SHELTON
Eseltone (xi cent.).
Shelton, the smallest parish in the hundred of
Stodden, is situated on the Northamptonshire border
of the county. Its area is 946 acres, of which a little
more than half is arable land, the remainder being
permanent grass. (fn. 1) The soil is strong clay, and the
chief crops raised are wheat, barley, beans and peas.
The village lies low and consists of the church, the
rectory, Shelton Hall and a few modern cottages.
Shelton Hall is the residence of Mrs. Whitehead, the
present lady of the manor. The actual house is
only part of the west wing of a large rectangular
building formerly grouped round a central court,
three sides of which have now vanished. The external
walls of the existing building are 4 ft. 6 in. thick and
the reveals of most of the windows, though now fitted
with 18th-century frames and sashes, are splayed on
the inside. In one of the bedrooms is an early 17th-century stone fireplace, and one of similar character
is to be seen in the scullery. There is also an
18th-century wood staircase of the usual type, though
the external wall evidently dates from mediaeval
times. Traces of a moat can be detected round
the site of the original building, although much of
this has been filled in in recent years. There are
two square stone pigeon-houses in the village. Two
very fair country roads connect Shelton with the
neighbouring villages of Upper and Nether Dean,
while another running north joins the main road
from Kimbolton to Higham Ferrers. Shelton is
also connected with the village of Yelden by a way
that is part bridle-way and part a cart track across
the fields, following the course of the little River Til.
Shelton was inclosed in 1794. (fn. 2)
MANORS
In 1086 William the steward held
SHELTON MANOR from the Bishop of
Coutances. It was then assessed at 5 hides
and valued at 100s. In the time of the Confessor
a woman named Ulveva held it under Borret. (fn. 3) In the
Testa de Nevill Shelton is said to be held of Patrick de
Chaworth as of the honour of Chaworth, (fn. 4) but before
the end of the 13th century the overlordship had passed
to the Wakes. (fn. 5) This may be accounted for by the fact
that Payn de Chaworth (father of Patrick) and Hugh
Wake married co-heirs of William Briwere, (fn. 6) and
succeeded to part of his property. (fn. 7) From 1282
onwards the overlordship followed the same descent
as that of the Wakes' portion of the barony of Bedford (fn. 8) (q.v.). The last mention of the overlordship
occurs in 1442–3. (fn. 9)
The earliest tenants of the manor of whom mention has been found are a family called de Soleby.
In the 13th century the third of a knight's fee in
Shelton was held by Henry de Soleby. (fn. 10) Robert de
Soleby was holding in 1282, (fn. 11) and had been succeeded in 1284 by his brother (fn. 12) William. (fn. 13) The
latter died in 1291–2 seised of the property, which
then comprised 150 acres of arable land. (fn. 14) His heir was
his daughter Joan, (fn. 15) afterwards presumably the wife
of Richard de Musgrave, who in 1316 was holding the
Soleby property in Shelton. (fn. 16) In the same year Richard
de Musgrave and his wife Joan granted Shelton to
William le Engleys to hold for his life at a rent of
25 marks. (fn. 17) On the death of Richard de Musgrave
the property passed to Robert de Musgrave, (fn. 18) who
settled it on his wife Elizabeth for life with reversion
to two clerks, William Bayous and William Beauchamp. (fn. 19) Elizabeth, it would seem, transferred the
property to John Fitz William, who was holding in
1346, (fn. 20) whilst in 1357 he bought up the claims of
William Bayous and William Beauchamp. (fn. 21) By
1387 the property had come into the hands of Sir
William Marmyon, who in that year quitclaimed
Shelton (here for the first time called a manor) to
John la Warre, Anketin Malory, William Palmer
and others. (fn. 22) In 1398 Thomas Wareton with
Elizabeth complained that John la Warre, William
Palmer and the others had unjustly disseised them of
their Shelton property, (fn. 23) and in the same year they
quitclaimed the manor to Sir Gerard Braybrook the
younger, Sir William Malory of Papworth and others
for 200 marks of silver. (fn. 24)
Sir William Malory died seised of Shelton in 1445,
leaving as heir his son Thomas. (fn. 25) For the next 200
years few documents have been found concerning this
manor, but it presumably remained in the hands of
the Malory family, as in 1582 William Malory held
it, (fn. 26) whilst Ralph Malory was lord of the manor in
1635. (fn. 27) In 1637 the tenants
and poor cottagers of Shelton
petitioned against the unrighteous conduct of Mr.
Manning, rector of Shelton,
and of Mr. Malory, the lord
of the manor, who on the
first payment of ship-money
had assessed their own land
and that of the other frecholders at the rate of 2d. per
acre for their arable land and
nothing for their meadow and
pasture, while they taxed the
petitioners as highly as 2s. 4d.
an acre. (fn. 28)
Malory of Shelton. Or a lion with a forked tail in a border gules.
Ralph Malory's son (fn. 29) Peter conveyed the manor
in 1667 to William Busby for £300. (fn. 30) In 1705
there was a fine concerning the manor between
William Busby and Francis Malory, (fn. 31) and the latter
suffered a recovery of it in 1714. (fn. 32) In the same year
Francis Malory sold the manor to Theophilus Dillingham for £520. (fn. 33) The Dillinghams continued to hold
this manor throughout the 18th century. Brampton
Gurdon Dillingham was lord of the manor in 1794
at the time the parish was inclosed. (fn. 34) From the
Dillinghams this manor passed to Henry Harris, who
was lord of the manor when Lysons wrote his history of
Bedfordshire. (fn. 35) On Henry Harris's death in 1842 (fn. 36)
the manor passed to his son Thomas Harris, (fn. 37) who in
turn was succeeded in 1880 by his daughter, Mrs.
Whitehead, who is the present lady of the manor.
A second manor of SHELTON is mentioned as a
portion of a knight's fee held by John de Croxton in
the 13th century. (fn. 38) John de Croxton was succeeded
by Richard de Croxton, who was holding in 1284–6, (fn. 39)
whilst the last of this family to hold in Shelton was
John, who was in possession in 1302–3. (fn. 40) The
descent of this property here becomes obscure. In
1346 Thomas le Rous held it, (fn. 41) whilst in 1428 a
lord 'de Bycham' is recorded as holding all Shelton, (fn. 42)
but no further document dealing with the property
is forthcoming until 1544, when it was in the hands
of the family of Skeffington of Leicestershire. (fn. 43)
William Skeffington, who was holding at this date,
died seised of the manor in 1572. (fn. 44) His son and
heir Thomas died in 1600, (fn. 45) and was succeeded in
the tenure of the manor by
his son Sir William Skeffington. (fn. 46) The latter died without
issue in 1605, (fn. 47) and the manor
of Shelton passed to his brother
John. (fn. 48) Sir William's wife
angered John Skeffington by
taking for her second husband
Richard Bray, a groom. (fn. 49) A
quarrel sprang up between the
two men which led to a lawsuit. In order to effect a
compromise, the parties to
the suit were induced to
arrange a meeting at a hostelry near Gray's Inn. The
meeting, however, resulted tragically, as on seeing each
other the two men drew their swords, and in the
ensuing fight both fell mortally wounded. (fn. 50) John
Skeffington left this manor by will dated 11 February
1612 to his cousin William Bendish, vicar of Stanford, (fn. 51) who held it until his death in 1629. (fn. 52) His
son William Bendish alienated the manor in 1637 to
Sir Paulet St. John and his brothers Sir Henry and
Sir Beauchamp St. John. (fn. 53) Sir Paulet St. John,
dying in 1641, (fn. 54) was succeeded by his son Oliver,
afterwards first Earl Bolingbroke, (fn. 55) who was holding
in 1668. (fn. 56) This manor remained in the hands of
the St. John family down to the 19th century (fn. 57) ; the
last mention of it occurs in 1832, when it was the
property of the Rt. Hon. St. Andrew Beauchamp
Lord St. John. (fn. 58)
Skeffington. Argent three bulls' heads razed sable with horns or.
Ralph de St. Sampson held a portion of a knight's
fee in Shelton at the time of the Testa de Nevill. (fn. 59)
His heirs were still holding in 1302–3, (fn. 60) but no
further mention of this property occurs.
CHURCH
The church of ST. MARY THE
VIRGIN has a chancel 24 ft. by 12 ft.,
a north chapel of the same length and
11 ft. 9 in. wide, a nave 36 ft. by 15 ft. 9 in., a
north aisle 9 ft. 5 in. wide, a south aisle 8 ft. 2 in.
wide, and a west tower 7 ft. 7 in. by 7 ft. 2 in.
The north arcade of the nave contains the earliest
detail now to be seen, and belongs as far as its two
east bays are concerned to the end of the 12th
century. The third or west bay is wider than the
other two, and probably represents a rebuilding and
widening of a former west bay. The church, therefore, seems to have had a chancel, nave and north
aisle at the end of the 12th century. Its further
history, owing to the simplicity of the work, is
rather obscure. The chancel was rebuilt in the
13th century, its axis, as often in such cases, being
altered in the process, and in the middle of the
14th century the north chapel was added to it.
The west tower belongs to the latter part of the
same century, and the lengthening of the north
arcade probably took place at this time. The south
arcade is curious; it appears to be all of one date,
and its three bays are of equal span, but otherwise
correspond to the design of the north arcade, as
if copied for symmetry. It was perhaps built at
the same time as the tower and the west bay of the
north arcade. The chancel was remodelled in the
14th century, and in the 15th the nave clearstory
was added and several windows inserted elsewhere.
The chancel has a 14th-century east window of
five trefoiled lights, with unusual tracery in the
head, a large octofoiled oval flanked by irregular
elliptical octofoiled openings. In the south wall the
east window is a 15th-century insertion of two cinquefoiled lights, with tracery under a four-centred head,
the other two, also of two lights, having square heads
and 14th-century tracery. Below the south-east
window is a trefoiled ogee-headed piscina, and in the
north wall a triangular arched recess with a rectangular
sinking in the west half of its sill, probably to hold
the loculus used in the Easter sepulchre. Between
the chancel and the north chapel is also a 14th-century arcade of two bays, with arches of two
chamfered orders springing from an octagonal pillar,
and semi-octagonal responds with moulded capitals
and bases. The chancel arch is in two chamfered
orders, springing from 13th-century moulded corbels.
The north chapel is now dismantled and unpaved;
it is separated from the north aisle by a plastered
partition, and from the chancel by a wooden one
crested with a row of wooden spikes. The upper
part of its east wall is modern, but it has a square-headed 14th-century east window of three
cinquefoiled lights with flowing tracery; the
external label over the head of the window has been
destroyed.
In its north wall are two square-headed windows
with trefoiled lights and mask dripstones to their
labels, and under the whitewash are many remains of
mediaeval wall-paintings, apparently in fair condition.
The arches of the nave arcades are of the simplest
kind, of a single rather sharply pointed order,
without chamfers or mouldings of any kind; the
north-east respond has a half-round shaft with a
scalloped capital of late 12th-century type, and the
east column has a square capital on a circular shaft
and a base with angle spurs. At the west of the
second bay on the north is a square pier with
chamfered angles and a moulded abacus at the
springing, which probably belongs to the same date
as the tower, though its details give little guide to its
date. The wide arch to the west of it dies into the
west wall without a respond.
The south arcade, as already noted, copies the
arrangement of the north arcade in having a round
column and a square pier, but has none of the 12th-century detail of the other. In the clearstory are
three windows on each side, each of two cinquefoiled lights with a quatrefoil over. The lines of an
earlier steep-pitched roof may be seen on the east
wall of the tower.
The north aisle, which has been widened and
lengthened in the 14th century, has a two-light
north window like the middle window in the south
wall of the chancel, a 14th-century north doorway
of two continuous wave-moulded orders and a west
window of two trefoiled lights with a quatrefoil over,
all of the 14th century. At the east end of the
aisle is a plain round-headed piscina recess, which
may be as early as the east respond of the arcade.
The south-east angle of the original aisleless nave,
which is still to be seen, is of uncertain date,
perhaps not earlier than the present south doorway,
which is late 12th-century work, moved outwards
when the aisle was added. The aisle has a small
blocked window or recess on the east, and in the
south wall two three-light 15th-century windows,
one on either side of the south doorway. This is
pointed, of two chamfered orders with a single label,
and over it is a small porch of plain detail, and
probably late date, with square-headed lights on
north and south.
Shelton Church from the South
At the south-east of the aisle is a 14th-century
piscina with a trefoiled ogee head. All the roofs of
the church are plain, that of the chancel being
modern, while the rest are probably 15th or 16th-century work.
The tower arch is in three chamfered orders,
which die into the walls; the tower itself is in two
stages, with diagonal buttresses at the west. In the
west, north and east sides of the belfry stage are
14th-century windows of two trefoiled lights, with a
quatrefoil in the head, the heads of the main lights
being two-centred, except on the south, where they
are of ogee form. The tower has a plain parapet,
with crocketed pinnacles set diagonally at the angles.
The ground story on the west has a window of two
trefoiled lights like that in the west end of the north
aisle, in the traceried head of which is set a clockface with one hand. Over this window is a trefoiled ogee-headed niche for an image.
On the south aisle walls are traces of 16th-century
texts; to the east of the north door is a painting of
St. Christopher, and another of St. Michael weighing
souls, and our Lady holding down the scale. The
ground is powdered with Maria monograms.
The pulpit and some of the pewing date from the
15th or early 16th century, as does part of the
chancel screen, which has traceried openings on each
side of the doorway, and an embattled cornice.
The mullions are new on the south side, and on
the north have been replaced by 17th-century
balusters. The panelling at the bottom is old but
plain, and large box pews are set against the north
half of the screen on east and west.
There is a circular 14th-century font supported
by eight shafts, with roughly moulded capitals and
bases. In the chancel is an old chest, and near the
south door of the
nave a wooden
stock, formerly an
almsbox.
There are three
bells: the treble
inscribed 'Praies
God, 1599'; the
second by Joseph
Eayre of St. Neots,
1770; and the
tenor by Hugh
Watts, 1634, inscribed 'I.H.S.
Nazarenus rex
Judeorum fili dei
miserere mei.'
The plate consists of a silver
communion cup of
1569, with a band
of leaf ornament
engraved on it, and
a modern electroplated flagon and
a pewter almsdish.
The registers
previous to 1813
are in two books, the first containing all entries
from 1706 to 1812 and the second marriages 1754
to 1812.
ADVOWSON
The advowson of Shelton was
early divided into two parts, in the
proportion of two to one, and held
by the lords of the two Shelton manors. Thus in
1243 John de Croxton was declared to have two
turns to the church of Shelton, while Henry de
Soleby had one. (fn. 61) Until the early part of the 18th
century one-third of the advowson followed the
descent of the Malorys' manor (q.v.), while the
remaining two-thirds descended with the manor held
by the Skeffingtons and St. Johns (q.v.). Francis
Malory, who held the third part of the advowson in
1705, (fn. 62) appears to have parted with it before he sold
the manor to Theophilus Dillingham in 1714. (fn. 63) It
was doubtless on the strength of this third that
Thomas Wyatt presented in 1732 (fn. 64) and Charles
Simon Oakden in 1781, (fn. 65) while in 1801 this third
was in the hands of Mr. Freeman. (fn. 66) The two-thirds share of the advowson continued to descend
with the St. Johns' manor of Shelton. The
present patron is Lord St. John of Bletsoe.
The value of the church in 1292 was £6 13s. 4d., (fn. 67)
and at the time of the Dissolution £13 10s. 6d. (fn. 68)
CHARITIES
This parish appears to be entitled
to participate in the charity of Joseph
Neale. (See under parish of Dean.)