[5] In 1086, Ashmore was recorded in the Domesday Book as "Aisemare";[6] it had 24 households, 7 ploughlands and 10 acres (4 hectares) of meadow.

Hoskins wrote that, although "It yet remains to be proved that there is any village in England which has been continuously inhabited since Celtic times", certain "exciting clues" led him to believe Ashmore was such a place.

The parish church lies some distance from the pond, on the outskirts of the village, suggesting that Christianity was a relative latecomer.

[4] The village, which at 700 ft (210 m) above sea level is the highest in Dorset,[9] is sited on a spur of land between dry valleys which drain south and southwest.

[4] All of Ashmore parish is within the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

[3][9][15] The event's ancient origins are mysterious but may have pagan influences;[16] theories include that it celebrated either the pond's constancy as a water supply,[9] the summer solstice,[15] or the end of the cultivated filbert (hazelnut) harvest.

The event was revived in 1956[14] as a folk dance festival, and takes place on the Friday night nearest to Midsummer Day or the Feast of St. John the Baptist.