Here’s a travel adventure with a difference. Many people walk the Thames Path from Gloucestershire to London but how about following the route that Dick Whittington took? In case anyone is in any doubt, Dick Whittington was real. He did walk to London and the fortune he made there is still being used today for good causes. In 2005 the city of Gloucester was preparing to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first play about Dick Whittington and as part of those celebrations, the BBC commissioned a drama narrative entitled The Hitherto Unrecorded memoirs of Richard Whittington, Mercer. Additionally, some unwitting Breakfast Show Presenter was duped into walking from Whittington’s birthplace in Gloucestershire all the way to London.
The idea was to dispel the notion that he was just a pantomime character swaggering along with his sandwiches wrapped in a red spotted handkerchief on the end of a stick. On Saturday 28 May 2005 I led a bunch of passionate storytellers on a walk of a lifetime.
This was our route:
Saturday 28 May: Pauntley Court, Newent to Cirencester
Sunday 29 May: Cirencester to Lechlade
Monday 30 May: Lechlade-on-Thames to Wantage
Tuesday 31 May: Wantage to Ridgeway on horseback and Goring to Caversham
Wednesday 1 June: Caversham to Henley-on-Thames then to Maidenhead via the Thames Path
Thursday 2 June: Maidenhead to Richmond by boat aboard HMS Fringilla
Friday 3 June: Richmond to Barnes Bridge via the Thames path and Hampstead to Highgate
Saturday 4 June: Highgate Hill and a visit to The Whittington Hospital then to the City of London for a reception in The Mansion House with the Lord Mayor of London.
Here are a few of the fascinating facts we learned about our hero.
He had a swift and successful progression up the ranks as a member of the Company of Mercers and made a lot of money. He had influential friends, among them was King Richard II. It was King Richard who first appointed him Mayor of London.
Life wasn’t all plain sailing, however. Just when he seemed to be at the peak of success and authority, the tide of fortune turned. Richard II was deposed and Dick’s wife Alice died. The pain of her death never left him.
An early clue to his compassion was his ban on washing animal skins in the Thames. This ended a practice which saw many young boys dying of hyperthermia whilst carrying out the task.
His financial legacy was immense. Six hundred years after his death The Charity of Sir Richard Whittington pays out huge amounts for needy causes. In 1948 an amalgamation of several hospitals was named The Whittington Hospital and other funds more recently have been used to help and protect women who have been sex trafficked from Eastern Europe. New accommodation in East Grinstead has been funded and has provided homes for elderly women.
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It was a privilege to walk the walk and talk the talk. Gloucestershire should be so proud of this man and I hope by retelling the true story of his life and legacy more people can see the magic behind the myth.