“The Two-headed Patagonian Giant”, said to have been over 12ft (3.7m) tall, was a famous fairground attraction allegedly brought to England in the 19th century. The story was that he had been captured by Spanish sailors in 1673 and bound to the mainmast. He broke loose and killed four of his captors, before being killed himself by a boarding pike plunged into his heart [FT112:15].

In the early 1900s, the stuffed giant was purchased by a Mr Bartram who toured the country on the Edwardian horror circuit, ending up in Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, where the curiosity passed through several hands and was exhibited at various locations.