Ashley 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
Loggerheads, in the
Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. It is adjacent to the city of Stoke-on-Trent. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the population ...
district, in the county of
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...
, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 508. The village is close to the border of
Shropshire
Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...
, adjacent to Loggerheads, and is 4 miles (6 km) North East of
Market Drayton
Market Drayton is a market town and civil parish on the banks of the River Tern in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is close to the Cheshire and Staffordshire borders. It is located between the towns of Whitchurch, Shropshire, Wh ...
.
History
The name means "land once cultivated and left fallow(Ley) in the near ash trees" Ashley Dale and Jugbank. Mainly sandstone cottages now mixed in with modern housing. From medieval times men have indiscriminately hacked clearings in the forests, then linked them with tracks and lanes following no specific pattern.
The church of St John the Baptist possesses a 17th-century tower with the remainder built in 1860-62 by J. Ashdown of London in a style representative of the 13th-14th century. The church is notable for its collection of
funerary art
Funerary art is any work of art forming, or placed in, a repository for the remains of the death, dead. The term encompasses a wide variety of forms, including cenotaphs ("empty tombs"), tomb-like monuments which do not contain human remains, a ...
from several centuries. The spectacular tomb of
Sir Gilbert Gerard (d. 1592) and his wife Anne Radcliffe (d. 1608) was later supplemented by free-standing, kneeling figures of their son,
Thomas Gerard, 1st Baron Gerard and his son, Gibert 2nd
Baron Gerard
There have been three baronies created for the Gerard family who lived historically at Bryn, Greater Manchester, Bryn, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Lancashire and Kingsley, Cheshire, in the 13th century. The third and current barony was created in 1876 ...
. This composite family group dominates the Gerard Chapel, on the north side of the church. This is balanced on the south side by the Kinnersley Chapel, containing the memorials of the Kinnersleys of
Clough Hall. Most impressive is the sculpture of Thomas Kinnersley I, by
Francis Leggatt Chantrey
Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey (7 April 1781 – 25 November 1841) was an English sculptor. He became the leading portrait sculptor in Regency era Britain, producing busts and statues of many notable figures of the time. Chantrey's most notable w ...
. His son and successor is commemorated by a large and elaborate structure, the work of
Matthew Noble.
Near to the church is a mound as yet unexcavated but thought to be a burial ground from the time of the
Black Death
The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...
.
The Roman Catholic chapel of Our Lady and St John is not far from St John the Baptist. The church and rectory are just one building with a hint of gothic-like adornments on a colour washed stucco. The chapel was designed by the same architect priest, Fr James Egan, as
Holy Trinity Church in
Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. It is adjacent to the city of Stoke-on-Trent. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the population ...
.
In 1961 the parish had a population of 1237. On 1 April 1984 the parish was abolished to form Loggerheads.
See also
*
Listed buildings in Loggerheads, Staffordshire
References
External links
Loggerheads (and Ashley) Parish Council website*
{{authority control
Villages in Staffordshire
Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme
Former civil parishes in Staffordshire