Eliza Gutch (née Hutchinson) (1840-1931) was an English author, contributor to ''

Notes and Queries ''Notes and Queries'', also styled ''Notes & Queries'', is a long-running quarterly scholarly journal that publishes short articles related to " English language and literature, lexicography, history, and scholarly antiquarianism".From the inner ...

'',Jacqueline Simpson (Editor), Steve Roud (Editor) (2003). ''A Dictionary of English Folklore''.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

and founding member of the

Folklore Society The Folklore Society (FLS) is a national association in the United Kingdom for the study of folklore. It was founded in London in 1878 to study traditional vernacular culture, including traditional music, song, dance and drama, narrative, arts an ...

. She made immense contributions to the establishment of folklore and dialect studies.

Personal life

Gutch was born on 15 July 1840, at Manthorpe Lodge in Little Gonerby-cum-Manthorpe, Lincolnshire, as Eliza Hutchinson. Her father, Simon Hutchinson, was a land agent in

Little Gonerby Manthorpe is a village in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is on the northern edge of the town of Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated ...

. On 22 January 1868, she married York solicitor John James Gutch. They had four children: Bertha (b. 1869), John (b. 1870), Wilfrid (b. 1871), and Clement (1875-1908). She was widowed in 1881.

Career

Gutch had an abiding interest in the history and folklore of the region of England in which she lived. She was a founder member of the

English Dialect Society The English Dialect Society was the first dialect society founded in England. It was founded in 1873 but wound up after the publication of Joseph Wright's '' English Dialect Dictionary'' had begun. History Such a society was first proposed by A ...

in 1873, and a prolific contributor to the journal ''

'' under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

"St Swithin", a reference to her date of birth. It was from her suggestion in a February 1876 issue of ''

'' that the

was formed in 1878, with Gutch as a founder member. Her knowledge of folklore was utilised by Joseph Wright in his ''

English Dialect Dictionary English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

'', to which she contributed her findings on the folklore of both Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. Gutch herself collected the materials for, and edited three volumes of, the ''County Folklore'' series, and wrote a number of shorter articles on folklore. Eliza Gutch was the last private owner of

Holgate Windmill Holgate Windmill is a tower mill at Holgate in York, North Yorkshire, England which has been restored to working order. History Holgate tower windmill was built in 1770 of brickstones by its first owner and miller George Waud. He, his son and ...

, and her children sold the Mill on her death to the City of York Council for preservation as a historic site. She died at Holgate Lodge on 17 March 1931.

Works

* Gutch, E; Folklore Society (1901). ''County folk-lore, vol. 2. Printed extracts, no. 4: examples of printed folk-lore concerning the North Riding of Yorkshire, York and the Ainsty''. London. OCLC 1128324081. * Gutch, E; Peacock, M. G. W; Folklore Society (1908) ''County folk-lore. v.5 Examples of printed folk-lore concerning Lincolnshire.'' London: Nutt. OCLC 1110253433. * Gutch, E; Folklore Society (1912). ''County folk-lore, vol. 6. Printed extracts no. 8: examples of printed folk-lore concerning the East Riding of Yorkshire''. London: David Nutt. OCLC 931356221.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gutch, Eliza 1840 births 1931 deaths People from South Kesteven District