The tiny hamlet of Ashley lies buried in the Hampshire countryside 7 miles west of Winchester near Kings Somborne. At the heart of the hamlet is the beautiful but tiny church dedicated to St. Mary. The church served the local people for centuries but with the decline in the rural population St. Marys became redundant to the needs of the community. The church faced the possibility of falling into disuse and ruin but the villagers fought a campaign for the church to be vested in the Churches Conservation Trust and eventually it was recognised that St. Marys was of sufficient architectural and historical merit to justify it being taken into the care of the Trust.
