Sir Arthur Aston: Death by Wooden Leg.

[jones jones]

Sir Arthur Aston (1590–1649) was a lifelong professional soldier, most noted for his support for King Charles I in the English Civil War, and in folklore for the gruesome manner of his death.

In 1648, whilst the war raged, Aston was made governor of Drogheda, a vital strategic port. The, in 1649, Oliver Cromwell’s forces attacked the town in the Siege of Drogheda, one of the most vicious episodes of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. When the town was stormed, the garrison and many civilians were massacred by the victorious Parliamentarian soldiers.

Aston agreed to surrender after a parley on the bridge but Cromwell’s officers were ordered to put the entire town to the sword. It is widely believed that the Parliamentarian soldiers killed Aston by dashing his brains out with his own wooden leg, which they believed to conceal gold coins.





Image: The offending prosthetic.

(Source: Wikipedia)