Ashwell, Rutland
| Ashwell | |
| Rutland | |
|---|---|
 The lychgate of Ashwell church | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SK865137 |
| Location: | 52°42’58"N, -0°43’12"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 290 (2001) |
| Post town: | Oakham |
| Postcode: | LE15 |
| Dialling code: | 01572 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Rutland |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Rutland and Melton |
Ashwell is a village in Rutland, found about three miles north of Oakham.
St Mary's church is mainly of 14th-century origin, but in 1851 it underwent a major restoration by William Butterfield. The Reverend J W Adams, who won a Victoria Cross in Afghanistan in 1879, is buried in the churchyard.
One of the less picturesque sights hereabouts is Ashwell Prison, a former Category C prison closed in 2011. It is two miles south of the centre of the village (in the parish of Burley). Previously the site was a Second World War US army base, home to part of the 82nd Airborne Division. The prison was closed in March 2011 and has been redeveloped as Oakham Enterprise Park, a business park for office and light industrial use.
The previous kennels of the Cottesmore Hunt situated opposite the prison have now been converted to residential use and the hunt kennels are now based at a farm in the parish.
People of Ashwell
The Aviator Beryl Markham (née Clutterbuck) was born in Westfield House and lived here until her family moved to Kenya when she was four years old.
The Reverend Richard Levett (or Levet) was named vicar of Ashwell on 13 May 1646. He was brought in to minister to the parish when the Royalist rector, Thomas Mason, was ejected. The incumbent was reinstated when King Charles II was restored to the throne. The minister was the father of Sir Richard Levett, Lord Mayor of London in 1699 and owner of Kew Palace.[1] Levett Blackborne, grandson of Sir Richard, who sold the Levett properties at Kew to the Royal family, was a well-known Lincoln's Inn barrister and longtime adviser to Charles Manners, 4th Duke of Rutland.[2]
The Palmes family of Lindley, Yorkshire also had a seat at Ashwell. The family, a branch of the Palmes family of Naburn Hall, Naburn, Yorkshire, included Sir Guy Palmes, Sheriff of Yorkshire.[3]
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Ashwell, Rutland) |
- Rutland Website – Ashwell
- Ashwell Church Website
- Reverend Richard Levett
- Ashwell in the Domesday Book