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Priory Church of St. Mary, West Front

Formerly the church belonging to the Augustinian priory which gave Canons Ashby its name, this church has been considerably reduced in size from its original dimensions but is still a substantial building. By a quirk of history, this church has remained in private hands, but is a parish church - only one of four such private parish churches in the country. The hard wearing local orange ironstone belies the great age of parts of the church, the tower for example dating from the C13th. The large window seen on the right here is of the Perpendicular period, so must have been added a couple of hundred years later, perhaps replacing an earlier styled one. One of the most interesting features of the exterior of the building is the fine row of blind arcading running along the length of this West Front at its base. For a closer view of this see SP5750 : Blind Arcading, St. Mary's, Canons Ashby. The other striking thing about this church is its colour - or colours. There is a greenish haze over much of the stonework which isn't really discernible in this photo. I'm not sure if this green tinge is caused by a growth such as lichen, or whether it is an efflorescence from the stones themselves. Whatever causes it, it gives the church an unusual mottled look as it contrasts sharply with the deep orange of the ironstone.