John Coulson Tregarthen
Encyclopedia
John Coulson Tregarthen was a British field naturalist and author, described as "the best loved Cornishman of his time".
Tregarthen was born in Penzance
, Cornwall
, the son of James Tregarthen of St Mary’s, Scilly, and Morrab Road, Penzance, and Susan Bevan, the daughter of John Coulson of Penzance. He was educated at Penzance Grammar School and Wren’s, and graduated with Mathematical Honours from London University in 1878. The following year he was appointed Mathematical Master at Trinity College School, a grammar school
in Stratford-on-Avon. Coulson bought the school within a few years and was its headmaster for six years, from 1885-1900. While resident in the town he was good friends with the writers Marie Corelli
and Madame Sarah Grand
, and in his late forties he sold the school to Marie Corelli and retired to Cornwall. Here the energetic Tregarthen was able to pursue his naturalist interests fully, and began to write about the wildlife he saw around him. Corelli was soon to become his mentor, recommending him to her publisher, John Murray
, and Tregarthen subsequently was to dedicate many of his books to her.
Tregarthen was President of the Midland Cornish Association in 1901, President of the Royal Institution of Cornwall
(1927-29), a Fellow of the Zoological Society, a county councillor and JP
, and was made a bard
of Gorseth Kernow
in 1928, taking the bardic name
Den Ylow, ('Musician').
In 1881 Tregarthen married Rose, the youngest daughter of W. Huntley Bailey of Maida Vale; they had one son. Tregarthen spent his final years at his house, "Rosemorran", which is in Edgecumbe Gardens, Newquay, Cornwall. He was buried at St Columb Minor
, Cornwall.
Tregarthen was born in Penzance
Penzance
Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...
, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, the son of James Tregarthen of St Mary’s, Scilly, and Morrab Road, Penzance, and Susan Bevan, the daughter of John Coulson of Penzance. He was educated at Penzance Grammar School and Wren’s, and graduated with Mathematical Honours from London University in 1878. The following year he was appointed Mathematical Master at Trinity College School, a grammar school
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
in Stratford-on-Avon. Coulson bought the school within a few years and was its headmaster for six years, from 1885-1900. While resident in the town he was good friends with the writers Marie Corelli
Marie Corelli
Marie Corelli was a British novelist. She enjoyed a period of great literary success from the publication of her first novel in 1886 until World War I. Corelli's novels sold more copies than the combined sales of popular contemporaries, including Arthur Conan Doyle, H. G...
and Madame Sarah Grand
Sarah Grand
Sarah Grand was a British feminist writer active from 1873 to 1922. Her work revolved around the New Woman ideal.- Early Life and Influences of Frances Elizabeth Bellenden Clarke:...
, and in his late forties he sold the school to Marie Corelli and retired to Cornwall. Here the energetic Tregarthen was able to pursue his naturalist interests fully, and began to write about the wildlife he saw around him. Corelli was soon to become his mentor, recommending him to her publisher, John Murray
John Murray (publisher)
John Murray is an English publisher, renowned for the authors it has published in its history, including Jane Austen, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Lord Byron, Charles Lyell, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Herman Melville, and Charles Darwin...
, and Tregarthen subsequently was to dedicate many of his books to her.
Tregarthen was President of the Midland Cornish Association in 1901, President of the Royal Institution of Cornwall
Royal Institution of Cornwall
The Royal Institution of Cornwall was founded in Truro, Cornwall, United Kingdom, in 1818 as the Cornwall Literary and Philosophical Institution. The Institution was one of the earliest of seven similar societies established in England and Wales. The RIC moved to its present site in River Street...
(1927-29), a Fellow of the Zoological Society, a county councillor and JP
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
, and was made a bard
Bard
In medieval Gaelic and British culture a bard was a professional poet, employed by a patron, such as a monarch or nobleman, to commemorate the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities.Originally a specific class of poet, contrasting with another class known as fili in Ireland...
of Gorseth Kernow
Gorseth Kernow
Gorseth Kernow is a non-political Cornish organisation, which exists to maintain the national Celtic spirit of Cornwall in the United Kingdom.-History:...
in 1928, taking the bardic name
Bardic name
A bardic name is a pseudonym, used in Wales, Cornwall and Brittany, by poets and other artists, especially those involved in the eisteddfod movement....
Den Ylow, ('Musician').
In 1881 Tregarthen married Rose, the youngest daughter of W. Huntley Bailey of Maida Vale; they had one son. Tregarthen spent his final years at his house, "Rosemorran", which is in Edgecumbe Gardens, Newquay, Cornwall. He was buried at St Columb Minor
St Columb Minor
St Columb Minor is a village on the north coast of Cornwall, UK. St. Columb alone by default refers to the nearby St. Columb Major.At one time St Columb Minor used to be the main settlement in the area, but it has now been encroached upon by its larger neighbour Newquay. The National School in the...
, Cornwall.
Works
- Wild Life at the Land’s End (1904) London: John Murray
- The Life Story of a Fox (1906). London: A & C Black.
One of Black's "Animal Autobiographies" series: this book differs from Tregarthen's other wild life books in that it is not set in the area of The Land's End, and in that it is aimed at the younger reader. - The Life Story of an Otter (1909). ISBN 1-904880-06-1
First published in 1909, this book pre-dated the Henry WilliamsonHenry WilliamsonHenry William Williamson was an English naturalist, farmer and prolific author known for his natural and social history novels. He won the Hawthornden Prize for literature in 1928 with his book Tarka the Otter....
novel, Tarka the OtterTarka the OtterTarka the Otter: His Joyful Water-Life and Death in the Country of the Two Rivers is a novel by Henry Williamson. The book narrates the experience of an otter. It was first published in 1927 by G.P. Putnam's Sons, with an introduction by the Hon. Sir John Fortescue, K.C.V.O..-Plot summary:The plot...
by nearly twenty years: this natural history classic was republished in 2005. - Cornwall and Its Wild Life (a pamphlet) (1911)
- The Story of a Hare (1912) London: John Murray.
Tregarthen dedicated this book to Marie Corelli who had encouraged him to take up writing when he retired as a schoolmaster. - John Penrose: a Romance of the Land’s End (1923). ISBN 1-904880-02-9
- The Life Story of a Badger (1925). London: John Murray
- The Smuggler's Daughter: a Romance of Mount's Bay (1933)