“Pubs have their traditional names. They’re historic and you can’t change history, it’s just mad,” says Tim Elwes, owner of the Saracen’s Head pub in Wolterton, Norfolk.
It’s an assertion that’s hard to argue with. However, Elwes’s indignation comes in response to a man who is so unhappy with another Saracen’s Head pub, that he is suing them.
Khalid Baqa, a convicted terrorist, is claiming £1,850 over a “deeply offensive” depiction of “a brown-skinned bearded Arab” on a sign at The Saracen’s Head Inn in Amersham, Buckinghamshire.
Whilst he is starting with the one establishment, he plans to extend his fight to others if he is successful. There are 24 Saracen’s Heads across the country. Many bear a similar image on their frontage, and are outraged by Baqa’s claims.
Peter Dillingham, owner of The Saracen’s Head in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, received a similar complaint from Baqa in October.
“He made the same claims as he did to the poor gentleman in Amersham but it’s obvious he’s never even been near our pub. He claimed our sign shows a ‘brown turbaned Arab man’ which just isn’t true. Ours shows a man with a sword, wearing a helmet.
“I think he’s a charlatan, he’s chancing his hand.”
Dillingham’s pub dates back to the early 1600s and is one of the oldest buildings in the village, and was originally held by the bailiff Sir William Cade.
In response to allegations made by Baqa, who has served four years in jail for disseminating Jihadi propaganda, Dillingham explained that his pub did not show the image he was claiming.
After a short exchange in which Baqa went on to threaten “legal action”, he never heard from him again – until he saw him in the news this week, suing another pub bearing the same name as his own.
“If we were asked to change the name of the pub, I’d definitely push back. It’s always had the same name. We’ve never had any criticism and you can’t keep expunging history just because someone doesn’t like it. There would be nothing left,” Dillingham says.
“I just hope common sense prevails and he doesn’t get away with it otherwise this could set a dangerous precedent.”
“I think it’s ridiculous, it’s pathetic,” adds Elwes, of Baqa’s threats.
Elwes’s Saracen’s Head, over 100 miles away from Dilllingham’s, was originally a farmhouse built in 1806 by GS Repton for Horatio Walpole, the first Baron Walpole of Wolterton.
“Around 50 years later, it became the Saracen’s Head. The estate was owned by the Walpole family and there was a Saracen’s head on their coat of arms. That’s where the name came from.”
Lord Horatio was the brother of former prime minister Sir Robert Walpole and their family were highly influential in Norfolk and beyond.
Their coat of arms depicts a Saracen’s head in profile, sitting atop a knight’s armoured helmet. Mr Elwes’s inn is one of a couple of establishments in the area that have maintained their historic connections to the prestigious Walpole family.
On the other side of the country, Andrei Slipszenko – the landlord of The Saracen’s Head in Newton Abbot – is just as cross about Baqa’s allegations. “My pub’s been open for 120, 130 years and it’s always been called The Saracen’s Head. It’s historic, the name goes back to the Crusades. It’s a traditional pub name.”
The sign outside his pub bears a similar depiction to the one in Amersham, of a Saracen’s head in profile. He says no one has ever expressed a problem with the name or commented on the pub’s appearance.
So what’s really in a name? The term “Saracen” was used historically to refer to Muslims and Arabs who fought against Christians during the Crusades.
According to research by South Holland Heritage, a museum in Lincolnshire, it was the ambition of anyone returning from the Crusades to bring home the head of a “Saracen” with them. Those who brought home such a relic were viewed as heroes.
In Baqa’s submission, he claims: “While walking through the area, I was shocked and deeply offended by what I saw. I saw pub signage depicting a brown-skinned bearded Arab/Turk male with a turban and captioned The Saracen’s Head.
“This instilled worry and fear in me, since it was clearly xenophobic, racist, and inciting violence to certain people. I immediately complained to the pub and requested the signage be removed.”
He claims to have contacted the pub in Amersham, which was built in 1530 using timber from old ships, on multiple occasions and visited in person, but staff have said there is no record of this.
Robbie Hayes is the landlord of The Saracen’s Head Inn at the centre of this controversy.
“It’s been a surreal experience to be honest,” he says. “How is there a convicted terrorist saying this about my pub, trying to sue me? The pub’s been here 500 years and it’s not going to change. I don’t get how this is happening in this day and age.”
He has been cheered at the way people have reacted and rallied in his defence after Baqa’s outburst over the last few days: “We’ve had hundreds of calls from people up and down the country, offering their support which has been nice. It’s just been crazy.”
“We’ve had a couple of emails in support over the past few days – one man told us it’s all ‘woke lunacy’,” Elwes adds.
“And we also received a funny phone call. They told us: ‘We support you all the way!’ They asked if we sell T-shirts – perhaps we ought to start printing some soon.”
