She was born Ethel Gordon Manson in Spynie, near the Moray town of Elgin in Scotland, the daughter of a wealthy farmer and doctor who died later the same year.

Fenwick was a ward sister at The London Hospital in Whitechapel between 1879 and 1881,[2][3] and for the last six months worked under Eva Luckes, the new matron.

She believed that there was a need for training to a recognised standard and this meant confining entry to the profession to the daughters of the higher social classes.

She was supported in this postgraduate training provider by Rebecca Strong, former matron of Glasgow Royal Infirmary.

[7] In 1999 an English Heritage "blue plaque" was attached to her former home at 20 Upper Wimpole Street, London.