Ashington | |
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Hamlet | |
View down Ashington Lane | |
Location within Dorset | |
OS grid reference | SZ0098 |
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | WIMBORNE |
Postcode district | BH21 |
Dialling code | 01202 |
Police | Dorset |
Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
Ambulance | South Western |
UK Parliament | |
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.[1] 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 provided fodder for cattle and horses, and the tree was thought to have medicinal qualities, slitting an ash trunk was seen as an answer to hernia in infants and a touch of an ash leaf was thought to cure cramp.[2] This abundance of ash trees can still be seen in Ashington today.
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.