The Shelsleys are a group of small villages in the

Malvern Hills District Malvern Hills is a local government district in Worcestershire, England. Its council is based in the town of Malvern, and its area covers most of the western half of the county, including the outlying towns of Tenbury Wells and Upton-upon-Severn ...

in the county of

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Situated on either wide of the

Teme Valley The River Teme (pronounced ; cy, Afon Tefeidiad) rises in Mid Wales, south of Newtown, and flows southeast roughly forming the border between England and Wales for several miles through Knighton before entering England in the vicinity of B ...

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. Amenities Named after the River Teme which runs nearby, it has a village shop, parish church (dedicated to Saint Kenelm) ...

, 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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

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 Riv ...

, 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 2011 ...

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

History

Shelsley means " clearing on a slope" from Old English scelf "

shelf Shelf ( : shelves) may refer to: * Shelf (storage), a flat horizontal surface used for display and storage Geology * Continental shelf, the extended perimeter of a continent, usually covered by shallow seas * Ice shelf, a thick platform of ice f ...

(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 d ...

who in 1645 drew up the

Woodbury Declaration 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 d ...

, 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 governme ...

forces in the area. Following the

Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 The ''Poor Law Amendment Act 1834'' (PLAA) known widely as the New Poor Law, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the Whig government of Earl Grey. It completely replaced earlier legislation based on the ''Poor Relief ...

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