Post‑Death Retribution: Oliver Cromwell’s Head on the Westminster Pole

This episode follows the Restoration’s dramatic posthumous execution of Oliver Cromwell, Henry Ireton and John Bradshaw – how their bodies were exhumed, displayed and used as a warning. It explores the legal oddities, public spectacle at Tyburn, symbolism of the Westminster pole, the head’s later journey into private hands, and the debate over its identification. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices