Aswarby () is a village in the

North Kesteven North Kesteven is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England. The district is located to the east of Nottinghamshire, north-east of Leicestershire and south of the city of Lincoln. Its council, North Kesteven District Council, is b ...

district of

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

, England. It is south of

Sleaford Sleaford is a market town and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. Centred on the former parish of New Sleaford, the modern boundaries and urban area include Quarrington to the south-west, Holdingham to the nor ...

and east of the

A15 road This is a list of roads designated A15. Entries are sorted in alphabetical order by name of country. * A015 road (Argentina), a road connecting the junction with National Route 14 at La Criolla and the Salto Grande Dam access-road * ''A15 road (A ...

, between

and the point near Threekingham where it crosses the

A52 road A5 and variants may refer to: Science and mathematics * A5 regulatory sequence in biochemistry * A5, the abbreviation for the androgen Androstenediol * Annexin A5, a human cellular protein * ATC code A05 ''Bile and liver therapy'', a subgroup of ...

. With the village of Swarby, to the northwest, Aswarby forms the

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 ...

Aswarby and Swarby Aswarby and Swarby is a civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. Aswarby (pronounced locally as "as-r-bee") is the ecclesiastical parish formed in 1850 from the two ancient parishes of Asarby and Swarby. The civil pa ...

History

The village may take its name from the old Danish name Aswarth; it was originally an

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

within the ancient Aswardhun

wapentake A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Southern Schleswig, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek, ...

of the

Danelaw The Danelaw (, also known as the Danelagh; ang, Dena lagu; da, Danelagen) was the part of England in which the laws of the Danes held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. The Danelaw contrasts with the West Saxon law and the Mercian ...

. Although there is no firm evidence of earlier occupation, a flint axe and a 2nd-century AD Roman brooch were found near Aswarby. The village is recorded in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

of 1086 as "Aswardebi". In the mid-19th century, it was moved to a new site to make way for improvements to Aswarby Park; the original position is about 500 yards to the south-west of the modern village. In 1931 the parish was merged with Swarby into a single civil parish.

Landmarks

The Anglican church of St Denys is in Aswarby; it has been a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

since 1967. Parts of the church date back to the 12th, 14th and 15th centuries. The font is 12th century with a 20th-century lid, and the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ov ...

, designed by H. E. Kendall, was built in 1849. In 1850 the church was restored by Edward Blore. There are memorials to

George Bass George Bass (; 30 January 1771 – after 5 February 1803) was a British naval surgeon and explorer of Australia. Early years Bass was born on 30 January 1771 at Aswarby, a hamlet near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, the son of a tenant farmer, George ...

and members of the Whichcote family. Aswarby Hall was the seat of the Hervey and Carr (or Carre) families. Sir Francis Whichcote, 3rd Baronet moved there in the early 1700s. By the mid-19th century, it had descended to Sir Thomas Whichcote, 7th Baronet and

High Sheriff of Lincolnshire This is a list of High Sheriffs of Lincolnshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilit ...

. It is the setting for "

Lost Hearts "Lost Hearts" is a ghost story by British writer M. R. James, originally published in 1895. It was later collected in his 1904 book '' Ghost Stories of an Antiquary''. Plot summary The tale tells the story of Stephen Elliott, a young orphan boy, ...

", a ghost story by

M. R. James Montague Rhodes James (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936) was an English author, medievalist scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936). He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambrid ...

, a writer of supernatural

short fiction A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

. The hall itself was demolished in 1951, leaving only two pillars standing. The surrounding park remains and is owned by Aswarby Estates. The surviving estate properties are included in Aswarby's inventory of 19 Grade II listed buildings, which includes the Estate Office, several farmhouses, cottages, The Old Smithy, a

walled garden A walled garden is a garden enclosed by high walls, especially when this is done for horticultural rather than security purposes, although originally all gardens may have been enclosed for protection from animal or human intruders. In temperate ...

and bothy, and a

milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway line, canal or boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the route relative to so ...

. 13 of the village's listed buildings are in a conservation area, as defined by Heritage Lincolnshire.

Notable people

,''Bishop's transcripts for Aswardby, 1561-1830'', Church of England. Parish Church of Aswardby (Lincolnshire) explorer of Australia and

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, was born in Aswarby; Bass Strait was named after him.

References

External links

*
M.R.James website
* {{Authority control Hamlets in Lincolnshire North Kesteven District