Oliver Cromwell, 1649

Statesman and soldier, Oliver Cromwell is regarded as one of the most important figures in English history. He came to prominence during the first English Civil War (1642) as a senior commander in the Parliamentarian “New Model Army.” Cromwell was instrumental in many of their victories resulting in the execution of Charles I and the establishment the Commonwealth. In 1653 he was named Lord Protector of the Commonwealth, a position he retained until his death in September 1658. When, in 1660, Charles II returned to the throne in what is known as the Stuart Restoration – Cromwell’s body was exhumed from Westminster Abbey and his head was placed on a spike outside the Tower of London, where it remained for 30 years.