I came across the grave of Stephen in the churchyard of St Michael and All Angels in Shalbourne, Wiltshire when I was researching my Digweed ancestors. He is my three times great grandfather, born in Great Bedwyn, who married Mary Ann Jones (1805-1882) in nearby Inkpen. They had moved to Shalbourne by the time their second child Stephen was born in 1831. Stephen and Mary had at least seven children, including my two times great grandmother Mary Ann Tuttle (1837-1900). Mary went on to marry my two times great grandfather Thomas Digweed (1836-1910). In the 1891 census they are living in Sherfield upon Loddon near Basingstoke. Their son Francis (1873-1959) is my great grandfather who eventually ended up living in Escrick, Yorkshire and was the coachman to the local squire.
Throughout his life Stephen was recorded in census records as an agricultural labourer. He also appears in the 1843 tithe records which show that he was a tenant of the Marquis of Ailesbury with 1 rood 19 perches of land. This is a third of an acre. Lewis’ topographical directory of England helpfully provides an overview of Shalbourne as it would have been when Stephen was alive.
Stephen’s wife Mary outlived him, and her 1881 census entry records her as living at 9 Shalbourne Mill which I have highlighted on this Ordnance Survey (Berkshire sheet XLI) map published in 1877.
I particularly wanted to acknowledge Stephen in my blog as Shalbourne has a connection to the agricultural pioneer Jethro Tull who died there in 1740. Prosperous farm is to the west of Shalbourne village and can be seen on this extract from OS Berkshire sheet XLI published in 1877.
Finally
I would like to know more about the people mentioned in this blog post. Do contact me if you have any further information which you are willing to share with me.
Notes:
The map used in this blog has been reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland under the following creative commons licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ and sourced from the NLS maps site https://maps.nls.uk/.
Bibliography:
Births, marriages, and deaths. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed November 2026.
Census records. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed November 2026.
England and Wales, Tithe Maps and Apportionments, 1775-1936. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed November 2026.
Lewis, Samuel ed. (1848) A Topological Directory of England. London: Lewis. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england : accessed November 2026.
OS Map. https://maps.nls.uk/ : accessed November 2026.
UK and Ireland, Find A Grave Index, 1300s to Current. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed November 2026.
