England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Shelland King Charles the Martyr

The Parish

The parish of Shelland is located in central Suffolk. Shelland is a very small settlement, little more than a hamlet situated about 3 miles northwest of the market town of Stowmarket. Shelland can be found about a mile south of the busy A14 road which connects the Suffolk ports with the English Midlands, Shelland has only a few farms and cottages to its name. The area is intensively arable, with cereals and oil seed predominating in large hedgeless fields, by way of contrast most of Shelland is grouped around its attractive village greens which have some woodland. What little drainage there is flows eastwards to join the River Gipping and reach the North Sea through Ipswich. Shelland is sited at around 60 metres above the sea and the land is largely the same height for many miles although gently undulating. Even by the standards of Suffolk Shelland parish was small, at less than 1,000 acres it would have supported merely 100 parishioners. Shelland in Domesday Book was held by one Richard son of Count Gilbert but boasted few resources and these not sufficient to merit documentation.

The Church

King Charles the Martyr's church sits on the southern edge of Shelland extensive village greens, set back from the narrow lane that winds through the settlement. The church is not a mediaeval relic but a creation of the 18th century, its stark rendering is a little disconcerting. Pevsner clearly was unimpressed as he devotes a mere handful of line to its description, the western bellcote being (beside the render) its principal feature. The church is approached from the lane by pleasant grassy paths and sits surrounded by a small copse with only the bellcote peeping out. Once inside the graveyard, however, things open out and there are few restrictions to photography.