Edward Capern (21 January 18195 June 1894), was an English

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, best known for '' The Devonshire Melodist'' and ''Wayside Warbles''. He built up a strong reputation that persisted particularly in his native

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

Early years

Capern was born at Tiverton on 21 January 1819. He was baptised at Tiverton Methodist Chapel on 14 February 1819. His father Edward was a baker. From an early age he worked in a lace factory. His failing eyesight forced him to abandon this occupation in 1847 and he was in dire distress until in 1848 he secured appointment with the Post Office on a wage of 10''s''. 6''d'' a week as a letter-carrier. His first route was between Bideford and Appledore, later between Bideford and Westleigh. His job required him to make a return trip between the two towns with a wait for two hours, to allow time for people to reply to letters he had just delivered (there were no post-boxes at that time). He used this time for his writings. Capern became known as "the Rural Postman of

Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, South West England. It is the main town of the Torridge District, Torridge Districts of England, local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bi ...

Poetry

Capern began to write verse for the "Poet's Corner" of the ''North Devon Journal''. His occasional poems soon struck popular fancy and were in great request at county gatherings. In 1856, William Frederick Rock of

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...

procured him a body of subscribers. Collected and published by subscription in 1856, it received warm praise from the reviews and from many distinguished people. ''Poems, by Edward Capern'', was followed by ''Ballads and Songs'' (1858), ''The Devonshire Melodist'' (a collection of the author's songs, some of them to his own music) and ''Wayside Warbles'' (1865), and resulted in a

civil list A civil list is a list of individuals to whom money is paid by the government, typically for service to the state or as honorary pensions. It is a term especially associated with the United Kingdom, and its former colonies and dominions. It was ori ...

pension being granted to him by

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865), known as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman and politician who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1855 to 1858 and from 1859 to 1865. A m ...

. His later work ''Sungleams and Shadows'' was published in 1881. In retirement, in his sixties, Capern and his wife moved to

Harborne Harborne is an affluent area sited south-west of Birmingham, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is a Birmingham City Council ward (politics), ward in the Government of Birmingham, England#Districts, formal district and ...

(near

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

) to live closer to their son. During that period, he accompanied Elihu Burritt on walks round Birmingham and the

Black Country The Black Country is an area of England's West Midlands. It is mainly urban, covering most of the Dudley and Sandwell metropolitan boroughs, with the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall and the City of Wolverhampton. The road between Wolverhampto ...

, which Burritt wrote up as ''Walks in the Black Country''. Capern returned to Devonshire about 1884 and settled at

Braunton Braunton is a large village, civil parishes in England, civil parish, ecclesiastical parish and former Manorialism, manor in Devon. The village is situated west of Barnstaple. It is one of the largest villages in Devon with a population at th ...

, near Barnstaple, in North Devon. Greatly shocked by his wife's death in February 1894, he died on 4 June the same year and was buried in the churchyard at Heanton, near Braunton.

Repute

Capern's local reputation continued after his death.

Victor Canning Victor Canning (16 June 1911 – 21 February 1986) was a prolific British writer of novels and thrillers who flourished in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He was personally reticent, writing no memoirs and giving relatively few newspaper interviews. ...

, a thriller and travel writer, noted that Capern's "is better poetry than one would expect from a postman, and if it has a little breathlessness, then it shows how truly the postman who wrote it has worked his own personality into the lines." He added that Capern was known as the "Devonshire

Burns Burns may refer to: Astronomy * 2708 Burns, an asteroid * Burns (crater), on Mercury People * Burns (surname), list of people and characters named Burns ** Burns (musician), Scottish record producer Places in the United States * Burns, ...

". The Burton at Bideford Museum in Bideford has a permanent exhibition about Capern.Museum site. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
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References

Attribution: * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Capern, Edward 1819 births 1894 deaths English male poets 19th-century English poets 19th-century English male writers Writers from Tiverton, Devon