Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector

The man who became Lord Protector was nephew to the Sir Oliver Cromwell who owned Hinchingbrooke.It is said that as a child he was taken by a pet monkey and carried to the roof of Hinchingbrooke. It is also said that he met the young Charles at Hinchingbrooke and gave him a bloody nose.

There is one story about Cromwell and his Roundheads which you may not realise you know.

The nursery rhyme

Goosey goosey gander,
Where shall I wander,
Upstairs and downstairs
And in my lady's chamber.
There I met an old man
Who wouldn't say his prayers,
So I took him by the left leg
And threw him downstairs.

This refers to "goose-stepping" Roundheads who would search houses for Royalists. Anyone who refused to accept Puritan ways was arrested and thrown in jail.

This painting from the Cromwell Museum in Huntingdon shows Cromwell on horseback. The old St Pauls Cathedral (later burned down in the Great Fire) is in the background.

Other Links

Cromwell Museum Huntingdon

Cromwell Museum St Ives

Civil War Maps

Cromwell Official Website

Huntingdonshire Society

Cromwell in the British Library

The Commonwealth Seal