Oliver Cromwell Quotes

“Caesar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell; and George the Third — ['Treason!' cried the Speaker] — may profit by their example. If this be treason, make the most of it.”
― Patrick Henry

“Did you ever hear what happened to Oliver Cromwell’s head? It was originally lashed to the roof of Westminster Hall as a potent warning not to mess with the government of the day, but in 1685 a violent storm blew it off its perch and a captain of the guard had it away and hid it up his chimney, where it stayed until he admitted the crime on his death bed.

So can you picture the scene? Cromwell died in 1658. 27 years later this geezer nicks his head and shoves it up his chimney. He’s about to croak it, the whole family’s gathered around his death bed, everybody’s in tears and they’re all wondering if he’ll come out with any famous last words. Perhaps, “Farewell, my children, forever. I go to your father,” or maybe, “Let us pass over the river and rest under the shade of the trees,” or even, “Don’t let it end like this, tell them I said something.”

Not this fucking joker! No! What does he say? He says, “Here Jackie, the sausages tasted a bit off tonight. Did I ever tell you I nicked Oliver Cromwell’s head and shoved it up the chimney? It’s still there,” and he draws back the veil of his earthly life and succumbs to eternal peace.

They all look at each other, “What did he fucking say?”

“He said he nicked Oliver Cromwell’s head.”

“What do you mean; he nicked Oliver Cromwell’s head?”

“That’s what he said, don’t blame me!”

“Fuck’s sake!”

“Well, do you think we should look?”

“Don’t talk bollocks! You honestly want to look up the chimney to see if Oliver Cromwell’s head’s up there?”

“I’m just saying …..”

Anyway, one of them had a look up the chimney, found the head and by 1710 it was appearing in a freak show under the banner, ‘The Monster’s Head.’

True story”
― Karl Wiggins, Wrong Planet - Searching for your Tribe

“If these the Times, then this must be the Man.

[Andrew Marvell on Oliver Cromwell]”
― Andrew Marvell

“Oliver Cromwell banned kissing on Sundays---even for married couples---on pain of a prison sentence.”
― Mitchell Symons, That Book of Perfectly Useless Information

“There appeared before her eyes the figure of Oliver Cromwell, in the guise of the Old Testament military leader Gideon, going into the Commons Chamber and demanding the resignation of the Speaker and the end of the assembly: 'I saw suddenly a departure of them, though they were very loath thereunto.' When, four days later, news reached the Hillingdon vicarage that exactly these events had just occurred in London, Anna's friends were thunderstruck. She was not mad. God himself was speaking through her.”
― Anna Keay, The Restless Republic: Britain Without a Crown

“... she had foreseen the New Model Army's occupation of London in the tense weeks before Charles I was tried. Two years after that she had experienced a further trance and this time saw an army on the battlefield, led by a figure of valour and courage, God indicating that 'Oliver Cromwell, then Lord General, was that Gideon'. Cromwell's defeat of the Scots at the battle of Dunbar soon afterwards offered Anna confirmation of the truth of her visions.”
― Anna Keay, The Restless Republic: Britain Without a Crown

“He warned his pious daughter Bridget of the dangers of self-criticism and the overwhelming importance of love.”
― Anna Keay, The Restless Republic: Britain Without a Crown

“Taken on his own terms he had an intense integrity rare among rulers; he seldom acted for personal profit and almost always did what he believed to be best for others.”
― Anna Keay, The Restless Republic: Britain Without a Crown

“I beseech you…think it possible that you may be mistaken.”
― Oliver Cromwell

“Rosslyn Castle was built in the early 14th century on a promentory surrounded by the River North Esk on three sides. Additions and repairs were made to the castle over the next three centuries due to frequent mishaps, including a fire in 1447. Cromwell's troops attacked the castle in 1651 using canons situated on higher ground. A house built out of the castle's remains is now a holiday let. The castle is also featured in Sir Walter Scott's poem Rosabelle. Legend tells us that it is home to a sleeping lady who, when awake, will show the location of treasure buried deep within its vaults.”
― Brian Gould, Midlothian Station Walks