The American link with the Suffolk village of Shelley
Shelley is a small village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. Located on the west bank of the River Brett around three miles south of Hadleigh, it is part of Babergh district. Probable built C13 with a north facing tower added C14, this little church was very obviously used by the Tylney family, who lived in the Shelley Hall nearby. It contains tombs and a chapel, all in the Tylney name. Elizabeth Gosnold Tilney, sister of Jamestown colonist and explorer Bartholomew Gosnold, is buried at All Saints Church, Shelley. Many people who come to Shelley will do so to see Dame Margarett Tylney. Her effigy lies in a window embrasure to the west of the pulpit. She died in 1598, shortly before the Tudor dynasty ended. Thomas Tylney, who married Elizabeth Gosnold Tylney, is also buried in Shelley church. Her sleeping effigy was witness to a quite extraordinary event in the early years of the 21st Century. In 2003, archaeologists working in Jamestown, Virginia discove...