Shelley

82. SHELLEY. (D.c.)

(O.S. 6 in. li. S.W.)

Shelley is a small parish, 1½ m. N. of Chipping Ongar.

Ecclesiastical

(1). Parish Church of St. Peter, near the middle of the parish, was entirely re-built in 1888, but retains from the previous church the following:

Fittings—Brass: In tower—on S. wall, to John Greene, 1595, and Katherine (Wright), his wife, inscription only, figures lost. Monuments and Floor-slab. Monuments: In tower—on E. wall, (1) of Agnes (Hunt), wife of John Greene, 1626, painted stone tablet, with enriched pilasters, cornice and pediment, small kneeling figures of man, wife, two sons and four daughters; on W. wall, (2) to Margaret, daughter of John Neale, 1652, plain rectangular slab. Floor-slab: In tower—on E. wall, to Hadesley Green, 1699, with achievement of arms. Plate: includes Jacobean cup without date-mark.

Condition—Good, re-built.

Secular

(2). Bundish Hall, house, barns and moat, about ½ m. N. of the church. The House is of two storeys, timber-framed and faced with brick; the roofs are tiled. It was built in the 17th century and refaced with brick in the 19th century. Two Barns S. of the house are of 17th-century date.

The Moat surrounds the house and outbuildings.

Condition—Of house and barns, good.

(3). Shelley Hall, N.W. of the church, is of two storeys, timber-framed and faced with modern brick; the roofs are tiled. It was originally built late in the 15th century, but has late 16th-century additions at the E. end. The exterior is modern, except for a four-centred door-head at the E. end carved with foliage and the date 1587. Inside the building the former Hall was originally open to the roof, but has had two floors inserted; the late 16th-century carved oak overmantel is in three bays divided by pilasters, and with a pair of semi-circular arches in each side bay and a square panel in the middle; the overmantel is enriched with carved arabesques. The original roof of the Hall is of two bays with a tie-beam and king-post with a moulded capital and four-way struts. In the roof space is a plastered partition with late 16th-century painted ornamentation in black, forming panels enclosing sunflowers, peacocks, etc.

Condition—Good, much altered.

(4). The Rectory, 500 yards W. of the church, is of two storeys, timber-framed and plastered; the roofs are tiled. It was built probably late in the 16th century, but has been much altered and enlarged. Inside the building is some original panelling and two panelled doors with cockspurhinges.

Condition—Fairly good.

(5). Newbarns, house ⅓ m. E.S.E. of the church, is of two storeys, timber-framed and plastered; the roofs are tiled. It was built in the 17th century and has a later addition on the S. side. One chimney-stack is original and has three diagonal shafts.

Condition—Good.

Unclassified

(6). Mound (15 ft. in diameter by 1½ ft. high), marked Tumulus on the O.S. on the W. side of the Cripsey Brook, about ½ m. W. of the church. A skeleton is said to have been dug up in the mound within recent years.

Condition—Much denuded.

(7). Mound (25 ft. diameter by 4 ft. high), in the grounds of Shelley Hall, has the general contour of a bowl-barrow.

Condition—Partly encroached upon by garden.