by Reverend Francis Fulford 1803-1868 (Rector at Croydon 1841-1845).
Additional notes by Reverend R S B Sandilands (Rector 1845-1864).
The
Reverend Francis Fulford
 was appointed Rector of
Croydon-cum-Clopton in Cambridgeshire in July 1841,
remaining in that parish for four years. In January 1943 he
began to compile a list of inhabitants adding their ages,
occupations, literacy and church attendance as well as some
'off the cuff' comments. The notebook - a ‘
Speculum Gregis
’
- or
‘Mirror of his Flock’
 - was updated by his successor, the
Reverend R S B Sandilands until 1848, when it was put away
with other parish documents, and eventually after the
departure of the last resident Rector, was deposited in the
Cambridgeshire Record Office (P 53/1/11).
A transcription of the ‘
Speculum Gregis
’ was published as
‘
The Rector and his Flock’
 in 1980 by Bassingbourn Booklets,
with additional commentary by editor David Ellison.
© Website Copyright Steve Odell 2002-2013.                             
Made with Xara
Francis Fulford,
Lord Bishop of Montreal.
Photographed in Canada
by W M Notman in 1861.
 
Speculum Gregis 1841-1852
This new updated and corrected online version of the
Speculum Gregis’ has the original Fulford preface, the
Ellison introduction, a new transcription (both basic
and annotated), additional genealogical information,
a detailed alphabetical index of names, and
background material on the Reverend Francis Fulford,
the village Rector who went on to become the first
Bishop of Montreal in Canada.
Query, contribution or feedback?
E-mail
steve@armingford.net
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An account of all the inhabitants of the Parish of Croydon in the County of Cambridgeshire commencing from 1 January 1843
All Saints is a small gem amongst parish churches. Tucked away on the hill above the village of Croydon, parts of the structure date back some seven hundred years to the early 14th century. The interior walls and ceiling are simple plain lime-wash with little decoration and few monuments. The Rev Francis Fulford and his "Speculum Gregis" congregation would probably feel completely at home in the church as it exists today. Perhaps the only obvious change to them would be the stained glass in the Chancel windows, installed as a memorial to the Rev  Sandilands and his family in the 1860s.  The vault beneath All Saints contains the remains of members of the Downing Family who founded Downing College in Cambridge and who gave their name to Downing Street.