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1. Early Ancestral History
2. Spelling Variations
3. Ancestral Home of Shilleto of Kirkby Wharfe
England owes a great deal to sheep, or more precisely to the monks of the monasteries who had important trading links with the major wool buyers on the Continent and were expert in producing the very best quality wool for export. History tells us that circa 1330 King Edward III, saw the opportunity to improve trading by inviting skilled Flemish personnel to emigrate to England and teach their superior weaving skills to the English. It is likely that Edward III also extended this invitation to cloth merchants and other technical specialists. Family tradition says that the Shillito family came from Flanders perhaps from the area of the river Schildte from which they may have taken their name.
The first known record is of William Shillitoe who, with his wife Sybil, in 1374, was interested in part of a messuage (dwelling) and six acres of land in the area of Pontefract, in Yorkshire.
From here the family increased and spread out until we now have descendants all over the world. A second family tradition tends to support the idea that the first Shillito came from Flanders this second family were from Ypres, Flanders and arrived some time around the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes circa 1685. This family were resident in Colchester and has also at least one living descendant.
There were six families of the surname in the Yorkshire area in 1379 paying Poll Tax. In the 1378/9 Poll Tax Returns first and surnames appear "Latinised", the surname appears there as Selito. Of the six families paying their tax, four are resident in "Villata de Whitwod", (Whitwood, in the parish of Featherstone) the other two families lived in "Villata de Hoghton", (Houghton in the parish of Castleford.) These places are only a few miles apart. The Poll Tax enumerator gets himself into all sorts of knots when confronted with names which having a foreign or modern content do not readily lend themselves to being translated into Latin.
Wills are an important source for locating families prior to the introduction of Parish Church Registers in 1538. It is sometimes wrongly assumed that ancestors had nothing to leave if they did not leave a will - we know now that many people had such uncomplicated affairs that friends often dealt with such matters and did not always need to take a will to the church court to be proved...sadly there are few wills to take us up to the start of parish registers.
As can be seen from above spelling has tended to be erratic with Shillito most commonly used later. Apart from being found in the 1378/9 Poll Tax in Yorkshire the spelling variation Selito also occurs for a few generations in Newport around 1615 (see Burke's Landed Gentry, 1965, p. 560 "Sillitoe, formerly of Fordhall"). Today the most common spelling of the family name is Shillito - it was rarely spelled with an "h" outside the Northern Counties.
One of the reasons why spellings vary enormously is that for centuries there was no standard written English and this did not change until reading and writing was no longer the sole privilege of the Church, the wealthy or otherwise important persons. The spelling of both place-names and personal names was however the writer at the time thought it should be, Names even occur spelled two different ways in the same document. Single spellings like Shillitoc and Shillot occur due to clerical error.
The most common old and modern spellings are Shillito and Shillitoe in the North of England, Sillitoe is frequently found with Sillito in Southern counties, along with Shilleto and Shillito.
Other spellings have included Scillito, Shilito, Shelleto and Shylito.
Some Shillito ancestors were Lords of the Manor. Others were middle or minor gentry. At least four Shillito families have been granted the right of a Coat of Arms. Other ancestors were Farmers, Yeomen and Labourers. Other callings, professions, trades and occupations have included Mayors and Aldermen, Soldiers, Sailors, and if not tinker at least a Travelling quack medicine man, Tailors, Weavers, Smiths, Manufacturers and Merchants. There have been the shrewd and the reckless, adventurers and pioneers, Quakers and Vicars, Scholars and Teachers. Families have been engaged in a good many of the more modern trades and callings too. We think there is probably enough variety to say the Shillito family has over the centuries woven for us a rich tapestry of life.
Picture of Old Hall Ulleskelf in the mid - late 19th century.
A typical colour scheme of this period was green painted cast iron railings (in imitation of copper railings) with
a natural stone colour paint picking out the
corner wall and window lintel "stones" against white rendering.
The rendering, as it does in this case, usually conceals original brickwork.
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The Old Hall at Ulleskelf, close by the River Wharfe, was the one time home for several generations of the Shilleto of Kirkby Wharfe branch, having been built probably by the Squire family of York circa 1650. The tragic fire of 1740 which swept the village damaged part of the Hall and the renovation gave the three story house a smart brick Georgian front. Mr James Shilleto of The Hall was charged with the responsibility of distributing financial relief which had been collected by the Church to the affected villagers.
After the Shilleto family transferred to Cambridge the Old Hall fell into disrepair, it was tenanted for some years until finally being sold off. Again in a poor state of repair the Old Hall was purchased in the 1960's by a local builder who split it into two dwellings and lived in one half. One half of the Old Hall was offered for sale in December 1999.
On a visit in summer 1999 we were generously invited into the
house, the owners were already aware of part of the history of
the house and we were delighted to supply further information.
Interestingly the owners son reported that one night he thought
he had noticed a ghostly presence. The owners had heard that when
the notable Methodist preacher John Wesley visited the village a
villager threw a brick at him and the Rev. Wesley was taken into
the Hall for hospitality.
The house still exudes the sort of strength and depth one might
expect of an ancient Hall which has stood through storm, flood,
fire and civil war and seen three centuries of both local and
family history being made within its walls.
Go to The Ancestor Files for more information on individuals.
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