Description:SHARESHILL is situated about nine miles south of Stafford and six miles north of Wolverhampton. It also includes Great and Little Saredon. The name is descriptive of the location of Shareshill and originates from ‘scraef-scylf’, the Old English for ‘a hill by a narrow valley’, or alternatively, from ‘scylf hyll’, the Anglo- Saxon for ‘ shelved terrain’.
In the Domesday Survey of 1086 Shareshill is recorded as Servesed and was held by Robert de Stafford whose tenant was Herveus or Hervey . There was sufficient land to support four ploughs, although only one is actually noted. The manor worth 10 shillings annually and the population was listed as two villeins (unfree tenants) and five bordars (small holders of land).
In 1532 23 families were recorded as living in Shareshill, the Swynnertons being the major family there at that time. The church contains two alabaster effigies of Sir Humphrey Swynnerton, died 1562, and his wife, Cassandra Giffard. The figure of Sir Humphrey is depicted in armour with a chain pendant around his neck, having the cross of Malta. In 1666, 23 households in Shareshill were assessed for the payment of the Hearth Tax and a further 13 being non-chargeable. 14 households were listed as chargeable in Great Saredon and 15 in Little Saredon. Little Saredon Manor is clearly identifiable by the large number of hearths, namely six.
The parish church of St Mary and St Luke is a Grade 2* listed building and the dedication is a rare one. It is a Georgian brick built church, built in 1752 with a curved sanctuary. The tower is Perpendicular with the upper part being built possibly about 1562. There is an unusual south porch which is semi-circular with two pairs of Tuscan columns. The church retains its original box pews and wall paintings have recently been discovered. Excellent acoustics mean that the church is used regularly for concerts. A new vicarage was built in 1845 in the Elizabethan Revival style.
The Rev’d William Henry Havergal, who was vicar of Shareshill, was a well-known composer of sacred music. His daughter Frances Ridley Havergal was a hymn writer, her most famous composition being ‘Take my life and let it be’. The family name is now remembered in the name of the village primary school.
Hilton Hall was formerly the seat of the Vernon family, who were one of the principal landowners in the area. The Vernon estate was sold off in about 1951. The Lords Hatherton (Littleton family) also owned considerable land in the area.
It is reputed that Dean Swift, the author of Gulliver’s Travels, stayed at the Four Crosses Inn on his way to Ireland. The landlady at that time was be a notorious scold. Swift did not take to her and scratched the following on a window in the inn: “Thou fool! To hang 4 crosses at thy Door! Hang up thy wife, there needs not any more.”
Nowadays Shareshill is largely a commuter village but it still sustains local agricultural activity. Right up until and during the 20th century the principal occupation was farming, with 20 farmers listed in 1924 and 22 in 1940 for example. Many of the farms have been owned by the same families for some generations.
For more information about Shareshill, see the Victoria County History Staffordshire, Volume V pp 173-182.