Lucy Locket . . .

. . . lost her pocket
Kitty Fisher found it . . .

I wonder whether any modern child has ever questioned this - How can you lose a pocket? But then we accept all kinds of nonsense in Nursery Rhymes - cows jumping over moons etc. I can’t think I have ever wondered about it until . . .

. . . I found this book: The Pocket by Barbara Burman and Ariane Fennetaux.

I really don’t think I knew about pockets, certainly I had not realised that during the 17th to 19th centuries every female would have a capacious tie-on pocket, accessed through their skirts and used to hold everything they needed or valued. We have handbags today, but these pockets were more than just containers, they were the way in which women negotiated a world that was not built to suit them. This was their secret independence.

The authors used pockets held in just about every museum in the country to explore these ‘small things forgotten’.

I am fascinated reading this book, but there is a lot of information online if anyone is interested. I was delighted to find the Kate Greenaway illustration of the rhyme - see extra. Sadly, as is the way with many Nursery Rhymes, the possible story behind it has dark origins to do with prostitutes and stolen money . . . maybe.