Ashow church is early Norman in origin and is one of the oldest in the Midlands. It has been altered superficially over the centuries but the basic structure, with the exception of the tower, dates from around 1100 and is of considerable historical and architectural interest and importance. The building of the church shows that a stable and prosperous community existed in the parish by the early twelfth century. It is likely that it served both Ashow and Bericote, the deserted village on the other side of the river. This would explain the choice of site, on the river bank and close to the ford (known in 1427 as 'Alfredfordbrugge') which linked the two settlements. As well as an act of religious faith, the task of construction represented a major exercise in collective endeavour. No building on an equivalent scale had taken place in the parish before, or has occurred since. The soundness of the work has been vindicated by the passage of time. The church pre-dates Trinity Cottage, the second oldest building in the village, by at least three hundred years.

The building almost certainly began as a field church or chapel. It is thought that most early churches originated through the practice of priests from an existing local church (in this case, in Leek Wootton) going out to surrounding villages to preach at an open air site, marked by a cross. When accepted by the community, the priest erected a small hut or chapel, identified by a cross fixed above the doorway in the west end wall. On the opposite side he installed an altar to which he had exclusive access. As the numbers of converts increased they built themselves a larger covered annex or ‘nave’ to the west of the original chapel or chancel. The two structures abutted but commonly were not structurally connected. The doorway became the chancel arch and the wooden cross developed into the rood, the large crucifix flanked by the figures of St. Mary and St. John, which became a feature of most medieval churches. The arrangement whereby the priest is responsible for the chancel and the congregation for the nave still exists in some village churches.

The sponsor of Ashow church was probably Turchil who, according to the Domesday Survey of 1086, was the main holder of land in the village. Owning a church was a powerful status symbol and a useful form of insurance for the after-life. The builders would have been itinerant stone masons assisted by villagers. In 1122, Leek Wootton Church, and its dependent chapels of Ashow, Leamington, Cubbington, Milverton and Lillington, and their annual pensions, were given by Geoffrey de Clinton to the newly-founded Priory of Kenilworth. Ashow chapel became independent of Kenilworth and a parish church in its own right at the time of Bishop Geoffrey Muschamp in 1198. It continued to pay a pension of £1.00 to Kenilworth until 1535. The advowsen (the right to appoint the priest) remained with Kenilworth until the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539 when it was acquired by the Leighs of Stoneleigh Abbey.

The architectural character of the church can best be appreciated from the outside for the interior has been rendered all over with a thick coat of plaster, lined out in block form, which obscures all the detail. The chancel and the nave are the oldest parts. They are built of red sandstone probably from Quarry Field, behind Tudor Cottage, in Grove Lane, Ashow. Extensive repointing was undertaken in 1957 but otherwise the north walls of both nave and chancel are substantially unaltered. They represent exceptional examples of early Norman coursed rubble work. When first built they were probably covered in a thick coat of plaster or with several layers of limewash, although no traces of this protection remain. The small round-headed deeply pierced windows in the north wall of the chancel, and the put-log holes used for supporting timber scaffolding are thought to be original. Slates were inserted in the latter about forty years ago as a protection against weathering, and as a means of deterring nesting birds. The upper east wall of the nave, where it joins the chancel roof, is timber framed and was clad with wooden shingles in 1957. Originally, both nave and chancel were thatched. It is likely that a variation in the thickness of the thatch was used to mask the difference in height and width between the two roofs.

Though built at the same time, the appearance of the east and south walls of the chancel was changed by restoration work undertaken in the late fifteenth or early sixteenth centuries. This involved the construction of an angle buttress at the south-east corner presumably because the wall, adjacent to the river, was showing signs of collapse. The large traceried altar window was also inserted, probably in place of a Norman double or triple lancet opening. The square-headed two light window in the south wall of the chancel dates from the late sixteenth century. An interesting feature is that, as can clearly be seen from the aisle, the altar window is slightly 'off centre'. It does however line up exactly with the centre line of the west door (in the tower). This suggests that the tower and the window were constructed at the same time.

In the north wall of the nave are two blocked openings, almost side by side. The round headed opening is of simple Norman construction. It could have been a door or a window and is probably the age of the wall. The other, lancet headed feature is an Early English door, constructed some one hundred years later. It has traces of foliated capitals and was filled in with brickwork probably in the early nineteenth century. The practice of blocking openings in north-facing walls and the making of entrances on the warmer south side was common in the late Middle Ages. Why two openings were constructed so close to each other and then closed up however is a mystery.

The south wall of the nave (next to the river) has been entirely rebuilt in light coloured sandstone blockwork with wide shallow buttresses at each end, probably late in the eighteenth or in the early nineteenth centuries. Two large windows were constructed to light what in Norman times must have been a very dark interior. It is likely that the inside reveals of the windows in the north walls were also widened at this time, for the same purpose.

A tower was added to the Norman building in the late fifteenth or early sixteenth centuries (probably at the same time as the renovation work was undertaken on the chancel). Built of red sandstone it rises in three storeys with a battlemented parapet and the remains of pinnacles at each angle. It is heavily buttressed. An inventory made in 1552 records 'Ashoo iij belles and a sacering bell'. The latter was a small bell rung at the Sanctus and at the consecration in the communion service, so that those in the fields or in their houses might pause for a moment of contemplation. These bells were replaced by four new bells made by John Briant of Hertford in 1793. Inside the tower and at the foot of the stone staircase leading to the bell chamber is the original fifteenth century oak door. It is made out of a single plank, two inches thick. The plain strap hinges, handle and escutcheon, all in iron, are of some interest.

By far the most impressive feature of the interior is the fine medieval timber roof. Its appearance today is the result of extensive repair and restoration work, undertaken in 1957, when the match-boarded ceiling was removed. A nineteenth century lath and plaster arch which joined the piers on each side of the opening to the chancel was dismantled at the same time. It was found to incorporate fragments of an earlier, wattle and daub tympanum which had been constructed some four hundred years previously. Markings on the stone piers together with the arcading on the lower parts of the wall point to a high level of decoration of the chancel in Norman times.

In the late eighteenth century the moveable benches in the nave were replaced by box pews. These, together with the pulpit, reading desk, chancel dado and oak are of very fine joinery. Over the altar is a painting of the crucifixion while to the right hangs a smaller picture of the entombment. They are so similar in style that they are presumed to be the remains of a triptych, the entombment having been cut down in size and the other wing lost. They were painted in the mid-sixteenth century in the Netherlands, probably in the area around Antwerp. The opinion of experts at The National Gallery is that they are not of first class quality and are unlikely to be attributable to the hand of any well-known master of the period.

The silver gilt communion plate consisting of a chalice, ciborium, flagon and paten with a 1638 hallmark is one of a number of sets given by Alice, Duchess Dudley to local parishes in the reign of Charles 1. A painted coat of arms of George III hangs on the south wall of the nave. The church registers, now lodged at the County Record Office in Warwick, begin in 1733. This is considerably later than in most parishes in the area. The reason, according to local tradition, is that the earlier records were used by Thomas Badhams, former parish clerk (and publican), as spills with which to light his pipe!

The church is surrounded by a graveyard, the level of which, because of countless burials, is above the base of the walls. The headstones date from the late eighteenth century. They mark the graves of over 180 parishioners including Sarah Dormer who was murdered at Dial House Farm, Ashow in August 1819. There is a spelling mistake on the north face of the Hiorns family vault (adjacent to the east wall of the church) where the name appears as ‘Hirons’. It is possible that, with a largely illiterate village population and a monumental mason who presumably kept quiet, this error was not noticed at the time!

Adjacent to the entrance to the churchyard is a fine yew tree. It was dated in 1988 and is estimated to be 380 years old. It is a reminder that the long-bow, the most deadly of all medieval weapons, was made of yew. In 1363, Edward III ordered the general practice of archery on Sundays and holy days, an enactment re-issued by many of his successors and as late as the reign of Henry VII. The practice often took place after worship in the churchyard or its vicinity. A rare survival in connection with archery is to be found on the east wall of the chancel which is deeply scored with marks made from the sharpening of arrows. The bow-men presumably stood with their backs to the church, their targets being in the adjacent meadow.

Grooves on the east (altar) wall of the chancel made by the

sharpening of arrows for medieval archery practice

The dedication, to the Assumption of Our Lady, is a very rare medieval survival. After the Reformation in 1536, the Church of England rejected the Roman Catholic belief that the mother of Jesus was received into heaven and dedications were usually changed to 'Saint Mary'. This did not happen in Ashow, perhaps because, being so small, it was overlooked by the bishops. The church is shown incorrectly as St Mary's on Ordnance Survey maps. Until the end of the last century the festival of the Assumption of the Virgin on 15 August (26 August before the reform of the calendar in 1752) was celebrated with a village wake held in what is now the grounds of 'Fairhaven' house.

Much of the charm of Ashow church derives from its simplicity and lack of ornamentation. It is enhanced by the peaceful setting on the banks of the Avon. The sense of timelessness and solitude which pervades church and churchyard is increased by the realisation that this has been a place of worship and the centre of community life for nine hundred years. The first service was probably held here during the reign of Henry I. The list of known incumbents begins with Roger Denont in 1298. Since that time, fifty-one clerics have provided for the religious needs of the parish. Together they have conducted the baptism, marriage and funeral services for over 350 generations of Ashow residents.

(1) The Domesday Survey of 1085 has separate entries for Ashow and Bericote villages. Bericote was recorded as having a mill worth four shillings whereas Ashow had two mills worth twenty shillings. There were ‘4 villeins and 3 bordars with 2 ploughs ‘ in Bericote but ‘9 villeins and 13 bordars with 4 ploughs’ in Ashow. In 1279, Bericote had an estimated population of eighty. From these records it seems clear that Ashow was the larger although Bericote was by no means an insignificant settlement. Bericote was abandoned by 1540 because of enclosure. The site of the former village is in the sloping field, next to and downstream of Bericote farm (opposite the church door). It is not visible from the church.