Nursery Rhyme Origins & History The Origins of the words from "Doctor Foster"
The origins and history of the poem "Doctor Foster" are in England, this is made clear with the reference to the English county of Gloucestershire (Doctor Foster went to Gloucester...). This was a warning to children in bygone days, prior to modern roads, that what may appear to be a shallow puddle could in fact be much deeper! "Doctor Foster" History
The origins of "Doctor Foster" are reputedly lie in English history dating back to the Plantagenet monarchy of the 13th century when King Edward 1 ("Doctor Foster") was thought to have visited Gloucester and fell from his horse into a large muddy puddle! He is said to have been so humiliated by this experience that he refused to ever visit Gloucester again! King Edward 1 (June 17, 1239 – July 7, 1307) was a powerful man, over six foot tall - hence his nickname of Longshanks. Edward built many castle - fortresses in Wales as part of his strategy to conquer the Welsh who were lead by Llywelyn ap Gruffydd - Edward succeeded and Llywelyn became the last independent Prince of Wales.
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