Shelfield, Warwickshire

Shelfield
Shelfield is located in Warwickshire
Shelfield
Shelfield
Location within Warwickshire
Civil parish
  • Aston Cantlow
Shire county
  • Warwickshire
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
PoliceWarwickshire
FireWarwickshire
AmbulanceWest Midlands
List of places
UK
England
Warwickshire
52°15′33″N 1°49′28″W / 52.25917°N 1.82444°W / 52.25917; -1.82444

Shelfield (Medieval Latin: Scelfeld, Old English: Scylfhyll, Middle English: Shelfhull) is a hamlet in the parish of Aston Cantlow, Warwickshire. While a small hamlet today, Shelfield was its own manor throughout the 14th and 15th centuries. Containing about a dozen cottages,[1] Shelfield today is best known for its culture of equestrianism, its handful of Grade II listed buildings, and until 2013 it was also a home to the Baron Kilmaine.[2] The name Shelfield has its linguistic roots in Old English words scylf and hyll, which translate as 'shelf' and 'hill' respectively, and so the name could be translated as 'shelf hill' or 'hill with a plateau.'[3] While this Shelfield in Warwickshire is not listed in the Domesday Book, another Shelfield in Staffordshire is mentioned as containing a hide of waste belonging to the Manor of Walsall.[4]

Transliterating the Domesday Book Latin the entry reads: In Scelfeld est hida vasta pertinens eidem Manerio. In English: In Shelfield there is one hide of waste appertaining to the said Manor. This interpretation is further justified by a 1469 quitclaim in Walsall which records a witness named Richard Scelfelde;[5] implying 'Scelfelde' is the ablative form of Scelfeld denoting "Richard of Shelfield." As such, we see the name Shelfield not only in Old English, but also now in Latin.

  1. ^ "Our Villages now | Aston Cantlow Parish". Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  2. ^ "Eoin Kinsella (Professional Historian) | Extended Profiles | IAPH". iaph.ie. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Local History | Aston Cantlow Parish". Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  4. ^ "Walsall Wood: Manor and other estates | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  5. ^ Quitclaim by Thomas Brugge of Chillinton' to Roger Bayli, Nicholas Flaxhale, Richard... (in Latin). 5 February 2008.