Thursday, October 10, 2024

'Dick Whittington's Cat' statue and the 'Whittington Stone'

Dick Whittington's Cat Statue

On Highgate Hill there is a stone with a statue of a cat, protected behind an iron cage.

This is the Whittington Stone and Dick Whittington's Cat.

Whittington Stone

The Whittington Stone

The Whittington Stone is a large two-segment Portland Stone tablet, erected in 1821, and marks, roughly, where Dick Whittington supposedly turned at the sound of the bells of St Mary-le-Bow.

The stone was restored in 1935.

The Cat statue was added in 1964 and was designed by Jonathan Kenworthy and is made of Kellymount limestone. It was originally polished-black.

On its two faces are inscriptions of the life of Dick Whittington. The inscription on one side has been completely eroded, but some of the inscription can still be read on the other face.

Whittington Stone and the Statue of Dick Whittington's Cat


Dick Whittington and His Cat

Dick Whittington and His Cat is an English folklore telling the rise of poverty-stricken Dick Whittington, who sold his cat to a rat infested country, to attain a fortune.

Another story tells of his heading home to Highgate Hill, but stopping when he heard the sound of Bow Bells, some 4.5 miles away, promising him that he would be mayor of London, one day.


Most of these written records appear in the 1600s, well over 150 years after Richard Whittington's death, and are taken from a play and ballad of Dick Whittington and his Cat, that was published around 1604-05.

There appears to be no truth to either of these stories, which were popular throughout the pre-Victorian era.

Whittington Stone Plaque

Dick Whittington's Cat Statue Plaque

Richard 'Dick' Whittington

Richard Whittington was a member of parliament, Sheriff of London and Lord Mayor of London (appointed once and elected three times).

His elder brothers were William Whittington and Robert Whittington, both of whom were members of parliament, throughout their lives.

Richard was born around 1354 and was the son of Sir William Whittington of the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire.

As he was the youngest of three sons he was not due to inherit his father's fortune and so went to the City of London to young the trade of a mercer. He became very successful and began importing valuable textiles and cloths, notably silk and velvet that he sold to nobility. He also exported English wool to Europe.

In 1384 he became a Councilman for the City of London and by 1393 was an alderman and appointed Sheriff of the City of London by the mayor, William Staundone,

In 1397 he successfully negotiated a deal with the King for the City of London lands, stolen by the King in 1392, to be returned for the sum of £10,000. He was duly imposed on the City of London as Lord Mayor, by the King, in 1397, and was formally elected by the grateful Londoners days later.

He would go on to become a money-lender, in 1388, and, by 1397, was lending large sums of money to King Richard II.

He was elected as Lord Mayor again in 1398.

With King Henry IV taking the throne, in 1399, nothing really changed for Richard Whittington as he had long supplied the new monarch with merchandise and substantial amounts of money.

In 1409 he was elected Mayor of London again and, in 1407, also served as mayor of The Staples of Calais, where he represented the town's merchants.

In 1416 he became a member of parliament for the City of London. Being close to King Henry V he also managed to serve on on several Royal Commissions, possibly to him still lending the King vast amounts of money. 

He was elected as Mayor of London again in 1419, which would be his final appointment.

Considering his label as a money-lender, he was still trustworthy enough to sit as a judge on trials pertaining to money-lending, in 1421.

Richard Whittington died in 1423.

Erin and Keilyn with Dick Whittington's Cat


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