Newsletter of the Shard*low Study Group

by Gerry Langford

December 1998

"Out of the Long Ago"
Everyone seems to have enjoyed reading this, John has suggested putting it on Internet and Cliff says "it has rekindled my interest considerably".

It was my intention to send copies to both the Norfolk and Suffolk FH Societies but if John does put it on the 'Net' a short note drawing attention to this would be sufficient and might attract some recruits.

I expect you will have noticed the inconsistency in the note about a Rev. Shardelow marrying a daughter of Lord Cornwallis, it goes on to say "Mrs Bilham was great great grandaughter to Lord Cornwallis". This would imply four generations between Dinah Bilham and the Cornwallis family, as she was born in 1790 the alleged marriage could not have taken place in 1755. 1655 would be more consistent and, as I have mentioned in the appendix there was a Rev. Shardelow at Beccles around that time. I am investigating this possibility.

South Africa
At the end of the last letter I mentioned Ron Shardelow who was initially contacted by Sandy, he is attached to the SA Embassy in Washington and, when he replied to Sandy, said he would contact his nephew Allen in South Africa who was interested in FH.

As we have not heard any more from Ron or his nephew I thought I would try to stir things up a little. I put a note on a SA Mailing List asking if anyone had knowledge of Allen and although nothing from him I have had replies from four people trying to help. I have written to two of the names suggested but not had any response so far.

One of the offers of help (a professional researcher) has since supplied me with details which confirm and extend a rather sketchy 'tree' from Ron. Unfortunately these do not take it back to earlier times to link with the original emigrant I had hoped to be able to connect this family with the chart published in SHARDS #8 because among the papers supplied by Ron was a copy of the one made by Gwyn's father but no indication of any connection.

I am still pursuing this line in SA.

St. Olaves
 Disappointing news regarding the Shardelows here, as my domestic situation makes it impossible for me to visit London at present I asked a researcher to look at what remains of the damaged records for this parish. He was unable to find any references to the name in Baptisms or Burials between 1700 and 1770 or Marriages from 1740 to 1800 so it would seem the name was not of long standing there as I had speculated.

There are references to Shardelow in St Olaves parish, Southwark which are being followed up.

ORIGIN of the NAME
Cliff has written to me commenting on the various spellings, as most of you will know for a long time I was convinced that SHARDLOW was of separate origin. My reason for thinking this was the geographical division, Shardalow or Shardelow in East Anglia and Shardlow in the midland counties, mainly Derby and Notts.

However more recent reading has forced me to change my mind, in the Derbyshire section of the Domesday Book there is a reference to SERDELAU as a place name and apparently this translates as SHARDLOW and a village of that name exists to this day. There is no mention of it as a personal name although there was a landholder called Serlo but not at Shardlow.

The Norfolk Domesday survey does not mention Shardlow or Shardelow as a place or as a personal name. The first reference I have as a personal name is in a document regarding the transfer of land, it is undated but thought to be about 1250. The spelling was Schardelowe and the land only about 5 miles south of Shardlow village so it would seem it had been adopted as a personal name some time before 1250.

STOP PRESS

Since writing the above, quite by chance, I have found the previous generation of the Shardelow family in Barry (SHARDS #8 ). John Hyatt Shardelow was the 5th of 6 children of Joseph Shardelow and Anne Atcherson of Gt. Yarmouth, Norfolk.

Due to the spelling I suspected the family originally came from Norfolk but did not expect it to be the same generation. Whether the whole family moved to London or only John remains to be seen.