Charles Marson facts for kids

Charles Latimer Marson (born May 16, 1859 – died March 3, 1914) was an important person in England during the late 1800s and early 1900s. He was a key leader in a movement called Christian socialism. This idea combined Christian beliefs with socialist ideas, aiming to help poor people and make society fairer.

Later in his life, between 1903 and 1906, Charles Marson worked with his good friend Cecil Sharp. Together, they collected and published many old English folk songs from Somerset. Their work, called Folk Songs from Somerset, was a big part of the first British folk revival, which helped bring traditional music back to life.

Early Life and Learning

Charles Marson grew up in a place called Clevedon in Somerset. His father was a vicar, which is a type of priest, at St Andrew's Church. Charles went to Clifton College and then to University College, Oxford.

At first, he was raised in a very strict religious way. But he later found a new purpose when he worked as a volunteer in a poor area of London called Whitechapel. He worked with a kind priest named Rev Samuel Barnett from 1881 to 1884.

Seeing the extreme poverty in East London deeply affected Marson. He saw crowded homes, unfair low-wage jobs, and not enough help for the poor. This experience led him to become a Christian socialist. He was inspired by the community projects in the area, like adult classes and youth clubs. Barnett was also starting a new idea called the University Settlement, where students would live and work with poor people. The first one, Toynbee Hall, opened in 1884.

Writing and Newspapers

While in Whitechapel, Marson started writing articles for a newspaper called the Pall Mall Gazette. He was a talented writer with a sharp sense of humor. This helped him get steady work writing for different publications throughout his life, which added to his small church salary.

In September 1884, Marson became the editor of a monthly newspaper called Christian Socialist. This paper helped connect different socialist groups. It shared political news, announced public meetings, and reviewed books. The newspaper became much more popular under Marson's leadership. He continued as editor until December 1886.

During this time, Marson became close friends with Edith Nesbit, a famous children's author. She sent some of her early poems to his newspaper. Marson even practiced his own children's stories with Nesbit's children. He also worked with her on one of her short stories. In 1891, he published his own original children's stories in Australia.

Through Edith Nesbit, Marson joined the Fabian Society in November 1885. This was a group that wanted to bring about social change slowly and peacefully. He remained a member until 1913.

Christian Socialist Groups

In the early 1880s, Marson met another radical priest named Rev Stewart Headlam. Marson quickly joined a group Headlam had started in 1877 called the Guild of St Matthew. Many people see this Guild as one of the very first socialist groups.

The Guild believed the church should do more to help with social problems. They also promoted Anglo-Catholic traditions, like using special clothes and stained glass in church, to connect with poor people. From 1884, their newspaper, The Church Reformer, suggested a special tax on land to help fight poverty and improve city slums. Marson was part of the Guild's leadership and supported their work until the group ended in 1909.

In late 1885, Marson helped start another group called the Christian Socialist Society. This group wanted to include more types of clergy and regular people. It had some early success, but it struggled when Marson left for Australia in 1889 and eventually closed in 1892.

When the Christian Social Union began in 1889, Marson preached sermons and wrote articles for their publication. However, he felt this group, despite having many members, was not radical enough.

He preferred to support the Christian Socialist League, which started in 1894. This group also aimed to bring different Christian faiths together for socialist goals. Marson was on its executive committee until it ended in 1898.

The last group Marson joined was the Church Socialist League (1909–1923). He knew several of its leaders well. These Christian socialist groups existed alongside other non-religious socialist groups of the time.

It's debated how much these Christian socialist groups changed attitudes within the Church. One person, Rev Percy Widdrington, wrote in 1945 that the Church was often too comfortable to act on poverty. Also, some argue that these groups didn't get enough credit for their ideas because they didn't connect much with trade unions or working people. This was especially true when the Labour Party became very successful in the 1906 election.

Church Work

Because of his strong socialist views, Marson had a challenging career in the Church of England. His health, especially his asthma, also caused problems with some of his jobs in London. After Whitechapel, he faced difficulties after giving a sermon in May 1884.

He held several short-term jobs in London churches. But his longest positions were as Rector of Orlestone in Kent for three years (1886–1889) and as vicar of Hambridge (1893–1914).

Time in Australia

In April 1889, Marson got engaged to Clotilda (Chloe) Bayne. She was a friend of his old university friend and one of the first students at Newnham College, Cambridge. Marson decided to move to Adelaide, South Australia, in June 1889 for a fresh start. He became a curate at St Peter's Glenelg. Chloe followed a year later, and they got married.

In Australia, Marson continued to speak out on important issues. He spoke against how Aboriginal people were treated and supported social reforms. He also supported Lucy Morice in her fight for women's right to vote. In October 1891, he started the first overseas branch of the Fabian Society, bringing in trade union leaders.

In July 1889, Marson met Cecil Sharp, who was a director at the Adelaide College of Music. They became good friends. In August 1889, Marson gave a public talk about 'Folk Ballads'. In November 1891, he published his first book, Faery Stories, the same month his first child, Mary, was born.

Collecting Folk Songs

In 1892, both Marson and Sharp returned to England and lived near each other in north London. Marson even helped with Sharp's wedding in 1893 and became godfather to his first child.

In 1895, Marson had to leave London due to more health issues. He became the vicar of Hambridge in South Somerset. Meanwhile, Sharp was working as a music teacher and wanted to find interesting songs for his students.

In August 1903, Marson invited Sharp to visit him during his school holidays. It was there that Sharp wrote down a folk song called 'The Seeds of Love' as sung by John England, Marson's gardener. Marson also introduced Sharp to Lucy Anna White, who helped Sharp understand what made a song a true folk song.

Over the next three years, Marson and Sharp traveled by bicycle and train. They collected 977 folk song tunes and lyrics. They published 79 of these in three books called Folk Songs from Somerset. Sharp did most of the traveling, but Marson knew a lot about folk songs and had many reference books. Sharp arranged the music for piano, while Marson edited the lyrics.

Marson helped the project a lot. He introduced Sharp to 15 of his own church members, who sang over 140 songs. He also provided a home base for Sharp to explore nearby villages. He knew many other priests in the area who could offer places to stay and help find more singers. Unlike other collectors, they were very successful with women singers, collecting 474 songs from them. Sharp used the Somerset songs in his school work and public talks to help save English folk songs from being forgotten.

Sadly, the two friends had a disagreement in November 1906, and their 17-year friendship ended. Sharp went on to become a famous expert on folk music and dance. Marson continued his writing and church work. He died suddenly in March 1914 at age 54 from a heart condition. His son, John Charles Marson, was killed in a war in Turkey in 1915 at age 19. John Charles Marson is remembered at Sherborne School.