Ashby St Mary

Ashby St Mary
St Mary's Church, Ashby St Mary
Ashby St Mary Location within Norfolk
Area	2.03 km^2 (0.78 sq mi)
Population	316 (2011)
• Density	156/km^2 (400/sq mi)
OS grid reference	TG3202
District	South Norfolk
Shire county	Norfolk
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Norwich
Postcode district	NR14
Police	Norfolk
Fire	Norfolk
Ambulance	East of England

Ashby St Mary, historically Ascebei,^[1] is a small village and civil parish in the English county 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 Cainozoic Sedimentary 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 temperate maritime 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]

Climate data for Ashby St Mary, 1991-2020
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	7.25 (45.05)	8.01 (46.42)	10.83 (51.49)	14.05 (57.29)	17.63 (63.73)	20.83 (69.49)	22.78 (73.00)	22.71 (72.88)	19.70 (67.46)	15.02 (59.04)	10.73 (51.31)	7.75 (45.95)	14.81 (58.66)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	1.53 (34.75)	1.46 (34.63)	2.64 (36.75)	4.66 (40.39)	7.66 (45.79)	10.22 (50.40)	11.90 (53.42)	12.03 (53.65)	10.04 (50.07)	7.52 (45.54)	4.05 (39.29)	2.19 (35.94)	6.35 (43.43)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	52.26 (2.06)	44.47 (1.75)	44.59 (1.76)	37.90 (1.49)	38.02 (1.50)	57.14 (2.25)	45.25 (1.78)	58.07 (2.29)	46.10 (1.81)	66.35 (2.61)	78.24 (3.08)	57.80 (2.28)	626.19 (24.65)
Average rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm)	11.07	9.76	8.64	8.66	8.12	9.06	9.06	9.29	8.64	10.61	11.49	11.43	115.84
Mean monthly sunshine hours	64.43	71.41	118.35	175.00	217.19	207.23	217.53	200.32	162.28	110.81	68.44	62.31	1,675.3
Source: Met Office[11]

History

Ashby St Mary's Norman doorway

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.^[20] 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.^[6]

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.

The Church was used in October 2010 by Music composer Jamie Robertson who along with the Poringland Singers Choir recorded an incidental soundtrack to the Big Finish Productions story Doctor Who Relative Dimensions (with Paul McGann, Jake McGann, Carole Ann Ford and Niky Wardley).

Ashby St Mary Mill

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.^[21] The mill is first shown on the 1797 Faden's map,^[22] and also appears again on both the Bryants map in 1826, and the Greenwoods map in 1834.^[23]

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:

• Company Sergeant-Major William E. Starman MM (d.1918), 1st Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment
• Private Ernest W. Bush (1888-1917), 9th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment
• Able-Seaman Herbert V. Chambers (1897-1917), Drake Battalion, Royal Naval Division

And, the following name for the Second World War:

• Private John S. Cotton (1911-1940), 1st Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment

Listed Buildings

Within Ashby St Mary, there are five listed buildings, all of which are Grade II listed.^[4]

Name	Grading	Description
St Mary's Church	Grade II*	12th Century Church (With later additions)[24]
Ashby St Mary War Memorial	Grade II	War Memorial, erected c.1920[25]
Ashby Hall	Grade II	Early 18th Century Country house, including Northern boundary wall[26]
Ashby Hall Barn	Grade II	Barn, built 1736[27]
Ashby Hall Garden House	Grade II	Late 17th Century Garden house[28]

Demographics

Year	Houses[29]	Families[30]	Population[31]	Males[32]	Females	Area (Acres)[33]
1801	--	--	186	90	96	---
1811	--	--	197	91	106	---
1821	--	--	234	110	124	---
1831	57	--	218	119	99	640
1841	59	--	263	128	135	---
1851	58	--	249	129	120	487
1861	--	--	---	---	---	487
1871	--	--	---	---	---	487
1881	56	--	200	97	103	487
1891	55	--	176	81	95	503
1901	46	41	176	91	85	503
1911	46	47	174	91	83	503
1921	46	47	178	89	89	503
1931	48	48	165	83	82	503
1941	--	--	---	82	---	503
1951	51	51	163	81	82	503
1961	59	59	172	87	85	503

Public services

Policing in Ashby St Mary is provided by Norfolk Constabulary, Statutory emergency fire and rescue service is provided by the Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service, of which the nearest station is in Loddon.^[34] The nearest NHS hospital is Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital in Norwich, Ambulance services are provided by East of England Ambulance Service.^[35]

Waste management is co-ordinated by South Norfolk Council. Locally produced inert waste for disposal is processed into fuel for use in combined heat and power facilities in Europe.^[36] Ashby St Mary's distribution network operator for electricity is UK Power Networks.^[37] Drinking water and waste water are managed by Anglian Water.^[38]

References

1. "The Domesday Book Online". domesdaybook.co.uk. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
2. "Civil Parish population 2011". Retrieved 6 September 2015.
3. Ashby St Mary parish information [South Norfolk Council] Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
4. "Listed Buildings in Ashby St Mary, Norfolk". Retrieved 6 December 2022.
5. Ashby St Mary
6. "Norfolk Churches".
7. Ashby St Mary Parish Council Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
8. "Ashby St Mary Soilscape". Retrieved 6 December 2022.
9. "Ashby St Mary: landis.org.uk". Retrieved 6 December 2022.
10. "Morley St Botolph UK climate averages". Met Office. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
11. "Ashby St Mary 1991–2020 averages". Met Office. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
12. "The Domesday Book Online". domesdaybook.co.uk. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
13. "The Domesday Book Online". domesdaybook.co.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
14. "Norfolk Heritage Explorer: MNF10325". Retrieved 8 December 2022.
15. "Norfolk Heritage Explorer: MNF10324". Retrieved 8 December 2022.
16. Blomfeld, Francis and Parkin, Charles Topographical History of the County of Norfolk London 1810 Vol. XI p.147
17. "Norfolk Heritage Explorer: MNF48541". Retrieved 8 December 2022.
18. "Norfolk Heritage Explorer: MNF22788". Retrieved 8 December 2022.
19. "GenUKi - St Mary's Church, Ashby St Mary".
20. "MNF10335 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer".
21. "Norfolk Mills - Ashby St Mary post windmill".
22. "Faden's map: Ashby St Mary". Retrieved 6 December 2022.
23. "Norfolk Mills - Ashby St Mary post windmill".
24. "Historic England: St. Mary's Church, Ashby St Mary". Retrieved 6 December 2022.
25. "Historic England: Ashby St Mary: War Memorial". Retrieved 6 December 2022.
26. "Historic England: Ashby St Mary: Ashby Hall". Retrieved 6 December 2022.
27. "Historic England: Ashby St Mary: Barn". Retrieved 6 December 2022.
28. "Historic England: Ashby St Mary: Garden House". Retrieved 6 December 2022.
29. "Vision of Britain: Ashby St Mary - Houses". Retrieved 6 December 2022.
30. "Vision of Britain: Ashby St Mary - Families". Retrieved 6 December 2022.
31. "Vision of Britain: Ashby St Mary - Population". Retrieved 6 December 2022.
32. "Vision of Britain: Ashby St Mary - Gender". Retrieved 6 December 2022.
33. "Vision of Britain: Ashby St Mary - Area". Retrieved 6 December 2022.
34. "Ashby St Mary - Norfolk County Council". www.norfolk.gov.uk. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
35. "Welcome to EEAST". www.eastamb.nhs.uk. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
36. "What we do with your waste - Norfolk County Council". www.norfolk.gov.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
37. "UK Power Networks – Areas we cover". www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
38. "Household". Anglian Water Services. Retrieved 6 December 2022.

External links

• Media related to Ashby St Mary at Wikimedia Commons
• Information from Genuki Norfolk on Ashby St Mary.
• Ashby St Mary Parish Council Website The Official Website of Ashby St Mary Parish Council
• Ashby St Mary church
• Ashby windmill
• Ashby [St Mary] in the Domesday Book