Great Shelford
Great Shelford | ||
---|---|---|
Shire county | ||
Region | ||
Country | England | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom | |
Post town | Cambridge | |
Postcode district | CB22 | |
Dialling code | 01223 | |
Police | Cambridgeshire | |
Fire | Cambridgeshire | |
Ambulance | East of England | |
UK Parliament | ||
Great Shelford is a village located approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) to the south of Cambridge, in Cambridgeshire, in eastern England. In 1850 Great Shelford parish contained 1,900 acres (7.7 km2)[citation needed] bisected by the River Cam. The population in 1841 was 803 people.[citation needed] By 2001, this had grown to 3,949 and by the Census 2011 to 4,233.[1] It was described as Britain's twenty-second richest village in 2011.[2]
Great Shelford is twinned with Verneuil-en-Halatte, in the Oise département of France.[3]
Services and culture
Great Shelford has a range of shops and services, including a wine merchant/bar, two
A large country house in the village was used for a concert named 'The Tea Set' in October 1965, which featured performances from
The Shelford Delicatessen features in a 2008 list by The Independent of The 50 Best Delicatessens in Britain.[6]
Notable buildings
Parish church
The parish church of
The church porch is two-storeyed with a splendid
Houses
De Freville Farm is a 16th-century timber-framed farmhouse with hall and cross wings. Oak Cottage is also 16th century and has a richly carved
History
This section needs additional citations for verification. (November 2019) |
Manors and families
Several great estates shared the two Shelfords, notably that of the de Freville family, whose manor house survives (and was resold in 2005) at Little Shelford, and who were there as early as 1300. But all appear to have generally had absentee landlords who sold copyhold lands and generally let others on long renewable leases. Farming survived at Great Shelford well into the 20th century. Several Yeoman families of note, the Deans, Howling, and Tunwell families, farmed here for centuries.
One example is Richard Tunwell (1645–1713) who acquired land at Great Shelford, his first acquisition being a mere 1-acre (4,000 m2) of pasture, a copse and a close which was copyhold land belonging to the Bury manor. When Freville's Manor was purchased [as superior proprietor] by William Freeman in 1701, the lands in Great Shelford belonging to the Manor were described as 142 acres (0.57 km2) of arable, 10 acres (40,000 m2) and a half a rood of
The Killingworth family also owned land at Shelford, as when Richard Killingworth of Great Bradley in Suffolk, gentleman, made his will on 12 September 1586, he left the following legacies to the poor – of Fulbourne £10; Balsham (where his son John held the manor) £10; Great Shelford £5; Little Shelford £5; and Cambridge £20.
Historical geography
Great Shelford was colonised by academics of the University of Cambridge in Victorian times; in the 20th century it became a home for commuters. However the original settlement pattern can still be traced. The core of the modern village lies between the sites of two Anglo-Saxon settlements one of which itself occupied the site of a Romano-British village and the other was nearer to Little Shelford.[9]
Education
Shelford is home to Great and Little Shelford CofE (A) Primary School.[10] In 2023 it had 211 pupils and in 2018 obtained a "Good" Ofsted rating.[11] The headteacher is Christopher Grey.[12]
Sport and activities
Shelford's
Shelfords and Stapleford have a very active Scout Group with a Beaver Colony, a Cub Pack and a Scout Troop. GirlGuiding has a Guide group, Brownies and Rainbows. All these groups meet in the Scout and Guide HQ within the village.[13]
Notable people
Great Shelford was home to children's author
The ancestry of US President Barack Obama was traced to the village in 2009, bringing Great Shelford into the national media.[14][15]
Events
The Shelford Festival and Feast takes place every year in the 2nd week of July. The origins of the Shelford Feast date back to medieval times.[16] The Feast continued until the Second World War, the last one being held in 1938 until revived in 1994. Since 1994 The Shelford Feast has been held every year except 2020, and by 2023 had donated £370,000 to local good causes. The next Shelford Feast Day will be on July 7th 2024 with a festival events from July 6th to 13th.
References
- ^ "Civil Parish population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
- ^ McGhie, Caroline (28 March 2011). "Britain's richest villages". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ "Shelford Twinning Association". Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- ^ Display of future plans for library, Great Shelford Library
- ISBN 9780955462405.
- ^ "The 50 Best Delicatessens". The Independent. 9 August 2008. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ Hadfield, John, ed. (1980) The Shell Book of English Villages. London: Michael Joseph; p. 126
- ^ Hadfield, John, ed. (1980) The Shell Book of English Villages. London: Michael Joseph; p. 126
- ^ Hadfield, John, ed. (1980) The Shell Book of English Villages. London: Michael Joseph; p. 126
- ^ Grey, Christopher. "Great and Little Shelford Primary School". Shelfordschool.org.uk.
- ^ "Ofsted Report". Reports.ofsted.gov.uk.
- ^ Evans, Alison. "Headteacher". Shelfordschool.org.uk. Archived from the original on 30 December 2012.
- ^ "Shelfords and Stapleford Scout Group - Scouting in Great Shelford, Little Shelford & Stapleford, Cambridgeshire". Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ Britten, Nick (4 March 2009). "Barack Obama 'can trace history back to Cambridgeshire village'". Retrieved 6 May 2019 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ "Barack, The Beast and the Feast". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ Grey, Duncan. "Shelford Feast History". www.shelfordfeast.co.uk/about.html.
Bibliography
- History, Gazetteer and Directory of Cambridgeshire, published by Robert Gardner, Peterborough, 1851.
- Bullwinkle, Alan (February 1984). "The Tunwells of Fulbourn and Great Shelford". Cambridgeshire Family History Society Journal. 4 (5). Cambridge: 123–125.
- Mee, Arthur, Cambridgeshire; new rev. ed. (The King's England.) London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1965, p. 140.