The Parson & the Songmen

The Reverend Sabine Baring Gould was an exceptional parson and squire from Devonshire, England.
He is probably best remembered as the composer of the hymn 'Onward Christian Soldiers'.
Born in Exeter in 1834, he died at his estate, Lewtrenchard Manor in West Devon, in 1924.
As 2024 is the centenary of his death it gives me the opportunity to spotlight what he considered to be the most important achievement of his life, that of collecting the old folk songs of Devonshire, and later Cornwall, as he termed it, 'from the mouths of the people'.
Join me as I tell stories about, and sing songs from, this far from ordinary Victorian country parson as he travelled by pony and trap across his native Devonshire seeking out songs that now form a major part of the English folk song tradition.

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The Parson & the Songmen

S4 1 I Can't Stop!

January 28, 2026 • Mike Bosworth • Season 4 • Episode 1

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Welcome to this first episode in the fourth series of The Parson and the Songmen!

We kick the series off in fine style by meeting Cornwall-based singer/songwriter Chris Hytch and hearing some of the songs from his band Annown's CD 'A Half A Face'.

Chris has a passion for Cornish folklore and history and has the uncanny knack of being able to take an old, old story, give it some extra twists and turns, maybe add a bit of humour, and end up with a fresh-sounding, clever, modern song.

In fact, such is Chris's appetite to seek out new folklore or history and turn them into fresh songs that he will openly admit... "I can't stop!"

Intrigued? Well listen on.

https://www.facebook.com/chris.hytch/?locale=en_GB

https://www.annown.co.uk/

https://annown.bandcamp.com/

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Mike's website: mikebosworth.uk

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Sabine Baring-Gould Centenary Celebration Group: https://www.sbgcentenary.co.uk/

Simon Mayor: mandolin.co.uk