Part of the Leicestershire and Rutland Festival of Archaeology.

Saturday 11th July at 2 pm.

Our churchyard is an ancient burial place. The earliest church built here was Anglo-Saxon, so the churchyard is probably at least 1,000 years old and may contain as many as 10,000 burials. For centuries, it was the only burial place in Ashby, so it accommodated everyone, whatever their faith. In the 1850s it was declared full and was closed to all but burials in existing family plots which still had space.

There have been a few more recent burials by special arrangement - a longstanding 19th century vicar and a member of the Hastings family are among these. The churchyard is now open for burial of ashes only.

Hear about some of the Ashby personalities of centuries gone by who are buried here. Learn from the grim report of the Board of Health in 1849. Listen to the tale of the bodysnatchers. Find out when the gravestones were laid flat - and why.

We'll also be looking at the exterior of our church building and the clues it gives us about the past.

Free tour, but donations welcome.