Iona and Peter Opie., Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (1951) give the
earliest known printing as 1892, and I haven't found anything earlier. There
are several other references in the 1890s and it was certainly well-known
then and ever since. It is apparently based on an earlier rhyme - 'The King
of France went up the hill / With forty thousand men / The King of France
came down the hill / And ne'er went up again' - apparently dating from 1610.
As regards possible historical basis to the Duke of York's antics, nobody
has succeeded in coming up with anything plausible. The first problem is
that there have been umpteen Dukes of York, since 1341, and indeed we still
have one. Frederick Augustus (1763-1827), Duke of York and Albany, second
son of George III is usually considered the most likely, as he commanded the
British army in various campaigns, including Flanders. His biographer (Col.
Alfred Higgins Burne) tried hard to find something to explain the rhyme, but
on his own admission, failed miserably. And why the song first appears over
60 years after his death is also a mystery.
It is quite possible, of course, that it has no historical basis at all, and
was simply re-worked from the previous rhyme by a Victorian chapbook
nursery-rhyme writer. On present evidence, this seems its most likely
origin.
Steve Roud

----- Original Message -----
From: George W. Lyon <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2001 9:45 PM
Subject: The Noble Duke of York


> Hi -- a friend of mine is looking for information about the provenance of
> this old jingle. He doesn't need great detail, but some idea of who
> originally sang it & when would be useful.
>
> Thanks
>
> George