Ashford, Kent

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This article is about the town of Ashford in Kent. For other Ashfords, see Ashford.

Template:Infobox England place with map Ashford is a town spanning the confluence of the River Upper Great Stour, River East Stour, Aylesford Stream, Whitewater Dyke, Ruckinge Dyke and the resulting River Great Stour, in the borough of Ashford, located just south of the North Downs, in Kent, United Kingdom. Its agricultural market is one of the most important in the county.

Ashford

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'.

Ashford's motto is "With stronger faith", taken from a poem by the 17th century poet Richard Lovelace of Bethersden in the district. [1]

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, Ashford via Maidstone East Line, London to Dover via Ashford, 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 it's original Saxon name of "Essetesford" (or "Eshetisford"). 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. [2]

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.[3] In 1982, Prince Andrew, Duke of York was involved with the "School".

Communications

A Travel Guide for visitors is available by viewing Wikitravel.

Roads

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 on the M20 motorway which offers easy access to London, Maidstone and Folkestone, with junctions 9 and 10 serving Ashford, Operation Stack on the M20 is the bane of Ashford. The A20 runs almost parallel with the motorway, and the A28 allows access to Canterbury and Tenterden. Also leaving Ashford are the A251 for Faversham and the A2070 for Romney Marsh and Hastings.

In the 1970s the A292 Ashford Ring Road was created around the town centre and is well known for being popular with boy racers, who have nothing better to do than drive round all night, thinking they're cool. However there is work underway to convert the Ring Road to a two-way operation to minimise the race track feel and help bring the isolated town centre back into the rest of the area. [4]

===Railways===

File:Eurostar at Vauxhall.jpg
Eurostar

The South Eastern Railway opened its main line from London to the town on 1 December 1842, and by 7 February 1844 trains were running through to Dover. The importance to the town of the railway, however, was when 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" (like Swindon or Crewe), however the works closed in 1981.

Ashford International

Ashford became a junction with a line to Margate opened in 1846; in 1851 the Marshlink Line to Hastings was opened: and on 1 July 1884 the final connection, from Maidstone, was made.

When the Channel Tunnel was opened on 6 May 1994, the new Ashford International station began operating. It now serves the high-speed rail link that began service in 2003 carrying the Eurostar from England to the continent, with stops in London, Ashford and then on to Brussels, Lille, Paris and connections to the rest of Europe.

With the introduction of domestic train services along the Channel Tunnel Rail Link between St Pancras railway station, Stratford International station in East London and Ashford, it is expected to pull the outer limits of the London commuter belt to the town and beyond.

Rivers

Ashford lies at the confluence of the Rivers Upper Great Stour and East Stour, forming the River Great Stour heading for Canterbury, Sandwich and the English Channel.

Air

London Ashford Airport is based at Lydd, approximately 17 miles (27 kms) from Ashford, with regular flights to Le Touquet, France. There is a small airfield located at Headcorn (17 miles (27 kms) by road, but only 13 minutes on the main Ashford to London railway) east of Ashford) at which there is an aviation museum and a parachuting centre. London Gatwick Airport, the nearest fully international airport is 58 miles (94 kms) from Ashford.

File:County Square.jpg
Entrance to County Square from High Street

Ashford Today

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.

News about the Town

February 16th 2006 - £20m funding for Ashford's future.

More than £20m of funding has been allocated to education, transport and environment projects in the Ashford area of Kent. The town and its surroundings come under the government's Sustainable Communities Plan, which aims to see tens of thousands of new homes built.

The further and higher education facility, which will see hundreds of new jobs created, is getting a £5.5m contribution. About £6m is going towards park-and-ride and car park plans, as well as improvements to the road layout and railway bridge at Newtown Way. Another £8m will be spent on changes to most of Ashford town centre's ring road. Develpoments include a new environmental education centre (£270,000); and masterplanning work for the second phase of the Willesborough Dykes project (£50,000).[5]

£500,000 Will go towards environmental projects including, ensuring future water supplies and developing strategies for a pilot waste water treatment system, preventing waste water flowing into the river and creating drainage systems, flood defences improving the water quality and ecology of the River Stour. Trees will be planted that can be watered with the waste water and the bark of the trees will also provide a renewable fuel which could be used to heat homes and businesses. [6]

August 24th 2005 - Town's projects could get £11.3m

The government's Sustainable Communities Plan has earmarked a provisional £11.3m funding for projects in the Ashford area of Kent. The projects cover housing, transport and the environment, and include Ashford's Learning Campus which will create 400 jobs in the town. The government's aim is for funded projects to be up and running by April.

Ashford projects Ashford Learning Campus, £5.5m - Victoria Way Car Park, £2.5m - Newtown Way highway improvements, £2m - Willesborough Dykes, £0.9m - Biofuel Coppice Cultivation, £0.2m - Environment Centre, £0.2m[7]

August 9th 2005 - Where 'not' to live

A new survey for TV has listed Nottingham and Hackney in east London as among the worst places in the country to live. At the other end, Ashford in Kent and Harrogate, North Yorkshire, are among the best places to settle, for their low crime rates and high employment.[8]

July 2004 - Plans for Growth

In July 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.[9]

March 2001 - Regional Planning Guidance for the South East (RPG 9)

In March 2001 the Regional Planning Guidance for the South East (RPG 9) was published stating that the area should have "improved rail links to the Channel Tunnel from both the wider South East and East Kent are in need of improvement. Consideration of the rail links between Hastings, Ashford and East Kent will be an issue that needs to be taken into account as part of the South Coast Corridor Multi-Modal Study."

The RPG9 later went on to say "For many years the town has been identified in the Kent Structure Plan as a growth point, with substantial housing development (700 dwellings per year over a 20-year period) alongside economic development. Plan implementation has been slow because of reluctance in the market to exploit the real potential of the area, although there has been an increase in pace with the completion of the M20 and more recently the international railway station. Well located as a nodal point for sub-regional, national and international communications, Ashford will benefit in due course from the completion of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.

The town is relatively unconstrained by high quality agricultural land or other landscape designations on its southern side and there is significant potential for developing the town to take advantage of its manifest locational advantages and all that has already been achieved. At the same time, growth needs to occur in a way which is more energy efficient, makes more sustainable use of natural resources, especially water, minimises the risk of flooding and does not increase the pollution of air, land and water." [10]

Twin Towns

File:Lage der Stadt Bad Münstereifel in Deutschland.png
Bad Münstereifel in Germany

Ashford is twinned with -

Commerce

Ashford constituency's Member of Parliament is Damian Green (Conservative).

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 estates now opened up. They include:

  • Waterbrook - 740,000 m², a key site for production, storage and distribution with freight clearance facility
  • Eureka Science and Business Park - manufacturing sites and prestige office complexes
  • Orbital Park - 570,000 m²
  • 14 other Business Parks and Industrial Estates

Campbell Soup UK have a factory that produces Batchelor's Soup, which until 2001 was owned by Unilever.

The design award winning Ashford Designer Outlet is located wirthin the town.

Sport

Suburbs of Ashford

Famous people

Roger Dean's Relayer Front Cover

Education

Ashford is home to several primary and secondary schools. There is also a college located in the area along with a library in the town. Schools and colleges are listed below:

Primary Schools:
  • 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 Juniour 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.
Secondary Schools
Colleges
Ashford's Population Growth

Population

In 1801, the population of Ashford and Willesborough was 2,600; in 1861 this had more than tripled to 8,800; and in 1961 the figure was 28,000. The census, for Ashford, in 1991 showed the total number of persons as 92,331 and by 2001 it had risen to 102,661. Kent County Councils mid year estimated population, for 2004 is 107,700 showing substantial continued growth in the size of the town, the most growth in Kent.

The 2001 Census reported Ashford as having [11]

  • 41,450 households
  • 70% of residents describing their health as 'good'
  • 27% of 16-74 year olds having no qualifications
  • an unemployment rate of 2.4% of all economically active people aged 16-74

Local Places of Interest

External links

References

  1. ^ International Civic Heraldry
  2. ^ goashford.com
  3. ^ Kings College, London
  4. ^ Kent County Council
  5. ^ BBC.co.uk 16 Feb 2006
  6. ^ Kent Messenger Group 14 Apr 2006
  7. ^ BBC.co.uk 24 Aug 2005
  8. ^ Sky News 9 Aug 2005
  9. ^ Government Office for the South East
  10. ^ Regional Planning Guidance for the South East (RPG 9)
  11. ^ National Statistics
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