Ashbury - Ashchurch

Ashbury (St. Mary)

ASHBURY (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Farringdon, hundred of Shrivenham, county of Berks, 6¼ miles (N. W. by W.) from Lambourn; containing, with the tythings of Idstone and Odstone, and the hamlet of Kingstone-Winslow, 819 inhabitants. It comprises 5600 acres, a large portion of which is appropriated to dairy-farms. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £11. 8. 1½.; net income, £375; patron, the Bishop of Bath and Wells, who presents one of three candidates nominated by Magdalene College, Oxford. The rectory is a sinecure, valued at £30. 12. 6., and now in the hands of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners; net income, £567. The tithes were commuted for land, valued at about £500 per annum, and a money payment, by an inclosure act in 1770; the glebe consists of 25 acres. The Roman road called the Ikeneldway passes near the village; and in the parish is an intrenchment named Alfred's Camp, near which are two barrows. Here are also a tumulus and cromlech, popularly designated "Wayland Smith," with which is connected a tradition, introduced by Sir Walter Scott in his romance of Kenilworth.

Ashbury (St. Mary)

ASHBURY (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Oakhampton, hundred of Black Torrington, Black Torrington and Shebbear, and N. divisions of Devon, 5¼ miles (S. W. by W.) from Hatherleigh; containing 65 inhabitants. It contains about 1450 acres, in general of a clayey soil. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £5. 13. 4., and in the gift of the Crown; income, £96. There are 120 acres of glebe.

Ashby (St. Peter)

ASHBY (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Caistor, wapentake of Bradley-Haverstoe, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 6¼ miles (S. by W.) from Grimsby; containing, with the hamlet of Fenby, 211 inhabitants. This parish, which is situated on the old road from Grimsby to Louth, and on the borders of the Wolds, comprises, with Fenby, 1637 acres by admeasurement; the soil is fertile, and the sub-soil generally chalk; the surface is undulated. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £14. 10. 10., and in the gift of the Crown: the tithes have been commuted for £252, and the glebe comprises 45 acres. The church, a very ancient structure in the early English style, with a square tower, contains an oak pulpit richly carved, and an elegant octagonal font, supported on a clustered pedestal, and panelled in quatrefoil: there are also two handsome monuments, one of which is to the memory of Sir William and Lady Frances Wray. There is a chapel of ease at Fenby; also a place of worship in the parish for Wesleyans. In 1641 six almshouses were built by Dame Wray, and endowed by her son Sir Christopher with a rent-charge of £30.

Ashby (St. Helen)

ASHBY (St. Helen), a parish, in the union of Spilsby, Wold division of the wapentake of Candleshoe, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 2¼ miles (E. by N.) from Spilsby; containing 160 inhabitants. It comprises 906 acres by measurement. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £7. 10. 2½.; net income, £157, arising from 135 acres of land allotted in 1811 in lieu of tithes by an inclosure act; patrons, the Representatives of the late Dr. Fowler, Bishop of Ossory. The church was rebuilt in 1841.

Ashby

ASHBY, a township, in the parish of Bottesford, union of Glandford-Brigg, E. division of the wapentake of Manley, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 6½ miles (W. by S.) from Glandford-Brigg; containing 429 inhabitants. The village is large and pleasant, and the township comprises about 2100 acres, extending over the western ridge of the Wolds to the river Trent, near which is a tract of moory land that has just undergone the process of warping. There is a decoy, abounding in wild-duck and other aquatic birds; in the immediate vicinity of which, a handsome mansion was built in 1841, by H. Healey, Esq. Forty acres of land were awarded to the vicar of the parish at the inclosure. There are places of worship for Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists.

Ashby (St. Mary)

ASHBY (St. Mary), a parish, in the East and West Flegg incorporation, hundred of West Flegg, E. division of Norfolk, 4 miles (N.) from Acle. This parish, which was consolidated with those of Thirne and Oby in 1604, now comprises about 1900 acres, whereof 800 are marsh and meadow land. The three places form one rectory, valued in the king's books at £10, and in the gift of the Bishop of Norwich: the tithes have been commuted for £690. Ashby consists of only one farm; it had formerly a church, of which there are very slight remains. The parsonage-house, a respectable residence, is in Oby, and has a glebe of about 23 acres.

Ashby (St. Mary)

ASHBY (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Loddon and Clavering, hundred of Loddon, E. division of Norfolk, 7½ miles (S. E.) from Norwich; containing 263 inhabitants. The waste lands were inclosed under an act passed in 1837. The living is a rectory, united to that of Carleton, and valued in the king's books at £6. The church consists of a nave and chancel, with a square tower; the entrance on the south is through a rich Norman doorway.

Ashby (St. Mary)

ASHBY (St. Mary), a parish, in the union and hundred of Mutford and Lothingland, E. division of Suffolk, 6 miles (N. W.) from Lowestoft; containing 53 inhabitants, and comprising 1003 acres. The living is a discharged rectory, valued in the king's books at £6, and in the gift of the family of Anguish: the tithes have been commuted for £205, and the glebe consists of about 22 acres. The church is a small thatched building, having a tower circular at the base, and octangular above.

Ashby, Canons (St. Mary)

ASHBY, CANONS (St. Mary), parish, in the union of Daventry, hundred of Greens-Norton, S. division of the county of Northampton, 8 miles (w. by N.) from Towcester; containing 252 inhabitants. This place is remarkable as the residence of the family of the poet Dryden, who obtained their property here chiefly by marriage with Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Cope, in the reign of Mary: Erasmus Dryden, of CanonsAshby, was made high sheriff of the county in the 40th of Elizabeth, and advanced to the dignity of a baronet in 1619. The parish consists of 3070a. 29p., of which 1715a. 29p. are exclusive of the chapelry of Adstone; a portion is occupied by a well-wooded park. Here was a priory of Black canons, founded about the time of John, and the revenue of which at the Dissolution was £127. 19.: in the alienation no endowment was reserved for the service of the church, and consequently there is now no incumbency.

Ashby, Castle (St. Mary Magdalene)

ASHBY, CASTLE (St. Mary Magdalene), a parish, in the union of Hardingstone, hundred of Wymmersley, S. division of the county of Northampton, 8 miles (E. by S.) from Northampton; containing 172 inhabitants. It appears to derive the prefix to its name from an ancient castle which is thought to have stood near the site of the present magnificent mansion of the Marquess of Northampton, where the foundation stones of a large building have been discovered. The parish comprises 1889a. 2r. of land, the greater part arable; the soil is a strong clay, the sub-soil mostly limestone, in some parts gravel. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £17. 9. 7., and in the gift of the marquess: the tithes have been commuted for £237. 18. 2., and the glebe consists of 120 acres. The church forms a picturesque object in his lordship's grounds, and is principally in the decorated style of English architecture; the north entrance is through a beautiful Norman arch in good preservation. Some skeletons and warlike weapons of an early date have been dug up in the neighbourhood.

Ashby, Cold (St. Denis)

ASHBY, COLD (St. Denis), a parish, in the union of Brixworth, hundred of Guilsborough, S. division of the county of Northampton, 11½ miles (N. W. by N.) from Northampton; containing 443 inhabitants. This parish, which comprises by computation 2077 acres, forms a verdant tract of elevated ground, and is traversed on the north-east by the road from Northampton to Leicester. From the bold declivity terminating the lofty ridge upon which the village stands, extensive and beautiful prospects are obtained of the surrounding country. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 0. 5.; net income, £230; patron and incumbent, the Rev. W. Mousley; impropriators, the family of Buxton: the glebe consists of about 120 acres of good arable land. The church was repaired and repewed in 1840, at which time the incumbent presented a new organ and two stained-glass windows. Here is a school endowed with £18 per annum, and with £6 arising from land. Richard Knowles, the historian of the Turkish Empire, was born here in 1540.

Ashby-De-La-Launde (St. Hybald)

ASHBY-DE-LA-LAUNDE (St. Hybald), a parish, in the union of Sleaford, wapentake of Flaxwell, parts of Kesteven, county of Lincoln, 6¼ miles (N. by W.) from Sleaford; containing 157 inhabitants. It comprises 2580a. 3r., of which 2296 acres are arable, 222 grass, and 62 woodland, &c. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 8. 4.; net income, £299; patron and impropriator, the Rev. John King.

Ashby-De-La-Zouch (St. Helen)

ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCH (St. Helen), a markettown, parish, and the head of a union, in the hundred of West Goscote, N. division of the county of Leicester, 18 miles (N. W. by W.) from Leicester, and 115 (N. W. by N.) from London; containing, with part of the ecclesiastical district of Woodville and part of the chapelry of Blackfordby, 5652 inhabitants. The name appears to be derived from the Saxon Asc, an ash, and bye, a habitation: it received the adjunct by which it is distinguished from other towns of the same name, from the family of La Zouch, in whose possession it continued from the latter part of the twelfth to the close of the fourteenth century. Sir William Hastings, created Baron Hastings by Edward IV., and who was beheaded by Richard III., built a strong castle here in the reign of the former monarch, in which Mary, Queen of Scots, while in the custody of the Earl of Huntingdon, was for some time kept in confinement; and in this castle also Anne, consort of James I., and her son Prince Henry, were magnificently entertained by the fourth earl of Huntingdon, on their journey from York to London in 1603. At the commencement of the parliamentary war, the fifth earl was one of the first that appeared in arms for the king in Leicestershire, and Ashby Castle was garrisoned for his majesty by the earl's second son, Col. Henry Hastings, who was made general of the king's forces in the midland counties, and, for his services to the royal cause, was in 1643 created Baron Loughborough. The king was here, on his march to and from Leicester, in May and June 1645. After sustaining a siege of several months from the army under Fairfax, Lord Loughborough surrendered the castle to Col. Needham, in February 1646, on honourable terms, the garrison being allowed to march out with all the honours of war. The castle was one of the fortresses demolished by order of a committee of the house of commons, about the end of the year 1649: the remaining portions form an extensive and interesting mass of ruins, consisting of the great tower, the chapel, the kitchen tower, and apart evidently of much earlier date than the tower, as some portion of it was standing in the time of Richard I. The late Marquess of Hastings expended a considerable sum in repairing parts of these ruins, and arresting the progress of decay; and on the site of a building which stood to the north of the castle, and at right angles with it, erected for the accommodation of the suite of James I. when visiting the Earl of Huntingdon, he raised a handsome structure in the later English style, designated the Manor-house.

The town, a great part of which was destroyed by fire in 1753, is pleasantly situated on the banks of the small river Gilwisthaw, at the north-western extremity of the county; and consists principally of one very spacious street, with two smaller streets extending in a parallel direction, and containing several substantial and well-built houses. It is lighted with gas, and measures have been lately taken for supplying it with water. South of the town stand the Ivanhoe Baths, a handsome structure of the Doric order, erected in 1826. The building consists of a centre, containing a spacious pump-room, surmounted by a lofty dome with rich architectural decorations; and of two wings, in each of which are six baths provided with every accommodation. The water is furnished from an adjacent mine, and contains, according to a recent analysis by Dr. Ure, larger proportions of the salts of chlorine combined with bromine than any other mineral water in the kingdom; it is employed both internally and externally, as a remedial agent in many chronic diseases, with great advantage. Commodious pleasure-grounds are attached to the baths; and the town contains lodging-houses, a handsome hotel, a theatre, and other sources of attraction requisite in a place of fashionable resort.

Ashby is situated in an extensive carboniferous district; the principal collieries are at Moira, and are the property of the Marquess of Hastings. The coal is worked at a thousand feet from the surface, and is of a superior quality; large quantities are transported to the southern and western counties, and it has been recently introduced in London with great success. The neighbouring wolds, which are now inclosed and populous, abound with minerals, particularly ironstone; there is also found an excellent clay, used for making yellow ware, extensive manufactories of which are carried on at Woodville and Gresley. A canal passes within three miles south-westward of the town, with which it is connected by a railroad; and after continuing a course of more than thirty miles, unimpeded by a single lock, it forms a junction with the Coventry canal. The market is on Saturday; and fairs are held on Shrove-Monday, Easter-Tuesday, Whit-Tuesday, the last Monday in Sept., and the 10th of Nov., for horses and cattle: this is stated to be the best market for strong horses in England. A constable and two headboroughs are appointed at the court leet of the lord of the manor. The powers of the county debt-court of Ashby, established in 1847, extend over the registration-district of Ashby.

The parish comprises about 7000 acres. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £14. 10. 4.; net income, £417; patron and impropriator, the Marquess of Hastings. 150 acres of land belong to the living in this parish, and 33 in that of Whitwick. The church is a spacious structure in the decorated English style, and contains, in an adjoining sepulchral chapel, several monuments of the Huntingdon family, among which is one to the memory of Francis, Earl of Huntingdon, and his countess, deserving particular notice. A church dedicated to the Holy Trinity was erected at an expense of £3000, on a site given by the late marquess, and was consecrated on the 13th of August 1840; it is a handsome structure, and contains 900 sittings, of which 600 are free. The cost of the building was defrayed by subscription, aided by the Incorporated Society, the Church Commissioners, and the Board at Leicester. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the gift of the Vicar of Ashby: towards the endowment the Additional Curates' Society granted £500, and the fund for the purpose now amounts to £1950, the interest of which and the pew-rents constitute the income of the minister. At Woodville is a district church: in the township of Blackfordby is a chapel of ease; and there are places of worship in the parish for Baptists, the Connexion of the Countess of Huntingdon, Independents, and Wesleyaus.

The free grammar school was founded in 1567, by Henry, Earl of Huntingdon, and others, and endowed with 120 houses and 75 acres of land. It provides instruction to upwards of 100 boys; and has three exhibitions of £40 a year to either of the two universities, and ten exhibitions of £10 per annum to Emmanuel College, Cambridge, founded by Francis Ash, merchant, of London, together with a lectureship of £20 a year from the same foundation. A Blue-coat school was instituted in 1669, and endowed with £25 per annum, by Isaac Dawson; and a Green-coat school was established and endowed by Alderman Newton, of Leicester: they are now united, and contain about 50 boys. The Rev. Simeon Ash, a native of Ashby, gave £50 per annum, directing that £10 should be appropriated to the apprenticing of two boys yearly in some corporate town, and that the remainder should be distributed among the poor. The union of which Ashby is the head comprises seventeen parishes or places in the county of Leicester, and eleven in the county of Derby, and contains a population of 14,234. A great number of Roman coins has been found here. Bishop Hall, an eminent divine and satirist, and Dr. John Bainbridge, a celebrated astronomer and mathematician, were born in the town, the former in 1574, and the latter in 1582.

Ashby-Folville (St. Mary)

ASHBY-FOLVILLE (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Melton-Mowbray, hundred of East Goscote, N. division of the county of Leicester, 6 miles (S. W. by S.) from Melton-Mowbray; containing, with the chapelry of Bardsby, 437 inhabitants. It comprises 2829a. 1r. 13p. of which 2298 acres are pasture, 461 arable, and 70 woodland. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £9; net income, £170; patron, Mr. Black; impropriators, the family of Johnston. Lord Carrington, in 1673, founded and endowed an almshouse for seven poor men or women, the endowment of which produces £135 per annum.

Ashby Magna (St. Mary)

ASHBY MAGNA (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Lutterworth, hundred of Guthlaxton, S. division of the county of Leicester, 4 miles (N. by E.) from Lutterworth; containing 337 inhabitants, and comprising by measurement 2000 acres. The living is a vicarage, valued in the king's books at £7. 18. 11½.; net income, £120; patron and impropriator, the Earl of Aylesford. The glebe consists of 49 acres.

Ashby, Mears (All Saints)

ASHBY, MEARS (All Saints), a parish, in the union of Wellingborough, hundred of Hamfordshoe, N. division of the county of Northampton, 4 miles (W. by S.) from Wellingborough; containing 496 inhabitants. It comprises 1500 acres, of which more than two-thirds are arable land; and is beautifully situated about a mile from the road between Wellingborough and Northampton, and two miles distant from the navigable river Nene. There is an extensive quarry of excellent freestone, from which many mansions have been built. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £4. 13. 9., and in the gift of Mrs. Maria Newby; net income, £235: the glebe consists of about 20 acres, with a house in good repair. The south side of the church has been rebuilt; the tower is very ancient. A free school is endowed with land assigned, on the inclosure of waste grounds, in lieu of property purchased with a bequest of £200 by Sarah Kinloch, in 1720; the rental is about £60. Land also, producing about £30 per annum, is appropriated to the repair of highways and bridges.

Ashby Parva (St. Peter)

ASHBY PARVA (St. Peter), a parish, in the union of Lutterworth, hundred of Guthlaxton, S. division of the county of Leicester, 3 miles (N. N. W.) from Lutterworth; containing 179 inhabitants. It comprises about 750 acres, of which three-fourths are pasture land; the soil is clay and gravel. Within a mile and a half is a station on the Midland railway. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £5. 7. 6., and in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £98: the glebe consists of 34 acres. Mrs. Goodacre, in 1830, bequeathed the whole of her property, amounting to £6574, after payment of all debts and legacies, to her niece Mrs. Bowyer; who, in pursuance of the testator's will, expended a part of the money in erecting almshouses for eight widows, and two schoolrooms with dwelling-houses; and laid out the residue in the purchase of estates producing £150 a year for their endowment. On the inclosure of the parish in 1665, fourteen acres of land, yielding £28 per annum, were allotted towards the reduction of the poor-rates, and three acres, producing £7 per annum, to the repair of the church.

Ashby-Puerorum (St. Andrew)

ASHBY-PUERORUM (St. Andrew), a parish, in the union of Horncastle, hundred of Hill, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 4¼ miles (E. N. E.) from Horncastle; containing, with the hamlet of Stainsby, and Holbeck extra-parochial, 111 inhabitants. Ashby Puerorum, which comprises 1500 acres, chiefly arable, derives its affix from its connexion with the singing boys of Lincoln Cathedral, for whose benefit the great tithes are received. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 3. 2.; net income, £118; patrons, the Dean and Chapter.

Ashby St. Ledger's (St. Mary and St. Leodgare)

ASHBY ST. LEDGER'S (St. Mary and St. Leodgare), a parish, in the union of Daventry, hundred of Fawsley, S. division of the county of Northampton, 3½ miles (N.) from Daventry; containing 257 inhabitants. This parish, which comprises 1902a. 2r. 4p., is bounded on the east by the Roman Watling-street, and situated near the London and Birmingham railway and the Union canal. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £6. 13. 4., and in the patronage of the Senhouse family; net income, £130, which arises from 66 acres of glebe. The church is in the later English style; it contains a richly ornamented screen and rood-loft, and in the windows are some remains of ancient painted glass. Sir William Catesby, favourite of Richard III., and owner of the manor, was buried within the altar-rails, under a marble slab with a rich brass in fine preservation; and Robert Catesby, the conspirator, of the time of James I., resided here, where he had property.

Ashby, West (All Saints)

ASHBY, WEST (All Saints), a parish, in the union and soke of Horncastle, parts of Lindsey, county of Lincoln, 1¾ mile (N.) from Horncastle; containing, with the hamlets of Farthorpe and Middlethorpe, 534 inhabitants. It is pleasantly situated at the foot of the Wolds, on the road from Horncastle to Louth, and is intersected in the western part by the river Bane, and in the eastern by the river Waring. The whole extent by measurement is 2900 acres, of which two-thirds are arable, and one-third meadow and pasture; the soil is extremely fertile. The village is one of the most pleasing in the county, and remarkable for the neatness of its buildings, the excellence of the roads leading to it, and the beauty of the surrounding scenery. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £54; patron and appropriator, the Bishop of Carlisle. The church is a handsome edifice in the later English style, with a square embattled tower, and partly mantled with ivy.

Ashchurch (St. Nicholas)

ASHCHURCH (St. Nicholas), a parish, in the union, and Lower division of the hundred, of Tewkesbury, E. division of the county of Gloucester, 2¼ miles (E. N. E.) from Tewkesbury; containing, with the tythings of Aston-upon-Carron, Fiddington with Natton, Northway with Newton, and Pamington, 743 inhabitants. This parish, the name of which was originally Eastchurch, from its relative situation to the church of Tewkesbury, is on the road from Tewkesbury to Stow, and comprises by computation 3150 acres. A station on the Birmingham and Gloucester railway is situated close to the village. The living is a perpetual curacy; net income, £48; patron and incumbent, the Rev. John Askew. The tithes were partially commuted for land, under an inclosure act, in 1811; the glebe consists of about 25 acres. The church is a handsome edifice, chiefly in the English style, with a square embattled tower crowned with pinnacles; the south entrance is by a Norman porch of elegant design. Mrs. Smithsend bequeathed £400, appropriating £7. 7. per annum to the Sunday school, and the remainder to the purchasing of blankets for distribution annually among the poor. A spring resembling the Cheltenham waters was discovered a few years since.