Ashley, New Forest
| Ashley | |
|---|---|
 Shops at Ashley Crossroads |
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 Ashley
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| Ashley shown within Hampshire | |
| Population | c. 4500 |
| OS grid reference | SZ257954 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | New Milton |
| Postcode district | BH25 |
| Dialling code | 01425 |
| Police | Hampshire |
| Fire | Hampshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | |
Ashley is a village located in the southwest of Hampshire, England. It lies on the eastern outskirts of New Milton in the New Forest district, and is two miles (3 km) inland from the sea. Its history dates back to the Domesday book of 1086, when two estates were recorded. In the 15th century much of Ashley merged with a neighbouring manor, and the estate became known as Ashley Arnewood. As a village, Ashley began to develop in the 19th century when a church and a school were built. Most of the current village was built in the 20th century, and today Ashley is effectively a suburb of New Milton.
Humans have lived in the Ashley area for thousands of years. Two Palaeolithic hand axes were found in gravel excavated from the gravel pits at Ashley, and are now in the Red House Museum in Christchurch. A third axe was found in 1962.
The name Ashley means "ash wood/clearing". In the Domesday book of 1086, two estates, Esselie and Esselei, are recorded. The first was possessed by "Nigel the doctor" from Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury; before 1066 it had been held by Saewulf. The other estate was in 1086 held by the sons of Godric Malf, who had himself held it from the king prior to 1066. Ashley was probably included in the grant of Christchurch made by Henry I to Richard de Redvers, because his successor Earl William in about 1200 granted an estate there in free marriage to Hawise the wife of William Avenel. She gave it to her son Nicholas, on whose death it went to his son William Avenel. He held it as the manor of Ashley, and when he died without children in 1253 it passed to the Crown. It was granted in the following year to Thomas Waleran in recognition of the good service rendered by him in Gascony, but in 1263 it was again in the hands of the lord of Christchurch, because Baldwin de Redvers, 7th Earl of Devon, died in possession of it in that year. At the beginning of the 14th century Reginald de Bettesthorne had lands in Ashley worth 5 shillings yearly.
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