St Leonards and St Ives
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| St Leonards and St Ives | |
|---|---|
 Ashley Heath, one of the main settlements in the parish | |
  St Leonards and St Ives Location within Dorset | |
| Population | 7,905 (Parish, 2021)[1] |
| Civil parish |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Ringwood |
| Postcode district | BH24 |
| Dialling code | 01425 |
| Police | Dorset |
| Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
St Leonards and St Ives is a civil parish in Dorset, England. The parish contains the settlements of Ashley, Ashley Heath, St Ives and St Leonards, which have merged to form a single urban area.
The parish was created on 1 April 1932, mostly from the part of the ancient parish of Ringwood which lay west of the River Avon, but also gaining a smaller part from the parish of Hurn (which had been created in 1894 from part of Christchurch).[2]
The parish was named after two small hamlets of St Ives and St Leonards, which were both gradually being developed in an area that had been largely undeveloped heath and woodland until the early twentieth century. Much of the heath had been called Ashley Heath, and Ashley Heath Halt railway station was opened in 1927 by the Southern Railway to serve the area. The station subsequently closed in 1964.[3]
The parish was transferred from Hampshire to Dorset in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972.[4]