Matlock Luncheon Club learns the hidden meaning of nursery rhymes

Members of Matlock Luncheon Club were transported into the fascinating world of nursery rhymes by professional historical speaker Sandy Leong. They discovered that the hidden meanings behind them go back to the time of the Crusaders up until the 18th and 19th Centuries. Politics have been at the forefront of encoding the real meanings when it was dangerous and unwise to openly criticise those in power. (See more under Matlock notes).
Sandy Leong and Nicola Freeman at Matlock Luncheon Club.Sandy Leong and Nicola Freeman at Matlock Luncheon Club.
Sandy Leong and Nicola Freeman at Matlock Luncheon Club.

used to highlight the poverty of the people particularly in

Victorian times, with Tommy Tucker singing for his supper to survive, by begging and dancing. Baa

Baa Black Sheep reflecting the tax on wool imposed by Plantagenet King Edward I in 1275, he was

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the Master, the Church was the Dame and the Little Boy down the lane reflected the people.

Mary Mary quite Contrary reflected the gruesome period of Mary Tudor.

Even our own Derbyshire area has a link with a nursery rhyme of Hey Diddle Diddle the Cat and the

Fiddle, believed to reflect the public house on the 537 Buxton Macclesfield road, together with the Setter Dog pub and the dish running away with the spoon linking with the Peak View Tearooms.

Jill Harwood thanked Sandy on behalf of the members for a truly fascinating insight into educational heritage.