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c 1860 Samuel Page Widnall on lawn at Old Vicarage, GrantchesterOld Vicarage, (The Grange) 61 Mill Way, Grantchester
History of Od Vicarage
Listed building:
House. c.1684 and mid C20 restorations. Brick ground floor, timber-framed first floor, part replaced by brick, and original brick end walls.
This is the Old Vicarage referred to by Rupert Brooke in his poetry. He moved there in 1910.
The story of the Widnall family is told in detail by Christine Jennings in, Widnall – A Capital Contriver, 2003. This book also has a detailed account of Smith family.
1380
Corpus Christi established the vicarage and appointed William Wendye.
1683
Current house built
Early 19th cent:
Occupied by Lilley family
1850
Page Widnall acquired property from diocesan authorities. The Rev William Martin, newly appointed Vicar of Grantchester, wanted to live elsewhere and bought land in the centre of the village from Page Widnall for £100.
1853
Widnall family move into the Old Vicarage from the Nursery House.
The diarist Romilly noted (14 April 1854) that Mr Widnall had moved in.
NB Lizzie Widnall was always called Lilly by her husband, Page.
Page Widnall (Widnall)
Lilly Widnall (Widnall)
1854
Lally Smith moved to Grantchester to live with the Widnall family. She was aged 33.
Sarah ‘Lally’ Smith (Widnall)
Lally at the piano (Widnall)
Page Widnall takes up photography at about this time.
Elizabeth Widnall, Page Widnall’s mother (Widnall)
Photo of Mrs Fowke of Wright’s Farm, Grantchester, by Samuel Page Widnall, Old Vicarage Grantchester
Old Vicarage, Grantchester (Widnall)
1856
Lilly Widnall had a tumour on her breast removed by Dr George Murray Humphrey. Chloroform would have been used by then.
c.1859:
Lally Smith started a school at the vicarage.
The ‘Swiss Cottage’ was built in the garden.
1861
Samuel Page Widnall, 35, farmer 120 acres employing 7 men 3 boys, b Grantchester
Elizabeth, 34, b Worcs
Ann Smith, mother in law, 71, b London
Laura Davis, niece, 9, b Worcs
Ruth Raynes, 18, servant, b Grantchester
Old Vicarage Grantchester, Garden Party, 1867 (Widnall)
1871
Samuel Widnall, 45, farmer 78 acres 5 men 3 boys, b Grantchester
Elizabeth, 44, b Worcester
Eliza Ann Whitstone, 24, servant, b Wimpole
Fanny Stearn, 15, servant, b Grantchester
Page Widnall with microscope (Widnall)
The Miller’s Daughter, by Page Widnall, 1871
Old Vicarage, Grantchester, 1881 (Widnall)
Back: Tom Davis, Polly Greene, Dolly Theobold, Page Widnall
Front: Alice Greene, Lally, Lilly
1881
Samuel Page Widnall, 55, retired farmer, b Grantchester
Elizabeth Widnall, 54, b Worcester
Martha Adcock, boarder, 67, annuitant, b Leicester
Jane Elizabeth Docwra, 18, cook, b Bourn
Amy Sarah Docwra, 13, housemaid, b Bourn
For a detailed description of the Widnalls see Mary Greene’s autobiography. In particular, chapter 1:
1891
Samuel Page Widnall, widower, 65, farmer
Lally [Sally] Smith, sister in law, 69, living on own means, b Worcester
Frederick Walter Greene, visitor, 28, living on own means, b Grantchester
Mary Charlotte Greene, visitor, 30, artist in oils and watercolour, b Essex
Mary Elizabeth Stigwood, servant, 20, domestic servant, b Stetchworth
The Greene family were living in 1871 at Riversdale, Grantchester.
It is difficult to find any trace of the Greene family in the 1901 census. members next appear in the 1911 census at Harston House.
Old Vicarage, Grantchester, date unknown (Widnall)
1901 The Old Vicarage
Sally Smith, 79, living on own means
Annie Smith, 44, servant
1903 letter from Lally Smith, Old Vicarage Grantchester, to Flossie Wagstaff
1903 letter from Lally Smith, Old Vicarage Grantchester, to Flossie Wagstaff
Florence Wagstaff in 1901 was a 19 year old servant on Ferry Stud Farm in Chatteris. She had been born in Grantchester which presumably was why Lally knew her.
1908
Mr and Mrs Neave. They took in paying guests and one of the these was Rupert Brook who lived here from 1911 to 1913.
The Old Vicarage Grantchester by Rupert Brooke, 1916
Rupert Brooke died of blood poisoning on 23rd April 1915 on the island of Skyros where his troop ship was anchored. This was two days before the start of the Dardanelles offensive.
After Rupert Brooke’s death, his mother bought the house and gave it to Rupert friend, Dudley Ward. The house remained in the Ward family until the 1970s.
Orchard House, Grantchester (RGL2024)
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