Posters for 'Bloody Mary' attraction in London have been banned

This month I have been posting a day to day account of Mary’s accession to the throne and later on today I will be adding my latest post on this subject. But I wanted to mention briefly something that I have raised on this blog previously. Around six or so months back I mentioned that The London Dungeons is holding an attraction entitled, ‘Bloody Mary: Killer Queen’, in which visitors will be able to:


“Enter Bloody Mary’s private chapel and witness the fanatically Catholic Queen pass judgment on petrified heretics.”

“Experience the horrifying sights, screams, smells of the most painful method of execution known to man – being slowly burnt alive.”



Living in London, I have come across several posters for this including one video advert I spotted on the underground. Historian Leanda de Lisle, who I had the pleasure of hearing speak at the National Portrait Gallery a few months back, has labelled the posters as “an example of England’s knee-jerk anti-Catholicism and how our history of the Tudor period has been distorted by post-Reformation propaganda.”


Apparently now the posters have been banned. The video advert depicted Mary turning to the viewer and her face distorting to something beastly which lead to several children being terrified and their parents contacting the Advertising Standards Authority.


For more information on the story, see this article from The Guardian :


http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jul/14/london-dungeon-ad-asa


I will say though that for all my distaste for this tacky exhibit – which basically seeks to profit from and trivialise such tragic events – I did have a little chuckle when I saw this comment:

• Lonelysven
14 Jul 2010, 11:04AM

‘It was good of Amy Winehouse to give up her time to boost London tourism'

'Bloody Mary’ Attraction at The London Dungeon. Yea or Nay?

You have to feel a little sorry for recent scholars of Mary’s reign. Having tried so hard to dispel the image of ‘Bloody Mary’, a popular London tourist site then decides to dedicate a whole attraction to the propagation of this stereotype.




This February, The London Dungeon hosts ‘Bloody Mary: Killer Queen’ which will relate the story of England’s infamous first crowned queen regnant.


For a mere £22 (//end of sarcasm – I am a humble student after all), visitors will:
- “Enter Bloody Mary’s private chapel and witness the fanatically Catholic Queen pass judgment on petrified heretics.”
- “Experience the horrifying sights, screams, smells of the most painful method of execution known to man – being slowly burnt alive.”



How lovely.



I’ve never been to The London Dungeon, purely because their attractions look like they are designed for twelve-year-olds, but I’m incredibly curious about this new Mary one. Granted it sounds beastly and I can’t help feel uncomfortable about this. The description of the ‘fanatically Catholic Queen’ passing judgment within her chapel is, well, disturbing at best.


But maybe that is the point. The other attractions at this particular venue are not exactly pleasant in tone. Is there a difference between experiencing the 1666 Great Fire or a trip through Traitor’s Gate, and witnessing the persecutions of 1555-1558?


Perhaps I am uncomfortable because it is so crude and it deals with a still contentious issue – the intense persecution of the Protestants. You only have to look to certain responses to Prof. Eamon Duffy’s fabulous book, Fires of Faith: Catholic England Under Mary Tudor, to understand that prevailing attitudes continue. Take this poster, ‘CJB’, responding to a favourable review of the book on The Telegraph website (FYI, I am not a Telegraph reader!):

“Apologetics for the unforgivable based on lazy moral relativism that seeks to excuse anything. Even Professor Duffy's '...surprising discovery [of] the simultaneous development of a forward-looking, humane, learned and pious religious life in Mary's short reign...' is correct that 'right' doesn't obviate the 'wrong'. Of course, similar excuses for any other group would be equally silly - doesn't the argument presented in the article sound a bit too much like '... at least Mussolini made the trains run on time ...'?”

I am probably being overly sensitive and grossly biased owing to my attachment to the lady in question, but does anyone else find this attraction somewhat controversial?



For more information on the attraction visit:

http://relaxingworldtravel.com/europe/the-london-dungeons-hottest-new-feature-launches-this-february/