Market, Saturday.—Fairs, first Thursday in March; first Thursday in June; August 10; November 11, for horned cattle.—Inns, London and Golden Lion.—Mail arrives 5 P.M., departs 9¾ A.M.
[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 An ancient family gave their name to the town. devolved to the crown, by which it was granted to the noble family of Hastings, in right of whom the Marquis of that title 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 A noble mansion constructed out of the ruins of Ashby Castle. 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, Saturday.—Fairs, Shrove-Monday, Easter Tuesday, Whit-Tuesday, last Monday in September, November 10, for horses, cows, and sheep.—Bankers, Fishers and Co.; draw upon Hoare, Barnet, and Co.—Mail arrives 10.30 morning; departs 4.0 afternoon.—Inns, Queen's Head, and White Hart.
| Map | Names of Places | County | Number of Miles From | Dist. Lond. | Popul ation. | ||||||
| 23 | Ashby Folville | to & pa | Leicester | Melton Mow. | 6 | Leicester | 10 | Houghton | 6 | 104 | 391 |
| 23 | Ashby Magna | pa | Leicester | Lutterworth | 4 | Hinckley | 11 | Leicester | 11 | 93 | 330 |
| 23 | Ashby Parva | pa | Leicester | ... | 3 | ... | 8 | ... | 13 | 92 | 169 |
| 24 | Ashby Puerorum[A] | pa | Lincoln | Spilsby | 5 | Alford | 7 | Louth | 10 | 137 | 101 |
| 28 | Ashby St. Ledger[B] | pa | Northamp | Daventry | 4 | Northamp | 14 | 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 glass A very ancient urn of green glass found here. well manufactured, and of a greenish colour. The glass 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.
[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 recumbent figures of a man and woman, with an inscription in black letter, commemorative of An ancient monument of the Catesby family. 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 constituted 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, Catesby taken prisoner at 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 The gunpowder plot conspirators met here. 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.
| Map | Names of Places | County | Number of Miles From | Dist. Lond. | Popul ation. | ||||||
| 24 | Ashby West | pa | Lincoln | Horncastle | 2 | Louth | 12 | Wragby | 13 | 138 | 391 |
| 15 | Ashchurch | pa | Gloucester | Tewkesbury | 1 | Winchcombe | 9 | Cheltenham | 8 | 103 | 649 |
| 11 | Ashcombe[A] | pa | Devon | Chudleigh | 3 | Exeter | 9 | Teignmouth | 6 | 177 | 320 |
| 34 | Ashcott | chap | Somerset | Glastonbury | 6 | Bridgewater | 10 | Somerton | 7 | 129 | 834 |
| 14 | Ashdon or Ashingdon | to & pa | Essex | Saff. Walden | 4 | Haverhill | 6 | Linton | 4 | 45 | 1103 |
| 14 | Asheldam | pa | Essex | Bradwell | 4 | Burnham | 4 | Maldon | 9 | 46 | 144 |
| 15 | Ashelworth | pa | Gloucester | Gloucester | 5 | Tewkesbury | 8 | Newent | 7 | 105 | 540 |
| 14 | Ashen | pa | Essex | Clare | 2 | Halstead | 9 | Haverhill | 5 | 54 | 373 |
| 5 | Ashenden[B] | pa | Bucks | Thame | 6 | Bicester | 11 | Aylesbury | 8 | 46 | 368 |
| 36 | Ashfield Great[C] | pa | Suffolk | Stowmarket | 7 | Ixworth | 5 | Botesdale | 8 | 76 | 408 |
| 36 | Ashfield-cum-Thorpe | p | Suffolk | Framlingham | 6 | Debenham | 2 | Eye | 9 | 83 | 375 |
| 10 | Ashford[D] | chap | Derby | Bakewell | 2 | Tideswell | 6 | 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.