Died 26 August 1946 | Parents William Sproston Caine | |
Ruth Herbert Lewis (29 November 1871 – 26 August 1946) was an English social reformer and collector of Welsh folk songs.
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Early life and education
Ruth Caine was born in Liverpool, the William Sproston Caine and Alice Brown Caine. Her father was a Member of Parliament. She attended Newnham College, Cambridge, and held a master's degree from the University of Dublin.
Folk music
After she married a Welsh politician, she moved to Wales, learned to speak Welsh, and committed herself to learning Welsh culture. 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 recordings of Welsh-language traditional songs, and published a journal of their findings. 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
Lady Ruth Lewis was active in the North Wales Women's Temperance Union. She also ran an all-night canteen for soldiers in Westminster during World War I. Lady Ruth Lewis received an OBE for her work during the war.
Personal life and legacy
Ruth Caine married John Herbert Lewis in 1897. They lived in Caerwys and in London, and had two children together, Kitty and Mostyn. Ruth was widowed in 1933, and died in 1946, age 75.
Her wax cylinder recordings survive in the archives at the St. Fagan's National History Museum in Cardiff, National Museum Wales, and at the British Library. Other materials of Lady Herbert Lewis's are at the University of Wales in Bangor.
Both of her children, Kitty Lewis (Mrs. Idwal Jones) and Dr. Herbert Mostyn Lewis, would carry on her work and serve terms as president of the Welsh Folk-Song Society. The National Eisteddfod has an annual "Lady Herbert Lewis Memorial Competition" for adult solo folk singers.