Mention must be made of Robert Nixon, the great Cheshire prophet, whose
fame not only rivalled that of Mother Shipton, but may be said (seeing
that he is mentioned in _Pickwick_) to have lasted longer. The earliest
history is Oldmixon’s, published in 1714, which says that “in the reign
of James I. there lived a fool whose name was Nixon,” and that Thomas
Cholmondley of Vale Royal (d. 1652) “took him into his house, where he
lived when he composed this prophecy.” But other writers place him at
a much earlier period. His prophecies really fall into the two periods
of civil war, viz. the Wars of the Roses, and the Great Rebellion. If,
therefore, Nixon was a real personage, it is obvious that if he lived
in the reign of James I. he cannot have uttered some of the prophecies
attributed to him. The discovery of an “Irish Analogue of Nixon’s
Prophecy” (_Notes and Queries_, October 21, 1865) throws great doubt on
the whole matter. The subject still requires much investigation.