Ernest Scott Fardell
Canon Ernest Scott Fardell was one of the longest serving Rectors of Wreningham church – at 58 years.
Appointed in September 1896, following the death of Rev A W Upcher, he took up residence, at the rectory, with his wife, Isobel, and their two young sons. His father, Sir Thomas George Fardell, was the Member of Parliament for Paddington.
Eventually, an honorary Canon, the Rev Ernest Fardell may well have introduced our first local church magazines.
He certainly appears to have hit the ground running. In his initial years in Wreningham, the church was re-roofed and the village school was greatly enlarged. Each was a major task and both required the raising of a considerable amount of money.
Robert Dennis Day’s ledger shows him printing Fardell’s new Parish Magazines. This started in February & March 1897 at 120 copies per month with the monthly number soon increasing to 170. (More information about the Parish Magazine is given further down this page.)
Also, in March 1897, Mrs Fardell bought a canary from Day for 6s. This was followed by a ‘breeding cage’ with ‘3 compartments’ which cost the Fardells 12s 6d. Presumably, they already owned other canaries because one bird wasn’t going to be enough …..
The Fardell family had arrived in Wreningham with their young boys: Denys and Kenneth. They engaged a governess, Harriett Hopkins, from Glamorganshire. Harriett initially lived at the Rectory but she purchased the northern half of Rose Cottage, in Ashwellthorpe Road in late 1903, following the death of the previous owner, Rebecca Bush. Harriett appears to have maintained her daytime role at the Rectory and she eventually shared her new home with two sisters who arrived to join her in Wreningham. The Hopkins sisters are understood to have contributed to the school and Harriett eventually bequeathed her estate to Wreningham church.
A Greek and Latin scholar, the Rev Fardell made a positive engagement with the Norwich Diocese and was soon appointed general secretary on one of the Norwich Diocese schools committees.
He also appears to have encouraged residents to take part in sport at the Rectory field. In 1901, R D Day supplied him with a copy of Croquet Regulations (1s) and the following year, with a copy of the Lawn Tennis Rules (2s 6d). Tennis was also played on the Rectory lawn for many years. Fardell also took charge of the Reading Room, which might have broadened his reach within the community.
Rev Fardell was responsible for the upkeep of the church, the rectory, and the school. He also appears to have started the Church / Parish magazine. R D Day provided his own services in connection with each of these. Here is an extract dated from Day’s ledger in April 1901 giving a summary of the rector’s account broken down under its various headings.
Individual costed tasks are broken out on the ledger’s preceding pages.
The repairs to the church roof, in 1905, resulted in the church being closed for three months and at a cost of £350; all of this money had needed to be raised locally. When taking into account the £600 which had just been collected for enlarging the school, it is a considerable achievement that, during the same year, the rector was able to announce the church was entirely free of debt.
The Rev Fardell was eventually given the honorary title of Canon Fardell, by the Diocese – the title by which he is now remembered.
Rectors were recruited by established groups or organisations. In rural areas, the rector’s employment was called a ‘living’ because it came with funding from tithes – a local tax. Before 1894, when independent parish councils were introduced, the rector also headed the Vestry. This had provided control of village administration, although these powers progressively diminished during the 1800s. In the case of Wreningham (with Ashwellthorpe), the selection and appointment of the rector fell to the Manor.
The tithe system involved the rector billing the residents each year. Here is an example of one of the invoices the Rev Fardell sent out – in this case to John Bullimore, in October 1901. Bullimore was being billed for £20 0s 11d – a relatively large sum, but he did own a lot of property. Note: the document describes “Mutimer” as one of Bullimore’s two tenant farmers, at that time.
Here is a rectory Christmas and New Year card sent out by the Fardells – believed to be from about 1900.
We definitely know the line drawing was done by London-based artist Harold Nelson – then well-known. Note his initials ‘HN’ in the bottom left of the drawing.
The design was based on a Tom Nokes photograph of the identical view. The card is an example of Harold Nelson’s Bookplate work. Information about the artist can be found here.
Presumably, Fardell, with his London connections, commissioned the work from Harold Nelson. Did he send out the same card design over several years?
Our thanks go to The Bookplate Society.
A further Harold Nelson bookplate image has now come to light. This was a cover designed for Fardell’s new Parish Magazine. The cover is illustrated with drawings of the churches in Wreningham, Ashwellthorpe and Fundenhall so this must have been the local coverage.
A print from this bookplate survives in a collection at the Art Workers Guild in London. Was the Harold Nelson Christmas Card created at the same time?
Robert Dennis Day printed all the church magazines. Was he the person printing from the bookplate? R D Day’s ledger showed him printing about 120 magazines most months from 1897 onwards. His ledger extract (dated 1897) further up this page includes the words ‘printed inside London cover’.
The surviving cover shows us that Fardell charged one penny for every magazine.
The 1910 handbook for the Norfolk Miniature Rifle Association lists the Rev Canon Fardell as the point of contact for “Wreningham and District”. There is no reference to any active involvement.
Canon Fardell’s son, Kenneth, joined the Royal Navy – and, in 1932, he officiated at Lt Cdr K M Fardell’s marriage to Avis Crosse, in London. However, in 1915, Canon Fardell wrote a letter of complaint to the First Lord of the Admiralty (then, Winston Churchill) protesting about the expenses of shipping the gear of his son, Lieut K M Fardell RN, from the China Station to Britain at the outbreak of war. Clearly, Canon Fardell considered this was a cost which should be borne by the state. A note on the Admiralty file confirmed the expenses would be met. The correspondence now resides in the Churchill Archive.
In 1929, the Rev Canon Fardell sold a flint sickle blade from the Neolithic/Bronze Age – discovered in Wreningham – to the British Museum. Whilst listed in their collection it is not on display at the time of writing.
Cider Making and Canon Fardell
Canon Fardell died in October 1955. The funeral service was presided over by the Bishop of Norwich, Bishop Herbert.
Ernest Scott Fardell and his wife, Isobel, who pre-deceased him, are buried in Wreningham churchyard.
The next rector was the Rev J B Gordon.
