Baring-Gould, Sabine (1834-1924)

English writer and cleric. His work includes novels and books of travel, mythology, and folklore; he also wrote the words of the hymn ‘Onward, Christian Soldiers’.

He was born in Exeter, educated at Cambridge, and became rector of East Mersea in Essex in 1871 before becoming rector of Lew Trenchard in north Devon 1881. He was a prolific writer, and from 1854 onwards his books include The Book of Were-Wolves (1865), Curious Myths of the Middle Ages (1866), The Gaverocks (1887), The Pennycomequicks (1889), Strange Survivals (1892), Family Names and their Story (1910), and Cliff Castles and Cave Dwellings of Europe (1911). His novels include Mehalah (1880), John Herring (1883), Court Royal (1886), and Nebo the Nailer (1902).

His theological works include The Lives of the Saints (1872-89; 17 volumes). From 1871 to 1873 he edited The Sacristy, a quarterly devoted to the art and literature of the church. In 1875 his life of Robert Stephen Hawker, The Vicar of Morwenstow, was published and much criticized.