Ashby St Ledgers

"ASHBY ST. LEGERS, a parish in the hundred of Fawsley, in the county of Northampton, 4 miles to the N. of Daventry. Rugby is its post town. It is situated near the borders of Warwickshire and the London and North Western railway. The Roman road, Watling Street, runs on the western side of the parish, and the Grand Junction and Oxford canals pass within a short distance east and west of it. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Peterborough, value £130, in the patronage of Lady Senhouse. The church is dedicated to St. Leodegar, or Ledger, and is in the perpendicular style of architecture. It contains a beautifully ornamented screen, a rood loft, several piscinas, and tombs with brasses of the Catesby family. The ancient seat of the Catesbys was in this parish. Among them were William Catesby, the favourite of Richard III., the "Cat" of the well-known rhyme, and Robert Catesby, the associate of Guy Faux in the Gunpowder Plot. Ashby Lagers Manor House is the seat of Lady Senhouse. Ashby Lodge, which has a collection of pictures by old masters, and is Surrounded by beautiful grounds, is the seat of G. H. Arnold, Esq. This village is a meet for the Pytchley hounds."[From The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868). Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003]