History & Events 1 min Read

Was Humpty Dumpty An Egg?

Humpty Dumpty was actually a powerful cannon used in the Siege of Colchester during the English Civil War.

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Did you even wonder why everyone assumed Humpty Dumpty was an egg?

I did, for a long while I had my theory that Humpty Dumpty was a sugar or ice-cube, although I never quite worked out why the king would send all his men and horses, well I was wrong.

What Was Humpty Dumpty?

Humpty Dumpty was actually a powerful cannon used in the Siege of Colchester during the English Civil War.

In the summer of 1648, Humpty Dumpty was mounted on the peak of a wall which lay in front of the St Mary’s Church in Colchester protecting the city against siege.

The church tower was hit by enemy cannon fire and the top of the tower was blown off, making Humpty Dumpty have a great fall.

Colchester was a royalist stronghold, meaning all the king’s horses and all the king’s men tried to put Humpty Dumpty back together.

However, due to the fact that Richard Drew didn’t create duct tape until the 1920’s, the king’s men couldn’t repair poor Humpty.

So nobody really did have scrambled egg afterwards.

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References

MLA

Ward, Luke. "Was Humpty Dumpty An Egg?" FactstoryHub, 2 Jan. 2009, www.factstoryhub.com/humpty-dumpty-egg/. Accessed 5 Dec. 2025.

APA

Ward, L. (2025, April 1). Was Humpty Dumpty An Egg? FactstoryHub. https://factstoryhub.com/humpty-dumpty-egg/

Chicago

Ward, Luke. "Was Humpty Dumpty An Egg?" FactstoryHub, April 1, 2025. https://factstoryhub.com/humpty-dumpty-egg/.

About The Author

Luke Ward
Owner

Luke Ward is the owner of FactstoryHub. He has over 14 years of experience in researching, informative writing, fact-checking, SEO & web design. In his spare time, he loves to explore the world, drink coffee & attend trivia nights.

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