 He was the eldest son of Sir Timothy Shelley (1753–1844), a Whig Member of Parliament for Horsham from 1790 to 1792 and for Shoreham between 1806 and 1812, and his wife, Elizabeth Pilfold (1763–1846), a Sussex landowner.He had four younger sisters and one much younger brother.He received his early education at home, tutored by the cleric Evan Edwards of nearby Warnham.