Ashley, Staffordshire

infobox UK place

country = England
official_name= Ashley
latitude= 52.9243

longitude= -2.3553

population = 508 (2001 Census)
shire_district= Newcastle-under-Lyme
shire_county= Staffordshire
region= West Midlands
constituency_westminster= Stone
post_town= Near Market Drayton
postcode_district= TF9
postcode_area=TF
dial_code= 01630
os_grid_reference= SJ762363

Ashley is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme of Staffordshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 508. The village is close to the border of Shropshire, adjacent to Loggerheads, and is 4 miles (6 km) west north west of Market Drayton.

Etymology

The name means "the forest clearing by the ash tree" the old village is in evidence in the lanes of Hookgate, 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.

History

The church of St John the Baptist possess a 17th century tower with the remainder built in 1860-62 by J. Ashdown of London in a style representative of the13th-14th century. The church is on a raised mound which would leave one to think originally of Saxon or pre-Christian times. It is worth a visit for the spectacular tomb of Sir Gilbert Gerard (d. 1592) and his wife (d. 1608). Near to the church is a mound as yet unexcavated but thought to a burial ground from the time of the Black Death.

The Roman Catholic chapel of Our Lady and St John a rather unimposing building not far from St John the Baptist. The church and rectory are just one building with a hint of gothic like adornments an a colour washed stucco.ref|mcchopper

References

#http://home.clara.net/mcchopper/history.htm

External links

* [http://www.broadband4ashley.co.uk/ Loggerheads and Ashley Community website]