The origin of the Shilvock name goes back over 1,000 years. In 1086 the Doomsday Book commissioned by William the Conqueror after his invasion of England in 1066 lists a manor in Shropshire called Shelv'oak. Translation of the Saxon shows that the manor was named after oak trees on a shelf i.e. a flat area on the side of a hill. A farm still exists on the site known today as Shelvock 2 miles North West of Ruyton-XI-Towns and an oak tree still grows on the side of the hill (not the original!!)
At the time of the conquest the land was owned by Edwin, Earl of Mercia but passed into Norman hands under Roger, Earl of Montgomery and Shrewsbury after 1066. An area of a few square miles around the town of Halesowen (now in Worcestershire) was also part of the lands owned by Roger Earl of Shrewsbury. It continued to be part of Shropshire until about 1845 when it was absorbed into the surrounding county of Worcestershire.
In the early 1600s a family called Shelvock was recorded in the Halesowen area. It seems likely (but not proven) that these were workers transferred by the lord who owned the Manor of Shelvock to work on his lands around Halesowen. Due to the local pronunciation and the fact that few common folk could read or write, the name in the area subsequently was written in chuch records etc as SHILVOCK. The early arrival of the Industrial Revolution in the area due to coal and iron deposits meant the town expanded rapidly and the SHILVOCK spelling became the norm. The Shelvock and Shelvoke versions only persisted in the original Shropshire areas.
The Shilvock line from Mary Jane Shilvock, wife of Albert Henry Allwood, comes from her father Mathew Shilvock born in Clent and married Harriet Bowater of Belbroughton (2 miles south of Clent). Mathew's parents were Charles Shilvock born 1775 and Elizabeth Burton born 1783, both in Halesowen and married on 22 Mar 1802. Charles' parents were John Shilvock 1745 and Elizabeth Shaw who were married at Halesowen on 4 May 1758. John's parents were John Shilvock born about 1708 and Mary (possibly Crosswell) who married in Halesowen in December 1730. John is almost certainly descended from the family that moved to Halesowen from Shelvock in Shropshire in the 1600s.
More information can be found on Mark Grace's wonderful website www.creativegraces.net
Reards
Tim Shilvock