Ashwell is a village and

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 ...

in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. The population of the

was 290 at the 2001 census falling to 269 at the 2011 census. It is located about north of

Oakham Oakham is the county town of Rutland in the East Midlands of England, east of Leicester, south-east of Nottingham and west of Peterborough. It had a population of 10,922 in the 2011 census, estimated at 11,191 in 2019. Oakham is to the west o ...

. The village's name means 'spring/stream with

ash trees ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45–65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous, though a number of subtropical species are e ...

St Mary’s church is mainly of 14th-century origin, but in 1851 it underwent a major restoration by

William Butterfield William Butterfield (7 September 1814 – 23 February 1900) was a Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian Movement). He is noted for his use of polychromy. Biography William Butterfield was born in Lon ...

. James Adams, rector, who won a

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

in Afghanistan in 1879, is buried in the churchyard. Ashwell Hall stands in a small park about half a mile south of the village. It was built in 1879 in the Tudor style. Aviator

Beryl Markham Beryl Markham (née Clutterbuck; 26 October 1902 – 3 August 1986) was a Kenyan aviator born in England (one of the first bush pilots), adventurer, racehorse trainer and author. She was the first person to fly solo, non-stop across the Atlant ...

(''née'' Clutterbuck) was born in Westfield House and lived here until her family moved to Kenya when she was four years old. St Mary the Virgin parish church, Ashwell, Rutland by-Kate-Jewell

St Mary the Virgin parish church, Ashwell, Rutland by-Kate-Jewell

Ashwell Prison, a former Category C prison, was located about south of the centre of the village but actually in the parish of Burley. Previously the site was a Second World War US army base, home to part of the 82nd Airborne Division. The prison closed in March 2011 and has been redeveloped as Oakham Enterprise Park, a

business park A business park or office park is a designated area of land in which many office buildings are grouped together. These types of developments are often located in suburban areas where land and building costs are more affordable, and are typicall ...

for office and light industrial use. The previous kennels of the

Cottesmore Hunt The Cottesmore Hunt, which hunts mostly in Rutland, is one of the oldest foxhound packs in Britain. Its name comes from the village of Cottesmore where the hounds were kennelled. History The Cottesmore Hunt's origins may be traced back to 16 ...

, opposite the prison, have now been converted to residential use and the hunt kennels are now based at a farm in the parish. The Royalist rector, Thomas Mason, was ejected in 1644 and Richard

Levett Levett is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from eLivet, which is held particularly by families and individuals resident in England and British Commonwealth territories. Origins This surname comes from the village of Livet-en-Ouche, no ...

(or Levet) was intruded in his place on 13 May 1646. The legitimate incumbent was reinstated in 1660 when Charles II was restored to the throne and served for twenty years until his death. The minister Levett was the father of Sir

Richard Levett Sir Richard Levett (also spelled Richard Levet) (died 1711), Sheriff, Alderman and Lord Mayor of London, was one of the first directors of the Bank of England, an adventurer with the London East India Company and the proprietor of the trading f ...

who was possibly born in Ashwell; he was Lord Mayor of London in 1699 and owner of

Kew Palace Kew Palace is a British royal palace within the grounds of Kew Gardens on the banks of the River Thames. Originally a large complex, few elements of it survive. Dating to 1631 but built atop the undercroft of an earlier building, the main surv ...

. Levett Blackborne, grandson of Sir Richard, who sold the Levett properties at Kew to the Royal family, was a barrister and longtime adviser to

Charles Manners, 4th Duke of Rutland Charles Manners, 4th Duke of Rutland, KG, PC (15 March 175424 October 1787) was a British politician and nobleman, the eldest legitimate son of John Manners, Marquess of Granby. He was styled Lord Roos from 1760 until 1770, and Marquess of Gr ...

. The Palmes family of

Lindley, West Yorkshire Lindley is a suburb of Huddersfield, within the metropolitan borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately northwest from Huddersfield town centre. The Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, Huddersfield's main hospital, is in ...

was also seated at Ashwell. The family, a branch of the Palmes family of Naburn Hall, Yorkshire, included Sir

Guy Palmes Sir Guy Palmes (1580–1653) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1614 and 1643. Early life Palmes was the son of Francis Palmes of Lindley, now part of Huddersfield, and at Ashwell ...

, High Sheriff of Yorkshire.Art, Identity and Devotion in Fourteenth-century England: Three Women and Their Books of Hours, Kathryn Ann Smith, University of Toronto Press, 2003

References

External links

Ashwell Church websiteReverend Richard Levett
* {{authority control Villages in Rutland Civil parishes in Rutland