This week (15 to 19 November) is World Nursery Rhyme Week so, to celebrate the occasion, we wanted to share the history of two well-loved nursery rhymes that are linked to the city of Gloucester.

Humpty Dumpty

“Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall,

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men

Couldn’t put Humpty together again”

The ever-popular nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty may have its origins in the Siege of Gloucester in 1643. The term Humpty Dumpty was a drink of brandy boiled with ale, and the term may relate to someone who wasn’t steady on their feet or was clumsy. However, in 1956, Professor of Ancient Law at Berkley University in the US, David Daube, suggested that the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty originated from a siege engine (more commonly known as catapult) used during the Siege of Gloucester. This idea was based on a contemporary account of the attack. However, other theories link the nursery rhyme to Colchester in Essex, as it’s thought to be the name of a canon that was used in the city during the English Civil War. Daube's proposal was based on contemporary accounts of the Siege of Gloucester, although the name Humpty Dumpty is never mentioned. The description of the siege engines is as follows:

The King's Forces, by the Directions of Dr. Chillingworth, had provided certain Engines, after the manner of the Roman Testudines cum Pluteis, wherewith they intended to Assault the City between the South and West Gates; They ran upon Cart-Wheels, with a Blind of Planks Musquet-proof, and holes for four Musqueteers to play out of, placed upon the Axle-tree to defend the Musqueteers and those that thrust it forwards, and carrying a Bridge before it; the Wheels were to fall into the Ditch, and the end of the Bridge to rest upon the Towns Breast-works, so making several compleat Bridges to enter the City. To prevent which, the Besieged intended to have made another Ditch out of their Works, so that the Wheels falling therein, the Bridge would have fallen too short of their Breast-works into their wet More, and so frustrated that Design...

From the wording, it would seem that these engines were never put into action, though they were certainly built, and were reported to have been captured following the raising of the siege and drawn into Gloucester, perhaps in the manner of a trophy. As the siege of the city was raised before the engines could be deployed, there was little possibility of them suffering a 'fall' and being irreparably damaged, which the nursery rhyme's narrative demands.

Doctor Foster

“Doctor Foster

Went to Gloucester

In a shower of rain

He stepped in a puddle

Right up to his middle

And never went there again”

More obviously linked to Gloucester is the nursery rhyme Doctor Foster. Although it was first published in 1844, it is believed that the origins of this rhyme date back over 700 years, to the time of King Edward I. The nursery rhyme is thought to refer to a time when the king arrived in Gloucester during a storm and fell into a deep, muddy puddle. Humiliated by the experience, King Edward I vowed never to return to Gloucester.

Share Your Ideas!

In celebration of World Nursery Rhyme Week, we would love to hear your ideas for a new Gloucester nursery rhyme! Share your nursery rhymes on social media using #nurseryrhymesgloucester

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