Shotley (St. Mary)

SHOTLEY (St. Mary), a parish, in the incorporation and hundred of Samfoud, E. division of Suffolk, 8¼ miles (S. E. by S.) from Ipswich; containing 464 inhabitants. The parish is situated at the confluence of the navigable rivers Orwell and Stour, opposite to the town of Harwich, and comprises 2051a. 3r. 17p. of land, chiefly arable, with some pastures near the Orwell: the soil is various, and the surface undulated. Communication is maintained with Harwich by a ferry. Shotley was the seat of the Filney family, of whom Frederick was knighted by Richard Cœur de Lion at the siege of Acre. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £20, and in the gift of the Marquess of Bristol: the tithes have been commuted for £570, and the glebe comprises 54 acres. The church is remarkable for its elegance, which it owes to a former incumbent, the Hon. Hervey Aston, D.D., who completely pewed and beautified it in 1745.