Ashby St Mary, historically Ascebei,[1] is a small village and civil parish in the Englishcounty of Norfolk. The civil parish has an area of 2.03 square kilometres (0.78 sq mi) and in the 2001 census had a population of 297 in 115 households, the population increasing to 316 in 120 households at the 2011 Census.[2] For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of South Norfolk.[3]
The village contains a number of heritage-listed buildings, which include a 13th-century church, a War Memorial, and an early 18th Century Hall, Barn and Garden house.[4]
Location
Ashby St Mary's village sign
The village is situated 7+1⁄2 miles (12.1 km) south-east of Norwich and 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Thurton, with Claxton (to the north), Hellington (to the west) and Carleton St Peter (to the east) all lying a similar distance away. The church has a high tower, a long, low nave, and an impressive Norman doorway.[5] A tombstone in the graveyard depicts a husband and wife (George and Ann Basey) feeding their turkeys and geese;[6] Ann's carving is repeated on the village sign, which was commissioned in 2000 to celebrate the millennium. It also depicts a windmill which stood in the village until at least 1916.[7]
Geography
Ashby's topography is, like most of East Anglia, made up of river meadows and flat agricultural landscape. The geology mostly consists of CainozoicSedimentary rock, with a layer of boulder clay and sand laid down in the last ice age.[8] Ashby St Mary has slightly acidic loamy and clayey soils with impeded drainage, and low carbon. The cropping of Ashby is reasonably flexible but more suited to autumn sown crops and grassland.[9]
Climate
Ashby has a temperatemaritime climate, the majority of the British Isles, with relatively cool summers and mild winters due to being east of the Pennines. There is regular, light precipitation throughout the year.[10]
Ashby St Mary, originally called Ascebei has existed for roughly a millennium, as it was recorded in the Domesday Book[12] as;
"Ascebei / As(s)ebei:
Roger Bigot; Godric the steward."[13]
The village of Ashby St Mary has existed since the late Saxon era, however, compared to other nearby areas, there was not much activity in the area beforehand, however there is a Bronze Age ringditch,[14] and a Neolithic arrowhead.[15]Thomas de Cottingham, a royal clerk who later became Master of the Rolls in Ireland was appointed rector of Ashby in 1349: he was notorious for pluralism.[16] Ashby Lodge was built in 1788 for the Surgeon General of the East India Company, with a lined facade.[17] Ashby Hall is an early 18th century Country house, but originally there was an older, more elaborate house on the site, there is also a late 17th century Garden house situated nearby, they are now separate private residences.[18] The village used to be situated in the Loddon Hundred.
St. Mary's Church
Lending its name to the village, St Mary's church was first built sometime before 1186,[19] in the late Anglo-Saxon era,[20] however, only the foundations of the original church still exists. The nave of the church is Norman, and still retains the typical long low features of a Norman church, the tower is 15th Century, but with later crenellations at the top. The chancel is post 13th century, and the south porch is 16th century, however most of the internal dressings date from the 17th century.[21] Situated in the north of Ashby St Mary, St Mary's church is notable for its Norman doorway, thought to have been carved by the same master mason as both Mundham's St. Peter, and Heckingham's St. Gregory.[22]
The Rectors of St. Mary's date back to the late 13th century, starting with Henry de Lenn in 12--, all the way to Christopher Ellis in 2015. The east-facing window at the head of the chancel has many stained glass elements, and one of the south chancel windows is one of many recreations of The Light of the World used in many East Anglian Churches. Other parts of the church include; the organ, which is medium-sized and was overhauled in 1962, and the Ten Commandments, located at the head of the chancel, are based on the Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536) by John Calvin.
Ashby St Mary post mill was built c.1758 and remained working for over 150 years. Located on Ashby Common, the mill had a roundhouse and had a 75 foot diameter footprint. The buck had a gallery at the eaves, a balcony porch with a gable end roof. The mill house was sunk one floor below ground level in order to not block wind from the mill. An auxiliary steam engine had been installed by 1900. It continued running up until at least 1906.[23] The mill is first shown on the 1797 Faden's map,[24] and also appears again on both the Bryants map in 1826, and the Greenwoods map in 1834.[25]
The War Memorial
The war memorial for Ashby St. Mary is located in St Mary's Churchyard, it holds the following names for the First World War:
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