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Old Rectory, Harlton
History of the Old Rectory, Harlton
Listed Building
House, former rectory, built 1843.
1871
Osmond Fisher, 53, widower, rector of Harlton,
Osmond P, 12, b Essex
William, 11, b Essex
Edward, 7, b Essex
Lawrence, 6, b Essex
John, 5, b Essex
Hastings Middleton, father in law, widower, 67, Esquire magistrate, b Middlesex
Sarah Howard, 30, nurse, b Essex
Emily Cudmore, 20, servant, b Essex
Emma Cole, 18, servant, b Essex
Sarah Hall, 17, servant, b Harston
In 1861 the Fisher family were at the Vicarage in Elmstead, Essex
1881
Osmond Fisher, widower, 63, Rector of Harlton, b Dorset
Sarah Howard, 39, housekeeper, b Essex
Emma Gravestocks, 28, cook, b Little Eversden
Anne Webb, 22, house parlourmaid, b Great Eversden
1891
Osmond Fisher, widower, 73, rector of Harlton, b Dorset
William, son, 31, florist, b Essex
Philis Mace, 28, cook, b Harlton
Jane E Law, 23, housemaid, b Little Eversden
Ada Brock, 15, kitchen maid, b Harlton
Lawrence Fisher, head, 26, curate of Harlton, b Essex
Mary Greene wrote in detail about the Fisher family in her autobiography, The Joy of Remembering.
1901
Osmond Fisher, 83, clergyman, b Dorset
Jane Law, housemaid, b Little Eversden
Harriet Chapman, cook, b Barrington
In 1928 Gwen Raverat moved here with her children. It was the location for much of her best work in illustration.
During WWII, with both her daughters married, she took up work as a factory hand at the Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company. She let the Old Rectory, furnished, and in 1941 moved into a rented room near her cousin Frances Cornford’s house, Conduit Head, off the Madingley Road.
She was then offered a position as a draughtsman in the Naval Intelligence Division’s office installed temporarily at the Scott Polar Institute in Lensfield Road.
After the war she returned to the Old Rectory until the Old Granary was vacated. Then the Old Rectory was sold at auction and Gwen moved to her new home.
AF sent this note in 2023:
The Old Rectory at Harlton was bought by my parents shortly after the war: l think for about £5,000. The vendor was “The Reverend J.H.R. Clapton”, although he didn’t live in it: it was tenanted by Gwen Raverat, a granddaughter of Charles Darwin, who however “moved out at last”, leaving every room most unsuitably painted in dark reds and greens. It is mentioned in Frances Spalding’s biography of Gwen Raverat, and there are photographs in my biographies of William Glenvil Hall and John Hall. Alison Fenton.
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