Barcode Controls

According to Foxe’s Book of Martyrs (a book that is probably not the best for bedtime reading, especially the versions with the woodcuts), three heretics/martyrs/dissidents were executed in Uxbridge. A number of other people lost their lives in Uxbridge courtesy of the religious fervour of the day. Further signs of turmoil and upheaval are shown in the name of one of the old local pubs. The name of the pub seems quite innocuous and normal: The Queen’s Head. However, alert passers-by will notice that the queen shown on the pub’s sign is Anne Boleyn. This innocent-sounding name and this innocent picture are a bit of a tasteless joke: the pub was previously called The Axe; Anne Boleyn was executed by Henry VIII ostensibly for committing adultery but probably because Henry VIII had grown tired of her and wanted to marry Jane Seymore (wife number three of six). The pub is not a bad one, and it certainly has a lot of history. Once upon a time, the Uxbridge carpet cleaning in this pub would have involved rushes on the floor, which were swept up along with the rubbish and replaced with new ones – and whoever did the dirty work occasionally struck it lucky and found some coins along with the rushes and rubbish.