Answers to Written QuestionsMr. Kidney: To ask the Leader of the House what plans she has for Parliament to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the death of Oliver Cromwell.
Helen Goodman: My right hon. Friend the Leader of the House has no plans for such a commemoration, which would primarily be a matter for the House.
I understand my hon. Friend will receive a substantive reply to this question from the hon. Member representing the House of Commons Commission.
I understand my hon. Friend will receive a substantive reply to this question from the hon. Member representing the House of Commons Commission.
The 350th anniversary of the death of this remarkable man will occur on 3rd September 2008. It won't be the first time that he has been disrespected since his death [His body was dug up & he was posthumously 'executed'.
Cambridge County Council's website gives the following details
Cromwell's corpse "was dug up along with those of his son in law Henry Ireton and John Bradshaw, who had been the judge at the trial of King Charles. The bodies were removed from Westminster Abbey on 26th January 1661. Four days later, on the anniversary of the execution of Charles I they were dragged to Tyburn. They were hung from the gallows all day before being taken down and having the heads severed from the bodies. It took more than one blow to remove Cromwell's head. There are several descriptions of the events of 30th January 1661. A merchant, Samuel Sainthill wrote... "they were hanged by the neck from morning. Cromwell in a green seare cloth, very fresh embalmed; Ireton....hung like a dried rat" From warning to curiosity Cromwell's head is known to have been on display for over twenty years. The last account of it on Westminster Hall was in 1684."
Details of the Cromwell Society can be found at http://www.olivercromwell.org/
