Ashby St Mary was probably the location of a Roman siting post and is listed in the Little Domesday Book. The church is a mixture of mediaeval styles of architecture having been enlarged, restored and 'improved' over the centuries and may be the location of the Roman siting post and is probably built on Saxon foundations.
The core of the nave is Norman (1066 - 1190) and probably the original small Norman church extended east to the old brown carrstone Quoins. The external flint masonry is stratified and one of the Norman 'slit' windows survives. The greatest legacy from the Norman craftsmen is seen in the beautiful south Norman doorway with its very old door with massive lock which still remains: note two orders of colonnettes and Mass dials etc.
The original Norman church was extended by the addition of a new chancel during the Early English period (1190 - 1280). The elegant Bell tower was built in the 15th century with a small staircase turret.
There are three bells in the tower which are hung for swing chiming. The oldest tenor bell is mediaeval and dates from 1424/1513 by Richard Brasyer. The others are dated 1631 by W & A Brend and 1708 by Thomas Newman. They were all refurbished to ring on Easter day 2009; the first time all three bells had been heard in over a hundred years.
The chamber organ was probably built around 1790/1830 and was rebuilt in 1866 by JW Walker. In 1873 the organ was moved from Godstone in Surrey to Horstead Hall in Norfolk. The organ was acquired by Ashby St Mary in about 1912. The organ was completely refurbished in 2009 revealing a beautiful mahogany case (visible for the first time since 1866) to complement the newly gilded pipes.
The churchyard is dominated by the utilitarian concrete war memorial on the west side as you approach the porch which lists the parish dead of two world wars.
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