John Ashe (23 October 1597– 9 February 1659) was an English clothier and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1659.
[3] He came to the attention of the church authorities in the 1630s, associated with the "Beckington riots" against Alexander Huish, and the distribution of Puritan literature.
[4][5] In fact Ashe was important in distributing widely the News from Ipswitch of William Prynne, with Rice Boye.
[7] During the Commonwealth, Ashe received much favour from Oliver Cromwell, but could not be persuaded to be one of the king's judges.
[2] Ashe pioneered new techniques in textile manufacturing and in 1650 brought Dutch technicians to Freshford to teach new methods to perfect the Spanish warp.