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Ashby St Mary is a 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.[1] For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of South Norfolk.[2]

Ashby St Mary
St Mary, Ashby St Mary
Ashby St Mary Location within Norfolk
Area	2.03 km2 (0.78 sq mi)
Population	316 (2011)
• Density	156/km2 (400/sq mi)
OS grid reference	TG3202
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
List of places UK England Norfolk 52.5675°N 01.4365°E / 52.5675; 01.4365

Location

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.[3] A tombstone in the graveyard depicts a husband and wife (George and Ann Basey) feeding their turkeys and geese;[4] Ann's much-photographed 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.[5]

History

Ashby St Mary, originally called Ascebei has existed for almost a millennium, and it was recorded in the Domesday Book,[6] as;

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.[8] The village used to be situated in the Loddon Hundred.

St.Mary's Church

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.[9] Part of the main body of church was Norman, but has been rebuilt bit by bit over the years, however still retains the typical long low features of a Norman church, the tower is 15th Century, but with much later crenellations at the top. The chancel is post 13th century, and the south porch is 16th, however most of the internals date from the 17th century.[10]

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. 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.[11]

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

References

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

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