William Farren
1865-1952

Born in 1865 William Farren was very well known as a naturalist.
He owned a taxidermy shop situated at 23 Regent Street, Cambridge.
He was an excellent ornithologist being part author of Kirkman's
famous British Bird Book, his main responsibility in the book was the
Warblers and Waders.

William was also a skilled field botanist and lepidopterist, and could talk
and write very well on the things he saw. He was also exceedingly well travelled,
and was well known for his pioneering work as a nature photographer,
upon which he would often give illustrated lectures.

Farren was most fond of the Cambridgeshire fenland, and was both Secretary
and also Treasurer of the Wicken Fen Local Committee of the National Trust.

His father (1836-87) was well known as an entomologist but gave up
collecting to become a professional rose grower in the late 1860s.
When it became apparent that William shared his enthusiasm for
the subject, Farren snr's interest returned.

Every weekend for two years William and his father would spend weekends at
a small thatched cottage at the edge of Wicken Fen, which they rented for £4 a year.
This came complete with its own orchard. They would collect moths during the
summer months, and either one or the other of them would remain there during
the week days whilst the other returned to Cambridge.

Over a period of three years, from 1884 until his fathers death in 1887,
William collected some 1400 species of moth. He would add another 300
over the next six years.

Forty years later, he wrote an account of the two years he
spent there collecting which was entitled Memories of Wicken Fen.

Farren was careful to ensure that his children received the very best education
available to them at the time, and this was proved when his son later became Sir
William Farren FRS, Fellow of Trinity College. He was one of the most famous
students of aircraft designers and aerodynamics in the country.

We have seen a number of Farren cases over the years. Many are dated and
most are from 1900-1930. Nearly all have glass sides, (the particularly fine corner
Kingfisher case being an exception). Many have a trade label (shown below)
which appeared never to really change although sometimes a small black label
may be seen on a side glass panel.

William Farren Label

William Farren Label type 2

Some of his cases have a kind of non representational watercolour backdrop.
A good example of this is the Kingfisher case below; the ground work is
very well modelled and the taxidermy of high quality.

William trained Walter E Mayes in the art of taxidermy in the early 1900's.
Mayes then left to work at the British Museum (Natural History).
Mayes would later work at Leicester Museum, where he worked from 1912-42.

William Farren died in 1952.

An obituary for him written by W H Thorpe for the Cambridge
Bird Club Report 1953 included the following paragraphs
He was an attractive and impressive person with his pointed beard, his white
tie and his infectious delight and enthusiasm for everything connected with
natural history. Business at his naturalist-furrier's shop in Regent Street
always seemed secondary to naturalist gossip.

Although as a professional taxidermist evidence of a good deal of bird
slaughter came his way (and about which he had to be highly discreet),
he was a keen conservationist at heart.

With his death we have lost a great and lovable naturalist and one
who had who had seemed for many decades an almost permanent
part of the Cambridge scene.

A letter to William Farren dated 24th July 1906

Waxwing

Rare William Farren Dome containing
a Golden Pheasant head.

A nice corner case of Kingfishers

Farren Kingfisher

Little Grebe or Dabchick

Choughs