John Coulson Tregarthen (9 September 1854 – 17 February 1933) was a British field naturalist and author, described as "the best loved Cornishman of his time". Tregarthen was born in

Penzance Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated ...

, Cornwall, the son of James Tregarthen of St Mary's, Scilly, and Morrab Road, Penzance, and Susan Bevan, the daughter of John Coulson of Penzance. He was educated at Penzance Grammar School and Wren's, and graduated with Mathematical Honours from London University in 1878. The following year he was appointed Mathematical Master at Trinity College School, a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary sch ...

in Stratford-on-Avon. Coulson bought the school within a few years and was its headmaster for six years, from 1885–1900. While resident in the town he was good friends with the writers

Marie Corelli Mary Mackay (1 May 185521 April 1924), also called Minnie Mackey, and known by her pseudonym Marie Corelli (, also , ), was an English novelist. From the appearance of her first novel '' A Romance of Two Worlds'' in 1886, she became the bestse ...

and Madame

Sarah Grand Sarah Grand (10 June 1854 – 12 May 1943) was an English feminist writer active from 1873 to 1922. Her work revolved around the New Woman ideal. Early life and influences Sarah Grand was born Frances Elizabeth Bellenden Clarke in Roseba ...

, and in his late forties he sold the school to Marie Corelli and retired to Cornwall. Here the energetic Tregarthen was able to pursue his naturalist interests fully, and began to write about the wildlife he saw around him. Corelli was soon to become his mentor, recommending him to her publisher, John Murray, and Tregarthen subsequently was to dedicate many of his books to her.Introduction by

Bert Biscoe Bert Biscoe is a Cornish politician, historian and bard of the Cornish Gorseth also known by the bardic name Viajor Gans Geryow. He represented Cornwall Council's Truro Boscawen District as an independent Cornwall Councillor until May 2019 an ...

in the 2004 Cornwall Editions Ltd reprint of ''John Penrose'' Tregarthen was President of the Midland Cornish Association in 1901, President of the

Royal Institution of Cornwall The Royal Institution of Cornwall (RIC) is a Learned society in Truro, Cornwall, United Kingdom. It was founded in Truro on 5 February 1818 as the Cornwall Literary and Philosophical Institution. The Institution was one of the earliest of seven ...

(1927–29), a Fellow of the Zoological Society, a county councillor and JP, and was made a

bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise ...

Gorseth Kernow Gorsedh Kernow (Cornish Gorsedd) is a non-political Cornish organisation, based in Cornwall, United Kingdom, which exists to maintain the national Celtic spirit of Cornwall. It is based on the Welsh-based Gorsedd, which was founded by Iolo Morg ...

in 1928, taking the

bardic name A bardic name (, ) is a pseudonym used in Wales, Cornwall, or Brittany by poets and other artists, especially those involved in the eisteddfod movement. The Welsh term bardd ("poet") originally referred to the Welsh poets of the Middle Ages, who ...

''Mylgarer'', ('Lover of Wild Animals'). In 1881 Tregarthen married Rose, the youngest daughter of W. Huntley Bailey of Maida Vale; they had one son. Tregarthen spent his final years at his house, "Rosemorran", which is in Edgecumbe Gardens, Newquay, Cornwall. He was buried at

St Columb Minor St Columb Minor ( kw, Sen Kolumm Vyghan) (Latin: ''Columba Minor Sancta'') is a village on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. ''St. Columb'' alone by default refers to the nearby St. Columb Major.The village of St Columb Mino ...

, Cornwall.

Works

*''Wild Life at the Land’s End'' (1904) London: John Murray *''The Life Story of a Fox'' (1906). London: A & C Black.
One of Black's "Animal Autobiographies" series: this book differs from Tregarthen's other wild life books in that it is not set in the area of The Land's End, and in that it is aimed at the younger reader. * '' The Life Story of an Otter'' (1909). (in

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). First published in 1909, this book pre-dated the Henry Williamson novel, '' Tarka the Otter'' by nearly twenty years. This natural history classic was republished in 2005 (). *''Cornwall and Its Wild Life'' (a pamphlet) (1911) *''The Story of a Hare'' (1912) London: John Murray.
Tregarthen dedicated this book to Marie Corelli who had encouraged him to take up writing when he retired as a schoolmaster. *''John Penrose: a Romance of the Land’s End'' (1923). *''The Life Story of a Badger'' (1925). London: John Murray *''The Smuggler's Daughter: a Romance of Mount's Bay'' (1933)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tregarthen, John Coulson 1854 births 1933 deaths Alumni of the University of London Bards of Gorsedh Kernow Burials in Cornwall Councillors in Cornwall Fellows of the Zoological Society of London People from Penzance