St Ives riddle ignites debate over whether it’s about Cambridgeshire or Cornwall

St Ives in Cornwall and St Ives in Cambridgeshire could not be more different in many ways – but they may share more than a name

St Ives in Cambridgeshire shares its name with a fishing town in Cornwall. Beyond that, the two towns have little in common apart from their separate claims to a riddle about a traveller’s trip to St Ives.

The popular brain-teaser is normally found as a nursery rhyme. Its earliest known publication was in 1730 and goes as follows:

“As I was going to St Ives,I met a man with seven wives,Each wife had seven sacks,Each sack had seven cats,Each cat had seven kits:Kits, cats, sacks, and wives,How many were there going to St Ives?”

The answer is subject to debate. Some think it’s a logic trick where only one is actually going towards St Ives. Others believe it’s a mathematical equation summing powers of seven.

The question of which St Ives is referred to is also up for debate. The Cornish claim is based on the cats they keep to prevent rodents damaging fishing gear. But some say there is a stronger case for Cambridgeshire.

According to the Huntingdonshire History Festival, a Royal Charter was granted for St Ives to host an annual market in 1110. In 1200, it purchased the rights to a weekly market and the town’s success skyrocketed.

King Henry III purchased over 7,000 feet of fabric from the town in 1237. By 1250 the market was being advertised in Douai, France. Just like the riddle, many went to St Ives.

In 1202, the Liber Abaci was published to assist traders with their mathematics. Its equation “Seven Old Men Go to Rome” follows the exact same structure as the St Ives riddle.

It’s possible that traders carrying the Liber Abaci found their way to the bustling market town and inspired the disputed riddle. Popular trading commodities also required protection from rodents, so cats were common.

This settles the debate for some people, but leaves room for discussion. While it didn’t reach the heights of its Cambridgeshire counterpart, Cornwall’s St Ives was granted its own market charter much later in 1487. Coupled with its busy fishing port, it was also replete with merchants. We may never know which St Ives is at the heart of the riddle.