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| Kneeling Female |
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| The shield of Boleyn which can just be seen lower left is an insertion of earlier glass. |
| Margaret Shelton, kneeling |
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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. SOURCE: The official
SHELTON FESTIVAL held annually at ST. MARY'S Church - Norfolk ENG.
My Sheltons of Patrick, Halifax and Middlesex Counties, Virginia
To my home page "Virginia Roots"
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