Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross
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Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross is a nursery rhyme connected with the English town Banbury. The stone cross of the title was destroyed by anti-Catholic Puritans in 1602 who were opposed to the notion of pilgrimages, but it was replaced in 1858. The nursery rhyme was first seen in print in 1784, however it was probably known well before then.
One unproven legend holds that the "fine lady" was Lady Godiva. Another suggestion links her with the wealthy Fiennes (pronounced 'fines') family that had married into the Saye family of nearby Broughton Castle; the lady may have arrived in Banbury by stagecoach and completed the 3-mile journey to the castle on one of the castle's superior horses. Another theory is that the 'fine lady' describes the Welsh Goddess Rhiannon, who was said to have ridden a white horse. The "cock horse" is usually identified as a hobby-horse — though it may be an unknown term for 'stallion'.
[edit] Rhyme
- Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross
- To see a fine lady upon a white horse.
- With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes,
- She shall have music wherever she goes.
