Askerswell, Dorset

Askerswell is a small village and civil parish in the county of Dorset in southwest England. It is sited on the small River Asker. It lies within the West Dorset administrative district, 11mi west of the county town Dorchester. The parish has an area of 1724acre and in the northeast includes the western slopes of Eggardon Hill, including part of the Iron Age hill fort close to its summit. In the 2011 census the civil parish had a population of 154.ToponymyThe name Askerswell is derived from Osgar's Well or its Viking equivalent Asger's Well, though local tradition is that Askers' Well is Dorset dialect for newts' well and refers to the name of the stream flowing through the village ("Askers" or the River Asker).HistoryIn 1086 in the Domesday Book Askerswell was recorded as Oscherwille; it had 30 households, was in Eggardon Hundred and the lord and tenant-in-chief was Tavistock Abbey.Askerswell parish church has an early 15th-century west tower, but the rest of the building was rebuilt by Talbot Bury in 1858.