Ashley, John (1734 -1805)

The crest is that of Ashley of Ashby St Ledgers in Northamptonshire and Ashley of Dorset, associated with the arms Azure a cinquefoil and a bordure engrailed ermine. The stamp is perhaps that of the John Ashley, the father of a remarkable family of musicians who flourished towards the end of the eighteenth century. He became a member of the Royal Society of Musicians 7 April 1765. In 1795 he took over the management of the oratorio concerts at Covent Garden. The library of a W.T.B. Ashley was sold at Sotheby's on 20 March 1876, but this book is not in the catalogue.