Thursday 26 June - Tuesday 26 August 2025
FREE ADMISSION
OPENING TIMES
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 8:30am - 4:00pm | Wednesday - CLOSED | Saturday 9:00am - 3:00pm | Sunday 10:00am - 3:00pm
The Wale family have dominated the history of Little Shelford for centuries. Fanny Wale died in 1936, the last member of the family with the Wale surname to live in Little Shelford. This exhibition of prints has been created to mark the new republication of her beautifully illustrated Record of Shelford Parva, written between 1908 and 1919. This was the first dedicated history book about Little Shelford. It is an exquisite Edwardian guide to the village and its inhabitants, created during a period when agricultural life had given way to the Industrial Revolution, when wealthy families were forced to sell off land, and when diary keeping and journal writing was prolific amongst men and women.
The book contains Fanny's charming and skilful drawings and paintings, alongside historic photographs of Little Shelford and a detailed text. A selection of the drawings and paintings have been enlarged, printed and framed, and these will be available for purchase as well as viewing. Copies of the new edition of the Record of Shelford Parva, published by Galileo Publications, will be available to purchase (£30). A free 24-page guide to the exhibition is available for all visitors. On Sunday 29 June at 11:00am, villager and Chair of Little Shelford Local History Group David Martin will talk about his extensive role in the first (2013) and second (2025) publications of the book.
The original copy of A Record of Shelford Parva is kept in the Cambridgeshire Archives. The book is also freely accessible online via the Little Shelford History website.
Read our booklet: Fanny Wale - a companion guide (and pick up a free printed copy in the Granary when you visit)