Simpkin is the name of the resident cat at Hertford College, Oxford. The college's tradition of keeping a mouser was started in the early 1970s by the former college principal Geoffrey Warnock.[1] The college's cat is named Simpkin after a character in the children's book, The Tailor of Gloucester, by Beatrix Potter.[2]
To date, Hertford College has had four college cats called Simpkin. The first three were black with white chest and feet, but the current one, Simpkin IV, is entirely black.[1]
Simpkin I (mouser from c.1971 – ?)
editSimpkin I, originally named Blanca, was given to the daughter of Hertford College's then principal, Geoffrey Warnock, and arrived at the college as a kitten. Renamed Simpkin after the character in The Tailor of Gloucester, he gained public notoriety on one occasion by having to be rescued from a high roof at New College, Oxford by the local fire brigade.[3]
Simpkin II (1986 – 17 Dec 1999)
editSimpkins (aka Simpkin II) was born in Oxford in 1986, and arrived at the college in that year. Noted for being a keen hunter, he is mentioned in the book College Cats of Oxford and Cambridge[4] as stalking and then being forced to flee by an angry mallard drake.
Simpkins died on 17 December 1999, aged 14 years. He was succeeded very briefly by a white kitten called "Sir G", who was stolen soon after arriving on campus.[5]
Simpkin III (2000 – Aug 2016)
editSimpkin III came to Hertford College in 2000, and served as mouser for 15 years. A notable event of his career was an occasion where he boarded a milk delivery van and was inadvertently carried to Winchester, over 50 miles away.
He died in August 2016 and his remains buried in Hertford College's OB Quad.[6]
Simpkin IV (2017 – )
editSimpkin IV, the current incumbent mouser, was originally called Buddy, and was 4 or 5 years old when he joined the college. He was found as a stray in the Torbay region and, after various adventures, ended up at the nicest home of his life, the college, after Christmas 2017.[7] He is known for incursions into the territory of Walter, the mouser of Exeter College, Oxford; in January 2022 he was formally banned from entry to Exeter's library.[8]
Simpkin IV has his own Instagram page, operated on his behalf by the Hertford College JCR.[9]
References
edit- ^ a b "The Simpkin Dynasty - Hertford College | University of Oxford". Hertford College | University of Oxford. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
- ^ Potter, Beatrix (2002). The Tailor of Gloucester. Frederick Warne & Co. ISBN 978-0-7232-4772-2.
- ^ "Simpkin I | University of Oxford". Hertford College | University of Oxford. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
- ^ Surman, Richard (1995). College Cats of Oxford and Cambridge (1st ed.). HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-0062-7869-6.
- ^ "Simpkins (Simpkin II) | University of Oxford". Hertford College | University of Oxford. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
- ^ "Simpkin III | University of Oxford". Hertford College | University of Oxford. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
- ^ "Simpkin IV | University of Oxford". Hertford College | University of Oxford. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
- ^ "Wags in the Rag - Hertford's college cat, Simpkin". Cherwell, Oxford's oldest student newspaper. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
- ^ simpkinthehertfordcat on Instagram