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Nathaniel Bentley (-1809), commonly known as Dirty Dick, was an 18th and 19th-century merchant who owned a hardware shop and warehouse in London. He was possibly an inspiration for 
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Nathaniel Bentley (-1809), commonly known as Dirty Dick, was an 18th and 19th-century merchant who owned a hardware shop and warehouse in London. He was possibly an inspiration for Miss Havisham
Miss Havisham is a character in the Charles Dickens novel '' Great Expectations'' (1861). She is a wealthy spinster, once jilted at the altar, who insists on wearing her wedding dress for the rest of her life. She lives in a ruined mansion wit ...
in Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
' '' Great Expectations'', after he refused to wash following the death of his fiancée on their wedding day.
A pub
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
he owned in Bishopsgate Without, in the City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
, was later named for him.
History
Bentley had been quite adandy
A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance. A dandy could be a self-made man who strove to imitate an aristocratic lifestyle desp ...
in his youth, earning the nickname ''the Beau of Leadenhall Street'', but following the death of his fiancée on their wedding day he refused to wash or clean and for the rest of his life lived in squalor. His house and warehouse shop became so filthy that he became a celebrity of dirt
Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty.
Common types of dirt include:
* Debris: scattered pieces of waste or remains
* Dust: a genera ...
. Any letter addressed to "The dirty Warehouse, London" was delivered to him. He stopped trading in 1804. He died at Haddington about 1809, and was buried in Aubourn parish church. The warehouse was later demolished.
Pub
Apub
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
on the east side of the road Bishopsgate, in the Bishopsgate Without area, which Bentley had once owned, changed its name from The Old Jerusalem to Dirty Dick's, and recreated the look of Bentley's warehouse shop.
The contents, including cobwebs and dead cats from the original warehouse, were originally a part of the cellar bar, but have now been tidied to a glass display case. Successive owners of the Bishopsgate distillery and its tap capitalized on the legend. By the end of the nineteenth century, its owner, a public house company called William Barker's (D.D.) Ltd., was producing commemorative booklets and promotional material to advertise the pub. The pub had to undergo a degree of deep cleansing in the 1980s in order to comply with health and safety legislation.
The pub is now owned by Young's
Young's (Young & Co.'s Brewery Plc) is a British pub chain operating nearly 220 pubs.
The company was founded as a brewery in 1831 by Charles Young and Anthony Bainbridge when they purchased the Ram Brewery in Wandsworth. The company closed t ...
.''Forever Young's'', Helen Osborn, Young & Co's Brewery, 2004,
See also
* Amou Haji – an Iranian hermit who avoided soap and water for over 65 yearsReferences
External links
* {{coord, 51.5180, -0.0796, type:landmark_region:GB-LND, display=title 1735 births 1809 deaths 18th-century English businesspeople 19th-century English businesspeople Merchants from London Pubs in the City of London