Huntingdon - an historic quiz

Name the historic figure with the bizarre burial sequence described below.

:-) Died while suffering from malaria

:-) Given a formal burial reserved for Royalty... although was never a king

:-) Buried in Westminster Abbey

:-) Exhumed 3 years later and symbolically executed and beheaded

:-) His head was put on a pike and displayed outside Westminster Hall for a period of 24 years. His other bones were thrown into the 'traitors pit' at Marble Arch

:-) In a storm, his head fell off the pike... and was collected by the soldier on duty. He took it home and hid it inside his chimney

:-) On his deathbed, the soldier told his wife about the skull hidden in the chimney. She gave it to a friend and then it was passed to other friends and relatives for centuries. It was auctioned for sale and purchased by a religious order... who donated the skull to the college at Cambridge where he attended for a short period

:-) Only six people were in the college at the time the head was buried inside the college... and its exact location has remained a secret. Upon the pending death of one of the six people knowing the location... another person is told the exact location of the skull

:-) There is a portrait painting of him in the reception area of the Cambridge college. When royalty visit the college, his portrait is turned to face the wall.

Well... who was this person?

Here are some 'give- away' hints. He was a patriot for democracy... prepared to sacrifice his life for the cause. He signed the death certificate for a king... that was subsequently enforced. He dismissed the parliament he fought to install. On his deathbed, he nominated his son to be the absolute ruler of the United Kingdom. He was responsible for destroying more national monuments than anyone... other than Henry VIII. His campaigns in Ireland poisoned relationships with England... right up to the present day.

Congratulations... you have guessed correctly... it's Oliver... Oliver Cromwell. Well, he really should have been 'Oliver Williams'... but the family had changed its name to the name of the family line who were receiving contracts from the Crown... primarily in the area of tax collection. The name change worked... upon the death of his Uncle (a real Cromwell) Oliver was able to persuade the local bishop to give him the gig. Interestingly, after Oliver's death, the family changed their name back to Williams... to avoid royal retribution on people bearing the name of Cromwell.

Historians have difficulty deciding on the merits of Oliver Cromwell's overall contribution to national development. The Irish are pretty well decided... he was a rotter.
However, he is not short of supporters who point out to the fundamental 'bill of rights' he introduced to parliament. Following Oliver's short reign, citizens' personal rights in the UK were changed forever.