Tag Archives: maps

03 Oct

Oliver Cromwell’s head

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The posthumous execution

After the restoration of the Stuart monarchy in 1660 under Charles’s son, King Charles II, nine surviving regicides who had participated in the trial and execution of Charles I were tried, convicted and sentenced to be dragged through the streets, hung by the neck and cut down live, disembowelled while alive, beheaded and dismembered.

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In addition, Charles II’s new Parliament ordered the disinterment from Westminster Abbey and theposthumous execution of the deceased regicides Oliver Cromwell, John Bradshaw and Henry Ireton. On the morning of 30 January 1661, the anniversary of the execution of King Charles I, the corpeses were dragged through the streets of London, hung in full public view, beheaded and buried in a common pit.oliver_cromwells_head_005_skull

The heads were placed on a wooden spike on a 6 metres pole, and raised above Westminster Hall. Cromwell’s head remained there until the late 1680s when a storm broke the pole throwing it to the ground. After then, it was in the hands of private collectors and museum owners until 25 March 1960, when it was finally buried at Sidney Sussex College in Cambridge.

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24 Jun

Royal Albert Hall, London

The success of the Great Exhibition of 1851 held in Hyde Park led Prince Albert to propose the creation of a permanent series of facilities dedicated to the promotion of Art and Science for the enlightenment of the public in the area. Following this purpose, the foundation stone of the Royal Albert Hall was laid in May 1867 by Queen Victoria.

Royal Albert Hall 001

Royal Albert Hall 001

Constructed mainly of red brick with terra cotta block decoration, the building is an ellipse in plan with a 41 metres high glass and wrought-iron dome originally designed with a capacity for 8,000 people.

The Queen opened the Royal Albert Hall on 29 March 1871. During the opening concert the Hall’s acoustic problems became immediately apparent and, despite several attemps to solve the strong echo, the acoustics were not properly tackled until 1969 when a series of large fibreglass acoustic diffusing discs (commonly known as “mushrooms”) were installed below the ceiling. It used to be jokingly said that the Hall was

“the only place where a British composer could be sure of hearing his work twice”.

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Today, it is considered one of the most distinctive buildings in the UK and each year it hosts more than 350 events including classical concerts, rock and pop, ballet and opera, sports, award ceremonies, school and community events, charity performances and banquets.

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