Ruth Herbert Lewis (29 November 1871 – 26 August 1946, née Caine) was an English

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emp ...

activist of Manx descent and collector of Welsh folk songs. She published collections of Welsh folk songs, and was a key member of the Welsh Folk-Song Society in the first half of the 20th century.

Early life and education

Ruth Caine was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, the daughter of William Sproston Caine and Alice Brown Caine. Her father was a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members ofte ...

. She attended

Newnham College Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicent ...

, Cambridge, but as Cambridge did not award degrees to women at the time, she was given a master's degree by the

University of Dublin The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dubl ...

.Evan David Jones
"Lady Ruth Herbert Lewis"
in ''Dictionary of Welsh Biography'' (National Library of Wales 2009).

Folk music

After she married a Welsh politician, she moved to Wales, learned to speak Welsh, and committed herself to learning

Welsh culture The culture of Wales ( Welsh: ''Diwylliant Cymru'') is distinct, with its own language, customs, politics, festivals, music and Art. Wales is primarily represented by the symbol of the red Welsh Dragon, but other national emblems include the lee ...

. In 1906, she was one of the charter members of the Welsh Folk-Song Society (Cymdeithas Alawon Gwerin), and in 1930 she was elected to a term as president of the society. She and other Society members collected

wax cylinder Waxes are a diverse class of organic compounds that are lipophilic, malleable solids near ambient temperatures. They include higher alkanes and lipids, typically with melting points above about 40 °C (104 °F), melting to give low ...

recordings of Welsh-language traditional songs, and published a journal of their findings.E. Wyn James
"An 'English' Lady Among Welsh Folk: Ruth Herbert Lewis and the Welsh Folk-Song Society"
in Ian Russell and David Atkinson, eds., ''Folk Song: Tradition, Revival, and Re-Creation'' (University of Aberdeen 2004): 266-283. Books authored by Ruth Herbert Lewis include ''Folk-Songs Collected in Flintshire and the Vale of Clwyd'' (1914) and ''Second Collection of Welsh Folk-Songs Collected by Lady Herbert Lewis'' (1934).

Social reform

Lady Ruth Lewis was active in the North Wales Women's Temperance Union. She also ran an all-night canteen for soldiers in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bucki ...

during World War I. Lady Ruth Lewis received an

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

for her work during the war.

Personal life and legacy

Ruth Caine married John Herbert Lewis in 1897. They lived in

Caerwys Caerwys is a town in Flintshire, Wales. It is just under two miles from the A55 North Wales Expressway and one mile from the A541 Mold-Denbigh road. At the 2001 Census, the population of Caerwys community was 1,315, with a total ward populati ...

and in London, and had two children together, Kitty and Mostyn. Ruth was widowed in 1933, and died in 1946, age 75. Her wax cylinder recordings survive in the archives at the St. Fagan's National History Museum in Cardiff,

National Museum Wales National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

, and at the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

. Other materials relating to Lady Herbert Lewis are at

Bangor University , former_names = University College of North Wales (1884–1996) University of Wales, Bangor (1996–2007) , image = File:Arms_of_Bangor_University.svg , image_size = 250px , caption = Arms ...

, the National Library of Wales and Flintshire Record Office. Both of her children, Kitty Lewis (Mrs. Idwal Jones) and Dr. Herbert Mostyn Lewis, would carry on her work and serve terms as president of the Welsh Folk-Song Society. The

National Eisteddfod The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competitor ...

has an annual "Lady Herbert Lewis Memorial Competition" for adult solo folk singers.Lady Herbert Lewis Memorial Competition
for those aged 21 and over, National Eisteddfod.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Ruth Herbert 1871 births 1946 deaths 19th-century English people 19th-century English women 20th-century English writers 20th-century English women writers 20th-century Welsh writers 20th-century Welsh women writers Writers from Liverpool English people of Manx descent English temperance activists English folk-song collectors Welsh folk-song collectors English activists English women activists Welsh activists Welsh women activists People from Caerwys Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge Women folklorists Officers of the Order of the British Empire Steamboat ladies