X marks the spot

IWAS intrigued to read Roger Morgan’s letter about Cromwell’s head (June 10). In the early 1960s, when I was running a branch of the Historical Association, we had a fascinating lecture from a Dr Smail, a fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge (right), who was the world’s greatest authority on the subject. He assured us that there was only one head and that it had been buried somewhere in the grounds of Sidney Sussex College, which Cromwell had attended. He and the current master were the only ones who knew precisely where it was buried and they had taken steps to ensure that this information would never be divulged. Even then, they were fearful that it might be exhumed.

Given the current bout of iconoclasm, I sincerely hope the information remains safely locked away. Patrick Cormack, Lord Cormack, by email