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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

, now in the parish of Northlew, in the West Devon district, in the county of

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England. It is south-west of Hatherleigh. Its population is 65. The

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

church in Ashbury is dedicated to St Mary. In 1912 a William Dennis, born in the village in 1886, died in the Titanic disaster. Ashbury & Northlew Golf Club (now defunct) was in existence during the 1920s (and possibly 1930s).

History

According to Risdon (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. 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 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 parishes in England, civil parish in the England, English county of Devon. It is located in the South Hams on the A379 road, A379 Plymouth to Kingsbridge road and is about from Plymouth. Its name derives fr ...

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

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

(1702-5) and Sheriff of Devon 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, Sheriff of Devon 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), Sheriff of Devon 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 manor house, 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 & 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