Cats Is All About

The Cheshire Cat is a character is the epic fantasy tale of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll which was first published in 1865. The origin of the character is not known though has given rise to various theories and sayings.

For example 'to grin like a Cheshire cat' is not attributed to Carroll. That phrase first appears in Peter Pindar's Pair of Lyric Epistles in 1795, which contain the line: 'Lo, like a Cheshire cat our court will grin.' So where did the Cheshire Cat originate from - could it have been any of the following?

Cheshire is a dairy county with Chester as the county town. When Chester was a port, cats were said to gather on the docks to wait for rats and mice to leave ships. This made them the happiest of cats hence their grins. Lewis Carroll was the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson. He was born in, and lived in, the Cheshire village of Daresbury until he was 11 years of age. He would have seen the local Cheshire cheeses that were made into various animal shapes one of which was a grinning cat.

Various Carroll memorial windows exist in Daresbury parish church one of which depicts the cat. The Cheshire cat could have originated from the county's heraldry. The coat of arms of the first Earl of Chester were contained the Lions of England which were common in heraldic designs of the time though the artists had never seen a real lion and what they drew sometimes looked like grinning cats.

Somewhat related to the heraldry theory is a theory that the cat could have originated from inn or public house signs with the often common lions looking like grinning cats for the very same reason that the sign writers had not seen a lion and thus had to use their imagination based on what they had heard. Grinning cats again.

There is a carving of a cat's head on the wall near the pulpit of St Christopher's church in the Cheshire village of Pott Shrigley. Carroll's father was a vicar. Could father and so have visited the village and seen the carving which could then have given Carroll the inspiration to include it in his epic.

The Carrolls' moved to Croft-on-Tees in north-east England where Lewis's father became rector of Croft church and even Archdeacon of Richmond. It is said that much of Alice in Wonderland is set here. Again there is a religious connection to the possible origins of the Cheshire cat through the carved stone face of a lion at the church. If viewed from a certain angle is seems to be smiling.

So there we have a few rumours and theories about where Carroll may have been inspired to create the cat character in his classic fantasy story. The Cheshire Cat is one of the most popular inmates of the story with his big wide grin. He has appeared depicted in various ways in films, cartoons, books, postage stamps and even computer games. Forever linked with Cheshire and Chester, the animal even to this day the tale always enthrals and has many fans. A visit to the city allows the tourist to become acquainted with the Lewis Carroll legacy and that magical, eccentric feline.