Simon Edy
Simon Edy, known as Old Simon, was a London beggar who lived in a derelict "Rats' Castle" in the rookery of Dyott Street. He was born in Woodford in Northamptonshire in 1709 and died on 18 May 1783. He had a succession of dogs and the last of them was a drover's sheepdog called Rover. He begged outside the churchyard of St Giles in the Fields and was a well-known figure, being portrayed by artists including John Seago and Thomas Rowlandson. He wore several hats, coats, rings and collected much bric-a-brac such as cuttings  from old newspapers like "The Gentleman's Magazine", from which he regaled passers-by. As he was a simpleton, he is thought to be a possible inspiration for the nursery rhyme, "Simple Simon", which was published in the "Royal Book of Nursery Rhymes" nearby in Monmouth Court.