Ashwell, Hertfordshire
Encyclopedia
Ashwell is a village
and civil parish
situated about four miles north of Baldock
in Hertfordshire
.
It has a wealth of architecture
spanning several centuries. The parish church dates almost entirely from the 14th century and is renowned for its ornate church tower which stands at 176 feet (53.6 m), and is crowned by an octagonal lantern
with a leaded 'spike'. The church also contains some medieval graffiti carved on its walls which highlights the plight of survivors of the bubonic plague pandemic known as the Black Death
. There was also a great fire of Ashwell that fortunately didn't kill anybody.
The village itself is mostly in a fine state of preservation, from the medieval cottage to the fine town house, plastered or timbered, thatched or tiled, in Tudor
, Carolean or Georgian
brick. 'Scheduled' listed buildings include the St. John's Guildhall of 1681, and the carefully restored Foresters Cottages, Chantry House with its 15th-century window, the 16th-century town house (now a local museum), the Maltings (now converted into flats), and a small brick house which was first built in 1681 as a school by the Merchant Taylors. Ashwell Bury
, a large Victorian
house, was remodelled by Edwin Lutyens
in the 1920s. Ashwell also has a village lock-up
that was used to detain drunks and suspected criminals. The village used to be home to a number of local breweries and, accordingly, a variety of public houses in its past, but currently has just three pubs: The Rose and Crown, the Three Tuns and the Bushel and Strike.
Ashwell also has several successful sports teams from under-12s to veterans. The adult first football team have won several trophies and are currently in the Hall's of Cambridge Sunday league premier division. The cricket team won the Cambridgeshire Junior Cup in 2003 and currently play in Division 1 of the Cambridgeshire league. There are many other clubs and societies catering for all interests.
An attractive natural feature are 'The Springs
', a perennial source of the River Cam
. The cool water of the chalk
springs contain a rare species of stenothermic
flatworm (Platyhelminthes; Tricladida
) associated with cold surface waters or subterranean groundwater that is only known from this location within East Anglia
. The springs now depend upon artificial flow augmentation during drier periods, due to the impact of local groundwater abstraction from the chalk aquifer
for public water supply.
Located to the southwest of the village is Arbury Banks, the remains of an Iron Age
hill fort
which have been largely removed by agricultural activity.
The village is served by Ashwell and Morden railway station
which is about a mile and half from the centre of the village in the hamlet
of Odsey
in Cambridgeshire
.
The village is a "green oasis" with many trees and this contrasts with the surrounding landscape dominated by intense agricultural production, principally of wheat, with rather limited aesthetic or biodiversity
interest.
Famous Ashwellians include Mike Bushell, the BBC sports presenter and Pete Babes Wilson of the folk rock band "Arthur The Stoat".
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
situated about four miles north of Baldock
Baldock
Baldock is a historic market town in the local government district of North Hertfordshire in the ceremonial county of Hertfordshire, England where the River Ivel rises. It lies north of London, southeast of Bedford, and north northwest of the county town of Hertford...
in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
.
It has a wealth of architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
spanning several centuries. The parish church dates almost entirely from the 14th century and is renowned for its ornate church tower which stands at 176 feet (53.6 m), and is crowned by an octagonal lantern
Lantern
A lantern is a portable lighting device or mounted light fixture used to illuminate broad areas. Lanterns may also be used for signaling, as 'torches', or as general light sources outdoors . Low light level varieties are used for decoration. The term "lantern" is also used more generically to...
with a leaded 'spike'. The church also contains some medieval graffiti carved on its walls which highlights the plight of survivors of the bubonic plague pandemic known as the Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
. There was also a great fire of Ashwell that fortunately didn't kill anybody.
The village itself is mostly in a fine state of preservation, from the medieval cottage to the fine town house, plastered or timbered, thatched or tiled, in Tudor
Tudor architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
, Carolean or Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
brick. 'Scheduled' listed buildings include the St. John's Guildhall of 1681, and the carefully restored Foresters Cottages, Chantry House with its 15th-century window, the 16th-century town house (now a local museum), the Maltings (now converted into flats), and a small brick house which was first built in 1681 as a school by the Merchant Taylors. Ashwell Bury
Ashwell Bury
Ashwell Bury, at Ashwell in Hertfordshire, UK is an early 19th century house of white brick, perhaps originally built before 1836 for Edward George Fordham ; altered c.1860, no doubt for Edward King Fordham , who extended the family landholding; and then further remodelled, chiefly inside, by Sir...
, a large Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
house, was remodelled by Edwin Lutyens
Edwin Lutyens
Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, OM, KCIE, PRA, FRIBA was a British architect who is known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era...
in the 1920s. Ashwell also has a village lock-up
Village lock-up
Village lock-ups are historic buildings that were used for the temporary detention of people in rural parts of England and Wales. They were often used for the confinement of drunks who were usually released the next day or to hold people being brought before the local magistrate. A typical village...
that was used to detain drunks and suspected criminals. The village used to be home to a number of local breweries and, accordingly, a variety of public houses in its past, but currently has just three pubs: The Rose and Crown, the Three Tuns and the Bushel and Strike.
Ashwell also has several successful sports teams from under-12s to veterans. The adult first football team have won several trophies and are currently in the Hall's of Cambridge Sunday league premier division. The cricket team won the Cambridgeshire Junior Cup in 2003 and currently play in Division 1 of the Cambridgeshire league. There are many other clubs and societies catering for all interests.
An attractive natural feature are 'The Springs
Ashwell Springs
Ashwell Springs is a 0.3 hectare Biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Ashwell, North Hertfordshire, England. The site was notified in 1986 under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 The site consists of a series of freshwater springs, which form a source for the River Cam...
', a perennial source of the River Cam
River Cam
The River Cam is a tributary of the River Great Ouse in the east of England. The two rivers join to the south of Ely at Pope's Corner. The Great Ouse connects the Cam to England's canal system and to the North Sea at King's Lynn...
. The cool water of the chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
springs contain a rare species of stenothermic
Stenothermic
Stenothermic Adj. refers to a type of stenotherm; a species or living organism only capable of living or surviving within a narrow temperature range. See also Ecotope. Cf. Eurytherm....
flatworm (Platyhelminthes; Tricladida
Tricladida
Tricladida is an order of the Turbellaria, a group of free-living flatworms.Tricladida is characterized by triply branched intestine and anteriorly situated ovaries, next to the brain. Today it is split into three suborders, according to their phylogenetic relationships: Maricola, Cavernicola...
) associated with cold surface waters or subterranean groundwater that is only known from this location within East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
. The springs now depend upon artificial flow augmentation during drier periods, due to the impact of local groundwater abstraction from the chalk aquifer
Aquifer
An aquifer is a wet underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials from which groundwater can be usefully extracted using a water well. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology...
for public water supply.
Located to the southwest of the village is Arbury Banks, the remains of an Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
hill fort
Hill fort
A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...
which have been largely removed by agricultural activity.
The village is served by Ashwell and Morden railway station
Ashwell and Morden railway station
Ashwell and Morden railway station is a wayside railway station in Cambridgeshire, England.Close to the border with Hertfordshire, it is located in the hamlet of Odsey, slightly north of the Icknield Way, a Roman Road that is now the A505. The station is served by trains between Cambridge and...
which is about a mile and half from the centre of the village in the hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
of Odsey
Odsey
Odsey is a hamlet in Cambridgeshire close to the border with Hertfordshire near the town of Baldock. It contains a hotel and has a main line railway station with direct train links to Cambridge and London. It is situated in the parish of Steeple Morden....
in Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
.
The village is a "green oasis" with many trees and this contrasts with the surrounding landscape dominated by intense agricultural production, principally of wheat, with rather limited aesthetic or biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
interest.
Famous Ashwellians include Mike Bushell, the BBC sports presenter and Pete Babes Wilson of the folk rock band "Arthur The Stoat".