Information
Having trained as a painter, Joseph Ebsworth was later ordained, becoming vicar of Molash, near Ashford, where he died and is buried. The few demands of the small parish allowed him plenty of time for the literary researches which he enjoyed. He made a major contribution to the history of English ballad literature through his transcriptions, annotation and collections of ballads. He eventually became editor for the Ballad Society. He composed verses himself, often with a Kentish theme.This example, taken from ‘Laying the Stour’ (1881), shows that his enthusiasm for his native county was sadly not equalled by his poetic prowess.
Quotations
American Rivers may beat ours to shivers,
Missouri and fam’d Mississip’;
Or Canadian St. Lawrence, that with its big torren’s
From Horse-shoe Falls downward doth slip;
The Rhine and the Dnieper may be somewhat deeper,
And to Danube our streams would look poor:
But, although not demented, a man who is ‘Kented’
Prefers very much his own Stour!
…
You may not think it great, but pray see it ‘in spate’,
When at Tunbridge it floods ev’ry field;
And to Pegwell pours down, close besides Ramsgate town,
After swamping poor farms in the Weald.
If you’re not fond of damp, and shun agues or cramp,
Shout with me, ‘Vive la Joie, et l’Amour!’
We would rather, with thanks, see it keep within banks,
When we float in canoe down the Stour!!!
Place | Extract |
| Stour (River) | He composed verses himself, often with a Kentish theme... |
