[Guest contributer Cherry Brownhill from Victoria, BC submitted this interesting tidbit that she unearthed during genealogical reserach. She takes issue with Lang's footnote, reproduced in our OnLine Works. -- webmaster]

[Footnote 1: Bacon was the name of a presumably intrusive host. The lines are said to have "afforded much amusement." -- Lang]

I came across your strange little ditty, looking for Brownhill information on the web. Here is an alternative footnote for you. John Brownhill, the proprietor of the Inn was married to Mary Bacon.

John BROWNHILL, m. Mary BACON. August 25. 1741.

John ran this inn, which could well have been called Brownhill's Inn when he was there:

BOOT AND SHOE The second of the really old inns. The landlord in 1753 was J. Brownhill. Though the style has changed, bay windows have always been a feature of the building; originally a stone-walled garden separated the frontage from a cobble-stoned pav ....etc.

I think that is the source of your ditty.....it is saucy about John's wife, rather than referring to an intrusive host! What do you think?

Kind regards
Cherry Brownhill
Victoria, BC
Canada.