![]() The "crooked stile" in the poem was the alliance between the parliaments of England and Scotland or the border between the two, depending on the source. The crooked man is reputed to be the Scottish General Sir Alexander Leslie, who signed a covenant securing religious and political freedom for Scotland. ![]() Other sources state that the poem originates from British history, specifically the period of the Scottish Stuart King Charles I of England (1600–1649). One Lavenham house in particular, 'The Crooked House' is often cited as the inspiration for the rhyme. One legend suggests that this nursery rhyme originated in the once prosperous wool merchant’s village of Lavenham, about 70 miles northeast of London, having been inspired by its multicolored half-timbered houses leaning at irregular angles as if they are supporting each other. ![]() It gained popularity in the early twentieth century. ![]() The rhyme was first recorded in print by James Orchard Halliwell in 1842: There was a crooked man and he went a crooked mile, He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse, And they all liv'd together in a little crooked house. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 1826. " There Was a Crooked Man" is an English nursery rhyme. ![]() Alexander Leslie is reputed to be the crooked old man ![]()
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