Was the nursery rhyme 'Doctor Foster went to Gloucester' inspired by the tale of Edward I visiting Gloucester and falling off his horse into a puddle?
Or could Doctor Foster have been an emissary of William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, who visited Gloucester? Or perhaps it refers to an incident in the play Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe?
'Doctor Foster went to Gloucester' lyrics
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 nursery rhyme lyrics
Main image © Blanche Fisher Wright, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons