within the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The nearest rail link is from the village at Tisbury railway station and the nearest air link (Bournemouth International Airport) is away. Church and Chapel The parish church of St. Nicholas is about 100 metres west of the village pond, west of High Street. Its chancel arch is said to date from the 13th century and it was rebuilt in 1874. On the opposite side of the High Street is a Wesleyan chapel which dates from 1855. Demography In the 2011 census the parish had 97 dwellings, 87 households and a population of 188. In the first national census in 1891 the village had a population of 228. Culture In midsummer a celebration known as 'Filly Loo' (or 'Filleigh Loo') takes place around Ashmore pond, with a Green Man, country dancing, morris dancers and live music. The event's ancient origins are mysterious but may have pagan influences; theories include that it celebrated either the pond's constancy as a water supply, the summer solstice, or the end of the cultivated filbert (hazelnut) harvest. The meaning of the name 'Filly Loo' has also attracted more than one explanation, including that it is West Country dialect for 'uproar', a corruption of the French 'La Fille de l'Eau', ('maiden of the water'), or a corruption of 'Filbert Louis', a nickname of Louis Rideout, one of the historical instigators of the event. The event was revived in 1956 as a folk dance festival, and takes place on the Friday night nearest to Midsummer Day or the Feast of St. John the Baptist. References Pitt-Rivers, Michael, 1968. Dorset. London: Faber & Faber. Taylor, Christopher, 1970. The Making of the Dorset Landscape. London: Hodder & Stoughton. External links The Dorset Page: Ashmore Villages in Dorset