Ruth, Lady Herbert Lewis,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

( Caine; 29 November 1871 – 26 August 1946) was an English

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting Temperance (virtue), temperance or total abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and ...

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 port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

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

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

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

.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 encompasses the Welsh language, customs, Traditional festival days of Wales, festivals, Music of Wales, music, Welsh art, art, Welsh cuisine, cuisine, Welsh mythology, mythology, History of Wales, history, and Politics of ...

. 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 Phonograph cylinders (also referred to as Edison cylinders after its creator Thomas Edison) are the earliest commercial medium for recording and reproducing sound. Commonly known simply as "records" in their heyday (c. 1896–1916), a name which ...

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

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

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. She received an

for her work during the war.

Personal life and legacy

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

Caerwys Caerwys is a town and community 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 tota ...

and in London, and had two children together, Kitty and Mostyn. Ruth was widowed in 1933, and died in 1946, age 74. 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, ce ...

, and at the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

. Other materials relating to Lady Herbert Lewis are at

Bangor University Bangor University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. It was established by Royal charter, Royal Charter in 1885 as the University College of North Wales (UCNW; ), and in 1893 ...

, the National Library of Wales and Flintshire Record Office. Both of her children, Kitty Lewis (Mrs. Idwal Jones) and Dr. Herbert Mostyn Lewis, carried on her work and served 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. Competito ...

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:Herbert Lewis, Ruth 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 English activists English women activists Welsh folk-song collectors Welsh activists Welsh women activists People from Caerwys Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge British women folklorists Officers of the Order of the British Empire Steamboat ladies Wives of knights