Robert Stephen Hawker

Born in 1803, Robert Stephen Hawker was an English poet and Anglican clergyman who spent much of his life in Morwenstow, on the north Cornish coast. He studied at Oxford and went on to serve for many years as vicar of Morwenstow, where the dramatic landscape and local traditions deeply shaped his writing.

He is especially known for "The Song of the Western Men", with its famous refrain about Trelawny, and for other works that celebrate Cornish history, legend, and seafaring life. His writing helped fix a romantic image of Cornwall in the Victorian imagination, blending patriotism, folklore, and the rugged feeling of the western shore.

Hawker also became well known for his eccentric personality and strong attachment to local custom. He died in 1875, but his reputation has lasted because he remains closely tied to Cornwall’s literary identity and to the distinctive world of the parish he served.