Vicarage St Mary the Virgin, Edlesborough

The Edlesborough Vicarage

This was a fine old country house with lawns, vegetable and fruit gardens, outbuildings including stables and surrounded by trees. There were two drive in entrances. When the Rev G.B. Brooks was the vicar of the parish, live in servants were employed also a footman and gardener (a Mr Miles later Mr Walter Maunders)

Paying guests would spend part of the summer holidays there. One of the paying guests wanted the village barber to come along to shave him each morning. This caused a problem for Mrs Brooks as there was no village barber. The problem was solved by the village cobbler, Mr George Smith, willing to take on the job, arriving at the vicarage each morning. Mr Smith found everything ready for him including the cut throat razor. For this service he was paid 1/- (5p) each morning.

After the resignation of the Rev. Brooks from the living in

1910 the activities of the vicarage started to decline and by the start of the 1^st World War only 2 servants and a gardener remained

In 1915 the gardener, Mr Walter Maunders, was called up for military service and as each vicar came some of the rooms were locked up to save rates.

In 1945 the church council decided to sell the vicarage and build a new Rectory near the church, this was completed in 1946. The Rev Wyndham Egar was the first vicar to reside there. The vicarage was sold to Mr Mason, who made it his home until 1968 when he sold it to a building firm to build houses but before it could be demolished a fire destroyed most of the building.

The estate is named St. Mary’s Glebe.

The last garden fete held on the vicarage lawn was in June 1961 by kind permission of Mr and Mrs Mason.

F.S..

Source: CY Photo album