A Record of Shelford Parva by Fanny Wale
A Record of Shelford Parva was written and illustrated by village grandee Fanny Wale between 1908 and 1919. It was the first dedicated history book about Little Shelford.
The book includes colour and black and white paintings, drawings and photos of Little Shelford in the 19th and early 20th century. The original copy of A Record of Shelford Parva is kept in the Cambridgeshire Archives.
In 2013, villager David Martin republished the book with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Photos of all the pages from the book can be seen below.
Fanny Wale died in 1936. She was the last member of the family with the Wale surname to live in Little Shelford.
Fanny was the eldest of Colonel Robert Gregory Wale’s seven children.
They lived in Shelford Hall on Bridge Lane until it burnt down in 1929. She also lived at Low Brooms and Ivy Cottage during her life in Little Shelford.
The Wale family have dominated the history of Little Shelford for centuries.
The Wale Recreation Ground was given by the family to the village and is named after the family.
David Altham from the family was in an early forerunner of Pink Floyd.
A searchable version of A Record of Shelford Parva can be found here.
To read a second version of the book, called A Record of Shelfords Magna and Parva including hand-written notes by Fanny Wale, click here.
A full A-Z index of the book has been created. It mentions former England football captain Arthur Dunn, famous garden designer Lawrence Johnstone and war hero Sid Dockerill.
























































































A searchable Word version of A Record of Shelford Parva can be found here.
A searchable PDF version of the book can be found here.
To read a second version of the book, called A Record of Shelfords Magna and Parva including hand-written notes by Fanny Wale, click here.
A full A-Z index of the book has been created. (External link)
Other sections on the Little Shelford history website
The first history book about Little Shelford
www.littleshelfordhistory.com/fanny-wale-book
Little Shelford's historical photos
www.littleshelfordhistory.com/photos
Little Shelford's historical buildings
www.littleshelfordhistory.com/buildings
Famous people from Little Shelford's history
www.littleshelfordhistory.com/people
The history of Little Shelford
www.littleshelfordhistory.com/history-1
The archaeology of Little Shelford
www.littleshelfordhistory.com/archaeology
Little Shelford in World War One
www.littleshelfordhistory.com/world-war-one
Old maps featuring Little Shelford
www.littleshelfordhistory.com/maps
Old censuses from Little Shelford
www.littleshelfordhistory.com/censuses
Family trees with Little Shelford connections
www.littleshelfordhistory.com/family-trees
Graveyard inscriptions from Little Shelford
www.littleshelfordhistory.com/graveyard-inscriptions
Historical memories from Little Shelford
www.littleshelfordhistory.com/memories
Historical stories from Little Shelford
www.littleshelfordhistory.com/history-stories
Memories of old Little Shelford
www.littleshelfordhistory.com/historical-memories
The story of Little Shelford's village sign
www.littleshelfordhistory.com/village-sign
Books about Little Shelford's history
www.littleshelfordhistory.com/books
Little Shelford's historical heritage trail
www.littleshelfordhistory.com/heritage-trail
Other sources of information about Little Shelford's history
www.littleshelfordhistory.com/links
About Little Shelford and its history
www.littleshelfordhistory.com/about-1
The Little Shelford Local History Society
www.littleshelfordhistory.com/history-society
Website contact details
www.littleshelfordhistory.com/contact