Shelton  Festival 2005 11  - 26 June
St Mary's Church St Mary’s Church, built by Sir Ralph Shelton of Shelton Hall and finished in 1499, is a Perpendicular church of the first order, equalling the great Fenland churches west of King’s Lynn and St Peter Mancroft in Norwich. In his Will, Sir Ralph ordered his executors to “make up completely the church of Shelton aforesaid, in masonry, tymber, iron, and leede, accordinge to the form as I have begunne it…” The church was clearly completed to its original plan, representing the ideal of a new church of the period. It lacks a projecting chancel (in the 1490s these had fallen out of fashion), consisting only of the tower, nave, north and south aisles, south porch and a sacristy or chantry at the east end. The flint tower and west window of the south aisle are evidently part of an earlier church, the newer building being made of red brick with stone dressings. The well-proportioned  nave is a good example of the brickwork of the period. It is lit by nine clerestory windows on either side with larger windows in the side aisles. Externally, the clerestory windows are separated by miniature pillars and a light ornamental string-course runs all round the aisles, porch and east end. The graceful design of the east end is made all the more striking by the sacristy which has a window of three lights on its east side flanked by niches. The apex of each niche is contained within a square headed mould. The attractive south porch, which was never completed, contains a niche intended for a figure of Our Lady. Provision was made for a passage from the tower staircase to a priest’s room but work ceased before this room was built. This also explains the unfinished fan tracery of the porch ceiling. Internally, the height of the building is striking. It consists of five bays; between the arches are shallow niches and directly above these are stone corbels for the principals of the roof. On each corbel the letters RAS can be seen, together with the Shelton arms: a scallop shell above a tun. Sadly, the original roof was taken down in the 18th Century (legend has it that the materials were used for covering a tithe barn) to be replaced by lath and plaster. The 15th Century octagonal font consists of panels with four lions against the stern and, against the bowl, four lions alternating with four angels holding shields with the instruments of the Passion, the symbol of the Trinity, three crowns and three chalices. Only the early 16th Century dado survives of a screen which ran across from the north to the south walls. The lectern appears to be original; it is made up of what seem to be two very elongated bench ends with the book-rest between. On either side of the altar can be seen Elizabethan tomb-chests, the one on the south side carries shields of the Shelton family. Against the south wall of the south aisle is a Jacobean monument with kneeling figures, Sir Robert Houghton (who died in 1623) and his wife facing each other and two figures of their children in front. Much of the stained glass in the aisle windows dates back to the 16th Century, mixed with faded 19th Century patterns and borders. Various members of the Shelton family are depicted in the east windows. These include Sir Ralph and his wife and their son Sir John, who married Anne Boleyn of Blickling (aunt to Queen Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII and mother of Elizabeth I). The Shelton coat of arms is repeated in the windows; one can also see the Angelic Host, the Annunciation, King Edmund and Henry VI. The Royal Arms on the wall of the tower are those of William III. Sir John Shelton’s wife Anne was governess to Henry VIII’s eldest daughter, Mary, while Anne Boleyn was queen. This was not an easy task for, while Mary insisted on being treated as a royal princess, Queen Anne was equally determined that insults should be heaped upon her step daughter and that she should be made to feel her “bastardy”. Lady Shelton was therefore ordered to treat Mary severely and even to beat her but at the same time she was warned that if the girl were to come to any harm she herself would be held responsible. No wonder that Lady Shelton was “not a little frightened”  and cried bitterly whenever Mary was ill. Queen Anne’s daughter, Princess Elizabeth, was brought to Shelton in the care of her great aunt and uncle at the time of her mother’s execution in 1536. On at least one occasion, when Sir John feared that court conspirators bore her ill will, Elizabeth was hidden in the church itself. The Shelton name comes from the emblem which is a play on words from the Shell and Ton seen here and in various parts of the church.

The Shelton Festival is promoted by The Shelton and District Society for the Arts, a charity registered with the Charity Commission, number 1092218