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St Mary's Church, Canons Ashby – St Mary's Church, Culworth loop from Woodford cum Membris

St Mary's Church, Canons Ashby – St Mary's Church, Culworth loop from Woodford cum Membris

Easy

riders

St Mary's Church, Canons Ashby – St Mary's Church, Culworth loop from Woodford cum Membris

01:05

20.3km

220m

Road cycling

Easy road ride. Great for any fitness level. Mostly well-paved surfaces and easy to ride. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: April 25, 2026

Waypoints

Start point

Bus stop

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5.77 km

Canons Ashby House and Priory Church

Highlight • Castle

"A tranquil Tudor manor house set in rare terraced gardens, with the 'antient' Dryden family at its heart

Built by the Drydens using the remains of a medieval priory, the house and gardens have survived largely unaltered since 1710 and are presented as they were during the Victorian era.

The warm, welcoming house features grand rooms, stunning tapestries and Jacobean plasterwork, contrasting with the domestic detail of the servants' quarters.

Stroll in the historic parkland and catch glimpses of early medieval landscapes, while a wander through the priory church reveals the story of the canons of Canons Ashby."

Cit. nationaltrust.org.uk/canons-ashby#Overview

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5.87 km

St Mary's Church, Canons Ashby

Highlight • Religious Site

Canons Ashby Priory was an Augustinian priory at Canons Ashby, Northamptonshire, England.

History
The Priory was founded by Stephen la Leye on a site to the south of the present church between 1147 and 1151 in the reign of Henry II.

In 1253 the Augustinians were granted a licence to dig the Norwell, which still exists north of the present church, to supply water to the priory.

In 1537 after the Dissolution of the Monasteries the Crown granted the priory and its estates to Sir Francis Bryan,[1] a close ally of Henry VIII. Bryan held the estate for only about a year before selling it in 1538 to Sir John Cope,[1] a wealthy Banbury lawyer. Sir John's daughter Elizabeth inherited what is thought to have been the priory farmhouse [wrong – Wilkyns farm was part of John Dryden's inheritance. Copes Ashbie – across the road – was inherited by Elizabeth's brother, who died early leaving his sons as Wards of the Dryden family]. In 1551 she married John Dryden, who extended the building to form the earliest parts of Canons Ashby House.

Part of the building survives: the Church of England parish church of St Mary dates from about 1250 and this, together with Canons Ashby House, is now owned by the National Trust. Its power and size can be judged by its outlying buildings which cover a large area of the surrounding countryside. The remains of the priory's hospitalium survive as the monastic building centred on the parish church of Maidford, about 5 miles (8 km) away.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canons_Ashby_Priory

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10.00 km

Quiet Back Lane to Culworth

Highlight (Segment) • Trail

Quiet back lane on the edge of Culworth. It is tarmac but has quite a few potholes and some mud and gravel on the road as it isn't used much.

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12.0 km

St Mary's Church, Culworth

Highlight • Historical Site

Of all the buildings in Culworth the Church is by far the oldest. Standing in the middle of the village for nearly 1000 years we all have a duty as villagers to maintain and preserve it for future generations, in the same way people from Culworth have always done.

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12.1 km

Culworth War Memorial

Highlight • Monument

The Danvers family held the manor of Culworth from 1643, when Samuel Danvers (1611–1683) was created a baronet. The Danvers Baronetcy became extinct with the death of Sir Michael Danvers, 5th Baronet, in 1776. Marble monuments to the Danvers family inside the church of St. Mary the Virgin were erected in 1790.
The school dates back to 1789 when Merial D’Anvers, the spinster daughter of a local prominent land-owning family, commissioned the building of the original school house which is still in use today.

Culworth Forge on the Green operated for over 500 years before closing a few years ago, to be replaced by Forge2, a gallery exhibiting the work of local artists.

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12.2 km