St James in Shere is close to the Pilgrims Way between Winchester and Canterbury. There was a reference to a church at this location on the banks of the Tillingbourne stream in the Domesday Book of 1087. The present church dates from around 1190 and is a fine example of the Early English style known as Transitional.
In the 14th century a cell was built on the outside of the north wall, and in July 1329 the ‘Anchoress of Shere’ lived in the small space for three years for some ‘nefarious sin’ that history has not passed down to us. The cell no longer exists, but a built-up archway can still be seen here.
Due to the proximity of the Reffell brewery at Gomshall and the public houses of Gomshall and Shere, there are many of the family recorded in the parish registers here.
Those known to have been baptised here:
Richard Reffold, baptism date: 30 August 1690
Ann Reffeld, baptism date: 30 May 1777
Elizabeth Reffeld, baptism date: 10 August 1779
Ann Reffeld, baptism date: 21 May 1780
Sarah Reffeld, baptism date: 7 November 1780
John Reffeld, baptism date: 19 December 1781
Catherine Reffeld, baptism date: 16 July 1784
Joseph Reffeld, baptism date: 30 June 1786
Henry Reffeld, baptism date: 19 June 1789
Martha Reffeld, baptism date: 15 May 1791
James Reffeld, baptism date: 17 October 1794
William Reffell, baptism date: 19 August 1807
John Reffell, baptism date: 14 December 1808
Elizabeth Reffell, baptism date: 1 November 1814
Mary Ann Reffell, baptism date: 25 February 1816
Henry Reffell, baptism date: 12 October 1817
Caroline Reffell, baptism date: 21 July 1819
William Joseph Reffell, baptism date: 11 February 1823
Eliza Reffell, baptism date: 9 May 1824
Harriet Reffell, baptism date: 10 May 1829
Jane Elizabeth Reffell, baptism date: 25 May 1837
Mark King, baptism date: 20 May 1852
Caroline Elizabeth King, baptism date: 1 April 1853
Josephine Lavinia Reffell, baptism date: 11 November 1857
William Joseph Reffell, baptism date: 25 April 1859
Kate King, baptism date: 25 November 1860 Age: 6
Fanny King, baptism date: 25 November 1860 Age: 3
Charles King, baptism date: 25 November 1860
Alfred John Reffell, baptism date: 13 March 1861
Rosa King, baptism date: 28 June 1866
Flora Augusta Reffell, baptism date: 19 July 1866
Walter Arthur Reffell, baptism date: 7 April 1868
Charles Arthur Reffell, baptism date: 12 September 1870
Hilda Lavinia Reffell, baptism date: 3 August 1889
Mabel Bertha Reffell, baptism date: 29 November 1891
Those known to have been married here:
William Reffell and Hannah Smith, marriage date: 11 November 1779
Caroline Reffell and Mark King, marriage date: 21 November 1848
Charles Arthur Reffell and Ada Caroline Farhall, marriage date: 5 April 1899
William Joseph Reffell and Frances Alice Norton, marriage date: 21 October 1885
William Joseph Reffell and Kate Maria Boorer, marriage date: 4 February 1890
Josephine Lavinia Reffell and Frederick William Cannon, marriage date: 18 January 1888
Those known to have been buried here:
Elizabeth Reffield, age: , burial date: 21 march 1775
Elizabeth Reffell, age: 28, burial date: 19 March 1779
John Reffeld, age: , burial date: 3 December 1788
James Reffeld, age: , burial date: 28 December 1794
John Reffell, age: 52, burial date: 7 June 1798
Ann Reffell, age: 52, burial date: 8 November 1807
Elizabeth Reffell, age: , burial date: 12 November 1807
Robert Reffell, age: , burial date: 4 December 1807
John Reffell, age: 5, burial date:
Sarah Ann Reffell, age: 41, burial date:
Frances Alice Reffell, age: 26, burial date:
Sarah Reffell, age: 41, burial date: 15 January 1822
Eliza Reffell, age: 3, burial date: 24 October 1827
John Reffell, age: 57, burial date: 5 February 1838
John Reffell, age: 63, burial date: 21 February 1853
Elizabeth Reffell, age: 75, burial date: 15 September 1865
William Joseph Reffell, age: 62, burial date: 2 January 1884
Frances Alice Dorothy Reffell, age: 10 days, burial date: October 1887
Frances Alice Reffell, age: 25, burial date: October 1887
Emma Lavinia Reffell, age: 78, burial date: 8 August 1906
Kate Maria Reffell, age: 40, burial date: 8 April 1909
Ada Caroline Reffell, age: 47, burial date: 25 May 1916
Charles Arthur Reffell, age: 58, burial date: 16 October 1928
William Joseph Reffell, age: 73, burial date: 23 August 1931
Alfred John Reffell, age: 72, burial date: 6 April 1933
Rosina Bertha Reffell, age: 94, burial date: 10 December 1960
Charles Edward Fulcher Reffell, age: 63, burial date: 4 October 1972
Una Dorothy Anne Reffell, age: 86, burial date: 24 August 1999