Ashby St Mary, historically Ascebei,[1] is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.

[3] The village contains a number of heritage-listed buildings, which include a 13th-century church, a War Memorial, and an early 18th Century Hall, Barn and Garden house.

The geology mostly consists of Cainozoic Sedimentary rock, with a layer of boulder clay and sand laid down in the last ice age.

[8] Ashby St Mary has slightly acidic loamy and clayey soils with impeded drainage, and low carbon.

[9] Ashby has a temperate maritime climate, the majority of the British Isles, with relatively cool summers and mild winters due to being east of the Pennines.

[15] Thomas de Cottingham, a royal clerk who later became Master of the Rolls in Ireland was appointed rector of Ashby in 1349: he was notorious for pluralism.

[6] The Rectors of St. Mary's date back to the late 13th century, starting with Henry de Lenn in 12--, all the way to Christopher Ellis in 2015.

Other parts of the church include; the organ, which is medium-sized and was overhauled in 1962, and the Ten Commandments, located at the head of the chancel, are based on the Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536) by John Calvin.