Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618) is widely credited for having
introduced tobacco to England, having played a leading role in establishing
colonies in North America that were particularly suitable for growing the crop,
despite the fact that he never set foot on North American soil himself.
Whether Raleigh was directly responsible for bringing
tobacco to England is open to doubt, but it is certainly true that he
popularized pipe-smoking and was a keen smoker himself.
On one occasion this habit appears to have led to Raleigh
having an unpleasant shock. It is not entirely clear where the incident took
place, but one strong candidate is Raleigh’s Dorset Home of Sherborne Castle.
One of Sir Walter’s man-servants – so it is said – saw smoke
arising from behind a bush. Knowing that Sir Walter was there, he deduced that
something terrible had happened and that his master must be on fire. He
therefore poured of jug of ale over the bush to quench the flames. This
certainly did the trick as far as extinguishing the fire was concerned, but was
the servant “fired” for soaking Sir Walter in ale?
Your guess is as good as mine!
© John Welford
