Ashby Puerorum, Ashby 'of the boys', is so called because in the late thirteenth century the living was appropriated to provide an endowment for the boy choristers of Lincoln Cathedral. Ashby is a remote hamlet and its medieval church of St Andrew is approached across a farmyard. The churchyard affords fabulous views across the Wolds.
St Andrew's is a fairly straightforward building, constructed of greenstone with limestone dressings. The Perpendicular tower, shorn of its bell-stage in the early nineteenth century, is patched with brick and has sugar-loaf pinnacles. Inside the tower are two medieval bells; the earliest of these, dating from c.1150, is the oldest bell in the county. The church was restored in 1850 and again in 1878 by Ewan Christian and all the windows date from that time.
Inside you will find a sturdy Transitional arcade, also built of greenstone, a plain fifteenth century font and seventeenth century balustered altar rails. Mounted on the south wall are a number of sixteenth century brasses to members of the Littlebury family of Stainsby, the figures a product of a London brass workshop. Under the altar, covered by a carpet is an early fourteenth century incised slab of a priest, his head, hands and feet were formerly of brass.
Access: The church is kept open during the day. The church is in a farm yard and parking is extremely limited.
If you want to see some more photos of Ashby Puerorum look in my Flickr set.
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