| Little Shelford | |
|---|---|
 The church | |
  Little Shelford Location withinCambridgeshire | |
| Population | 840 (2011)[1] |
| OS grid reference | TL451517 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Cambridge |
| Postcode district | CB22 |
| Dialling code | 01223 |
| Police | Cambridgeshire |
| Fire | Cambridgeshire |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| UK Parliament | |
| |
Little Shelford is a village located to the south ofCambridge, in the county ofCambridgeshire, in easternEngland. TheRiver Granta lies between it and the larger village ofGreat Shelford, and both are served byShelford railway station, which is on theWest Anglia Main Line fromCambridge toLondon Liverpool Street. The village has onepub, The Navigator, on the High Street.
The parish is mostly low-lying. It is bounded on the west by theM11 motorway and by field boundaries, and on the east by theRiver Cam or Granta. The highest point of the parish is Clunch Pit Hill, 31 m (TL447499).
TheChurch of All Saints, Little Shelford is the village'sChurch of Englandparish church. The church is aGrade II* listed building, and dates from the 12th century.[2]
Three tablets commemorate General SirCharles Wale, who survived many battles to die at Little Shelford in 1848; his son, who fell at theSiege of Lucknow; and his eight grandsons and great-grandsons who died inWorld War I. Other notable members of theWale family associated with Little Shelford includeThomas Wale,Gregory Wale and Henry Charles Wale. A monument to Gregory Wale can be seen onSt Margaret's Mount to the west of the village.
The de Frevillemanor house survives. One of many hidden ways leads past the manor and the farm where the river slips through a wood andkingfishers streak over an ancient mill pool.
The children's writerPhilippa Pearce renamed the village "Little Barley", with Great Shelford becoming "Great Barley", the River Cam, which flows through the area, becoming the "River Say", and Cambridge being renamed "Castleford" and deprived of its university. These names are used in a number of her books, most famouslyMinnow on the Say (1955) andTom's Midnight Garden (1958).
