Billy Bray
Encyclopedia
Cornish people
The Cornish are a people associated with Cornwall, a county and Duchy in the south-west of the United Kingdom that is seen in some respects as distinct from England, having more in common with the other Celtic parts of the United Kingdom such as Wales, as well as with other Celtic nations in Europe...
preacher
Preacher
Preacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined...
born at Twelveheads, a village in the parish of Kea
Kea, Cornwall
Kea is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is a "large straggling parish" in a former mining area south of Truro.Kea village is situated just over one mile southwest of Truro....
, near Truro, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
His grandfather and father were pious Methodists, but his father died when his children were young. In early adulthood, Billy Bray was a drunkard but was converted through reading George Larkin's Visions of Heaven; and Visions of Hell. He then became attached to a group of Methodists known as the Bible Christians and became a well-known but unconventional preacher. Baldhu
Baldhu
Baldhu is a village and parish in Cornwall, United Kingdom.The parish church is the burial place of Billy Bray, the revivalist preacher who was born at nearby Twelveheads....
parish church is the burial place of Billy Bray.
F. W. Bourne's biography A King's Son went through many editions for well over 100 years, under several titles.
Bray's life is celebrated by the Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
Seth Lakeman
Seth Lakeman
Seth Bernard Lakeman is an English folk singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, who is most often associated with the fiddle and tenor guitar, but has also mastered the viola and banjo...
in the song "Preachers Ghost" on his 2010 album Hearts and Minds.