Nathaniel Bentley, 'The dirty hardware merchant of Leadenhall Street'

There is a public house, on Bishopsgate, with a rather curious name: 'Dirty Dicks'.

With such an odd name I knew that there  had to be an interesting story behind it... and there is.

The pub is named after Nathaniel Bentley, who lived a curious life.

Born in, or around, 1735, into the family of a wealthy hardware merchant, Nathaniel was afforded an education that befitted his status.

Dubbed 'the beau of Leadenhall', because of his clothing and impeccable manners, Nathaniel was quite the ladies man and could be seen at many functions in and around the City.

Following his father's death, in 1760, Nathaniel inherited his father's business, which consisted of a successful hardware business, a shop and a fully stocked warehouse in Leadenhall Street. Plus, around 15 properties, some of which were leased out.

In 1764 Nathaniel visited Paris and attended the coronation of Louis XVI, where he was introduced to the king and was lauded as the 'best dressed and mannered English gentleman' at the French Court. His education had resulted in Nathaniel being able to speak French and Italian fluently, allowing him to associate with people of the highest respectability.

He was also a  patron of Vauxhall and Ranelagh Pleasure Gardens, up until the early 19th century.

Now, things get curious and it becomes hard to sort fact from fiction. Following his father's death Nathaniel had moved into the warehouse, which hadn't been cleaned since 1760, and began to let his appearance decline. 

Rumours persist that a lady, whom Nathaniel was to marry, died on the eve of their wedding, while others suggest that the lady in question died on their wedding day. 

Some rumours persist that the lady died before a lavish gathering that Nathaniel had planned, for her and her family, and that the lavish meal was left on the table, behind the lock door of the dining room, gradually deteriorating much like Nathaniel's appearance. 

This rumour appears to have inspired Charles Dickens to write the character of 'Mrs Haversham'.

Either way, Nathaniel stopped washing. He repaired his clothes, until they were no longer fit for purpose, and gave himself just 18p to live on, per day.

If he did go out he still wore fine clothes and was always polite and well mannered, just not very clean.

He became miserly and let all of his staff go, except for one who did his shopping for him. His diet consisted of vegetables and, occasionally, bacon, although that had to be lean as the fat was a waste.

He was also partial to drinking beer, demolishing a gallon of the stuff every three days.

He was no longer known as 'the beau of Leadenhall', but rather as 'Dirty Dick', the dirty hardware merchant of Leadenhall Street.

When asked why he didn't wash his hands, anymore, he replied,

"It is of no use, Sir. If I wash my hands today they will be dirty again tomorrow."

Over time the warehouse became even dirtier, with grime caking the windows, while dust covered his wares, inside the property.

Refusing to light a fire to fight off the cold, as the warehouse became more dilapidated and windows cracked, he would stand in a box of straw to keep his feet warm.

He refused the help of his neighbours who offered to help in repairing and maintaining the building.

One afternoon he damaged his leg, while moving around the warehouse, and employed a lady to supply him with bandages and medicines. However, his leg refused to heal so he was forced to pay to have it treated, otherwise he could have lost it, or worse, died.

People still flocked to his warehouse, especially the ladies, who were fascinated by his unkempt appearance but still polite nature.

Nathaniel continued to occupy the 46 Leadenhall Street warehouse, until his lease expired in 1802. Mr Gosling took over the lease and leased the building to Nathaniel for another year.

In 1804 the lease expired and Nathaniel vacated the premises, leaving it to his successor, Mr Gosling.

Mr Gosling was shocked at the state of the living accommodation and grime that permeated the building. But, instead of cleaning it out he decided to make some money, opening it to the public to see how 'Dirty Dick' had been living. 

Nathaniel Bentley moved to Aldgate, then Shoreditch where he was robbed of much of his money. 

Following his downtown in luck he was forced to become a beggar.

Nathaniel then went travelling around the country, visiting many towns and villages.

He finally arrived in Scotland, making his way from Musselburgh, a port near Edinburgh, to Haddington, where died of fever in 1809.

'Dirty Dicks'

Just around the corner from the warehouse, on Bishopsgate, was a pub named 'The Old Jerusalem'. Its proprietor, William Barker, seeing an opportunity, bought many of the remaining goods from the warehouse, placing them around the pub, which they renamed 'Dirty Dick's Old Port Wine & Spirit House'. 

These included mummified rats and cats that had been found in the warehouse, along with some of the wares that had remained unsold.

To add more 'atmosphere' to the pub, they let dust and grime accumulate and, with some of Nathaniel's belongings scattered around the pub, made a pretty penny. The mummified cats and rats were hung from the low ceiling, attracting spiders, whose webs spread between the mummified cats and rats.

In 1866 'Dirty Dick's' was described as:

 “A small public house or rather a tap of a wholesale wine and spirit business… a warehouse or barn without floorboards; a low ceiling, with festoons of cobwebs dangling from the black rafters; a pewter, bar battered and dirty, floating with beer, numberless gas pipes tied anyhow along the struts and posts to conduct the spirits from the barrels to the taps; sample phials and labelled bottles of wine and spirits on shelves, everything covered with virgin dust and cobwebs.”

Although 'Dirty Dicks' was rebuilt in the 1870s some of the original cellars are still there.

In the 1980s many of the curiosities were removed and placed in cabinets, but some of the mummified animals were still on display as late as 2008.

Today, some of these artefacts can still be viewed in glass cabinets spread throughout the pub, which, thankfully, is a lot cleaner now.