The Shelsleys are a group of small villages in the

Malvern Hills District Malvern Hills is a Districts of England, local government district in Worcestershire, England. Its council is based in Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, the district's largest town. The district also includes the towns of Tenbury Wells and Upto ...

in the county of

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Situated on either wide of the Teme Valley near the village of

Clifton-upon-Teme Clifton upon Teme is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills district in the county of Worcestershire, England. In 2021 the parish had a population of 871. Amenities Named after the River Teme which runs nearby, it has a village sho ...

, they encompass the formerly distinct

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

es of

Shelsley Beauchamp Shelsley Beauchamp or Great Shelsley is a village and civil parish north west of Worcester, in the Malvern Hills district, in the county of Worcestershire, England. In 2011 the parish had a population of 192. It is on the opposite bank of the Ri ...

, Shelsley Kings and

Shelsley Walsh Shelsley Walsh is a small village and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, on the western side of the River Teme. For administrative purposes it is presently located in the Teme Valley ward of the county’s Malvern Hills district. In the 20 ...

. The three merged in 1972 and now share a single parish council.

History

Shelsley means " clearing on a slope" from Old English scelf " shelf (of land)" and leāh "wood, clearing". The name was recorded as ''Scillislege'' in 948. Charles Nott, the Parson of Shelsley, was a leader of the

Clubmen Clubmen were bands of local defence vigilantes during the English Civil War (1642–1651) who tried to protect their localities against the excesses of the armies of both sides in the war. They sought to join together to prevent their wives and ...

who in 1645 drew up the Woodbury Declaration, which listed the grievances that local people had at the behaviour of

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

forces in the area. Following the

Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 The Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 (4 & 5 Will. 4. c. 76) (PLAA) known widely as the New Poor Law, was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the British Whig Party, Whig government of Charles ...

the Shelsleys Parish ceased to be responsible for maintaining the poor in its parish. This responsibility was transferred to

Martley Poor Law Union Following the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 individual parishes ceased to be responsible for maintaining the poor in their parish. Poor law unions were established. In west Worcestershire the Martley Poor Law Union was established to take the po ...

Shelsley Beauchamp

is the largest of the three hamlets of the Shelseys.

Shelsley Kings

Shelsley Kings was in the upper division of

Doddingtree The Hundred of Doddingtree was granted to Ralph Todeni, or ''Ralph de Toni'', a relative of the Duke of Normandy, in 1066 by William the Conqueror as a reward for his services as Standard bearer during the Norman Conquest. It consisted mainly of ...

Hundred.

Shelsley Walsh

''See main entry''

Notes

References

* * Local government in Worcestershire Malvern Hills District {{Worcestershire-geo-stub