Description:The vicarage was built in the 1840s. From 1876 to 1918 it was the home of Reverend Shapurji Edalji and his family. Born in Bombay (Mumbai), India in 1843, he converted to Christianity and was appointed vicar of Great Wyrley in December 1875.
In 1903 his son, George Edalji, was convicted of maiming horses and recieved a seven year sentence. The charge was unproved however, and it is thought Edalji may have been the victim of racism.
George was released from prison in 1906, due largely to much publicity about the case, and a petition signed by ten thousand people for his release. He was still not pardoned however, was subject to police surveillance, and could not return to his work as a solicitor.
Arthur Conan Doyle then took up the case and after investigation proved that George Edalji was innocent.
The Edalji case contributed to the establishment of the Court of Criminal Appeal in 1907.