The New Murrey and Blue blog

One of Salisbury‘s claims to fame is that it was the place of execution of Henry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, infamous rebel and possible killer of one or both ‘princes in the Tower‘ (that’s if they were killed at all.)

According to legend he was held at the Blue Boar Inn/Saracen’s Head and executed in the courtyard of the same. His ghost is said to haunt the shop now on the site–formerly Debenhams, but at present empty.

Almost certainly he was NOT executed in the courtyard but in the market square in front of the Inn, as public executions were of course meant to be visible and a warning, and Salisbury was a heartland of rebels at this period.

However, in the early 1800’s, a skeleton was found by the workers in the Blue Boar courtyard. It was headless and armless and with no other way of identification at the time was assumed to be Buckingham. And so the legend grew, as legends do, and as recently as 3 years ago info in Debenhams cafe said that ‘his head and arm was sent to London for display on Tower Bridge.’ There is, unsurprisingly, no evidence that this ever took place, and flies in the face of the London Chronicle of Greyfriars, which states that Buckingham was buried in the Salisbury Greyfriars (there are several other local candidates for his burial too, all more likely than the courtyard.)

Recently I came across a rare engraving of the Blue Boar skeleton in situ, which is interesting for historical reasons even if it is not the remains of the troublesome Duke.