“ Sir John Shelton (1476/7–1539), who was the son of Ralph Shelton and Margaret Clere of Ormesby, was appointed sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk in 1504, and was made a knight of the Bath at the coronation of Henry VIII. His wife, Anne Shelton [née Boleyn] (c.1483–1555), whom he had married by 1503, was the daughter of Sir William Boleyn of Blickling, Norfolk, and sister of Sir Thomas Boleyn (1476/7–1539), the father of the future Queen Anne (c.1500–1536). While Sir John played the role of courtier and crown servant, was reappointed sheriff in 1522, and was an active JP in Norfolk, at the end of 1533 his wife, probably through her niece's manoeuvring, was placed in charge of Princess Mary at Hatfield House, Hertfordshire. The purpose of her commission appears to have been that she should put pressure on Mary to recognize Anne as queen. Possibly at Anne's insistence Henry had his daughter more closely confined, but Lady Shelton, though occasionally exasperated by her charge's stubbornness, usually treated Mary with gentle consideration, much to the irritation of Anne's adherents.

“By July 1536 Sir John Shelton had been appointed controller of the joint household established for Mary and her half-sister Elizabeth. On 22 November 1538 he was granted the site of the dissolved Benedictine nunnery of Carrow just outside Norwich, which became the family seat. He died on 21 December 1539, aged sixty-two, and was buried in the chancel of Shelton church. He had taken advice from three leading lawyers in drawing up a will which contravened the recently passed Statute of Uses. But his attempt to defraud the crown of its rights was soon detected, and in February 1540 his advisers were temporarily disgraced, while his ‘crafty conveyances’ were annulled by act of parliament (LP Henry VIII, 17, no. 28, C. 26). Lady Shelton outlived her husband, making her own will late in 1555; it was proved on 8 January 1556.”1243

Every Shelton seems to have a link back to Norfolk, England. The church in Shelton, England, has a plaque which reads:

"This church...was finished in 1499, built by Sir Ralph Shelton of Shelton Hall. Unfortunately he died before the edifice was fully completed and, though his son John was enjoined to continue building, yet, no doubt because of the troubulous state of the country in those years, the work was never finished."

"The alter is flanked north and south by alter tombs, the one on the south having been prepared by Sir Ralph Shelton for his own and his wife's interment, though the slab has since been rifled of its brasses. The tomb on the north of the alter has received in comparatively recent years the addition of various names and arms of members of the Shelton family, the accuracy of which is questionable."

"One of the most noticeable features of the church is the ancient painted glass in the three eastern windows. They form but a small proportion of this beautiful art which the church once possessed and depict various members of the Shelton family, including Sir Ralph (the builder of this nave) and his wife in the upper portion of the central window, and his son Sir John who married Anne Boleyn of Blickling (Aunt of the Queen). Also depicted are the Angelic Host, the Annunciation, King Edmund, Henry VI and yet more members of the Shelton family, together with coats of arms: all are brought together in a strange medley with those deep blues and reds which modern art can scarcely yet produce."

"The representations in the east window of the south aisle of Sir John Shelton and his wife Anne are of interest, the arrangement of the lady's coif being unusually good. She was an aunt of Queen Anne Boleyn and governess to the Princess Mary (later Queen)-a thankless task and difficult, for while the princess insisted on the deference due her birth being paid her in every minute detail, the Queen was equally determined that insults should be heaped upon her and that she should be made to feel her "bastardy". So, although Lady Shelton is commanded to treat Mary with severity and and even to beat her, yet at the same time she is warned that, should any harm happen to her charge, she herself would be held responsible. No wonder that Lady Shelton was "not a little frightened", and whenever Mary was ill cried bitterly and was in the utmost anxiety. The gift of Carrow Abbey seems to have been made by Henry VIII in recognition of the services of the aunt of the ill-fated Queen. It was to Carrow Abbey that Lady Shelton retired, there she died and there she lies buried."

"The Royal Arms on the wall of the tower are those of King William III."