Doctor Foster
Version 1
Doctor Foster went to Gloucester,
In a shower of rain.
He stepped in a puddle,
Up to the middle,
And never went there again.
Source: Smith, The Little Mother Goose (1912)
Version 2
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.
Source: The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (1997)
Historical Background
“Doctor Foster” was first printed in 1844 by James Orchard Halliwell. Boyd Smith theorized that “Doctor Foster” is a story about King Edward I (1239 – 1307) an important figure in the Plantagenet dynasty of the thirteenth century. The presumed story states that on a trip to Gloucester, Edward I fell off his horse into a dirty puddle. After the embarrassing incident, he swore never to visit the region again.
