Alan Shelley

For many years the Executive of our Association has been disturbed by the corrupt admissions of ‘Unentitled Freemen’. The dwindling uptake of responsible freemen has generated discussions among the Gilds leading to considerable concern regarding sustainability. Most gild committees are made up of elderly experienced freemen, faced with finding responsible replacements. We must all recognise that Borough Freedom status requires a genuine applicant to be either a descendant or an authorised apprentice. Since the Municipal Corporations Act, 1835 and subsequent…

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EXPLANATORY NOTES                                                                      INTRODUCTION  These explanatory notes relate to the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act, which received Royal Assent on 12th November 2009.  They have been prepared by the Department for Communities and Local Government in order to assist the reader of the Act.                                 CHAPTER 5: LOCAL FREEDOMS AND HONORARY TITLES  Introduction and background  63. This Chapter makes amendments to provisions in the Local Government Act 1972 concerning freemen (local freedoms), and honorary aldermen and honorary freemen (honorary titles).  …

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DNA indicates the family originates from Northern Europe and Anglo-Saxon in establishment. The surname Shelley has been attributed to an English locality of that name*. Three locations named Shelley anciently existed, in Suffolk nr Sudbury, in Essex nr Ongar and in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The earliest of these places, recorded in Old English, is ‘Schelfeage’ in Suffolk c 995. In the Domesday Book it is Sceveleia. The name precisely describes the home manor location. ‘Shelley’ is derived from…

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Borough Regulation The culture of English society really began in the boroughs created by Alfred the Great. In such an insular self-governing enclosure it was necessary to create rules and regulations. As mentioned previously in my comments on borough freemen, the law of custom determined that responsibilities would be shared upon the kinship of families. The local laws developed and were governed via the Moot hall. Digressions would normally result in monetary fines. Deliberate injuries or crimes against a neighbour…

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This church building has great importance in the history of the ‘Freemen of Gloucester’. Built in the 12th century in the Westgate ward of the old city, it performed a principal part in the support of the ancient burh (borough). The church became redundant in 1971 and is now under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. Strategically located within the early burgage plots it was central in serving the Corporation and the industrious trades merchants of the City. The…

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To whom it may concern The City of Gloucester has good grounds for consideration of entitlement as a ‘royal’ town. Initiated by Alfred the Great and by Ethelred and Aethelflaed whose palace was at Gloucester. From earliest times it has been a place of noble patronage. Bede spoke of it as ‘one of the noblest cities in the Kingdom’. Alfred’s grandson Athelstan, first king over all of England was raised and died in Gloucester (buried in Malmesbury Abbey). Gloucester was…

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