Cecil Torr (11 October 1857,

Mitcham, London Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It ha ...

– 17 December 1928) was a British antiquarian and author.

Early life

Torr was the son a Solicitor, and was educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

, Cecil Torr matriculated on 7 June 1876 at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, graduating there B.A. 1880 and M.A. 1883. He was admitted in 1879 at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

and was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1882.

Works

Torr inherited the family property of the Wreyland estate in

Lustleigh Lustleigh is a small village and civil parish nestled in the Wrey Valley, inside the Dartmoor National Park in Devon, England. It is between the towns of Bovey Tracey and Moretonhampstead. The village is focused around the parish church of St ...

, Dartmoor and took up a life of a country squire. He also travelled widely including to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

and

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

. The estate included Yonder Wreyland, where he lived, as well as the Hall House, Souther Wreyland, Bow Cottage, Barn House and a number of further buildings and grounds. He was a councillor for the Newton Abbot Rural District Council. He is noted for writing ''Small Talk at Wreyland'' (3 vols., 1918–1923); the first volume was an unexpected commercial success. His 1894 book ''Ancient Ships'' deals with the structure of ships that sailed the Mediterranean in 1000 B.C. – 1000 A.D. In 1905, Torr revived the tradition of Lustleigh May Day in the village, which continues to be held annually, with

maypole A maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European folk festivals, around which a maypole dance often takes place. The festivals may occur on 1 May or Pentecost (Whitsun), although in some countries it is instead erected at ...

dancing, morris dancing, and the attractions of a traditional English fete. He also donated a maypole to the nearby town of Bovey Tracey for their use.

Selected publications

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Torr, Cecil English antiquarians 19th-century English writers 20th-century English writers People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge 1857 births 1928 deaths Members of the Inner Temple Writers from Devon