Ashurst is a village in the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

district of

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, England, which together with

Colbury Colbury is a small village in the New Forest National Park, in Hampshire, England. The village lies along Deerleap Lane, near the modern village of Ashurst. History The name Colbury is derived from Middle English for "Cola's manor", and near Co ...

hamlet makes the parish of Ashurst and Colbury. Ashurst is on the

A35 road The A35 is a major road in southern England, connecting Honiton in Devon and Southampton in Hampshire. It is a trunk road for some of its length. Most of its route passes through Dorset and the New Forest. It originally connected Exeter and Sou ...

near the

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

conurbation. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 2,011, increasing to 2,093 at the 2011 Census. The parish is on the edge of the designated

New Forest National Park The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

area. The village has a campsite, some shops and a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

. The parish is bounded to the west by

Netley Marsh Netley Marsh is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, close to the town of Totton. It lies within the New Forest District, and the New Forest National Park. It is the alleged site of the battle between an invading Anglo Saxon army, under ...

parish and the

Bartley Water Bartley Water is a two-branch small river in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It drains the north and north-east of the New Forest National Park up to the A31 road, a watershed and two villages against the north-east side of the ...

, to the north by the

A326 road List of A roads in zone 3 in Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island ...

and

Totton and Eling Totton and Eling () is a civil parish in Hampshire, England, with a population of about 29,000 people. It contains the town of Totton and is situated between the eastern edge of the New Forest and the River Test, close to the city of Southampto ...

, and to the south by

Denny Lodge Denny Lodge is a large civil parish in the New Forest in Hampshire, England. It covers a large area of heathland and woodland encompassing much of the eastern side of the New Forest, but contains no towns, villages, churches, or schools. Ove ...

parish in the New Forest. Ashurst is close to the City of

and is often considered an

exurb An exurb (or alternately: exurban area) is an area outside the typically denser inner suburban area, at the edge of a metropolitan area, which has some economic and commuting connection to the metro area, low housing density, and growth. It s ...

of it, a large percentage of its population being commuters.

Millvina Dean Eliza Gladys Dean (2 February 1912 – 31 May 2009), known as Millvina Dean, was a British civil servant, cartographer, and the last living survivor of the sinking of the RMS ''Titanic'' on 15 April 1912. At two months old, she was also the yo ...

, the last survivor of the sinking of

RMS Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

, was living in Ashurst at the time of her death in May 2009 at the age of 97.

Pubs

Ashurst has three pubs; 'The Happy Cheese', 'The Forest Inn' and 'The New Forest Hotel'. A pub named 'The Angry Cheese' used to be located opposite The Happy Cheese, across the road, which became a hairdressers and was eventually demolished to make way for new houses. The original Happy Cheese was a small hotel and restaurant owned by Micheal Leonard. It burned down in 1980 and was rebuilt as the current Happy Cheese pub several years later. In June 2010, The Forest Inn closed after the business went into liquidation. However, it reopened on 12 November 2010 under new management following total refurbishment.

Shops and Amenities

There are five restaurants along the main road through Ashurst. These are: 'The Jumbo House' Chinese and English takeaway, the 'Little Friar' fish and chip shop, the 'Herb Pot Bistro' (serving many cuisines), The 'Asha' Indian and Bangladeshi restaurant and takeaway, and the 'Lite Bites' sandwich bar. There is also a vet, upholsterer, Post Office, newsagent, two hair salons, a car accessories shop and a car dealer. The post office closed at the end of January 2019. There is also a Welcome food store, part of the Co-operative chain, located further along the main road towards Colbury.

Education

There are two schools in Ashurst, Foxhills Infant School and Foxhills Junior School. Foxhills Infant School teaches pupils between the ages of four and seven and as of May 2011 had in total 210 pupils on roll. It shares its grounds with Foxhills Junior School, where many of the Infant School pupils progress onto. The Junior School was opened as a middle school in September 1977 when the buildings and facilities of the original Junior School, which had been established ten years previously, were substantially enlarged and extended to provide for the 8–12 middle school age range. In 1993, it became a Junior School once again taking in children aged between 7 and 11. The school had around 332 children on roll in September 2010 and the current Headteacher is Andrew Shore. The majority of pupils come from the neighbouring Foxhills Infants School, Eling Infants School or Hazelwood First School. In its most recent Ofsted inspection report in 2010, it received a Grade 2 (good). Both schools enjoy a 16-acre site with large playgrounds and many resources, including a 6-acre nature reserve with a pond. The reserve, during the last few years, has benefited from a £22K grant from the Millennium Heritage Fund which allowed construction paths and access routes for year-round use. The whole school building area is protected by CCTV and a private patrol company. Also on the same site is Ashurst Pre-School that currently takes 86 children from two years nine months to five years on roll. During secondary school, most children enroll in Hounsdown, two villages across in Totton.

Transport links

Ashurst is well served by transport links, the largest being the

Ashurst railway station Ashurst railway station is on the branch of the Oxted line in southern England and serves Ashurst in Kent (very close to the East Sussex border). It is from . The station is managed by Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China So ...

, run by South West Trains. The line runs from London Waterloo to Weymouth. Ashurst is also on the Bluestar 6 Bus Route (recently replacing the Wilts and Dorset's 56/56A route) that runs from Lymington to Southampton.

References

External links

Ashurst and Colbury Parish CouncilFoxhills Infant SchoolFoxhills Junior School
{{authority control Villages in Hampshire