Open Writing

Now I know that I’m not the first person to tell the tale of the Pied Piper, but this version is perhaps even more poignant than Robert Browning's version which was published in 1888.

We now have laws and Child Protection Officers to ensure that mass child abduction could not happen in the 21st Century. Or could it? If a piper started to pipe in public perhaps the authorities could deal with him by means of the Noise Abatement Act. Of course rat infestations no longer come under the jurisidiction of local authorities. They are dealt with by Rid-a-Rat, or some such organisation.

But let us go back to the 1350s. A ship of the King's Navy has anchored in Yarmouth Roads. A young sailor aboard her, happy to be leaving England, starts to whistle. Naval superstition has it that if you whistle or sing into the wind, you call up a storm. The ship's boatswain, superstitious and less than happy at the whistling, decided that the young sailor should have an early bath and threw him overboard. The rest of the crew rushed to the side of the ship to see the sport. This caused the vessel to violently list to starboard. By chance the gun ports on that side of the ship were open. Almost immediately rats started to leave the ship, a sure sign of impending doom.

The only surviver of this disaster was the lad who had been thrown overboard. He swam for his life, reaching the shore at exactly the same place as the rats, Franchville Creek on the Isle of Wight. There he exchanged his wet naval uniform for civilian clothes of many colours. He disappeared into the woods, leaving the rats behind him. He remained on the island, became an artist, and was therefor able to draw the dole.

Now in the famous Pied Piper story all but one of the rats were drowned in the River Weser. One can only suppose that those rats in the 1350s had all passed their swimming tests and capsize drill. A rat's life span is around 18 months. Their young are born 22 days after mating. One female can have six litters a year, each producing from 5 to 14 baby rats. When rats are three months old they are capable of reproduction,

That adds up to a lot of rats!

I now refer to a story by Abraham Elder, published in 1839, concerning the pied piper of Franchville.

At the time of the tale Newtown in the Isle of White was called Francheville, and it was infested with rats. There were so many rats that humans were finding it hard to live there. A large reward was offered to anyone who could get rid of the rats. Pest control teams arrived from all parts of the Kingdom, hoping to make their fortunes, but their attempts always ended in frustration to themselves and dissatisfaction for their employers. Meanwhile the rats continued to multiply and enjoy life, eating anything that they could find.

One day the whistling sailor returned to the town and found a swarm of rats, a horde, a pack, a rabble, a colony, a mischief of rats. He felt guilty, having as it were led the rats ashore. Still wearing his clothes of many colours, he visited the mayor and asked what reward was on offer for getting rid of the rats. The mayor, delighted by the prospect of help, invited the young Jack Tar into the town hall for a drink and a burger. They then debated the matter with the burgesses and corporation, and it was decided that the reward for ridding the town of rats would be fifty pounds, a massive fortune in those days.

The sailor, thinking he could get money for old rope, promptly left the town hall and walked through the streets, whistling a shrill tune upon his pipe. To the utter astonishment of the townspeople, a great number of rats rushed out from their holes and followed the sailor.

He led the rats up Silver Street, down Gold Street, on to Quay Street and the harbour. At the water's edge he stepped into a boat with high gunwales. The rats were unable to get aboard. He cast off and, still playing, moved to the middle of the creek. The rats swam after him. When the tide went out the rats perished, smothered in the mud.

The whistling sailor returned to the town hall and the mayor to demand his reward. But now the rats were dead the mayor told the sailor he could whistle for his money. He did not get his £50.

The Jack Tar marched off with a roll and a swagger, whistling as he went down the street. This time it was children who followed in his footsteps. He led them down Silver Street and Gold Street to Draper's Alley, then on into Parkhurt forest.

What became of the sailor and the children is not known. They were never seen in Francheville again.

The town for some time was only inhabited by old people and infants born after the day of the piper.

In 1377 the French attacked the Isle of Wight. They were met with no resistance, and they burned the town to the ground. And that was the end of Francheville. Eventually new people arrived, a new town was built, and it was indeed named Newtown.

There's not much left of the place today. A church, the town hall, a few houses... There was a Newtown Arms Inn, but that closed in 1916,

There are other Pied Piper tales. Could it be the same man showing up in different times?

I came across an 1848 newspaper headline: ‘Hurdy-Gurdy Player Abducts Children.’ There was no mention of rats in the story.

If by chance you should ever find yourself in Hamelin look out for a stained glass window in a church there which commemorates the Pied Piper of Francheville, Isle of Wight.