Crimson Cloak Publishing

Doctor Foster Went to GloucesterIn a shower of rainHe stepped in a puddleRight up to his middleAnd never went there again The origins to this rhyme may date back more than 700 years to the time of King Edward I. Edward was known to be a powerful man,  over six feet tall, but he was also recognised as a learned  man and hence one of his nicknames was Dr Foster. Why the name ‘Foster’ isn’t adequately explained anywhere. The story tells us Edward was visiting Gloucester due to the town’s strategic position.  He arrived during a storm and mistook a…

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Of all the dark meaning of children’s nursery rhymes, one of the worst must be  ‘ Mary Mary quite contrary.’ This rhyme is usually said to be about Bloody Mary, daughter of King Henry VIII and concerns the torture and murder of Protestants. Queen Mary was a staunch Catholic and her “garden” here is an allusion to the graveyards which were filling with Protestant martyrs.The ‘silver bells’ were a type of thumbscrew and the ‘cockle shells’ were also instruments of torture, used on Protestant martyrs to ‘persuade’ them to change faith. The ‘maiden’ was an instrument used to behead people…

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Little Miss MuffetSat on a tuffet,Eating her curds and whey;Along came a spider,Who sat down beside herAnd frightened Miss Muffet away A recorded version of the “Little Miss Muffet” nursery rhyme dates back to the early 19th century England. It was first printed in the “Songs for the Nursery” collection published in 1805. The origin of “Little Miss Muffet” is most commonly attributed to Dr Thomas Muffet, a notorious physician and entomologist from the 16th century, and author of a scientific illustrated guide about insects. “Little Miss Muffet” is about a girl named Patience, who was Dr Muffet’s stepdaughter. The…

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