The King of Rome was a successful

racing pigeon Pigeon racing is the sport of releasing specially trained homing pigeons, which then return to their homes over a carefully measured distance. The time it takes the animal to cover the specified distance is measured and the bird's rate of travel ...

, winning a race from

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Italy, to England, in 1913. Bred and trained in England, it was owned by Charlie Hudson of

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

. It set a new long-distance record for a racing pigeon of England. The King of Rome is the subject of a 1988 song and a 2010 children's book, both by Dave Sudbury. The best-known of the several recordings of the song is by

June Tabor June Tabor (born 31 December 1947 in Warwick, England) is an English folk singer known for her solo work and her earlier collaborations with Maddy Prior and with Oysterband. Early life June Tabor was born and grew up in Warwick, England. As ...

. In 2013 a radio play by Anthony Atkin and Allison Glossop was broadcast to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the pigeon's record-breaking flight.

The bird

The King of Rome was a

that in 1913 won a race from

, Italy to England. The bird, a blue cock, ring number NU1907DY168, was owned, bred and trained by Charlie Hudson (born early 1870s, died 13 March 1958, aged 84), of 56 Brook Street,

(now demolished, ). He reportedly started pigeon racing in 1904. At the time of the race, he was president and treasurer of Derby Town Flying Club. He also wrote on pigeon-racing matters for the ''

Derby Evening Telegraph The ''Derby Telegraph'', formerly the ''Derby Evening Telegraph'', is a daily tabloid newspaper distributed in the Derby area of England. Stories produced by the Derby Telegraph team are published online under the Derbyshire Live brand. Histor ...

''. On the bird's death, Hudson presented its body to

Derby Museum and Art Gallery Derby Museum and Art Gallery is a museum and art gallery in Derby, England. It was established in 1879, along with Derby Central Library, in a new building designed by Richard Knill Freeman and given to Derby by Michael Thomas Bass. The colle ...

, where its

taxidermied Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body via mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proce ...

skin is preserved (accession number DBYMU.1946/48). As of 2012, it is on display there. The preserved pigeon has previously been exhibited on loan elsewhere, including

Walsall Museum Walsall Museum was a small, local history museum located in the centre of Walsall in the West Midlands. The holdings of Walsall Museum ranged from seventeenth-century firemarks to twenty-first century posters. There was also a large collection o ...

and

Wollaton Hall Wollaton Hall is an Elizabethan country house of the 1580s standing on a small but prominent hill in Wollaton Park, Nottingham, England. The house is now Nottingham Natural History Museum, with Nottingham Industrial Museum in the outbuilding ...

in Nottingham.

The race report

The 2 August 1913 edition of '' The Racing Pigeon'' reported:

Representation in other media

Dave Sudbury (born Derby, 1943) wrote a song in the 1980s about the King of Rome and its owner, Charlie Hudson. It tells how: indicating the dangers related to the pigeons' races. The song was most notably recorded by

in 1988. She had heard Sudbury perform the song at the Northern Arts Council's 'Songsearch' contest in the late 1980s, where she was a judge. Hudson came in fourth.Sleeve notes,

Iain MacKintosh Iain MacKintosh (20 July 1932 – 28 August 2006, Glasgow, Scotland) was a Scottish singer and songwriter. Early life MacKintosh' father was from the Outer Hebrides, a watchmaker and goldsmith who owned a pawnshop in Glasgow; his mother came f ...

Brian McNeill Brian McNeill (born 6 April 1950, Falkirk, Scotland) is a Scottish folk multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer and musical director. He was a founding member of Battlefield Band which combined traditional Celtic melodies and new ...

, ''Live and Kicking'', 2000

, another finalist at the event, has said: "'The King of Rome' was head and shoulders above every other song sung on the night, and should have won." Tabor then recorded it for her 1988 album ''

Aqaba Aqaba (, also ; ar, العقبة, al-ʿAqaba, al-ʿAgaba, ) is the only coastal city in Jordan and the largest and most populous city on the Gulf of Aqaba. Situated in southernmost Jordan, Aqaba is the administrative centre of the Aqaba Govern ...

''. McNeill also has performed the song. He made a live recording included on his 2000 album with

, ''Live and Kicking''. American folksinger

Vance Gilbert Vance Gilbert (born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States) is an American folk singer-songwriter. He started as a jazz singer, switched to folk music, became a regular on the open mike circuit in Boston and toured with Shawn Colvin. He h ...

recorded the song for his 1994 album ''Edgewise'', and Canadian folk musician

Garnet Rogers Garnet Rogers (born May 1955) is a Canadian folk musician, singer, songwriter and composer. He was born in Hamilton, Ontario with roots in Nova Scotia. He began his professional career working with his older brother, folk musician Stan Rogers, a ...

recorded it for his album ''Small Victories'' (1990), and again on his live album ''Summer Lightning'' (2004). The band

Half Man Half Biscuit Half Man Half Biscuit are an English rock band, formed in 1984 in Birkenhead, Merseyside. Known for their satirical, sardonic, and sometimes surreal songs, the band comprises lead singer and guitarist Nigel Blackwell, bassist and singer Neil ...

also recorded a version of the song for a BBC radio session, though it remains unreleased. At the

BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards celebrate outstanding achievement during the previous year within the field of folk music, with the aim of raising the profile of folk and acoustic music. The awards have been given annually since 2000 by British ra ...

in 2012, The Unthanks performed the song, with accompaniment from the Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band. It appears on the 2012 album ''

The Unthanks with Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band ''The Unthanks with Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band'', the sixth album by English folk group the Unthanks, was released on 30 July 2012. Its extended title is: ''Diversions, Vol. 2: The Unthanks with Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band''. Rec ...

''. Sudbury's song was also published as a 32-page children's book (2010), with illustrations by Hans Saefkow. Anthony Atkin and Allison Glossop wrote a radio drama, ''The King of Rome'' (2013), to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the bird's win. The production starred Wayne Russell as Charlie Hudson, and a recording is available online.

Tributes

On 29 October 2022 a plaque was unveiled inside the Maypole Inn, Brook Street, Derby, in tribute to Charles Hudson, The King of Rome and Dave Sudbury, after a campaign initiated by historian and former teacher Kalwinder Singh Dhindsa.

References

External links

Natural History treasure – The King of Rome

The King of Rome

Interview: Dave Sudbury – "The King of Rome"
Folk Radio

Media

* * *, broadcast live at 2012 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards
Anthony Atkin and Allison Glossop – The King of Rome
– Radio Drama {{DEFAULTSORT:King Of Rome Collections of Derby Museum and Art Gallery Pigeon racing English folk songs Individual domesticated pigeons 1913 in Europe Individual animals in sport Individual animals in England