Christmas Carols and Their Stories
Puzzle 25 · Collectors and the Carol Revival · Page 43 in print
Davies Gilbert
In 1817 Davies Giddy took the name Gilbert from his wife’s Eastbourne family. He was President of the Royal Society from 1827 to 1830 and chose Brunel’s design for the Clifton suspension bridge.
Jump to a word
The words
Bodmin
The Cornish borough Gilbert represented in Parliament from 1806 to 1832.
DNB: Gilbert, Davies (opens a new tab) · Internet Archive: The Oxford Book of Carols (opens a new tab)
Brunel
The engineer whose Clifton bridge design Gilbert selected in 1830.
DNB: Gilbert, Davies (opens a new tab) · Internet Archive: The Oxford Book of Carols (opens a new tab)
Clifton
Bristol’s Clifton suspension bridge, for which Gilbert chose Brunel’s design.
DNB: Gilbert, Davies (opens a new tab) · Internet Archive: The Oxford Book of Carols (opens a new tab)
Cyder
The cider, spelled ‘cyder’ in Gilbert’s preface, drunk on West Country Christmas Eves.
Eastbourne
The Sussex home of his wife’s family, whose name Gilbert took in 1817.
Helston
The Cornish borough that first elected Gilbert to Parliament in 1804.
Humphry Davy
The chemist whose early talent Gilbert encouraged.
DNB: Gilbert, Davies (opens a new tab) · Internet Archive: The Oxford Book of Carols (opens a new tab)
Menai Bridge
Telford’s bridge, for which Gilbert calculated the length of the chains.
Parish Clerk
The church officer who, Gilbert recalled, wished everyone a merry Christmas after the carols.
Pembroke
Pembroke College, Oxford, where Gilbert matriculated in 1785.
Penzance
The Cornish town whose grammar school Gilbert attended.
Royal Society
The scientific society Gilbert served as president from 1827 to 1830.
DNB: Gilbert, Davies (opens a new tab) · Internet Archive: The Oxford Book of Carols (opens a new tab)
St Erth
The Cornish parish where Davies Gilbert was born in 1767.
Tredrea
The St Erth estate of Gilbert’s mother’s family, where he signed his 1822 carol preface.
DNB: Gilbert, Davies (opens a new tab) · Internet Archive: Some ancient Christmas (opens a new tab)
Trevithick
Richard Trevithick, the steam-engine pioneer Gilbert helped with calculations.
Sources
- Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900: Gilbert, DaviesDictionary of National Biography, vol. 21 (1890), ‘Gilbert, Davies’ by G. C. Boase; Wikisource transcription
- The Oxford Book of Carols : Percy Dearmer, R. Vaughan Williams, Martin ShawThe Oxford Book of Carols, ed. Dearmer, Vaughan Williams and Shaw (Oxford University Press, 1928); Internet Archive scan (preface and notes)
- Some ancient Christmas carols : with the tunes to which they were formerly sung in the west of England : Gilbert, Davies, 1767-1839Davies Gilbert, Some Ancient Christmas Carols (London: John Nichols and Son, 1822); Internet Archive scan of the first edition