Ashley’s story
22 listed buildings, 1 of them Grade I
Historic England lists them inside Ashley’s built-up area.
33% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →
AshleyNorthamptonshire
250 people call this village in Northamptonshire, East Midlands home.
7 places within 12 milesMap →
Photo: Mark Shirley · CC BY 2.0
Population
250
Census 2021 · North Northamptonshire council
Median home
£686K
12 sales in 3 years
Median age
57.7
33% are 65+ · Northamptonshire 17%
Degree level
47%
of residents 16+ · England 34%
Walk, cycle, bus
6%
of commuters · England 27%
Is Ashley a good place to live?
Ashley is below the 1,000 residents fair grades need, but every figure on this page is real. 6% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. The median sale price is £686,250. It has 22 listed buildings, 1 of them Grade I.
What makes Ashley stand out
The 3 things Ashley does most differently from other towns.
Walk, cycle or public transport
Getting around
6% leave the car
of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport (England’s towns 27%)
0% of commuters travel under 5 km.
Median sale, £ thousands
Housing
2.5 times the typical UK town’s £277K
Standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026.
Listed buildings per 10,000 residents
History
1 Grade I, including Church of St Mary; 36.1 times the typical UK town for its size
Historic England’s list, October 2026.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ashley.
Work & commute
More commuters in Ashley drive than in Northamptonshire’s towns or England’s towns: 91%
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 46% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
46% of workers worked mainly from home at the census. Household income came to £63K a year before tax, above Northamptonshire’s towns (£58K) and England’s towns (£55K) alike. Also worth knowing: for every resident in work, Ashley has 0.8 jobs.
6%walk, cycle or ride
How commuters got to work · March 2021
Driving91%
On foot3%
Bicycle3%
0%
of commuters travel under 5 km · England 45%
46%
worked mainly from home in March 2021
£63K
mean household income, before tax
2%
of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits (2026)
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Housing
Private renting is less common in Ashley than in Northamptonshire’s towns or across England’s towns: 7%
82% of households own their home. Social housing holds 11% of households, below both Northamptonshire’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%). Private rents average £992 a month across the North Northamptonshire council area.
£686Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Ashley£686K
Typical UK town£277K
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £735,000 | 6 |
82%
of households own their home · England 61%
7%
rent privately · England 21%
£992
average private rent a month, North Northamptonshire council area
£2,460
council tax, Band D, 2026–27
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Safety
Homes in Ashley see less burglary and damage than in Northamptonshire’s towns or England’s towns: 2.7 per 1,000 a year
Each year, 16 violent crimes are recorded per 1,000 residents. 11 crimes and 2 reports of anti-social behaviour: that is what police recorded inside Ashley’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026. 64% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences.
16violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual7
Public order3
Vehicle crime1
Shoplifting0
Damage & arson0
Other theft0
Burglary0
Drugs0
Anti-social2
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
16
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
2.7
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
2.7
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
11
crimes recorded in the 12 months to August 2026
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL · The police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
Health
Fewer people in Ashley live with a disability than in Northamptonshire’s towns or across England’s towns: 13%
3.6% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, lower than both Northamptonshire’s towns (4.5%) and England’s towns (5.2%). Self-reported good health: 86% of Ashley’s residents. Seeing a GP means leaving Ashley: the nearest practice is 4.6 miles away.
86%good or very good health
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 86%Fair 10%Bad or very bad 4%
| Census 2021 | Ashley | Northamptonshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 86% | 83% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.6% | 4.5% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 13% | 16% | 17% |
81.5
life expectancy at birth, men (2019–23)
86.1
life expectancy at birth, women
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Because the census answers ignore age, a younger population lifts them; that is why the Health Grade is built on age-adjusted measures like life expectancy and early deaths.
History
More buildings in Ashley are listed than in Northamptonshire’s towns or England’s towns: 880 per 10,000 residents
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Ashley’s listed buildings include the Church of St Mary, Grade I. Of the town’s land, 37% lies in conservation areas, above both Northamptonshire’s towns (6%) and England’s towns (7%). 33% of homes date from before 1919. The top grade, Grade I, goes to 1 of them.
22listed buildings
Listed buildings by grade · Historic England
Grade I1
Grade II*0
Grade II21
Among them · Grade I
- Church of St Mary Grade I
0
scheduled monuments
0
registered parks and gardens
33%
of homes built before 1919 · typical UK town 15%
880
listed buildings per 10,000 residents · typical UK town 24
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Who lives here
An older town: 33% of people in Ashley are 65 or over, more than in Northamptonshire’s towns and across England’s towns
The 15-to-24 age group: 5.6%, below Northamptonshire’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%) alike. At 57.7, the median resident of Ashley sits in the middle of the age range. Degrees are held by 47% of adults.
57.7median age
AshleyNorthamptonshireEngland
Ages · share of residents
33%
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications14%
Apprenticeship7%
A levels or similar11%
Degree level47%
Women and men · all residents
55% women, 45% men
About 83 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Ashley | Northamptonshire | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 11% | 18% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 5.6% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 13% | 27% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 38% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 33% | 17% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 19% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.2% | 6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 11% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 47% | 29% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Northamptonshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Ashley
12pages on Ashley
The big questions
Safety16 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026Cost of livingMedian home £686K · rent £992 a monthHousing2 sold in 12 months · busiest street Main StreetSchoolsHealthLife expectancy 81.5 (men), 86.1 (women)Work & commute64% of working residents work in the townFlood & hazards0% of homes at high or medium flood risk
Ashley’s neighbours
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
Cottingham and MiddletonGreat BowdenMarket HarboroughDesboroughCorbyRothwellGrettonAshley
How the neighbours grade
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashley | 250 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cottingham and Middleton | 1,365 | 3 | — | C− | A− | C+ |
| Great Bowden | 1,510 | 3.5 | — | B+ | B+ | A− |
| Market Harborough | 24,162 | 4.5 | A | A | C+ | B− |
| Desborough | 11,899 | 4.7 | C+ | B− | C+ | C+ |
| Corby | 68,164 | 5.5 | C− | B | C− | D |
| Rothwell | 8,623 | 6.3 | C− | B− | C− | C+ |
| Gretton | 1,519 | 6.8 | — | C− | B+ | C+ |
Cottingham and Middleton, Great Bowden and Gretton have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Ashley
How many listed buildings are there in Ashley?
That is 36.1 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Mary.
About Ashley
Village in Northamptonshire, England
Ashley is a built-up area of 250 people, in the North Northamptonshire council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
- Population
- 250 (Census 2021)
- Council
- North Northamptonshire
- County
- Northamptonshire
- Region
- East Midlands
- Area
- 0.1 sq mi (0.2 km²)
- ONS code
- E63002845
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.