All Info About Nursery Rhymes

Most people believe that this rhyme originates from the time of the Great Plague. The roses refers to the rosy coloured rash displayed by sufferers; the posies were a little bundle of herbs and spices said to ward off the plague; and a-tishoo was of course, the sneezing which accompanied the final fatal moments of the victims when they would all fall down - dead!

Old Bailey judges carry a pocket of posies as a ritual at the opening of each session as a protection against gaol fever.