Curiosities Of Great Britain: England And Wales Delineated Part 9

[Sidenote: One of the four stannary towns of the county.]

[C] ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCH is situated in a fertile valley on the borders of Derbyshire, through which runs the small river Gilwiskaw. Its distinctive appellation is derived from the ancient family of the Zouches, who came into possession of the manor in the reign of Henry III. It afterwards devolved to the crown, by which it was granted to the n.o.ble family of Hastings, in right of whom the Marquis of that t.i.tle still possesses it. The town is chiefly comprised in one street, from which branches several smaller ones. The church is a handsome ancient edifice, built of stone, consisting of a nave and two aisles, separated by four lofty arches, springing from fluted pillars. Here are also places of worship for the Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodists, Presbyterians, and others. A free grammar school was founded in this town by Henry Earl of Huntingdon, in 1567; and another free school for 26 boys, by Isaac Dawson, in 1669. The manufactures established here are chiefly those of cotton and woollen stockings, and hats. There is also a good trade in malt, and the fairs are celebrated for the sale of fine horses and cattle. The mansion at Ashby was remarkable for its magnitude and strength, and continued for 200 years the residence of the family of Sir William Hastings, knt., a particular favourite of Edward IV., who was elevated by that monarch to several offices of high trust and dignity. It stood on a rising ground, at the south end of the town, and was composed of brick and stone from the ruins of Ashby Castle.

_Market_, Sat.u.r.day.--_Fairs_, Shrove-Monday, Easter Tuesday, Whit-Tuesday, last Monday in September, November 10, for horses, cows, and sheep.--_Bankers_, Fishers and Co.; draw upon h.o.a.re, Barnet, and Co.--_Mail_ arrives 10.30 morning; departs 4.0 afternoon.--_Inns_, Queen's Head, and White Hart.

[Sidenote: An ancient family gave their name to the town.]

[Sidenote: A n.o.ble mansion constructed out of the ruins of Ashby Castle.]

Map Names of Places. County. Number of Miles From +--+----------------------+---------+-------------+------------+ 23 Ashby Folville to & pa Leicester Melton Mow. 6 Leicester 10 23 Ashby Magna pa Leicester Lutterworth 4 Hinckley 11 23 Ashby Parva pa Leicester ... 3 ... 8 24 Ashby Puerorum[A] pa Lincoln Spilsby 5 Alford 7 28 Ashby St. Ledger[B] pa Northamp Daventry 4 Northamp 14 +--+----------------------+---------+-------------+------------+ Dist. Map Names of Places. Number of Miles From Lond. Population.

+--+----------------------+-----------------------+-----+-------+ 23 Ashby Folville to & pa Houghton 6 104 391 23 Ashby Magna pa Leicester 11 93 330 23 Ashby Parva pa ... 13 92 169 24 Ashby Puerorum[A] pa Louth 10 137 101 28 Ashby St. Ledger[B] pa Welford 9 76 257 +--+----------------------+-----------------------+-----+-------+

[A] ASHBY PUERORUM. In the year 1804, a Roman sepulchre was discovered near this place, by a labourer who was cutting a ditch. It consisted of a stone chest, which laid 3 feet below the surface of the earth; the lid fitted nearly to the sides, hanging a little over the edge, so that when it was removed; no dirt of any kind was found to have gained admittance during a period of nearly two thousand years. The chest was formed of free stone, of a kind found in abundance on Lincoln Heath. The urn was of strong gla.s.s well manufactured, and of a greenish colour. The gla.s.s was as perfect and the surface as smooth as if just taken out of the fire. This receptacle of the ashes was nearly filled with small pieces of bone, many of which, from the effect of ignition, were white throughout the whole substance. Among the fragments was discovered a small lacrymatory, which had been broken, from the curiosity of the person who discovered it, to ascertain whether it contained any thing of value.

[Sidenote: A very ancient urn of green gla.s.s found here.]

[B] ASHBY ST. LEDGER is situated near a rivulet that flows into the river Nen. The additional name of St. Ledger is borrowed from the patron saint to whom the church is dedicated. This structure consists of a nave and aisles, with a tower and spire. At the upper end of the north aisle are still remaining the steps which led to the rude loft between the chancel and the nave. Here are three piscinas for holy water. Several ancient monumental inscriptions may be seen in the chancel. On an altar tomb within the communion rails, are the rec.u.mbent figures of a man and woman, with an inscription in black letter, commemorative of William Catesby and Margaret his wife, bearing date 1493. Catesby was one of the three families who ruled the nation under Richard's usurpation, and const.i.tuted the triumvirate which is alluded to in the old distich:--

The rat, and the cat, and Lovel the dog, Do govern all England under the hog.

The rat was Richard Ratcliff, the cat William Catesby, the dog Lord Lovel, and the hog for Richard, it being then the regal crest. William Catesby became a distinguished character; he was made esquire of the King's body; Chancellor of the Marshes for life; and one of the Chamberlains of the Exchequer. Being taken prisoner at the battle of Bosworth field, while fighting by his patron's side, he was conducted to Leicester, and beheaded as a traitor. At the eastern end of both aisles, are two places, formerly appropriated as places of sepulture for the two great Lords of Ashby. One of these belonged to the Catesby family; but most of the inscriptions are effaced. The manorial house of Ashby is a good old family mansion, occupied by the widow of the late John Ashby, Esq. A small room in the detached offices belonging to the house is still shown as having been the council-chamber, where the gunpowder-plot conspirators held their deliberations. Robert Catesby, one of the descendants of the family, was at the head of this conspiracy, for which he was tried, condemned, and executed; and his head, together with that of his father-in-law, Thomas Percie, who was involved in his guilt, were fixed on the top of the Parliament-house.

[Sidenote: An ancient monument of the Catesby family.]

[Sidenote: Catesby taken prisoner at Bosworth field.]

[Sidenote: The gunpowder plot conspirators met here.]

Map Names of Places. County. Number of Miles From +--+---------------------+----------+--------------+--------------+ 24 Ashby West pa Lincoln Horncastle 2 Louth 12 15 Ashchurch pa Gloucester Tewkesbury 1 Winchcombe 9 11 Ashcombe[A] pa Devon Chudleigh 3 Exeter 9 34 Ashcott chap Somerset Glas...o...b..ry 6 Bridgewater 10 14 Ashdon or Ashingdon } to & pa} Ess.e.x Saff. Walden 4 Haverhill 6 14 Asheldam pa Ess.e.x Bradwell 4 Burnham 4 15 Ashelworth pa Gloucester Gloucester 5 Tewkesbury 8 14 Ashen pa Ess.e.x Clare 2 Halstead 9 5 Ashenden[B] pa Bucks Thame 6 Bicester 11 36 Ashfield Great[C] pa Suffolk Stowmarket 7 Ixworth 5 36 Ashfield-c.u.m-Thorpe p Suffolk Framlingham 6 Debenham 2 10 Ashford[D] chap Derby Bakewell 2 Tideswell 6 +--+---------------------+----------+--------------+--------------+ Dist. Map Names of Places. Number of Miles From Lond. Population.

+--+---------------------+----------+--------------+--------------+ 24 Ashby West pa Wragby 13 138 391 15 Ashchurch pa Cheltenham 8 103 649 11 Ashcombe[A] pa Teignmouth 6 177 320 34 Ashcott chap Somerton 7 129 834 14 Ashdon or Ashingdon } to & pa} Linton 4 45 1103 14 Asheldam pa Maldon 9 46 144 15 Ashelworth pa Newent 7 105 540 14 Ashen pa Haverhill 5 54 373 5 Ashenden[B] pa Aylesbury 8 46 368 36 Ashfield Great[C] pa Botesdale 8 76 408 36 Ashfield-c.u.m-Thorpe p Eye 9 83 375 10 Ashford[D] chap Buxton 10 155 782 +--+---------------------+-------------------------+-----+--------+

[A] ASHCOMBE is a parish in the hundred of Exminster. Here is a mansion of Lord Arundel's, situated in a large amphitheatre of hills, richly wooded at their base, and at their summit often studded with herds of sheep or deer. The only entrance to this romantic dale is from the north, by a road, which though perfectly safe, falls precipitately down a narrow ridge of one of the hills.

[B] ASHENDEN. This manor has been from time immemorial in the Grenville family. John Bucktot, a priest, gave the manor of Little Pollicott, to Lincoln College, in Oxford, about 1479; and what renders it particularly remarkable, is the circ.u.mstance of the manor house being used as a retiring place for the members of the college at the time of the plague.

In Ashenden Church, is an ancient figure of a crusader, under an arch, rudely ornamented with foliage; which according to tradition, is the tomb of John Bucktot; this appears however to be erroneous, as it is evidently the tomb of a layman, and from the chevron on the shield, one of the Stafford family, anciently lords of Great Pollicott.

[Sidenote: A retiring place for collegians in the time of the plague.]

[C] ASHFIELD. This obscure village gave birth to the celebrated Lord Chancellor Thurlow, and his brother, the late Bishop of Durham; they were the sons of the vicar, under whose auspices they were educated. On leaving the university, the former entered himself of the Inner Temple, but did not distinguish himself at the bar, until his abilities were employed upon the Douglas case; after which he became successively Solicitor-General, Attorney-General, and Lord High Chancellor. He was elevated to the peerage by the t.i.tle of Baron Thurlow, of Ashfield. In 1786, he was made Teller of the Exchequer, and created Baron Thurlow, of Thurlow: he retired in 1793, and died at Brighton in 1806. He was succeeded in the peerage by his nephew, the son of his brother, the Bishop of Durham. He was never married, but he left three illegitimate daughters, to two of whom he bequeathed large property; the other having offended him by an imprudent marriage, he left her only a small annuity.

[Sidenote: The birth-place of Lord Chancellor Thurlow.]

[D] ASHFORD. This village is frequently called Ashford in the water, from the lowness of its situation. It is seated on the banks of the river Wye. The only remains of the residence of the Plantagenets of Woodstock (who had a castle here) is a moat, half filled with rubbish.

Sir William Cavendish, the favourite of Cardinal Wolsey, purchased this estate of the Earl of Westmoreland; and the Duke of Devonshire, a descendant of that family, still continues the proprietor. The works in this village for sawing and polishing marble, were the first ever established in England. They were originally constructed by Mr. Henry Watson, of Bakewell, about 80 years since, but though he obtained a patent, to secure the gain arising from this invention, the advantages were unequal to his expectations. Mr. John Platt, architect, of Rotherham, in Yorkshire, rented the quarries of black and grey marble, the only ones of the kind now worked in Derbyshire. The sweeping mill, as it is called, from its circular motion, will level a floor of eighty superficial feet of marble slabs at one time.

[Sidenote: Extensive works for sawing and polishing marble.]

Map Names of Places. County. Number of Miles From +--+--------------------+---------+-------------+-------------+ 11 Ashford pa Devon Barnstaple 2 Ilfracomb 8 21 Ashford[A] m.t. & pa Kent Canterbury 15 Folkestone 17 25 Ashford[B] chap Middles.e.x Staines 3 Bedfont 2 33 Ashford Bowdler pa Salop Ludlow 3 Tenbury 6 33 Ashford Carbonel pa Salop ... 3 ... 6 23 Ashfordby pa Leicester Melton Mow. 3 Loughbro' 11 29 Ash-holm ham Northumb Hexham 19 Haltwhistle 4 27 Ashill pa Norfolk Watton 4 Swaffham 6 34 Ashill[C] pa Somerset Ilminster 4 Taunton 8 14 Ashingdon[D] pa Ess.e.x Rochford 3 Maldon 9 +--+--------------------+---------+-------------+-------------+ Dist. Map Names of Places. Number of Miles From Lond. Population.

+--+--------------------+-----------------------+-----+-------+ 11 Ashford pa Marwood 2 194 99 21 Ashford[A] m.t. & pa Maidstone 19 53 2809 25 Ashford[B] chap Sunbury 3 16 458 33 Ashford Bowdler pa Leominster 9 137 99 33 Ashford Carbonel pa ... 9 137 289 23 Ashfordby pa Leicester 13 108 467 29 Ash-holm ham Aldstone 7 279 122 27 Ashill pa E. Dereham 10 94 700 34 Ashill[C] pa Chard 7 137 403 14 Ashingdon[D] pa Chelmsford 13 40 98 +--+--------------------+-----------------------+-----+-------+

[A] ASHFORD is situated about twelve miles from the sea, on an eminence rising from the northern bank of the small river Stour, and on the high road between Hythe and Maidstone. The town, which is a liberty of itself, originated from the ruins of Great Chart, an ancient market town, which gave name to the hundred, and was destroyed in the Danish wars. It was then called a.s.scheford, and, in some early doc.u.ments, Estefort and Enetesford, from the ford over the river Stour; the ancient name of which was Esshe or Eschet. It is pleasantly situated near the confluence of the upper branches of the river Stour, over one of which there is a bridge. The manor received the privilege of a market so early as Edward I. The town is governed by a mayor, and possesses a court of record for the recovery of debts, not exceeding twenty marks. The church is a s.p.a.cious and handsome fabric, consisting of a nave, aisles, and three chancels, with a lofty and well-proportioned tower. There are several ancient monuments, especially one of a Countess of Athol, who died in 1365, whose effigy exhibits the female costume of that age, in a very remarkable manner. The ancient college, founded by Sir John Fogge owner of the manor, in the reign of Edward IV., was dissolved in that of Henry VII., and the house given to the vicar for a residence. It still exists, although latterly much modernised. Here is a Free Grammar School, founded by Sir Norton Knatchbull, in the reign of Charles I., and various minor charities. The inhabitants of this town and its vicinity are much engaged in the rearing and fattening of cattle, for the sale of which its markets and fairs are much celebrated.

_Market_ Sat.u.r.day. A stock market held on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday in every month.--_Fairs_ May 17, and August 2, for wool; September 9, October 12, and 24, for horses, cattle and pedlary.--_Inns_, George, Royal Oak, and Saracen's Head.--_Bankers_, G. and W. Jemmett, draw on Esdaile and Co.--_Mail_ arrives 8.0 morning; departs 5.15 afternoon.

[Sidenote: Origin of the town of Ashford.]

[Sidenote: The college made into a parsonage house:]

[B] ASHFORD. This place was originally called Exeford, from its ford over the river Exe; the village is now but of little importance. It lies in that level part of the county, formerly occupied by Hounslow Heath, the terror of the western traveller, from the numerous robberies committed on its highways. Ashford Common was selected for military reviews; it has however, for some years been inclosed, and the review ground is now near Hounslow. The chapel is a plain brick building, possessing no claims on the attention of the antiquary; it was erected in 1796 by voluntary contribution.

[Sidenote: Hounslow Heath.]

[C] ASHILL.--_Fairs_, April 9, and September 10.

[D] ASHINGDON. This place is memorable in the early periods of our history. "Nothing is more surprising," observes Gough, in his Additions to Camden, "than the errors all antiquaries have hitherto lain under with respect to the scene of the battle between Edmund Ironside and the Danes." Though they had the authority of Mr. Camden against them, they have caried it quite across the county to the northern extremity and as far from the sea as possible, in defiance of every circ.u.mstance that could fix it there. In a marsh in Woodham Mortimer parish, on the river Burnham or Crouch, are twenty-four barrows grouped in pairs, and most of them surrounded by a ditch, supposed to be the burial places of the Danes, who probably landed at Bradwell, a village near the mouth of the Blackwater River, fourteen miles distant.

[Sidenote: The site of an engagement between Edm. Ironside and the Danes.]

Map Names of Places. County. Number of Miles From +--+-----------------------+--------+-------------+--------------+ 29 Ashington to Northump Morpeth 5 Blyth 6 34 Ashington pa Somerset Ilchester 3 Yeovil 4 38 Ashington pa Suss.e.x Steyning 4 Arundel 9 7 Ashley to Chester Knutsford 5 Altringham 3 28 Ashley pa Northamp Rockingham 6 Harborough 5 16 Ashley pa Hants Stockbridge 3 Winchester 8 35 Ashley pa Stafford Eccleshall 6 Drayton 6 41 Ashley[A] pa Wilts Malmesbury 5 Tetbury 3 5 Ashley-Green ham Bucks Chesham 3 Berkhamp 2 6 Ashley-c.u.m-Silvery, pa Cambridge Newmarket 5 Mildenhall 10 10 Ashley-Hay to Derby Wirksworth 2 Belper 6 27 Ashmanhaugh pa Norfolk Coltishall 3 Worsted 3 16 Ashmansworth chap Hants Whitchurch 8 Andover 10 12 Ashmore pa Dorset Shaftesbury 5 Cranborne 12 34 Asholt, or Aisholt pa Somerset Bridgewater 7 Stowey 3 10 Ashover[B] to & pa Derby Alfreton 7 Chesterfield 7 39 Ashow pa Warwick Warwick 5 Kenilworth 3 17 Ashperton chap Hereford Ledbury 5 Hereford 11 11 Ashprington pa Devon Totness 3 Brixham 6 34 Ash-Priors pa Somerset Taunton 6 Wellington 6 11 Ashreigney pa Devon Chumleigh 4 Torrington 11 5 Ashridge[C] ham Bucks Chesham 2 Berkhamp 4 +--+----------------------+---------+-------------+--------------+ Dist. Map Names of Places. Number of Miles From Lond. Population.

+--+----------------------+-----------------------+-----+--------+ 29 Ashington to Ulgham 4 290 57 34 Ashington pa Sherborne 7 121 74 38 Ashington pa Horsham 10 46 285 7 Ashley to Cheadle 7 177 379 28 Ashley pa Rothwell 8 86 304 16 Ashley pa Romsey 8 67 93 35 Ashley pa Newcastle 9 154 825 41 Ashley[A] pa Kemble 5 96 99 5 Ashley-Green ham Tring 5 27 ... 6 Ashley-c.u.m-Silvery, pa Bury 11 63 361 10 Ashley-Hay to Turnditch 3 138 241 27 Ashmanhaugh pa Norwich 10 118 154 16 Ashmansworth chap Newbury 8 64 222 12 Ashmore pa Blandford 8 101 191 34 Asholt, or Aisholt pa Taunton 8 146 228 10 Ashover[B] to & pa Matlock 3 147 3179 39 Ashow pa Coventry 6 95 176 17 Ashperton chap Bromyard 11 125 398 11 Ashprington pa Dartmouth 6 198 549 34 Ash-Priors pa Stowey 9 147 201 11 Ashreigney pa Hatherleigh 9 198 1038 5 Ashridge[C] ham Tring 5 29 ... +--+----------------------+-----------------------+-----+--------+

[A] ASHLEY, was formerly distinguished by a fair and market, it is now remarkable only for a large mansion, which was once the seat of the Georges. The church, an ancient building, with a square embattled tower, is princ.i.p.ally interesting for its arches; some of which are round, and others pointed, resting on slender cl.u.s.tered pillars, with ma.s.sy capitals of foliage. The font is large, round, and very rude in its workmanship.

[B] ASHOVER. This village is of great antiquity, being mentioned in the Doomsday Book, as having a church and a priest. In the church is an ancient font, supposed to be Saxon; the base is of stone; the lower part is of an hexagonal form; the upper part circular, surrounded with twenty figures, in devotional att.i.tudes, embossed in lead, in ornamental niches. There are also some ancient monuments of the Babington family, who were for a long time seated at Dithicke, a chapelry in this parish.

Anthony Babington was executed for high treason in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, having engaged in a conspiracy to destroy that princess. On the declivity of a hill on Ashover Common is a rocking stone, called Robin Hood's Mark, which measures about twenty-six feet in circ.u.mference. From its extraordinary position, it appears not only to have been the work of art, but to have been placed with great ingenuity.

About 200 yards to the north is a singularly shaped work, called the Turning-stone, nine feet high: it is supposed to have been a rock idol.

Overton Hall, in this vicinity, was once the seat of Sir Joseph Banks, the President of the Royal Society.

[Sidenote: A singular rocking stone, formerly an idol.]

[C] ASHRIDGE was formerly called Escrug. In very early times this village is reported to have possessed a royal palace; which, when the estate became the property of Edmund, Earl of Cornwall, son to Richard, King of the Romans, was converted into a college for Bonhommes (or monks who followed the rules of St. Augustine,) and endowed with the manors of Ashridge, Gaddesden, and Hemel Hempstead. A parliament was held here by Edward the First, in the year 1291; and, though of short continuance, it was distinguished by a spirited debate on the origin and necessary use of fines. After the dissolution, the monastery appears to have become the seat of royalty; and Norden describes it as the place "wherein our most worthy and ever famous Queen Elizabeth lodged, as in her owne, being a more statelie house." This queen, in the 17th year of her reign, granted it to John Dudley, and John Ayscough, who within the short period of a fortnight, conveyed it to Henry, Lord Cheny, whose lady sold it to Ralph Marshal, by whom it was again conveyed to Randolph Crew and others, and soon afterwards granted to Egerton, Lord Ellesmere, ancestor to the late Duke of Bridgewater; several of whose family are buried in the neighbouring church of Little Gaddesden. The old college, the greater part of which was standing in the year 1800, exhibited a fine specimen of the gothic architecture of the thirteenth century. The cloisters were particularly beautiful. The walls were painted in fresco with Scripture subjects. The late Duke of Bridgewater pulled down the whole of these buildings, the materials of which were disposed of in lots; the present earl, the dukedom being extinct, has erected a most magnificent mansion at a great expense. Ashridge Park, which contains some very fine oak and beech trees, is pleasingly varied with hill and dale. It is about five miles in circ.u.mference.

[Sidenote: A parliament held here by Edward I.]

[Sidenote: The manor house a favourite seat of Queen Elizabeth.]