, Cromwell's place of education.

"I thought you would hear with joy of the death of that wretch."
Queen Henrietta Maria to her sister 1658.

Cromwell's Legacy

There can be few people today who have not heard of Oliver Cromwell, however what they know of him is not always favourable or indeed accurate.

Cromwell saw the beginnings of his negative reputation in his own lifetime. Ideas for moral reform were bound to be unpopular and his role in the execution of the King made him a villain. Meanwhile his position in an army that exercised power throughout the land and as Lord protector were to make him seem an ambitious and ruthless dictator.

At the Restoration this image was intensified by the propaganda of the new Royal court, in particular the writings of Samuel Pepys. Cromwell's negative press was to continue with just a few dissenting voices over the following centuries. The Victorians, fond of a romantic notion of Cavaliers and Roundheads, were quick to portray Cromwell in a poor light. Portraits and pictures of this period do little for Cromwell's cause.

In recent years a re-appraisal of Cromwell has begun. He is now recognised as a great military mind and through his religious devotion to have genuinely aimed to do what he thought was best for the country. Seen less as a Puritan prude and more as a real person Cromwell is now recognised as having had many qualities, not least his modesty when he insisted he be painted "warts and all".

If Cromwell had been successful in establishing a lasting political settlement our image of him may have been very different. However whatever our view of Cromwell, it can not be denied that he has come to occupy a central place in British history in the 400 years since his birth.