Great Shelford
Encyclopedia
Great Shelford is a village
located approximately four miles (6 km) to the south of Cambridge
, in the county of Cambridgeshire
, in eastern England
. In 1850 Great Shelford parish contained 1900 acres (7.7 km²) intersected by the river Cam
. The population in 1841 was 803 people. By 2001, this had grown to 3,949.
Great Shelford is twinned with Verneuil-en-Halatte
, in the Oise
département of France.
s, a restaurant, a library
, estate agents, a delicatessen, a quality bakery well worth a visit to and a Farm Shop. There is a weekly Country Market
and monthly Farmers' Market
. The villages of Great and Little Shelford
are served by Shelford Railway Station
on the line from Cambridge to London Liverpool Street. The old Great Shelford library has been demolished and is being replaced by a new building which incorporates affordable housing by Bedfordshire Pilgrims Housing Association.
embowered in greenery and an ancient window framed with hanging blooms of wisteria
. The church has been much as it is now since Thomas Patesle rebuilt it in 1307; we see him in brass in his Vicar's robes on the chancel
floor. The tower was rebuilt with the original materials after its collapse in 1798 .
The church porch is two-storeyed with a splendid pelican
in its fine vaulted roof, the doorway having an old niche with a Madonna. The spacious interior has tall arcades with mediaeval clerestories
over them and heads between the arches, and eight fine oak angels look down from the hammerbeams of the roof. There is a 15th century screen with tracery in the north aisle enclosing an altar
in memory of a soldier killed on the India
n frontier; above the altar is a painting of two saints and a Roman soldier by the cross. The chancel stalls are carved with wild roses, the sedilia
with grapes and acorns, and the reredos
has a gleaming white sculpture of the Crucifixion
with saints and angels under rich canopies. There are a few fragments of old glass, fragments of Norman
carving set in a wall, and above the chancel arch a mediaeval painting of Doom, fading away.
One example is Richard Tunwell (1645–1713) who acquired land at Great Shelford, his first acquisition being a mere 1 acres (4,046.9 m²) of pasture, a copse and a close which was copyhold
land belonging to the Bury manor. When Freville's Manor was purchased [as superior proprietor] by William Freeman in 1701, the lands in Great Shelford belonging to the Manor were described as 142 acre (0.57465412 km²) of arable, 10 acres (40,468.6 m²) and a half a rood of meadow
, 8.5 acres (34,398.3 m²) of pasture
, a sheepwalk
or liberty of foldage and fold vourse for six store ewes, all by then in the occupation of Richard Tunwell. The Manor also had 0.5 acres (2,023.4 m²) of meadow in Little Shelford which again was occupied by Richard Tunwell. A rent roll of the Manor of Granhams dated 1708 shows that Tunwell and his sons held copyhold land from that Manor as well. From 1678 onwards, Richard Tunwell served as a Juror on the Bury Baron Court. By 1705, as a landed proprietor, he had qualified as a parliamentary voter and the Poll Book for the election held in that year shows that he voted for Sir Richard Cullen and John Bromley.
The Killingworth family also owned land at Shelford, as when Richard Killingworth of Great Bradley
in Suffolk
, gentleman, made his Will on the 12 September 1586, he left the following legacies to the poor - of Fulbourne £10; Balsham (where his son John held the manor) £10; GREAT SHELFORD £5; LITTLE SHELFORD £5; and Cambridge £20.
team, Shelford RFC, competes in the R.F.U.'s
National League 2 South
, and plays its home fixtures at its ground on Cambridge Road, in the North of the village. Great Shelford Cricket
Club plays in the Cambridgeshire Cricket Association's Senior League Division 3 and shares a ground with Cambridgeshire League football club, Great Shelford F.C.
.
Philippa Pearce
, who renamed it "Great Barley" (with the neighbouring village of Little Shelford
becoming "Little Barley", and Cambridge itself becoming "Castleford" and losing its university) in her books, most notably Minnow on the Say (1955). In this and other books the River Cam
, which flows through the village, became the River Say. The writer was brought up in Great Shelford and after some years in London
lived there again from 1973 to her death in 2006. Sir Peter Hall, the theatrical director, lived in the station house as a child and the author Tom Sharpe
has a house in the village.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
located approximately four miles (6 km) to the south of Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, in the county of Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, in eastern England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. In 1850 Great Shelford parish contained 1900 acres (7.7 km²) intersected by the river Cam
River Cam
The River Cam is a tributary of the River Great Ouse in the east of England. The two rivers join to the south of Ely at Pope's Corner. The Great Ouse connects the Cam to England's canal system and to the North Sea at King's Lynn...
. The population in 1841 was 803 people. By 2001, this had grown to 3,949.
Great Shelford is twinned with Verneuil-en-Halatte
Verneuil-en-Halatte
Verneuil-en-Halatte is a small village in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise.-References:*...
, in the Oise
Oise
Oise is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise.-History:Oise is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
département of France.
Local Services
Great Shelford has a wide range of shops and services, including three public housePublic house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
s, a restaurant, a library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, estate agents, a delicatessen, a quality bakery well worth a visit to and a Farm Shop. There is a weekly Country Market
Market
A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
and monthly Farmers' Market
Farmers' market
A farmers' market consists of individual vendors—mostly farmers—who set up booths, tables or stands, outdoors or indoors, to sell produce, meat products, fruits and sometimes prepared foods and beverages...
. The villages of Great and Little Shelford
Little Shelford
Little Shelford is a village located to the south of Cambridge, in the county of Cambridgeshire, in eastern England. The River Granta lies between it and the larger village of Great Shelford, and both are served by Shelford railway station, which is on the line from Cambridge to London Liverpool...
are served by Shelford Railway Station
Shelford railway station
Shelford railway station serves the villages of Great Shelford, Little Shelford and Stapleford in Cambridgeshire, England.-Service Patterns:A train leaves hourly in each direction...
on the line from Cambridge to London Liverpool Street. The old Great Shelford library has been demolished and is being replaced by a new building which incorporates affordable housing by Bedfordshire Pilgrims Housing Association.
Church
The churchyard is like a wayside garden, the porchPorch
A porch is external to the walls of the main building proper, but may be enclosed by screen, latticework, broad windows, or other light frame walls extending from the main structure.There are various styles of porches, all of which depend on the architectural tradition of its location...
embowered in greenery and an ancient window framed with hanging blooms of wisteria
Wisteria
Wisteria is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae, that includes ten species of woody climbing vines native to the eastern United States and to China, Korea, and Japan. Aquarists refer to the species Hygrophila difformis, in the family Acanthaceae, as Water Wisteria...
. The church has been much as it is now since Thomas Patesle rebuilt it in 1307; we see him in brass in his Vicar's robes on the chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
floor. The tower was rebuilt with the original materials after its collapse in 1798 .
The church porch is two-storeyed with a splendid pelican
Pelican
A pelican, derived from the Greek word πελεκυς pelekys is a large water bird with a large throat pouch, belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae....
in its fine vaulted roof, the doorway having an old niche with a Madonna. The spacious interior has tall arcades with mediaeval clerestories
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
over them and heads between the arches, and eight fine oak angels look down from the hammerbeams of the roof. There is a 15th century screen with tracery in the north aisle enclosing an altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
in memory of a soldier killed on the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n frontier; above the altar is a painting of two saints and a Roman soldier by the cross. The chancel stalls are carved with wild roses, the sedilia
Sedilia
Sedilia , in ecclesiastical architecture, is the term used to describe stone seats, usually to be found on the south side of an altar, often in the chancel, for the use of the officiating priests...
with grapes and acorns, and the reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
has a gleaming white sculpture of the Crucifixion
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
with saints and angels under rich canopies. There are a few fragments of old glass, fragments of Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
carving set in a wall, and above the chancel arch a mediaeval painting of Doom, fading away.
Local manors and families
Several great estates shared the two Shelfords, notably that of the de Freville family, whose manor house survives (and was resold in 2005) at Little Shelford, and who were there as early as 1300. But all appear to have generally had absentee landlords who sold copyhold lands and generally let others on long renewable leases. Farming survived at Great Shelford well into the 20th century. Several Yeoman families of note, the Deans, Howling, and Tunwell families, farmed here for centuries.One example is Richard Tunwell (1645–1713) who acquired land at Great Shelford, his first acquisition being a mere 1 acres (4,046.9 m²) of pasture, a copse and a close which was copyhold
Copyhold
At its origin in medieval England, copyhold tenure was tenure of land according to the custom of the manor, the "title deeds" being a copy of the record of the manorial court....
land belonging to the Bury manor. When Freville's Manor was purchased [as superior proprietor] by William Freeman in 1701, the lands in Great Shelford belonging to the Manor were described as 142 acre (0.57465412 km²) of arable, 10 acres (40,468.6 m²) and a half a rood of meadow
Meadow
A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...
, 8.5 acres (34,398.3 m²) of pasture
Pasture
Pasture is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs...
, a sheepwalk
Sheepwalk
A sheepwalk is an area of grassland where sheep can roam freely.The productivity of sheepwalk is measured by the number of sheep per area. This is dependent, among other things, on the underlying rock....
or liberty of foldage and fold vourse for six store ewes, all by then in the occupation of Richard Tunwell. The Manor also had 0.5 acres (2,023.4 m²) of meadow in Little Shelford which again was occupied by Richard Tunwell. A rent roll of the Manor of Granhams dated 1708 shows that Tunwell and his sons held copyhold land from that Manor as well. From 1678 onwards, Richard Tunwell served as a Juror on the Bury Baron Court. By 1705, as a landed proprietor, he had qualified as a parliamentary voter and the Poll Book for the election held in that year shows that he voted for Sir Richard Cullen and John Bromley.
The Killingworth family also owned land at Shelford, as when Richard Killingworth of Great Bradley
Great Bradley
Great Bradley is a village in Suffolk, England. According to Eilert Ekwall the meaning of the village name is the "wide clearing". The Domesday Book records the population of Great Bradley in 1086 to be 57...
in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, gentleman, made his Will on the 12 September 1586, he left the following legacies to the poor - of Fulbourne £10; Balsham (where his son John held the manor) £10; GREAT SHELFORD £5; LITTLE SHELFORD £5; and Cambridge £20.
Sport
Shelford's Rugby UnionRugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
team, Shelford RFC, competes in the R.F.U.'s
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union was founded in 1871 as the governing body for the sport of rugby union, and performed as the international governing body prior to the formation of the International Rugby Board in 1886...
National League 2 South
National League 2 South
National League 2 South, known before September 2009 as National Division Three South, is a league at level 4 in the English rugby union system. The league is one of two leagues at this level, with its counterpart covering the north of England...
, and plays its home fixtures at its ground on Cambridge Road, in the North of the village. Great Shelford Cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
Club plays in the Cambridgeshire Cricket Association's Senior League Division 3 and shares a ground with Cambridgeshire League football club, Great Shelford F.C.
Great Shelford F.C.
Great Shelford F.C. are a football club based in Great Shelford, near Cambridge, England. Established in 1912, they currently play in the Premier Division of the Cambridgeshire League.-History:...
.
Notable residents
Great Shelford was home to children's authorAuthor
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
Philippa Pearce
Philippa Pearce
Ann Philippa Pearce OBE was an English children's author.-Early life:The youngest of four children, Pearce was brought up in the Mill House in the village of Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire...
, who renamed it "Great Barley" (with the neighbouring village of Little Shelford
Little Shelford
Little Shelford is a village located to the south of Cambridge, in the county of Cambridgeshire, in eastern England. The River Granta lies between it and the larger village of Great Shelford, and both are served by Shelford railway station, which is on the line from Cambridge to London Liverpool...
becoming "Little Barley", and Cambridge itself becoming "Castleford" and losing its university) in her books, most notably Minnow on the Say (1955). In this and other books the River Cam
River Cam
The River Cam is a tributary of the River Great Ouse in the east of England. The two rivers join to the south of Ely at Pope's Corner. The Great Ouse connects the Cam to England's canal system and to the North Sea at King's Lynn...
, which flows through the village, became the River Say. The writer was brought up in Great Shelford and after some years in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
lived there again from 1973 to her death in 2006. Sir Peter Hall, the theatrical director, lived in the station house as a child and the author Tom Sharpe
Tom Sharpe
Tom Sharpe is an English satirical author, best known for his Wilt series of novels.Sharpe was born in London and moved to South Africa in 1951, where he worked as a social worker and a teacher, before being deported for sedition in 1961...
has a house in the village.