Historical voicesOn the Valice list
1834–1924
Parson, antiquarian, novelist and folk-song collector; author of "Onward, Christian Soldiers".
On the Valice list. One title published by Valice Press carries Sabine Baring-Gould’s work; it is below.
Biography
English clergyman, antiquarian, novelist and collector of folk-song (1834–1924). Squire and parson of the same Devon parish, Lew Trenchard, which he had inherited and then presented himself to; author of the words of “Onward, Christian Soldiers”, of a very long series on the lives of the saints, and of well over a hundred other books. He had been to Iceland and could read Old Norse, which is why the middle chapters of The Book of Were-Wolves are so much better than the end. He went about Devon with a notebook collecting folk-songs from farm labourers before anyone else in England was doing it systematically.
Works
Timeline
1857
Took his B.A. at Clare College, Cambridge (M.A. 1860).
1864
Ordained, and became curate at Horbury Bridge in Yorkshire.
1868
Married Grace Taylor, a mill-hand's daughter he had met as a curate; they had fifteen children.
1871
Became rector of East Mersea in Essex.
1872
Inherited the Lew Trenchard estate in Devon on his father's death; he later became its squire and rector.
1889
Began publishing Songs and Ballads of the West, the fruit of years of collecting folk songs from farm labourers in Devon and Cornwall.
1924
Died at Lew Trenchard and was buried beside his wife.
Why they are here
A working parson who wrote on folklore, saints, travel, hymns and fiction, he collected the songs and stories of the Devon countryside at a time when few others were doing it systematically. The Book of Were-Wolves was one of his first books.
Cecil Sharp dedicated English Folk Song: Some Conclusions (1907) to him. His hymn "Onward, Christian Soldiers" is still sung, and Lew Trenchard Manor, which he rebuilt, is now a hotel.
On the Valice list
Nearby on the shelf
These are Valice Press titles from the same part of the library. They are not by Sabine Baring-Gould, and they are not a recommendation on Sabine Baring-Gould’s behalf — only the same shelf.
A World Bestiary: 112 Legendary Creatures from 40 Traditions — Beasts, Spirits, and Guardians of World Folklore
Emre Doğan
Thirty Creation Myths from Every Corner of the Earth, Told Whole
Emre Doğan
Eighteen Trickster Tales from Eleven Traditions, and What Each One Cost
Emre Doğan
Volume One: The Vedic Gods — 5 Chapters Complete in the 1913 Text, Annotated, with a Register Grading the Author's Comparisons and a Who's-Who of 32 Figures with Verified Chapter References
Emre Doğan
Related authors
Sources
Everything on this page about Sabine Baring-Gould is written from these sources, not from memory. Their dates and key claims were checked against the sources on 8 October 2026.The life dates are compared across Wikidata and the Library of Congress’s authority records.
