| Country: | England |
| Static Image Name: | Ashington Lane 2024.jpg |
| Static Image Caption: | View down Ashington Lane |
| Coordinates: | 50.7843°N -2°W |
| Official Name: | Ashington |
| Label Position: | left |
| Unitary England: | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole |
| Lieutenancy England: | Dorset |
| Region: | South West England |
| Constituency Westminster: | Mid Dorset and North Poole |
| Post Town: | WIMBORNE |
| Postcode District: | BH21 |
| Postcode Area: | BH |
| Dial Code: | 01202 |
| Os Grid Reference: | SZ0098 |
| Type: | Hamlet |
Ashington is a hamlet in Dorset, England. It is in the unitary authority of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, between the village of Corfe Mullen and the market town of Wimborne Minster.
Named by the Saxons, 'Ashington' comes from the words aesc - ash, and tun - homestead or village. The timber of ash was commonly used by the Saxons for construction, as well as for tools and weapons in the same ways metal was more widely used by later generations. The leaves of ash trees also provided fodder for cattle and horses, and the tree was thought to have medicinal qualities, slitting an ash trunk was looked upon an answer to hernia in infants and a touch of an ash leaf was thought to cure cramp.[1]
Due to its close proximity to the South East Dorset conurbation urban area, Ashington is protected as part of the South East Dorset Green Belt. It contains parts of the Corfe Barrows Nature Park.
In the first century AD, a Roman fortress was located at Lake Farm under the command of Vespasian, legate and future Roman emperor, who under the orders of emperor Claudius, was tasked with the subjugation of the remaining tribal groups of Britain. First discovered in 1959, the site covered an area of 40 acres (16 ha).[2]
The fort was constructed in two phases, the first established shortly after the Roman invasion of 43 AD. After a short period of use the fort was superseded by a new one that covered a slightly smaller area, with the occupation continuing up to 65 AD, possibly garrisoned by Legio II Augusta. The fort would have been linked to a Roman supply base to the south in Hamworthy, serviced by Poole Harbour, and the remains of another road, 'Roman Road,' can still be seen heading north-west to the Roman settlement of Vindocladia (Bradbury Rings).[3]
The Saxons probably settled in the area around the 7th century. There are two tumulus or 'burial mounds' which can be found in the Barrow Hill part of the Corfe Barrows Nature Park, serving as evidence of a Saxon presence in the area.
Constructed in 1900, Ashington Mission church was given to the parish by Mr C. Paterson, the estate agent of the Canford Estate.[4] The church was a 'tin tabernacle' built from corrugated iron likely from the catalogue of, and supplied by, Messrs Humphreys of Knightsbridge, London.[5] It was located on a site leased from Lord Wimborne, for 1 shilling per year, by Mr Paterson.[6]
Upon the death of his widow Ellen Paterson, a bequest of £500 was left to the vicar, (the Reverend G.F. Richardson) and churchwardens for the maintenance of the church.[7]
After over a decade of disuse, the church was eventually sold and converted into a three bedroom house, which featured in an episode of Escape to the Country.