Ashmore

Ashmore is a small village in the North Dorset district of Dorset, England; situated 20 mi south-west of Salisbury. The local travel links are located 7 mi from the village to Tisbury railway station and 18 mi to Bournemouth International Airport. The main road running through the village is North Road. The village has a population of 162 according to the 2001 Census.

It is situated on Cranborne Chase five miles (8 km) south east of Shaftesbury. The village consists of a church and 83 old stone cottages and farms, many with thatched roofs. The village is situated on chalk rock which is permeable and therefore dry, and the village is built around a clay-lined dew pond which provided water before pipes were installed. This pond or "mere" is what gave the village its original name of "Ashmere". At over 700 ft above sea level the village is the highest in Dorset.

The village is situated on the Roman road from Bath to Badbury Rings, and the pond may have been significant in Roman times. It is probable that there was a settlement at Ashmore in Roman times, though the village name is Saxon and there is little Roman archaeology in the village.