ID: WW01_541 / Winifred Hone

TitleRev. Pierrepont Edwards M.C. - Winifred Hone memoirs
AbstractOur Vicar was then the Rev. Pierrepont Edwards M.C., familiarly known as the fighting parson. I am not sure whether it was for his religious beliefs or his political activities, but I do know he was a great supporter of the Conservative Party and a pugilist was a useful asset when attending political meetings. The Rt. Hon. Worthington Evans was our M.P., then usually known as 'Worthy'. Worthington Evans was a wonderful man and a wonderful mixer and I always remember something that he said - that popularity winds elections but popularity does not govern a country. He said in one of his speeches that Labour would receive but not achieve.

The vicar was a genial man, he talked to the village people in their own language, candid, frank and outspoken, very often over a pint in the White Hart. He was always available when wanted and possessed the artist's qualities and a philosopher's wisdom. He was out to achieve something which was to bring the village people together, he certainly had an identity of his own, sometimes taking advantage of his position when he was preaching a sermon, by introducing questions that applied to some members of the congregation knowing full well they could not be answered. He also had very austere ideas about the feminine gender, for instance wearing trousers in public, and would never acknowledge his parishioners if he met them in the village so attired. Mrs Pierrepont Edwards was a tall august looking lady who played the harmonium in church to accompany the lusty voices of the congregation. She used a bicycle to get about the village usually wearing a long black dress tethered to the bicycle peddles by elastic, a practice quite usual for a cyclist wishing to remain modest. She also wore a large black hat. The Rev. Pierrepont Edwards volunteered during the general strike to become a porter at Liverpool St. Station and gave his tips to charity.

During the 1914-18 war he never charged a fee for marriage if it concerned the forces. I think Bob South was the last that received this consideration.

AuthorWinifred Hone
Publishedc1969
SourceMersea Museum / Wendy Brady
IDWW01_541
Related Images:
 Reverend Charles Pierrepont Edwards, M.C., Vicar of West Mersea 1898-1946. Photograph loaned by West Mersea Parish Church.
 Old Spiery, Mersea's Fighting Parson by Mary Stevens, is a biography of Pierrepont Edwards, available in the Museum shop.  IA004390
ImageID:   IA004390
Title: Reverend Charles Pierrepont Edwards, M.C., Vicar of West Mersea 1898-1946. Photograph loaned by West Mersea Parish Church.
"Old Spiery, Mersea's Fighting Parson" by Mary Stevens, is a biography of Pierrepont Edwards, available in the Museum shop.
Source:Mersea Museum