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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Old King Cole
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Nursery rhyme about a king who is a merry old soul, calling for his pipe and his bowl and his fiddlers three. His identity has been much debated since the early 18C. There have been two main contenders, neither with much except surmise to support his case. One is a legendary British king supposedly commemorated in the name of Colchester. The other is a rich cloth merchant of Reading by the name of Thomas Colebrook, who was stated in the 16C to have been a historical character.
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