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March 16, 2004
Another Gloucestershire lad ...
Everyone knows the story of Dick Whittington and his cat. The story of a "poor" young man given a cat as a companion and sent off to earn his fortune in the big city of London. All sorts of legends have grown up around him and quite a bit of fantasy as well. There's even a pantomime which puts the cat in the role of hero who advises him and eventually makes his fortune for him.
It may surprise many to know that Dick (or more correctly Richard) Whittington, was a real person. He was indeed three times the Lord Mayor of London, spanning the reigns of four Kings of England and his name appears complete with dates in the West Window of the Guild Hall in the City of London along with all the other Lord Mayors. (Ken Livingstone's will, thankfully, never appear there as he is NOT the Lord Mayor of the City!) But who or what was he, and what gave rise to the legend?
Dick Whittington came from Gloucestershire, where his father and family had land and business. This was the heyday of the Cotswold wool trade and Whittington senior was a Mercer, a trader in wool who also had land and sheep to supply it. He operated out of Gloucester Docks and traded round the South Coast to Europe and particularly to Flanders. At some point he evidently decided it would be a good idea to have a "factory" in London, and who better to head this up than his son. So far, so good, but where does the "cat" fit in all of this?
"Cat" boats were a class of ship, used for coastal trading. They ranged in size from 50 to 500 tuns burden (The earlier measurement of a ship's carrying capacity was the number of "tuns" of wine she could carry) and are distinguished by the sailing rig. The foremast in a catboat is stepped right at the stempost, with a mainmast about amidships or slightly further aft. This gave a large uncluttered hold and made for easy working out of baled goods from the hold. So, the "cat" our Dick took to London, was ship loaded with merchandise - to whit - wool.
Visitors to London who want to confirm this should look for the Guildhall and study the West Window between Gog and Magog, mythical guardians of the City and the legendary founders who escaped from Troy. I did say legendary - the story is a medieval invention. You should also look for the Church of St Michael, Paternoster Royal, in College Hill, near to St Paul's and close to Cannon Street Station. Next to the Church you will find a building with a blue ceramic plaque which records that this was the site of Dick Whittington's "factory" and the Church is a Wren creation which replaced the one in which he was buried.
St Michael's is now the headquarters of the Mission to Seafarers and inside you will find a window which shows a young Dick Whittington with ship's in the background and a cat at his feet. Legend dies hard, even in his burial place.
One last point, the story of his "turning back" from Highgate Hill, probably has a foundation in fact. It was from here in medieval times that lookouts could espy a returning trader entering the lower reaches of the Thames. Today, of course, it is no longer possible because of the buildings around it, but it enabled the Merchant's to have advanced knowledge that their ventures were safely returned - important if your entire capital had gone out with the ship and you were dependent onits return!
Posted by The Gray Monk at March 16, 2004 03:18 PM