MEARS ASHBY
Asbi, Esseby, Northesseby, Esseby Mares, Assheby
Mares (xi–xvii cent.); Ashby Meres, Mears Ashby
(xvii–xx cent.).
The parish of Mears Ashby covers 1,670 acres,
mainly grassland. The slope of the land is from north
to south, the highest point being 388 ft. In the northeast several acres are covered by the Ashby Furze.
There are stone and sand pits in the parish. The village
is situated in the centre where the four main roads converge; that from Northampton enters on the south side
and a road crossing the parish from east to west connects
the village with Wilby and Sywell. Two gabled houses
to the south of the church are medieval but much
altered in the 17th century. Swans' Pool Brook, the
only stream of any size in Mears Ashby, flows through
the village. The soil is partly red land and partly clay;
the subsoil is composed of ironstone, clay, and freestone. Cereals are cultivated and the population for the
most part is engaged in agriculture. Roman remains
have been discovered in this parish; kiln 'wasters' of
light grey ware were found there in 1899. (fn. 1)
Mears Ashby Hall, the residence of Major Henry
Minshull Stockdale, stands on the south side of the
village and is a picturesque gabled house of three
stories erected in 1637 byThomas Clendon, (fn. 2) faced with
local ironstone and covered with Colleyweston slates.
The main front, which faces north, has projecting end
wings and a central porch taken up the full height of the
building and terminating in a curved gable. The other
gables are straight and all the windows have stone
mullions. The round-headed doorway is flanked by
coupled columns carrying an entablature, above which
is a semicircular arch. The house was enlarged about
1720 on the west side, but the buildings then erected
were pulled down in 1859 and rebuilt on a more extensive scale (fn. 3) in harmony with the old work. The original
lay-out of the grounds, with terrace and fish-ponds,
remains on the west side, and the stables are dated 1647.
To the east, on high ground, is a rectangular dove-cote (fn. 4)
probably contemporary with the house, but a two-story
garden pavilion, with pyramidal tiled roof, formerly
overlooking a bowling-green, is of 18th-century date.
To this period also belongs the pedestal sun-dial (fn. 5) in
front of the house.
Mears Ashby Hall
Manors
In 1086 the Countess Judith held in
Ashby 4 hides. In the Confessor's time it
was held by Bardi and was then and in
1086 worth £4. (fn. 6) In the 12th century these 4 hides
were of the fee of David of Scotland. (fn. 7) A moiety of this
property called NORTH HALF or ASHBY MEARS
MANOR was held by Richard de Humez (fn. 8) before 1181,
in which year he granted his lands in Ashby to the king. (fn. 9)
It is subsequently found held of the king in chief. In
1280 it was held by the service of a pair of gilt spurs, (fn. 10)
but between 1315 and 1417 by serjeanty of raising the
right hand towards the king on Christmas day, wherever he might be in England. (fn. 11) This serjeanty seems
originally to have been holding the king's stirrup at
Christmas and to have been instituted before the division of the manor. (fn. 12)
William son of Richard de Humez still held lands
here in 1205, but apparently these estates were forfeited about 1228 and given to Earl William de
Warenne. (fn. 13) Other lands formerly held by Adam de
Keret were given in 1224 to William de Serland, or
Shorland, who died in 1231, leaving a widow Juliana, (fn. 14)
who survived until 1258. (fn. 15) William de Blancmuster
(de Albo Monasterio) was holding, apparently, about
1240, but forfeited his land as a Norman, and two years
later (fn. 16) the king gave his lands to Robert de Mares. (fn. 17)
In 1246 Robert was holding two-thirds of the manor,
and Juliana de Cotebrok (widow of William de
Serland), of whom the king had the marriage, the
other third. (fn. 18) Robert died before
1260, when his widow Sybil
had custody of Mears Ashby
Manor during the minority of
her son John. (fn. 19) She afterwards
married William Marmiun,
who was with Simon de Montfort at Evesham. (fn. 20) During the
minority of John, Henry de
Hastings, overlord of the other
moiety, tried to usurp rights in
this manor. (fn. 21) In 1279 John de
Mares paid 20s. for half a fee
and died next year, leaving
Mears Ashby Manor to his son
John aged 6, (fn. 22) who died in 1315
and was succeeded by his son
Giles, a minor, (fn. 23) born in his
father's hall at Ashby on 5 December 1307. (fn. 24) His mother
Isabel held the manor during
his minority and in 1319 the
king granted to Elias de Assheburn the yearly rent of 60s.
which Isabel paid for the estate
and the marriage of Giles de
Mares. (fn. 25) In 1330 Giles alienated the manor of 'Northasshby
Mars' to Thomas son of Elias
de Assheburn, (fn. 26) except ⅓ which
his mother held for life. This apparently brought the
two moieties of the manor into the same hands, (fn. 27) and
both portions passed to John Darcy, who at his death
in May 1347 held part in chief by the service of offering
his hand to the king's stirrup and was said to hold the
rest of the King of Scotland by similar service. (fn. 28) His
son John Darcy was licensed in 1349 to enfeoff
Richard de Salteby and Elizabeth his wife. (fn. 29) Two years
later Salteby alienated it to Henry Green, (fn. 30) to whom in
1360 a third of the same manor was conveyed by
Peter VI de Mauley, whose wife Elizabeth, widow of
the elder John Darcy, (fn. 31) held it in dower. (fn. 32) Sir Henry (fn. 33)
died in 1369 (fn. 34) and the manor then descended as Great
Doddington (q.v.) until the death of Thomas Vaux,
who died about 1556. (fn. 35) He was succeeded by his son
William, who died in 1595 leaving his estates to his
grandson Edward Vaux, (fn. 36) who in 1612 refused to take
the oath of allegiance to James I and forfeited his
lands; (fn. 37) but they were restored in the same year. (fn. 38) He
died in 1661 and was succeeded by his step-son
Nicholas, Earl of Banbury, from whom the manor
passed to his son Charles. (fn. 39)
Charles, Earl of Banbury, still held the manor in
1683, (fn. 40) but about this time the property again became
subdivided, and at the time of the Inclosure Award the
two estates thus formed were distinguished by the
names of the Court Leet Manor and the Court Baron
Manor. In Mears Ashby Manor is to be found the
Court Leet Manor of 1779, and its descent appears
to have been as follows: between 1683 and 1685
Mears Ashby passed from the Earl of Banbury to
George, Earl of Northampton, who held it at the latter
date. (fn. 41) In 1719 he held a court leet here to which the
townsmen paid 6s. 8d. yearly. (fn. 42) His nephew Spencer,
Earl of Northampton, held this manor in 1777 (fn. 43) and the
property is owned at the present day by the Marquess
of Northampton.
The other moiety of Mears Ashby Manor known as
SOUTH HALF remained appurtenant to the honor of
Huntingdon. (fn. 44) This overlordship is last mentioned in
1417. (fn. 45) The first known tenant is William Fitz Warin,
who in 1285 held one third of Ashby of the honor
of Huntingdon. (fn. 46) His daughter Juliana married Elias
de Assheburn, (fn. 47) who as 'chief lord' paid a fine to have
the lands of a felon killed while escaping from Mears
Ashby church in 1330, (fn. 48) in which year his son Thomas,
as mentioned above, acquired the North Half Manor.
In 1369 this estate reappears as 'a moiety of Ashby
Manor held of the Earl of Pembroke'. (fn. 49) After this date
it followed the same descent as Mears Ashby though
not immediately losing its identity. It is separately
mentioned as South Half Manor in 1417, (fn. 50) but after
that date appears to have become more or less absorbed
in the larger manor until the late 17th century, when
it appears as the Court Baron Manor, so called in the
Inclosure Award. In 1683 it was still the property of
the Earl of Banbury, but in 1704 two-thirds of the
manor were in the hands of Thomas Davison in right
of his wife Elizabeth. (fn. 51) Thomas Davison sold his
moiety of this manor to Henry Stratford in 1719, (fn. 52)
from whom by 1777 it had passed to Elizabeth
Mercer. (fn. 53) Thomas Mercer held as late as 1877 and
at the present day Mrs. Kitley holds this moiety of the
manor.
In 1714 Richard Rogers was dealing with the remaining third of this manor (fn. 54) and Elizabeth Rogers (fn. 55)
held it in 1770 and 1777. (fn. 56)
Early in the 19th century this moiety appears to have
been transferred to Lewis Loyd, and descended to
Lady Wantage, on whose death in 1901 the property
was sold.
A mill in Mears Ashby is mentioned in 1325 when
William de Assheby died seised of one which he held
of the heirs of John de Mares. (fn. 57)
Mears Ashby: The Church and Village
Church
The church of ALL SAINTS stands
on high ground in the middle of the village
and consists of chancel 27 ft. 6 in. by
14 ft. 3 in., with north vestry and organ-chamber,
clerestoried nave 47 ft. 10 in. by 19 ft. 6 in., north and
south aisles 9 ft. 6 in. wide, south porch, and west tower
11 ft. square, all these measurements being internal.
The chancel was rebuilt on the old foundations in
1858, (fn. 58) but the round-headed priest's doorway is
apparently an ancient feature and would seem to point
to the original chancel having been of late-12th-century
date, to which period the south doorway and probably
the font belong. A wheel-head cross, of late-10th- or
early-11th-century date, however, preserved in the
church, presumably belongs to the site and if so indicates
that there was a cemetery here, and perhaps also a
church in pre-Conquest times, (fn. 59) though the first stone
building would no doubt be that erected in the 12th
century, consisting only of chancel and nave. The
tower is of c. 1220, and later in the same period the
building seems to have been remodelled, aisles thrown
out and the chancel altered. The nave arcades and
three pointed windows in the south aisle are c. 1280–90,
but the north aisle appears to have been rebuilt about
fifty years later, the square-headed windows and the
pointed door being well-developed 14th-century work.
The porch and west window of the south aisle are also
of this period, but the clerestory is a late-15th-century
addition; it has four square-headed windows on each
side, and embattled parapets, with a sanctus bell-cote
set over the east gable. The chancel has a modern
high-pitched roof covered with Colleyweston slates, (fn. 60)
but the nave and aisles are leaded, the latter having
straight parapets. The tower was repaired and buttresses added in 1861.
The chancel, which is without buttresses, is built
of local ironstone faced internally with Bath stone.
The arch of the priest's doorway is of a single order
slightly chamfered and hood-mould over, and part of
the westernmost window on the south side is old, but
no other ancient features remain. The piscina, sedile,
and a trefoil-headed recess in the north wall are all
modern. The restored chancel arch is of two chamfered
orders on responds with moulded capitals; on the wall
above are the remains of a painted Doom, discovered in
1858. The arcades are of four bays, with pointed
arches of two chamfered orders on octagonal pillars
with moulded capitals and bases, and similar responds
much restored. At the east end of the south aisle is a
trefoil-headed piscina, and farther west a tall narrow
pointed recess, or cupboard, probably used as a locker
for banner staves, or for a processional cross. The
12th-century south doorway, moved to its present
position when the aisle was added, has a round arch
of two square orders on moulded imposts, the hoodmould terminating in heads.
The tower is of three stages with embattled parapet
and angle pinnacles. The upper or bell-chamber story
has an arcade of three pointed arches on each side, with
separate hood-moulds carried round the tower, and
shafts with moulded capitals and bases, but the outer
compartments alone are pierced. The middle stage
has a small pointed opening on the north and south
sides now hidden by the clock faces; the west side is
blank. In the lower stage is a narrow pointed doorway
on the south and a lancet window on the west, both
much restored. The tower arch is of two chamfered
orders. There is no vice.
The font is of the unmounted type, octagonal in
shape and lined with lead. On all sides but the west it
is richly ornamented with circular medallions inclosing
roses, stars, and other devices, flanked with bands of
interlaced work. (fn. 61) Having been long covered with
plaster the ornament is well preserved. The lower part
is cut back, or chamfered, and is plain.
The pulpit and other fittings are modern, but there
is a 17th-century oak communion table in the north
aisle; a standing poor's box with three locks, cut
from a single piece of oak, may be of 16th-century
date.
There is a ring of six bells cast in 1913 by J. Taylor
& Co. of Loughborough from four old and one modern
bell. (fn. 62)
The silver plate consists of a cup, cover paten, and
alms dish of 1685, the paten inscribed 'Mears Ashby,
1686', and a flagon of 1702 given by Mrs. Sarah
Kinloch, widow, in 1710. There is also a brass
alms dish. (fn. 63)
The registers before 1812 are as follows: (i) baptisms
and marriages 1670–1744, burials 1672–77, and
1753–7, with all entries from Lady Day 1753 to Lady
Day 1754; (ii) baptisms 1754–83, burials 1754–94; (fn. 64)
(iii) marriages 1754–1812; (iv) baptisms and burials
1794–1812.
Advowson
The advowson of the church of
Mears Ashby was granted to the abbey
of Aunay by Richard de Humez and
Agnes his wife before 1159. (fn. 65) During the Hundred
Years War it fell into the king's hands (fn. 66) and he presented
between the years 1345 and 1383. (fn. 67) In 1392 Richard II
granted to the Prior of St. Anne of Coventry licence to
acquire this patronage from the Abbot of Aunay,
paying to the king 25 marks annually while the war
lasted. (fn. 68) The Prior of St. Anne's retained the advowson
until 1535. In 1562 Elizabeth granted it to John
Marshe. (fn. 69) In 1625 died Justinian Bracegirdle in whose
will instructions were left to buy the advowson and
impropriation of Mears Ashby. The profits were to
be appropriated in portions of £10 per annum to
scholars of the University of Oxford and were directed
by three trustees who alternately presented to the
living; (fn. 70) their successors are patrons at the present day.
In 1291 the church was worth £5 6s. 8d. (fn. 71) and in
1535 £5 4s. 2d. (fn. 72)
Charities
Church Estate. On the inclosure of
lands in this parish in 1744, 4 acres of
land were allotted to the minister and
churchwardens in lieu of other lands vested in feoffees
in trust for the general expenses of the church. The
land is let for £6 yearly.
Poor's Land. Five acres of land was allotted upon
the inclosure to the minister and churchwardens for
the poor. This land is let and produces about £7. The
income is applied in the distribution of bread and meat
on New Year's Day.
Town Estate. Five cottages and gardens and several
pieces of land in the open fields were devised by the
Rev. Justinian Bracegirdle in 1625 for the repair of
bridges and causeways in Mears Ashby.
On the inclosure of the open fields an allotment of
14 acres was awarded in lieu of the lands. The land
was sold in 1920 and the proceeds invested now produce about £28.
Mrs. Sarah Kinloch, by will dated 16 June 1710,
gave £200 to be invested in lands, the proceeds to be
used for educating poor children of the parish. These
lands, in Arthingworth, now produce about £35 yearly.