100 years ago, on 2nd January 1924 the Revd Sabine Baring-Gould, the Squareson of Lewtrenchard died after a career that would have been difficult for four people to perform. He was a polymath who wrote over 1000 books plus articles in magazines and periodicals. His interests seem unbounded.
Sabine was born in Exeter in 1834 as the first born of the squire of Lewtrenchard in West Devon. The Baring-Goulds were descended from an old Devon family of Gould that married a Baring from the Exeter banking family. His father, Edward, who had been invalided out of the Indian military took his family for long trips abroad and Sabine spoke many languages fluently. From this mostly self-educated start he was admitted to Cambridge University and received a BA in 1860 from Clare College. As a teenager he had decided to devote his life to St Peter’s Church, Lewtrenchard, the family estate at Lewtrenchard and its parishioners. So, he took up a religious calling against the instructions of his father who had wanted him to train as an engineer. This resulted in Sabine being temporarily dis-inherited as he started in a career as a teacher at Hurstpierpoint College, Sussex, a religious school newly founded by Canon Nathaniel Woodard. At this time Sabine progressed to writing for the school magazine and “travel books” on Iceland with translations of Icelandic Sagas. From here he gained a curacy at the expanding industrial town of Horbury near Wakefield where he met and married a mill girl from his Sunday school. The young lady required special coaching to ensure that she fitted with his status and this was possibly the core of the idea of Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. Sabine and his wife, Grace, had a large family of 15 children with only one not reaching adulthood.
He then moved with his wife to Dalton in North Yorkshire followed by a longer period with his growing family at Mersea in Essex. His most acclaimed novel, Mehala was written about this Essex area. During his life he wrote on a vast range of subjects, such as archaeology on his many studies and excavations in local areas like Dartmoor. He also wrote about the saints both local and far flung, religious papers, carols and hymns the best known of which are Onward Christian Soldiers and Now the Day is Over. He wrote about legends like werewolves, fairy tales, travel books on countries across Europe and the UK, and innumerable novels based locally and far flung. One of his most popular local books is Red Spider, which is based around Bratton Clovelly and Broadbury. However, he is perhaps best known for being one of the first collectors and publishers of local folk songs such as Widecombe Fair (one version he recorded was Sticklepath Fair and the gravestone of Tom Cobleigh is to be found in the Quaker cemetery behind The Finch Foundry), The Devon Bell-Ringing song (based around North Lew and Broadwood) and A Cottage well Thatched with Straw (collected at the pub in Lewdown). All the songs were recorded by him with dates, names of singers and tunes. Some may have origins centuries earlier and some were racy pub songs. On publishing these folk songs many were edited, so they were acceptable to society. The fair copies still exist in local libraries and are available for posterity.
For the last 40 years of his life, he was the local vicar and squire of Lewtrenchard. As such St Peter’s church of Lewtrenchard, the manor house, which is now a prestigious hotel and the village of Lewdown bear his mark. The house was remodelled on an Elizabethan manor. The church made more ornate with a large screen, pulpit and many new or renovated benches and bench ends. Even the local pub was named after his family’s coat of arms (The Blue Lion). He is buried next to his parishioners at Lewtrenchard church graveyard next to Grace with her epitaph reading “Dimidium Animae Meae” (half my soul).
Graham Yeo
A committee of local groups is helping to coordinate many of the events being planned for the Sabine Baring Gould centenary year, starting with a visit to St Peter’s Lewtrenchard by the former Bishop of Exeter, the Revd Michael Langrish, on 2 January, and a number of church events through the year, with many visiting choirs and preachers, such as from Horbury. Tavistock Subscription Library and other organisations are planning events from 15 to 20 April in Tavistock, including a themed play & dinner by The Edge, various talks, a photographic exhibition based on the Margery of Quether story and Baring-Gould Day on Saturday 20 April. Other events include Lewdown Past History group’s talk by Helen Wilson about the Pinwill Sisters, who helped create much of the interior woodwork of the church at Lewtrenchard; a blue plaque and time capsule in the grounds of the manor house at Lewtrenchard; Lewtrenchard WI’s late Summer Flower Festival, and events by Lewdown theatre group Red Spider Company. In October 2024, several events are being planned around Devon such as Wren Music’s involvement with Lewtrenchard Primary School, Devon bellringing events, and informative talks around the South West. Lewtrenchard Church will end the full year of dedications with a choral singing event on Saturday 19 October 2024 at St Eustachius’ Church, Tavistock.
For an up-to-date view of the year’s events please visit sbgcentenary.co.uk