Ashby Magna (Great Ashby)
Description in 1877:
"ASHBY MAGNA, a pleasant village, township, and parish in Guthlaxton Hundred, Lutterworth Union and County Court District, 4 miles N. by E. of Lutterworth and 10 miles S. by W. of Leicester, contained, in 1871, 275 inhabitants, living in 61 houses, on 1720 acres of land, rising boldly in the north, where a rivulet has its source. The Earl of Aylesford is lord of the manor and owner of the soil."
White's "History, Gazetteer and Directory of the Counties of Leicester and Rutland:, 3rd Edition, 1877
- The parish purchased a 1/2 acre lot for use as a cemetery in 1904 and placed it under the Parish Council's control.
- The parish was in the Lutterworth sub-district of the Lutterworth Registration District.
- The 1851 Census for Leicestershire has been indexed by the Leicestershire & Rutland Family History Society. The whole index is available on microfiche. The society has also published it in print and volume 18 covers the part of the Lutterworth Disctrict which includes Ashby Magna.
- The Anglican parish church was dedicated to St. Mary.
- St. Mary's church was built in the Gothic style in the 13th century.
- The church was thoroughly restored in 1861.
- The church seats 215.
- The Anglican parish register dates from 1586.
- The church was in the rural Guthlaxton deanery (third portion).
- The Society of Genealogists hold copies of marriage records from 1576 - 1836.
- The parish was in the Lutterworth sub-district of the Lutterworth Registration District.
- Civil Registration began in July, 1837.
Ashby Magna is a parish and a village 96 miles north of London, 10 miles south of Leicester city, 4 miles northeast of Lutterworth and about 1 mile east of Dunton Bassett. The parish covers 1,804 acres.
If you are planning a visit:
- By automobile, take the M1 motorway south out of Leicester city about 11 miles.
- By automobile, it may be easier to take the A426 trunk road south out of Leicester city through Blaby to where it meets the B581 arterial and turn left.
- The parish had two excellent springs, one of which was reputedly good for curing sore eyes.
- The land around the village has been mostly pasture for centuries.
- In the 1800s and early 1900s many of the workers in the parish were graziers and/or farmers.
- The web page author has been unable to find any discription of a manor house or hall at Ashby Magna.
- The national grid reference is SP 5691.
- You'll want an Ordnance Survey Explorer map, which has 2.5 inches to the mile scale.
- You can view an online map at the Axcis site.
- See our Maps page for additional resources.
- The parish lies in the Guthlaxton Hundred in the southern division of the county.
- This place is an ancient parish of Leicestershire.
- In November, 1877, the parish was reduced to enlarge Ashby Parva Civil Parish.
| Year |
Inhabitants |
| 1841 |
337 |
| 1871 |
275 |
| 1881 |
253 |
| 1891 |
279 |
| 1901 |
292 |
| 1911 |
262 |
| 1921 |
261 |
| 1931 |
257 |
| 1951 |
217 |
| 1961 |
234 |
- A school was built here in 1808.
- A Public Elementary School was built here in 1868 for 83 children.
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[Last updated: 13-August-2009 - Louis R. Mills]
