Historical evidence makes it pretty certain that WWE did not convert Rugby football from a kicking game to a handling one, but he is nonetheless a Person Of Interest, so I have been searching the relevant nineteenth censuses for more information about him. No luck at all!
We know from other sources that in 1841 he was Chaplain of St George's Albemarle Street, London; 1851 he was Rector of St Clement Dane's in the Strand; 1861 he was Rector of St Mary's Magdalen Laver in Essex. He was in the latter post from 1855 to 1870 and it is presumed that he then left for France for health reasons, since he died in Menton in 1872.
Magdalen Laver was a fairly small place in 1861, so I trawled through the census returns for the whole village - 214 people in 42 houses. Living in The Old rectory was Thomas Robinson, occupation: Curate of Magdalen Laver. No mention of a house called The Rectory, nor of anyone identified as the Rector.
WWE might well have been elsewhere on the relevant census night, so I checked local villages - the current incumbent serves several benefices, so I started checking them as well. This turned up Rectors of Fyfield, Moreton, Willingale Spain, Matching, High Laver (plus a curate), Little Laver, Abbotts Roothing, and Bobbingworth.
I did find a few families called Ellis, but it is a fairly common name and almost certainly coincidental.
Crockfords Clerical Directory only started in 1968 and the Lambeth Palace Library gave only one brief reference confirming WWE's dates 1806-72. The Library is closed at present (due to moves that started before the lockdown.
Ian Fleming wrote
Does that apply to missing three consecutive censuses?!
Anyone have any bright ideas for further research?
We know from other sources that in 1841 he was Chaplain of St George's Albemarle Street, London; 1851 he was Rector of St Clement Dane's in the Strand; 1861 he was Rector of St Mary's Magdalen Laver in Essex. He was in the latter post from 1855 to 1870 and it is presumed that he then left for France for health reasons, since he died in Menton in 1872.
Magdalen Laver was a fairly small place in 1861, so I trawled through the census returns for the whole village - 214 people in 42 houses. Living in The Old rectory was Thomas Robinson, occupation: Curate of Magdalen Laver. No mention of a house called The Rectory, nor of anyone identified as the Rector.
WWE might well have been elsewhere on the relevant census night, so I checked local villages - the current incumbent serves several benefices, so I started checking them as well. This turned up Rectors of Fyfield, Moreton, Willingale Spain, Matching, High Laver (plus a curate), Little Laver, Abbotts Roothing, and Bobbingworth.
I did find a few families called Ellis, but it is a fairly common name and almost certainly coincidental.
Crockfords Clerical Directory only started in 1968 and the Lambeth Palace Library gave only one brief reference confirming WWE's dates 1806-72. The Library is closed at present (due to moves that started before the lockdown.
Ian Fleming wrote
Does that apply to missing three consecutive censuses?!
Anyone have any bright ideas for further research?
