England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Shenton St John the Evangelist

The Parish

The chapelry of Shenton, its mother parish being Market Bosworth, lies in southwestern Leicestershire not too far from its border with neighbouring Warwickshire, Shenton is located roughly 5 miles north of the industrial town of Hinckley and sits about 2 miles east of the A444 which links Nuneaton through to Burton-upon-Trent. Shenton is a small village largely built along a lane lining the valley of a small tributary of the River Anker, a further extension heads northeast passing the church and hall. Shenton's economy would have been chiefly derived from farming and in this area a mixed regime of almost equal proportions arable and pastoral would have been in place, locals would have also supplemented their income from some frame-work knitting which is prevalent across the East Midlands. Modern developments have come to Shenton albeit they have rather changed their usage over time, the Ashby de la Zouch branch-canal arrived first whilst a branch railway line linking Hinckley with Swadlincote came later, both are largely used today for leisure, the railway being partially converted to a heritage steam line, The Battlefield Line. The name comes from the site of the infamous death of King Richard III at Bosworth Field, it lies just across canal & line from Shenton. The small stream drains westwards to reach the Anker to the northeast of Atherstone, continuing northwest the Anker joins in turn the Tame and finally the Trent before turning back east on its long journey to the North Sea arriving through the Humber Estuary. Shenton is sited at around 80 metres above the sea in gentle terrain with few prominent summits and a general height of around 80 - 100 metres. Shenton chapelry covered an area typical of most southern rural parishes at close to 1,500 acres within that acreage would have been supported around 200 parishioners. In Domesday times Shenton was a rather small and insignificant place, whilst shared between 3 landholders only that holding of Robert de Vessay was sufficient to register assets totaling just 3 ploughs.

The Church

St John's church sits on the northern side of the dead-end lane leading from the village to the canal. Sadly the church is not some medieval masterpiece nor, indeed is it the venue for these ceremonies as it was built in the 1860s to replace a medieval predecessor. The church follows the cruciform layout favoured in really early churches yet utilises the style of the early 14th century, the Decorated. The roughly hewn stone, from Synop in nearby Derbyshire, gives a natural feel to the church, one speculates how it will weather. The church was clearly of little architectural interest for Pevsner who's account covers a mere 4 lines of mainly descriptive text. The lane, which passes, is of sufficient width for careful street parking, both church and surrounding churchyard are raised well above road level with a long flight of steps rising to their level from the metal-arched gateway. Sadly both southeastern and southwestern corners are closely clasped by trees eliminating the better aspects for the photographer and making for a challenging subject, especially on a sunny day.