Shelley, Essex Genealogy

England   Essex   Essex Parishes



Parish History
Shelley St Peter is an Ancient parish in Essex.

The diocese of Chelmsford was created in 1914, prior to this Essex parishes were in the jurisdiction of the Bishops of London until 1845 when they transferred to the diocese of Rochester. The diocese of Chelmsford has 474 parishes and 600 churches and is the second largest region in the church of England outside London.

The medieval parish church of ST. PETER became ruinous towards the end of the 18th century and was considered unsafe for use after June 1800. In about 1768 it was described as 'of one pace with the chancel, and tyled. In the spire, which is shingled, are 2 Bells.' In 1811 a new church was built on the same foundations, the cost being met largely by subscription. This was a rectangular brick structure with a steep roof and a castellated gable at the west end. The windows were gothic but there was a Georgian bell cupola. Between the windows were massive buttresses, probably added later when the building showed signs of instability. In 1888 a faculty was obtained for building yet another church. The architect's report on the existing structure stated that repair was impossible and that in any case 'not one single feature was worth preservation'. The new church was designed by Habershon and Fawckner, and £3,000 towards the cost was contributed anonymously by the Revd. W. M. Oliver, Rector of Bobbingworth. The church is larger than those preceding it and consists of chancel, nave, north aisle, vestry, organ chamber, and combined north porch and bell tower. The external walls are of flint with Bath stone dressings. The tower has a shingled spire. The style is a 19th-century version of Early English and most of the windows are grouped lancets. The internal walls are faced with red brick, having dark brick bands and stone dressings. The capitals of the nave arcade are carved with stiff-leaved foliage. The east window has plate tracery, the stained glass being the gift of Mrs. Allen in 1888. Formerly there were two bells dated 1810; only one is now in use. On the walls of the porch are tablets from the original church. Over the door is an inscribed brass commemorating John Green (1595) and Katherine his wife. On the east wall of the porch is a carved and painted stone tablet to Agnes wife of John Green (1626); it shows the kneeling figures of husband and wife with two sons and four daughters. Also mounted on the porch walls are two floor slabs from the chancel of the original church discovered when the present foundations were dug. They commemorate Margaret, daughter of John Neale (1625), and Hadsley Green (1699); this last slab has an achievement of arms. The plate includes an undated Jacobean cup, a silver paten of 1724 given by Harvey Kimpton, (fn. 66) patron, and another of 1726 given by John Pearson, rector. There is also a beaker of 1799 given by Harvey Kimpton and two almsdishes probably of the 19th century.

From: A History of the County of Essex: Volume 4: Ongar Hundred (1956), pp. 206-208. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=15660&amp;amp;strquery=shelley Date accessed: 06 February 2011.

Shelley is a small urban settlement in the Epping Forest District, in the English county of Essex.

It is located on the B184 road, and is contiguous with the small town of Chipping Ongar.

The original parish of Shelley was situated slightly to the north around St. Peter's Church.

Civil Registration
Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD.

Church records
Contributor: Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts, non conformist and other types of church records, such as parish chest records. Add the contact information for the office holding the original records. Add links to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection

Online images are available Seax - Essex Archives Online From the Essex Record Office

Census records
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Index for the Census may be searched at FamilySearch Historical Records

http://www.1881pubs.com/ for details of public houses in the 1881 census

Poor Law Unions
Ongar Poor Law Union, Essex

In 1613 the cost of poor relief was 20s. 4d. In 1776 it was £64. In 1783-5 expenditure averaged £89 a year. In the years of scarce food at the turn of the century it almost reached £300 and through the Napoleonic wars varied between £200 and £345. There was a parish poorhouse by 1776. In each of the three years ending at Easter 1815 there were 16 or 17 persons on 'permanent' outdoor relief and 9 or 10 persons who were relieved occasionally. In 1836 Shelley became part of Ongar Poor Law Union.

From: 'Shelley: Poor relief', A History of the County of Essex: Volume 4: Ongar Hundred (1956), pp. 208. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=15661&amp;amp;strquery=shelley Date accessed: 06 February 2011.

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Essex Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Maps and Gazetteers
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 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
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