Fairy Fay and the pub in Mitre Square

[Suzi]

And of course the mention in Gilbert and Sullivan's 'Iolanthe' 1882. The Fairy Queen sang directly to one Captain Shaw,the chief of the fire brigade, a well known ladies man, sitting in the middle of the front row on opening night, 'Oh Fairy Fay think you because...' much to the amusement of the audience and no doubt to the mortification of Capt. Shaw!
As a by the by Captain Sir Eyre Massey Shaw established a new rank system and uniform on his appointment and did much to improve the service. He was well known throughout society and was good friends with the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), who enjoyed being taken out to the scene of large fires (Interestingly).

[Monty]

Shelley,

Mr Stewart Evans is the man to ask. He has mentioned the very same song to me....I even got a rendition, though he will deny it.

Monty

Can anyone check if this might be the foundations of the name ' Fairy Fay ' ' May be taken from a verse of a popular song called Polly Wolly Doodle ' that starts: ' Fare thee well my fairy fay '........

[Monty]

TrapDoorSpider,

There was no pub in the square at the time of the murders, however there was a pub in St James Place. And there could be the confusion.

That said, I feel it was a case of misreporting and conjecture taken from the streets.

Monty

[TrapDoorSpider]

Most of the old newspaper accounts of Fairy Fay mention that she was "taking a short cut home after visiting a pub in Mitre Square." And yet the detailed diagrams of the buildings surrounding Mitre Square, drawn by the police after the murder of Catherine Eddows, don't show any public house in Mitre Square.

What do you make of this? We know (or at least suspect) that the newspapers made up the whole story of Fairy Fay. Did they make up the pub, too?