and directly supporting the incumbent and church, being of , remaining almost unchanged until at least 1914. The parish rectory, near the hall but no longer existing, was described as "an ancient timber-framed building", and was where Thomas Newton (1704–1782), subsequently the Bishop of Bristol from 1761 to his death, wrote his Dissertations on the Prophecies, which he completed in 1758. The rectory, about west from the church, dated to perhaps before the 16th century, was later enlarged, was restored in 1861, and had a front face of four gables with a two-storey porch at the centre. The house was burnt down when unoccupied in 1937. Within the church was noted a memorial of inscribed brass with effigy to John Green, who died in 1626, aged 89, and his wife, and sixteen children of whom seven were boys. The children left the manor but produced 111 grandchildren during the life of John Green and his wife. The parish registers date to 1689 for baptisms, 1687 for burials, and 1709 for marriages. Two parish charities were those of Harvey Kimpton who was Lord of the Manor until his death in 1817, and of William Bullock in 1822. The Kimpton charity of £110.5s.2d. gave a three per cent dividend per year, as did the Bullock charity from a bank annuity of £333.6s.8d. Both charities provided for the relief of parish poor, with Bullock's being distributed by the rector on Christmas Day in the form of beef, bread and coal to those of good character. The rector was also responsible for the upkeep of Shelly Bridge over Cripsey Brook on Moreton Road to the south-west of the church. Shelley parish was in the Ongar Union – poor relief provision set up under the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 – and in the Ongar Rural Deanery, of the Essex Archdeaconry of the Diocese of St Albans. In 1888 St Peter's Church was entirely rebuilt on same site in Early English style with flint and Bath stone. The new, and existing, church has a nave of three bays, a north aisle, a vestry and an organ chamber. The tower, with shingle broach spire, and containing two bells dating to 1810, is built at the north west corner of the church, the base of the tower forming the north facing porch. During digging the foundations for new church, two tombstones, dated 1652 and 1765, were discovered