QUEEN MARY TUDOR was probably the most unloved and unsuccessful of all English monarchs. She spared no effort in her determination to restore Catholicism to her realm and the title Bloody Mary' was well earned. During her reign of only five years as many as 300 people were burnt at the stake as heretics. Four of these were from Chipping Sodbury in Gloucestershire.

In those uneasy times the Catholic Church appointed special officials known as vicar-generals who were responsible for keeping religious order and for exposing and sentencing non-believers. The market town of Chipping Sodbury was unfortunate in having a particularly bloodthirsty vicar-general called Doctor Whittington. Almost as soon as he arrived in the area he made himself unpopular in the town by condemning a highly respected citizen, named John Piggot, to be burnt at the stake just because he would not stand up in church and publicly renounce his Protestant beliefs.

Some time later two other men, John Barnard and John Walsh, were also sentenced to public execution by fire. Whittington had accused them of trying to incite the people against him. They had in fact been trying to draw public attention to the harsh punishment meted out by the authorities by showing Piggot's blackened bones to a small gathering. Mary had hoped that as time went on the people would succumb to her wishes that they should revert to Catholicism. But she failed to understand that the common people associated it with foreign influence, particularly with the Spanish Inquisition. As a result more and more people were martyred.

In Chipping Sodbury Doctor Whittington needed another victim to placate his masters and he vindictively chose, as a scapegoat, a poor woman who had no family. He accused her of heresy and she was duly sentenced to death. The citizens were rightly angered but without putting themselves and their families in danger what could they do? The identity of the woman has been lost, but it is known that she was reputed to be a good, devout person. On the day of the execution nearly everyone in the town turned out to see the poor woman bravely meet her fate and many a silent prayer was offered up for her as the fire was kindled. In a prominent position among the crowd was Doctor Whittington.

Zealously believing that he was doing what was required of him, he stood merciless and unflinching as the flames leapt higher. The woman vehemently protested her innocence and even during her terrible suffering in the flames insisted that she was going to heaven with a clear conscience. Now at the very time of the execution it so happened that in another part of the town the local butcher was about to slaughter a fine bull. There were no humane killing methods in those davs; the animal was tied up while the butcher carefully chose his weapon.

As the man raised the heavy axe to kill the bull it suddenly moved its head and the blow missed! Perhaps aware of its fate and certainly startled by the noise of the falling axe, the bull panicked, broke loose from its ropes and escaped into the main street of the town. The street was packed with the sombre crowds returning from the execution, their minds, no doubt, still numb from the scene they had just witnessed. The sober mood was suddenly broken by the sight of a rampant bull charging towards them. Scattering in all directions to allow the frightened animal to pass through, miraculously no-one was hurt.

The bull galloped on towards the market square where Doctor Whittington and his officials were still standing over the charred remains of their victim. Seeing the Doctor's bright red cloak and maddened by the stench of burning it snorted, pricked up its cars and charged towards him at full speed. Whittington had no chance. The angry bull gored him, killing him outright and his body was symbolically impaled on the sharp horns. A second execution had taken place that day in the market square of Chipping Sodbury and poetic justice had triumphed over human Injustice.

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