Ashley (St. Mary)

ASHLEY (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Stockbridge, hundred of King's Sombourn, Winchester and N. divisions of the county of Southampton, 3½ miles (S. S. E.) from Stockbridge; containing 102 inhabitants. It comprises by measurement 1857 acres, of which 1270 are arable, 400 wood, and 187 pasture, waste, &c.; the soil rests chiefly on chalk. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £7. 16. 3.; patron and incumbent, the Rev. James Hannay: the tithes have been commuted for £350, and the glebe comprises about 40 acres. The church is an ancient and curious structure, in the early English style. There are vestiges of several Roman camps, and a circular intrenchment of considerable dimensions, supposed to be British, or Danish.