The town of 'Ashford' lies on the
River Great Stour,
M20 motorway,
South Eastern Main Line and
Channel Tunnel Rail Link railways, in the
borough of Ashford, located just south of the
North Downs, in
Kent,
England. Its agricultural market is one of the most important in the county. Ashford is a relatively common English name: it goes back to Old English ''æscet'', indicating a
ford near to a
clump of
ash-trees.
The town is in the east of
Kent and residents of
East Kent, those living south of the
River Medway, are called 'Men of Kent', as opposed to residents of
West Kent, who are known as 'Kentish Men'.
The motto for Ashford is ''"With stronger faith"'', taken from, ''To Lucasta, Going to the Wars'', a poem by the
17th century poet
Richard Lovelace from the borough,
[1] the relevant verse being
[2]
History
As a market town, Ashford has for centuries been a local communications hub for surrounding
villages and has stood at the centre of five railway lines, (
Ashford to Ramsgate (via Canterbury West) line,
Swanley to Ashford (via Maidstone East) Line,
South Eastern Main Line,
Kent Coast Line and the
Marshlink Line) since the
19th century and with the opening of the
International Passenger Station is now an important European communications centre, with new lines running between
London and the
Channel Tunnel (via the
Channel Tunnel Rail Link).
The
Borough of Ashford lies on the eastern edge of the ancient forest of "Andredsweald" or "Anderida". This originally stretched as far west as
Hampshire and formed the basis from which the
Weald is formed.
It is likely that the town originates from an original settlement established about
893AD, although a
Roman road passed through here from the
iron making area to
Canterbury. It is listed in the
Domesday Book, compiled in
1086, as having a church, two mills and a value of 150
shillings, under its original
Saxon name of "Essetesford" (or "Eshetisford," "Esselesford", "Asshatisforde", "Essheford"
[3]). The manor was owned by Hugh de Montford, Constable of England at the time. Writer Philpot believed Essetesford stood for "ash trees growing near a ford", while Lampard, a 16th century local historian, suggested that it meant "a ford over the river Eshe or Eshet", which was the old name for the
tributary of the
River Stour between Lenham and Ashford.
Its closeness to London has always made Kent a strong influence on the capital, and vice versa.
Thus by the end of the 16th century
Cade (of Cade’s Rebellion) was credited by
William Shakespeare in
Henry VI, part 2 as being from Ashford. The play includes an Ashford butcher called "Dick" who looks forward to removing officialdom after the rebellion and says: ''first thing, let’s kill all the lawyers.''
Ashford’s importance as a growing agricultural and market town was confirmed in 1243 when it was incorporated, and by the end of the
16th century it had risen to become an important market town, primarily for livestock. The market was held in the High Street until 1856 when local farmers and businessmen relocated to ''Elwick Road'' and formed a market company that claims to be the oldest surviving registered company in England and Wales. There is still a regular street market in the town, although the market company has relocated outside the town and is used by some 5,000 farmers.
[4]
Parts of the parish church date from the
13th century but was substantially restored in the
15th century with many alterations since. In 1638 a free
grammar school was founded here, it was built on the churchyard’s west side, and remained there until
1846, now used as a museum.
The
Joint Services School of Intelligence was based at ''Templer Barracks'' in Ashford, until the barracks were decommissioned in 1997 and then demolished to make way for the
Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
[5] In
1982,
Prince Andrew, Duke of York was involved with the "School".
Essentially a modern town, little is left of the old Ashford, apart from some
half-timbered buildings in ''Middle Row'' and around the churchyard in the town centre. A number of old buildings were removed to make way for the controversial ring road around the centre, built in the early 1970s. Three modern shopping centres are located in the town: Park Mall,
County Square and the new
Designer Outlet. ''Bank Street'' and ''High Street'' are traffic-free shopping thoroughfares. As of 2005, Ashford is adding about 800 new homes each year.
Politics and administration
At the top level, Ashford comes under the
South East region of England, which is represented in the European parliament as the
South East England constituency. The June 2004 election returned 4 Conservatives, 2 Liberal Democrats, 2 UK Independence, 1 Labour and 1 Green with a 36.8% turnout.
The
Ashford Parliamentary constituency incorporates the towns of Ashford and Tenterden, plus 35 surrounding villages. The 2005 election saw the Conservative
Damian Green returned to his seat increasing his share of the vote to 51.6%. The turnout was 65%.
The County authority for Ashford is
Kent County Council. Elections for this council are held every four years.
Ashford Borough elects 7 out of the 84 seats. The election in May 2005 returned 5 Conservative councillors in the following wards; Ashford Central, Ashford Rural South, Ashford Rural East, Ashford Rural West and Tenterden. The Labour and Co-operative Party candidate won the Ashford South ward and the Liberal Democrat candidate won Ashford East.
[6]
Using the same boundaries as the parliamentary constituency,
Ashford Borough Council is the next level of government. Out of the 43 seats on the Council, 19 of these are elected from the 14 wards in the town of Ashford. In the May 2003 election, 7 Conservative, 4 Labour, 4 Liberal Democrats and 4 Independents Councillors were elected from the Ashford town wards.
Although all the surrounding villages have representation at a Parish level, only the
Stanhope parish within the town of Ashford has a Parish Council.
Transport
Main articles: Transport in Ashford, Kent
Ashford was one of the towns that became a hub when the roads were
turnpiked in the second half of the 18th century. Today it is at junctions 9 and 10 of the
M20 motorway to
London,
Maidstone and
Folkestone.
Operation Stack on the M20, usually implemented in response to industrial action in Calais, brings Ashford to a halt several times each year, and on
29 November 2006 is estimated to have cost the town £2 million. Local and central government have spent 12 years studying the problem, but have yet to implement a solution. Other main roads are the
A20, which parallels the motorway; the
A28 to
Canterbury and
Tenterden; the A251 to
Faversham; and the A2070 to
Romney Marsh and
Hastings.
In the
1970s the A292 Ashford Ring Road was created around the town centre and is popular with
boy racers. The road was conceived to relieve congestion along the previous main thoroughfare in the town centre, the narrow East Hill. The Ring Road has recently been converted to two-way traffic again, to minimise the "race track" feel and help bring the isolated town centre back into the rest of the area.
[7] There are plans for a fast public transport link between the town centre and the suburbs and main amenities, called "
SMARTLINK".
The
South Eastern Railway's London to Dover mainline opened between 1842 and
1844, and the company established its
locomotive works here. The railway community had its own shops, schools, pubs and bathhouse, and much of the area retains the look of a "railway town", however the works closed in 1981. Ashford became a junction with a line to
Margate that was opened in
1846; in 1851 the
Marshlink Line to
Hastings was opened, and on
1 July 1884 the final connection, from
Maidstone, was made.
Ashford International
The
Ashford International station opened with the
Channel Tunnel in
1994. It now serves
Eurostar trains on the high-speed
Channel Tunnel Rail Link that opened in
2003, with trains to
London,
Brussels,
Lille,
Paris and connections to the rest of
Europe. It is planned that direct services to Brussels will be withdrawn and that frequencies to Paris will be reduced when
Ebbsfleet International railway station, in
Dartford, opens late in 2007. Local firms, residents and politicians are amongst those seeking a less drastic change in the Eurostar timetable. With the introduction of domestic train services along the new line to
St Pancras and
Stratford in
East London, it is expected to pull the outer limits of the
London commuter belt to the town and beyond, as travel time from Ashford to London is reduced from 83 to about 37 minutes.
London Ashford Airport is based at
Lydd, approximately 17
miles (27
kms) from Ashford, with regular flights to
Le Touquet,
France by
Lydd Air.
London Gatwick Airport, the nearest fully international airport is 58
miles (94
kms) from Ashford.
Future development of the town
Ashford is one of the fastest growing areas in England, with rapid growth in the population and the infrastructure needed to support the town. (For the development of the M20 motorway around Ashford, Junction 10 and the new Junction 10a see the
M20 development article). In 2004
Regional Planning Guidance for Ashford set out plans to deliver over 13,000 homes by 2016. Overall, the area has the capacity to deliver a total of 31,000 new homes and 28,000 new jobs by 2031.
[8] New housing estates are planned, in particular the area of
Cheeseman's Green, to the east of the town. The town's ring road, with the town centre sitting as an island, in
2007, after thirty years as a one way system, is being converted back to a two-way operation, costing £10m.
[7] The new road will have a two-way route with narrower carriageways and a 20mph speed limit.
[10] The integral arts program Lost O, curated by the artist Michael Pinsky, which has been developed as part of this Shared Space scheme has been highly controversial.
[11]
Geography
Ashford lies at the
confluence of the Rivers
Upper Great Stour and
East Stour (along with the
Aylesford Stream,
Ruckinge Dyke and
Whitewater Dyke) it forms the
River Great Stour heading for
Canterbury,
Sandwich and the
English Channel.
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|
Average max. temperature
°C (°F) | 7.1
(48) | 7.2
(48) | 9.9
(52) | 12.1
(56) | 15.9
(61) | 18.7
(66) | 21.3
(70) | 21.6
(70) | 18.4
(66) | 14.5
(59) | 10.3
(52) | 8
(50) | '13.8'
('59') |
|---|
Average min. temperature
°C (°F) | 1.5
(39) | 1.3
(39) | 2.8
(41) | 4.3
(43) | 7.3
(46) | 9.9
(52) | 12.2
(57) | 12.2
(55) | 10.1
(54) | 7.2
(48) | 3.9
(45) | 2.6
(41) | '6.3'
('46') |
|---|
Rainfall
mm (inches) | 72.0
(2.8) | 44.7
(1.8) | 53.5
(2.1) | 50.8
(2.0) | 45.3
(1.8) | 51.8
(2.0) | 47.1
(1.9) | 55.9
(2.2) | 65.3
(2.6) | 85.4
(3.4) | 78.7
(3.1) | 77.3
(3.0) | '727.9'
('28.7') |
|---|
| Source: Met Office |
Rainfall in the area is highly influenced by the
North Downs and the High
Weald. In the summer (June to September) the rainfall is more showery, falling over shorter periods and is normally more intense than in the winter (November to February), were it comes along with
low pressure area frontal systems and falls over longer periods of time.
[12]
On
28 April, 2007, a small earthquake occurred in Ashford, Folkestone, Dover and surrounding areas, towns and villages. The earthquake was said to be 5.4 on the
richter scale. Eye witnesses of this said they felt their houses shake, or had a feeling of something crashing into their houses. At first, it was thought that it was an explosion.
Twin towns
Ashford is
twinned with -
★ '
Bad Münstereifel' in
North Rhine-Westphalia,
Germany, (population 19,007) twinned since
1964. (See the German language page for and the town's location on
Multimap.)
★ '
Fougères' in
Brittany,
France, (population 21,779) twinned since
1984. (See the French language page for and the town's location on
Multimap)
★ '
Hopewell,'
Virginia,
USA, (population 22,354) twinned since
1994. (See the town's location on
Multimap)
Economy and industry
The hospital based in
Willesborough, a suburb of Ashford, covering a large part of
Kent is the
William Harvey Hospital, named after the famous doctor who discovered the blood circulatory system.
The huge build-up of commercial importance of the town, as well as its strategic location, is witnessed by the number of industrial, business and retail parks in the town. These include Waterbrook, a 740,000 m² (183 acres) site for production, storage and distribution with freight clearance facility; Eureka Science and Business Park, including manufacturing sites and prestige office complexes; the 570,000 m² (141 acres) Orbital Park; the design award winning
Ashford Designer Outlet shopping centre; and 14 other Business Parks and Industrial Estates.
Campbell Soup UK have a factory that produces
Batchelor's Soup.
ISP/GSP company
Homenetworkuk also has offices in Ashford where a portion of the support team and web services team are situated.
Culture
Local tourist attractions
:
Museum icon.png
:
UKAL icon.png
:
UKAL icon.png
:
Godinton House and Gardens [1]
:
UKAL icon.png
National Nature Reserve
:
Kent and East Sussex Railway
:
UKAL icon.png
:
Port Lympne Wild Animal Park & Gardens
:
Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway
: Vineyards at
Biddenden and Chapel Down Winery at
Tenterden
:
Willesborough Windmill
:
Woodchurch Rare Breeds Centre [2]
:
Wye Rural Museum [3]
Long Distance Footpaths
:
Greensand Way
:
North Downs Way
:
Pilgrim's Way
:
Royal Military Canal Path
:
Saxon Shore Way
:
Stour Valley Walk
Sport
★
Ashford Town Football Club formed around 1880 as Ashford United and has changed names to Ashford Railway and Ashford FC before settling on the current "Town". The club's highest league position was 18th in the
Southern League, Premier Division,
1987-88 and best
FA Cup performance was the 2nd round in the
1962-63,
1966-67 and
1995-96 seasons.
★
Ashford Hockey Club are based at Ball Lane,
Kennington and were formed in
1898.
★
Ashford Town Swimming Club
★
Ashford Rugby Club, based in Kennington. The club has a thriving junior section:
Ashford Rugby Under 14s.
★ The
Tour de France cycle race travelled through Ashford, on the stage between
Dover and
Brighton in
1994, and is due to pass through the town again on
July 8,
2007 during the stage between
London and
Canterbury (Stage 1 of the
2007 Tour de France).
★ The
Julie Rose Stadium is in Willesborough, an athletics stadium, home to Ashford Athletics Club.
★ The
National Cycle Network is a network of
cycle routes in the
United Kingdom, including routes through Ashford
:NCR 17 -
Rochester -
Maidstone - Ashford -
Hythe
:NCR 18 -
Canterbury - Ashford -
Tenterden -
Tunbridge Wells
Famous people
Ashford has housed many musicians, from
Kate Bush, who attended Ashford School, and
skiffle band
Mungo Jerry founder,
Ray Dorset to the
organists and
composers Sir
Sydney Nicholson and Sir
Malcolm Sargent.
Roger Dean the artist featured on
Yes' album covers,
Frederick Forsyth the
author of ''
The Day of the Jackal'' and
Dudley Pope, a
writer, were born in the town.
Actors,
Patsy Byrne (
Nursie in the
sitcom ''
Blackadder II'') and
Mark Rylance were born in the area, with other personalities from the town including
satirist John Wells from ''
That Was The Week That Was'' and
Bob Holness, a
television presenter.
Poets,
Alfred Austin (
Poet Laureate in
1896),
John Fuller lived in the town.
Philosopher Simone Weil also lived here; upon contracting
tuberculosis she was moved to a
sanatorium at Kennington, and declared the town "a beautiful place to die", later being recognised by the town's council naming a road after her. Dr
John Wallis, the internationally recognised
mathematician, credited by Sir
Isaac Newton as being the founder of his theory of
gravity was born in the town.
Ashford has recently produced many sporting athletes, from
Sarah Ayton (
Olympic games gold medal winning
sailor) and
Lisa Dobriskey (
Commonwealth Gold 1500m athletics event winner) to
Jamie Staff (
BMX cycling World Champion and
Track cycling multi medal winner).
Education
Ashford is home to several
primary and
secondary schools. There are also
colleges located in the area along with a main
library in the town (there are some local, smaller libraries). Schools and colleges are listed below:
Primary Schools in the town are:
- Ashford South Community Primary School
- Ashford Friars School (Independent)
- Beaver Green Infants School
- Downs View Infants School
- East Stour Primary School
- Furley Park Primary School
- Godinton Primary School
| - Great Chart Primary School
- Hopewell School
- Kennington C of E Junior School
- Linden Grove Primary School
- Oak Tree Primary School
- Phoenix Community Primary School
| - St Mary's Church of England Primary School
- St Simon's of England R C Primary school
- St Teresas Catholic Primary School
- Victoria Road
- Willesborough Infant School
- Willesborough Junior School
|
★ The
John Wesley C E (Aided) Primary School is to be built on the junction of ''Chart Road/Cuckoo Lane'', Singleton, completion expected in 2007.
★ In June 2006, because there are 1,008 empty places in Ashford, Kent County Council discussed the ''Kent Primary Strategy'' proposing merging Ashford South Primary School and Oak Tree Primary School, also suggested for amalgamation are Beaver Green Infant and Hopewell Junior schools. The final proposed merger for the area is between Charing CEP School and Hothfield Village School.
[13] Public consultation is expected in October 2006.
Secondary schools are:
★
Ashford School (senior to Ashford Friars School) (Independent and boarding)
★
Christ Church High School - Now being called Ashford Christ Church
★
Highworth Grammar School for Girls
★
The North School
★
The Norton Knatchbull School for Boys
★
Swadelands School
★
Towers School
Further Education is provided by:
★ Ashford School of Art & Design (Henwood Industrial Estate and Tufton Street)
★ South Kent College - Jemmett Road Campus
★ South Kent College - South Ashford Campus
★ The Norton Knatchbull School
Sixth Form Centre
★ Highworth Sixth Form Centre
★ The Towers School Sixth Form Centre
★
Imperial College London has a major campus at nearby
Wye, after it merged with
Wye College, the
University of London's
agricultural college in 2000.
See also
★
Ashford (borough)
★
Ashford International railway station
External links
★ A ''Travel Guide'' for visitors is available by viewing .
★
History website includes maps and Photographs
★
Ashford Chamber of Commerce website
★
Ashford Borough Council website
★
Ashford Local - News, photographs and local businesses for Ashford, Kent.
★
Campaign to sustain a good level of Eurostar services
★
Map of Ashford on
Google Maps
★
Details of a ghost hunt in Ashford
References
{{FootnotesSmall|resize=
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