E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Wise as the Mayor of Banbury.
A blundering Sir William Curtis. The mayor referred to insisted that Henry III. reigned in England before Henry II.
1
The following is a fact which happened to myself in 1880. I was on a visit to a country mayor of great wealth, whose house was full of most exquisite works of art. I was particularly struck with a choice china figure, when the mayor told me how many guineas he had given for it, and added, “Of course you know ‘who’ it is meant for. It is John Knox signing Magna Charta.”
