Dick Whittington

One of the great Christmas traditions in the UK is the pantomime. This consists of musical numbers, cross-dressing actors, jokes (including topical ones) and tends to be based on folk tales. These include Cinderella, Aladdin, Peter Pan and Puss in Boots. One is based on a real person and that is Dick Whittington along with his cat.

The basic story is that Dick is a poor orphan boy who travels to London believing that the streets are paved with gold. They are not, but Whittington is able to find employment in the home of the Fitzwarren family in the kitchen, having picked up a cat along the way. Unhappy with his lot, he leaves the City but is called back by the sound of the bells on the church of St Mary Le Bow promising that he will one day be Lord Mayor of London. On his return, Whittington boards a ship that lands on the coast of North Africa. The Moorish ruler decides to entertain his guests with a meal, which is spoilt by a swarm of rats. Dick’s cat is brought in to clear the rodents and Whittington is rewarded handsomely, becoming richer than his old boss Fitzwarren. Returning to London, Whittington marries Fitzwarren’s daughter, Anne as well as becoming Lord Mayor three times.

But how accurate is this tale? Well, there is some truth in it. The real Richard Whittington did come to London to seek his fortune and was Lord Mayor four times. He also did marry Anne Fitzwarren. What isn’t accurate is that Whittington wasn’t a poor orphan but was the younger son from a wealthy family from Gloucestershire. Not being the first-born son, he was not expected to inherit his father’s estate, so he sent to London to learn a trade. He became a merchant of textile goods and became a member of the Mercer’s Guild.

Though he was married, the union did not produce any children. He was exceedingly rich and left a considerable amount of money to London. This was used to pay for the first Guildhall library, repairs to St Bartholomew’s Hospital, a public drinking fountain and alms-houses. These alms-houses still exist to this day and are currently located near East Grinstead. 

Whittington was buried in the church of St Michael Paternoster Royal, where he is depicted with a cat in one of the stained-glass windows. His tomb has been lost even though there was an effort to find it in 1949. What was found were the mummified remains of a cat, even though there isn’t any evidence that the real Dick Whittington ever owned feline. It did not stop the sculpture of this statue (located outside of the Guildhall Art Gallery) from adding one. If you look closely, you may even find the head of a rat pocking out of the pile of clothes.