Ashbury is a village and former

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

, now in the parish of

Northlew Northlew is a village and civil parish in the West Devon district of the county of Devon, England. To the west of the village, but within the parish, are the hamlets of West Kimber and East Kimber. The village falls within the electoral ward of ...

, in the

West Devon West Devon is a local government district and borough in Devon, England. Towns and villages in the district include Chagford, Okehampton, Princetown and Tavistock, where the council is based. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the ...

district, in the county of

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

, England. It is south-west of

Hatherleigh Hatherleigh is a small market town in west Devon, England. It hosts an arts festival in July, and a carnival in November featuring two flaming tar barrel runs. The Walruses meet on New Year's Day to jump into the River Lew to raise money for ...

. Its population is 65. The

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

church in Ashbury is dedicated to St Mary. In 1912 a William Dennis, born in the village in 1886, died in the

Titanic disaster The sank in the early morning hours of 15 April 1912 in the North Atlantic Ocean, four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. The largest ocean liner in service at the time, ''Titanic'' had an estimated 2,224 pe ...

. Ashbury & Northlew Golf Club (now defunct) was in existence during the 1920s (and possibly 1930s).

History

According to

Risdon Risdon is a surname and also a first name, and may refer to: ; Given name * Risdon Beazley (1904–1979), British businessman ; Surname * Dustin Risdon (born 1981), Canadian professional golfer * Elisabeth Risdon (1887–1958) English film act ...

(d.1640), the ancient name of the manor was ''Esseberry'', meaning in Latin ''sedes inter fraxinos'' ("a seat amongst ash-trees"). In 1961 the parish had a population of 51. On 1 April 1987 the parish was abolished and merged with Northlew and Beaworthy.

Manor

During the reign of King Henry III (1216-1272) the manor of Ashbury was held by William le Pouer as 2 parts of a

knight's fee In feudal Anglo-Norman England and Ireland, a knight's fee was a unit measure of land deemed sufficient to support a knight. Of necessity, it would not only provide sustenance for himself, his family, and servants, but also the means to furnish h ...

. During the reign of King Edward II (1307-1327) it was held by Roger de Ashberry. It was later held by the Speccot family of Speccot in the parish of Merton, Devon. Subsequently it was the seat of the Walter family from Warwickshire, whose pedigree is included in the

Heraldic Visitation Heraldic visitations were tours of inspection undertaken by Kings of Arms (or alternatively by heralds, or junior officers of arms, acting as their deputies) throughout England, Wales and Ireland. Their purpose was to register and regulate the ...

of Devon of 1620.

Woollcombe

In 1685 Elizabeth Walter, heiress of Ashbury, married Henry Woollcombe (d. 1692) a younger son of the Woollcombe family of Pitton in the parish of

Yealmpton Yealmpton () is a village and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is located in the South Hams on the A379 Plymouth to Kingsbridge road and is about from Plymouth. Its name derives from the River Yealm that flows through the vill ...

, Devon. Although the marriage was without progeny, Ashbury descended to Henry's nephew John Woollcombe (d. 1713) of Pitton, a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Plymouth (1702-5) and

Sheriff of Devon The High Sheriff of Devon is the Queen's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his/her bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year. They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative f ...

in 1712. He also died without progeny when Ashbury descended to his younger brother William Woollcombe (d.1718) who also died without progeny, when it descended to his nephew John Woollcombe (1720-1788) of Ashbury,

in 1751, who married Mary Morth, daughter and heiress of Jeffery Morth of Talland. His son was John Morth Woollcombe I (1747-1802) of Ashbury, whose son John Morth Woollcombe II (1783-1866),

in 1832, was the owner in 1822Lysons who died without progeny in 1866. His younger brother was Henry Woollcombe (1784-1861), Rector of Ashbury, Highampton and Pilland,Vivian, p. 804 whose son was Henry Woollcombe (1813-1885), Canon Residentiary of Exeter Cathedral and

Archdeacon of Barnstaple The Archdeaconry of Barnstaple or Barum is one of the oldest archdeaconries in England. It is an administrative division of the Diocese of Exeter in the Church of England. History The Diocese of Exeter was divided into four archdeaconries in No ...

. The

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

, known as Ashbury House, burned down in 1877, together with all the parish registers which had been taken there by the rector for safekeeping. The house was finally demolished in 1934.

Pevsner, Nikolaus Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...

& Cherry, Bridget, ''The Buildings of England: Devon'', London, 2004, p. 134 In the parish church are monuments of the families of Walter and Woollcombe.

References

External links

*
Devon Local Studies - Ashbury community page
* {{authority control Villages in the Borough of West Devon Former civil parishes in Devon