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Cecil Torr

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Picture of Cecil Torr in Scilly

Cecil Torr (11 October 1857, Mitcham, London – 17 December 1928) was a British antiquarian and author.[1]

Early life

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Torr was the son of a solicitor and was educated at Harrow School.[2] Cecil Torr matriculated on 7 June 1876 at Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating there B.A. 1880 and M.A. 1883. He had a brother who was also educated at Harrow; in Small Talk at Wreykand Torr remarks on his brother's prodigious memory and that he had died 25 years earlier.[3]

He was admitted in 1879 at the Inner Temple and was called to the Bar in 1882.[2]

Works

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Torr inherited the family property of the Wreyland estate in Lustleigh, Dartmoor and took up a life of a country squire.[2] He also travelled widely including to Moscow, Damascus, Granada and Sparta. The estate included Yonder Wreyland, where he lived, as well as the Hall House, Souther Wreyland, Bow Cottage, Barn House and a number of further buildings and grounds.[4]

He was a councillor for the Newton Abbot Rural District Council.[5]

He is noted for writing Small Talk at Wreyland (3 vols., 1918–1923); the first volume was an unexpected commercial success.[6] His 1894 book Ancient Ships deals with the structure of ships that sailed the Mediterranean in 1000 B.C. – 1000 A.D.[7]

In 1905, Torr revived the tradition of Lustleigh May Day in the village, which continues to be held annually, with maypole dancing, morris dancing, and the attractions of a traditional English fete.[8][9] He also donated a maypole to the nearby town of Bovey Tracey for their use.[10]

Selected publications

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  • Rhodes in ancient times. Cambridge University Press. 1885.
  • Ancient Ships. Cambridge University Press. 1894. Archived from the original on 10 December 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  • Interpretation of Greek music. 1896.
  • Memphis and Mycenae: an examination of Egyptian chronology and its application to the early history of Greece. Cambridge University Press. 1896.
  • On portraits of Christ in the British museum. 1898.
  • Small Talk at Wreyland. Vol. I. Cambridge University Press. 1918.[11]
  • Small Talk at Wreyland. Vol. II. Cambridge University Press. 1921.[12]
  • Hannibal crosses the Alps. Cambridge University Press. 1924.

References

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  1. ^ "Torr, Cecil (TR876C)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  2. ^ a b c "Death of Devon Author at Lustleigh". Western Morning News. 21 December 1928. p. 8. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  3. ^ Small Talk at Wreyland; ser. 3, p. 112 (1979)
  4. ^ "Wreyland Estate, Lustleigh, Under the hammer". Western Times. 2 September 1932.
  5. ^ "Lustleigh Roads". Exeter and Plymouth Gazette. 16 October 1925. p. 7.
  6. ^ McKitterick, David, ed. (1992). A History of Cambridge University Press. Vol. 3, New Worlds for Learning, 1873–1972. p. 260.
  7. ^ "Fine Arts". The Athenaeum (3492): 426. 29 September 1894.
  8. ^ "Lustleigh May Day - A History". The Lustleigh Society.
  9. ^ Groom, Nick (2013). The seasons:an elegy for the passing of the year.
  10. ^ "Bovey Tracey". Western Morning News. 22 March 1911.
  11. ^ "Reviews". The Athenaeum. No. 4633. September 1918. pp. 393–394.
  12. ^ "More Small Talk at Wreyland". The Spectator. Vol. 127. 26 November 1921. pp. 707–708.
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