The SHIRLEY Family name was rare in Somerset before 1800. From this time the largest concentration of Shirley families found so far are my own who were orginally centred in the Horsington area. As in other South West Counties the name was spelt with an "A" in place of the more common "I". In Somerset this particular spelling of the surname has survived to the present day. The association with Horsington village started with my 4th Gt Grandfather and there are still descendants living in this general area today. Some details on the Somerset Shirley's is as follows: (This will be updated as more information comes to hand)
1.) The earliest Shirley presence in Somerset I know of is in 1510 with the mention of Thomas SHIRLEY Esq. of West Grinstead, Sussex who married Elizabeth GORGES and co-incidently, given my families presence there, inherited the Manors of Horsington and Cheriton. These were later inherited by his son Francis and sold by him to the LUDLOW family about 1559 (Which has been owned by the BAILWARD family since the middle 1700's)
2) The next Shirley family presence in Somerset that I know of is in the Somerset Subsidy Rolls of 1641 and is of Robert SHURLE of Henstridge paying 50s. I believe this Robert is connected to the Shirley family of Lydlinch in Dorset who had extensive land holdings at Bagbere near Sturminster Newton. Robert Shirley only owned property at Henstridge and to date I have not come across any records to suggest that he may have lived in Henstridge.
3.) In 1799 William SHARLEY, born in Ringwood Hampshire. married Anna CROUCH and thus began a long association with Somerset for the family. William and Anna had 13 children of whom 11 survived, 6 boys and 5 girls. The eldest son Thomas emigrated to New Zealand with his family in 1841 to be followed by the fifth son, James and family in the early 1850's. There are now over 1000 descendants that carry the Shirley name from these two families in New Zealand today. Of the other sons, Henry the second eldest had been the greatest mystery till recently when I discovered him in military records at the National Archives in Kew Gardens and then found him in the census records. He married a Elizabeth JONES and lived in London. There were no children that I know of. The third son John married in Horsington and his two children were born there, by 1851 this family are living in Bristol where both children eventually marry. By 1861 John & his wife are living in Surrey. The fourth son William married in Bristol to Mary Anne AVERY and also settled there. (William's surname has been mis-transcribed from records as "CHARLEY"). The fifth son James also married in Bristol but it appears he moved around alot as his children are born in different places including Wiltshire (where his wife was from) and Keynsham in Somerset as well as Bristol. Between his sixth and seventh child he moved to New Zealand in the early 1850's and eventually settled down in the same area as his eldest brother. The youngest son Charles was the only son to remain in Horsington. He married twice. He had 6 children by his first marriage to Maria BUTT and another 5 children by his second marriage to Sarah Anne TUFTON. Descendants of this family still live in the general area today, although I believe there are no Shirley's in Horsington itself. It is one of Charles son's, William that is mentioned in the small historical book that was published about Horsington some years ago.
4.) Before my William above is another William SHARLEY who lived in Horsington. He died 6 months before my William and Anna were married in 1799. I have no idea who he was or where he came from or if there is a connection to my family.
5.) There are a few other Shirley's mentioned in Somerset. Those at Bath are more than likely of one of the pedigree families from other parts of England. At a guess I would say the very well known Shirley's of Derbyshire who had family connections to Wiltshire and Dorset at various times.
6.) My latest discovery is Benjamin SHORLY son of Andrew. I have a very distant recollection that this family may have originated from somewhere near Downton in Wiltshire as I have in the past done some research on someones behalf and I think this included a Andrew Shirley. (The name Andrew is also found among the Shirley's of Lydlinch in Dorset).
| Date | Place | child's name, father's name, mother's name | Notes |
| 09Feb1666 | North Cheriton | Benjamin son of Andrew SHORLY | (See No. 6 above) |
| 19Jan1800 | Horsington | Thomas son of William and Anna SHARLEY | married Ann HALLETT in 1825, emigrated to NZ in 1841 |
| 19Jul1801 | Horsington | Elizabeth dau of William and Anna SHARLEY | |
| 13Jul1803 | Horsington | Henry son of William and Anna SHARLEY | just discovered joined military, no further information |
| 08Apr1805 | Horsington | Melinda dau of William and Anna SHARLEY | died in 1821 |
| 28Mar1807 | Horsington | John Crouch son of William and Anna SHARLEY | married Martha WEARE in 1848 settled in Bristol |
| 04Feb1810 | Horsington | William son of William and Anna SHARLEY | married Mary Ann AVERY in Bristol 1848?? |
| 10Apr1812 | Horsington | Anne dau of William and Ann SHARLEY | c. 25Aug1812 |
| 22May1814 | Horsington | James son of William and Anna SHARLEY | married Ellen COOK in Bristol 1841, emigrated to NZ 1850's |
| 09Jun1816 | Horsington | Charles son of William and Anna SHARLEY | married twice, descendants in Horsington till 1940's |
| 08May 1817 | Bath - R.C. | William Henry son of Samuel and Eliz. Mary SHIRLEY | |
| 27Dec1818 | Horsington | Mary Fannia dau of William and Anna SHARLEY | baptised at Abbas Combe |
| 26May 1822 | Horsington | Emily dau of William and Anna SHURLEY | married George HYDE in 1845, settled Templecombe |
| 25Dec1824 | Horsington | Amelia dau of William and Anna SHURLEY | married Stephen HARDING in 1845, two children, no further information |
| 07Aug1825 | Horsington | Matthew son of Thomas and Ann SHARLEY | to New Zealand with parents in 1841 |
| 25Dec1827 | Horsington | Jane dau of William and Anna SHERLEY | died in 1842 |
| 25Dec1827 | Horsington | Selina dau of Thomas and Ann SHARLEY | to New Zealand with parents in 1841 |
| 28Jul1829 | Horsington | John son of John and Martha SHARLEY | married and live in Bristol (unverifed) |
| 05Aug1829 | Horsington | Henry son of Thomas and Ann SHARLEY | to New Zealand with parents in 1841 |
| 01Dec1831 | Horsington | Ann dau of Thomas and Ann SHARLEY | to New Zealand with parents in 1841 |
| 25Dec1832 | Horsington | Marianne dau of John and Martha SHARLEY | maried in Bristol (unverified) |
| 18Jan1835 | Horsington | Sophia dau of Thomas and Ann SHARLEY | to New Zealand with parents in 1841 |
| 08Jun1837 | Horsington | James son of Charles and Maria SHARLEY | |
| 23Jul1837 | Horsington | Thomas Andrew son of Thomas and Ann SHARLEY | to New Zealand with parents in 1841 |
| 07Aug1840 | Horsington | Elizabeth dau of Thomas and Ann SHARLEY | to New Zealand with parents in 1841 |
| 01Mar1841 | Horsington | Henry son of Charles and Maria SHARLEY | died Wincanton and buried in Horsington 1872 |
| 23Oct1843 | Keynsham | Joseph son of James and Ellen SHERLEY | |
| 23Jun1844 | Horsington | William son of Charles and Maria SHARLEY | |
| 22Feb1847 | Horsington | Anna Jane dau of Charles and Maria SHARLEY | |
| 01Feb1849 | Horsington | Elizabeth dau of Charles and Maria SHERLEY | |
| 20Feb1853 | Horsington | Charles son of Charles and Maria SHERLEY | |
| 14Aug1864 | North Cheriton | Matthew son of Charles and Sarah Anne SHARLEY | |
| 02Oct1864 | North Cheriton | Sarah Jane dau of William and Mary SHARLEY | |
| abt 1865 | Horsington | Henry James son of William and Mary SHARLEY | No baptism found, confirmed from 1871 census |
| 09Jun1867 | Horsington | Amelia dau of Charles and Sarah Anne SHARLEY | |
| 09Jun1867 | Horsington | Tom son of Charles and Sarah Anne SHARLEY | |
| 30Aug1868 | Horsington | Emily Anna dau of William and Mary SHARLEY | |
| 23May1869 | Horsington | Beatrice dau of Charles and Sarah Anne SHARLEY | |
| 25Dec1870 | Horsington | Rosa dau of William and Mary SHARLEY | |
| 23Jul1871 | Horsington | Herbert Theodore son of Charles and Sarah Anne SHARLEY | |
| 13Nov1872 | Horsington | William son of William and Mary SHARLEY | |
| 29Nov1875 | Horsington | Walter John son of William and Mary SHARLEY | lived in Horsington all his life |
| 14Apr1878 | Horsington | William Charles son of William and Mary SHARLEY | died in 1879 |
| 28Dec1879 | Horsington | Tom Edward son of William and Mary SHARLEY | [First name possibly John] |
| 12Jul1882 | Horsington | William George son of William and Mary SHARLEY | |
| 26Feb1893 | North Cheriton | Herbert James son of James and Anne SHARLEY | |
| 21Oct1894 | Horsington | Henry James son of James and Ann SHARLEY |
| Date |
Place | Groom | Bride | |
| 27Aug1623 | Ditcheat | SCHERLYE, John | TOMPKINS, Rebecca | |
| 02Apr1782 | Combe Hay | SMITH, John | SHIRLEY, Mary | |
| 19Oct1794 | Bath Abbey | FRAPPELL, George (widower) | SHIRLEY, Elizabeth (of Widcombe) | |
| 22Jan1799 | Horsington | SHARLEY, William | CROUCH, Anna | |
| 14Oct1823 | Bath - R.C. | NEWPORT, Ed. | SHIRLEY, Elizabeth | |
| 24Feb1825 | Horsington | SHARLEY, Thomas | HALLETT, Ann | |
| 22Dec1827 | Taunton | SHORLY, William | HILL, Elizabeth | |
| 25Nov1828 | Horsington | SHARLEY, John C | WEARE, Martha | |
| 19Feb1838 | Horsington | SHARLEY, Charles | BUTT, Maria | |
| 09Sep1845 | Horsington | HARDING, Stephen | SHURLEY, Amelia | |
| 29Sep1845 | Horsington | HYDE, George | SHURLEY, Emily | |
| Sep1860 | Wincanton? | SHARLEY, Charles | TUFTON, Sarah Anne | (not verified) |
| Sep1863 | Wincanton? | SHARLEY, William | MAIDMENT, Mary | (not verified) |
| Jun1878 | Wincanton? | DAVY, John | SHARLEY, Sarah Anne (widow) | (not verified) |
| 01Oct1888 | Horsington | SHARLEY, Henry James | HINE, Eliza Ann | |
| 07Nov1889 | Horsington | HISCOCKS, George | SHARLEY, Rosa | |
| 31Dec1895 | Horsington | BENNETT, Arthur George | SHARLEY, Emily Anna | |
| 13Dec1913 | Horsington | SHIRLEY, William | CARDEY, Mary Ann | |
| 25Nov1914 | Horsington | SHARLEY, Walter John | PARSONS, Agnes Kate |
| Date | Place | Name | Age | Notes |
| 06Jan1768 | Bath Abbey | SHIRLEY, Lady Stuarta | - |
|
| 12Dec1797 | Bath Abbey | SHIRLEY, Mrs Hannah | - |
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| 28Jun 1798 | Horsington | SHARLEY, William | - |
|
| 26Feb1800 | Bath Abbey | SHIRLEY, Genl. Sir Thomas | - |
|
| 09Apr1821 | Horsington | SHIRLEY, Melinda | 15yrs | |
| 26May1842 | Horsington | SHURLEY, Jane | 15yrs | |
| 06Nov1842 | Horsington | SHURLEY, Ann | 62yrs | |
| 18Jun1851 | Horsington | SHARLEY, William | 81yrs | |
| 31Dec 1855 | Horsington | SHARLEY, Maria | 43yrs | |
| 06Jun1866 | Horsington | SHARLEY, Jane | 2yr 9m | drowned |
| 19Jul1872 | Horsington | SHARLEY, Henry | 31yrs | Wincanton Union House |
| 21Nov1879 | Horsington | SHARLEY, William Charles | 1yr 11m | |
| 10Apr1912 | South Cheriton | SHARLEY, Mary | 69yrs |
 
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