Ashford, Kent facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ashford |
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_Town_Centre,_High_Street,_February_2012_Snow.jpg) High Street, Ashford, in February 2012 |
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 Ashford
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| Population | 83,213 (2021 Census) |
| OS grid reference | TR005425 |
| District |
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| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ASHFORD |
| Postcode district | TN23–TN27 |
| Dialling code | 01233 |
| Police | Kent |
| Fire | Kent |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament |
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Ashford is a busy town located in Kent, England. It sits by the River Great Stour, close to the North Downs hills. Ashford is about 61 miles (98 km) southeast of central London and 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Folkestone. In 2021, its population was 83,213 people.
The town's name comes from an old English word, æscet. This means a shallow place to cross a river (a ford) near a group of ash trees. Ashford has been a market town since the Middle Ages, and you can still find a regular market there today.
St Mary's Parish Church has been an important building since the 1200s. It was made much bigger in the 1400s. Today, the church is used for both religious services and fun events.
The arrival of railways in the mid-1800s helped Ashford grow a lot. It became a major railway hub with five different train lines. The fast HS1 High Speed 1 line connects Ashford's International Railway Station to London and the Channel Tunnel. This means you can even travel to Paris and other European cities from Ashford! The M20 motorway also links Ashford to the Channel Tunnel and other major roads.
Ashford has changed a lot over the years. Since the 1960s, government plans have aimed for the town to grow. In the 1970s, a new ring road and a large building called Charter House were built. This meant some older parts of the town were removed, but other historic areas were saved. More recently, new places like the County Square shopping centre, Repton Park, the Finberry housing estate, and the popular Ashford Designer Outlet have been built.
Contents
Exploring Ashford's Past
How Old is Ashford?
People have lived around Ashford for a very long time! Tools from the Iron Age (around 1500 BC) and even older periods have been found here. During building work in the 1990s and for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, archaeologists found tools from as far back as 7000 BC.
In Roman Britain, iron was mined nearby and brought to Ashford. Here, two ironworks turned the ore into metal. Experts believe a Roman settlement might have existed north of the current town centre.
The town we know today started in 893 AD. People escaping a Viking attack were given land by a Saxon Lord. The name æscet (meaning a ford near ash trees) stuck. In the Domesday Book of 1086, it was called Essetesford. At that time, it had a church and two mills.
Ashford in the Middle Ages
Ashford became more important as a farming and market town in the 1200s. In 1243, King Henry III gave the town permission to hold a livestock market. Pottery making also grew in the 1200s and 1300s, with large-scale production happening a few miles west of the town centre.
Jack Cade, who led a rebellion in 1450, might have had connections to Ashford. In one of William Shakespeare's plays, a character called "Dick, the Butcher from Ashford" talks with Cade.
In the 1500s and 1600s, Ashford was known for people who didn't follow the main church. A local man, John Brown, was executed in 1517 for his beliefs. Thomas Smythe became the owner of Ashford manor in the mid-1500s, given to him by Queen Elizabeth I. He is buried in the parish church.
John Wallis, a famous mathematician and one of Isaac Newton's teachers, was born in Ashford in 1616. He later moved away to avoid the plague.
Modern Changes in Ashford
By the late 1700s, farmers started holding informal markets in Ashford. The market was held on the High Street until 1856. Then, farmers and business people moved it to Elwick Road. This market company is the oldest registered company still going in England and Wales! There's still a regular street market, but the main market moved outside the town centre when part of its old site was needed for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
Military History
The Army first came to Ashford in 1797, building a garrison on Barrow Hill. During World War I, Ashford was a target for bombs because it was a transport hub between London and Europe. A bomb dropped in 1917 killed a young woman. In World War II, Ashford was attacked during the Battle of Britain.
The Joint Services School of Intelligence was based at Templer Barracks in Ashford. This is where important people like Robert Runcie, who later became the Archbishop of Canterbury, were stationed. Even Prince Andrew attended a course here in 1982. The barracks closed in 1997 to make way for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
Ashford has a special connection with the German town Bad Münstereifel. After World War I, British forces occupied Bad Münstereifel. A British Major, J Goode, became friends with locals. Later, his brother-in-law, John Wiles, helped arrange visits between British and German families. This led to the two towns officially becoming "twinned" in 1964. Bad Münstereifel was also twinned with Fougères in France, which then led to Ashford twinning with Fougères in 1984.
Industry and Business
In the early to mid-1900s, printing became an important industry in Ashford. Headley Brothers, a printing company started in 1881, printed and sent out over 2 million books by the 1950s. The company closed in 2017. Letraset, a company making art materials, also had a factory in Ashford from the 1960s until 2013.
Town Redevelopments
Not much of the very old Ashford town centre remains today. You can still see some medieval half-timbered buildings in Middle Row and near the church. Many old buildings were removed to build the ring road and Charter House, a large office building. Charter House is now being turned into flats.
To help the growing population, the Finberry housing estate began construction in 2013. This large area southeast of the town centre will have over 1,180 homes, shops, and a pub.
Recent Projects
Ashford Borough Council has a 'Big 8' plan for the town's future. This includes major projects to improve culture and the economy. The Commercial Quarter near the station opened in 2018, and a new junction (10A) was added to the M20 motorway. Chilmington Green is a huge housing development with 5,750 homes planned.
A new campus for Ashford College opened in 2017, costing £16 million. Elwick Place, a leisure complex with a cinema, opened in 2018. The Ashford Designer Outlet also had a big expansion costing £90 million. The old railway works are being turned into Ashford International Studios, which will include cinema studios, a hotel, and apartments, expected to open in 2025.
How Ashford is Governed
The motto of Ashford Borough Council is "With stronger faith." This comes from a poem by Richard Lovelace, a 17th-century poet from the area.
The council's coat of arms uses gold to show richness. It has three sprigs of ash trees, representing older council areas. A lion is included to remember nearby Tenterden, which was one of the historic Cinque Ports.
Where is Ashford Located?
Ashford is about 61 miles (98 km) southeast of central London. It's also about 13 miles (21 km) southeast of Maidstone and 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Folkestone.
The town is located where two valleys meet in Kent. It's on the southern edge of the North Downs and in the valley of the River Stour. The Great Stour and East Stour rivers join here, making it a great spot for a settlement. The Borough of Ashford is on the eastern side of an ancient forest called "Andredsweald."
Ashford has grown so much that it has joined with smaller villages around it. These include Bockhanger, Kennington, Willesborough, Sevington, Singleton, and Great Chart. New housing areas have also been built in places like Bybrook, Godinton, Kingsnorth, Park Farm, and Stanhope.
In 1756, an earthquake hit Ashford. The 2007 Kent earthquake, which was a 4.3 on the Richter magnitude scale, was also felt in Ashford, though it was strongest in Folkestone.
What is Ashford's Climate Like?
Ashford gets about 30 inches (750 mm) of rain each year. This is generally less rain than areas closer to the North Downs. The area around the River Stour, especially south of the station, can sometimes flood. This is why it hasn't been built on much. Newer buildings in this area are sometimes built on concrete stilts to avoid flood damage.
Ashford's Economy
The soup company Batchelors became a big employer in Ashford when they opened a factory in Willesborough in 1957. Many staff moved from Sheffield to work there. The factory is now owned by Premier Foods. Another company, Proprietary Perfumes Ltd (PPL), which makes fragrances, opened a factory next door in 1962. It is now part of Givaudan.
Brake Brothers, a frozen food company, started in 1957 and later moved to Ashford. Their European headquarters are now in Eureka Park.
In 2017, Curious Brewing built a factory next to Ashford International station. The train company Southeastern even advertises the brewery around the station.
In 2004, plans were made to invest £2.5 million in Ashford. This included building 31,000 new homes and creating 28,000 new jobs. In 2005, a Channel 4 poll even ranked Ashford as the fourth-best place to live in the UK! Ashford continues to grow, with new homes planned for areas like Repton Park and Chilmington.
Ashford has several business and retail parks. These include Waterbrook Park, Eureka Science and Business Park, and Orbital Park, where the market is now held.
There are three main shopping centres in Ashford. Park Mall opened in 1985. The main shopping centre is County Square, which opened in 1973 as the Tufton Centre. It was renamed County Square in 1989 and expanded in 2008. Outside the town centre is the Ashford Designer Outlet, designed by Richard Rogers. It attracts about 3 million visitors a year and has won awards for being a great shopping place. In 2018, it had a big expansion, adding 40 new stores and a food area. This expansion included Europe's largest "living wall" with over 120,000 plants! A Waitrose store opened in 2009, and a John Lewis store opened in 2013, though the John Lewis store closed in 2021.
In 2014, Ashford Borough Council started a campaign called AshfordFor to encourage businesses to invest in the town. They also launched loveashford.com to help promote new businesses in the town centre.
Culture and Community Life
Ashford is home to the oldest surviving St John Ambulance unit. John Furley, who founded the association, was born in Ashford. He also started the British Red Cross Society in 1868.
The Grosvenor Sanatorium opened in 1915 to help patients with tuberculosis. The philosopher Simone Weil lived in Ashford after escaping France during World War II. She sadly died at the sanatorium in 1943. A road in Ashford is now named Simone Weil Avenue. The sanatorium later became the Ashford Police Training Centre.
Ashford Hospital opened in 1928. It has been used as a health centre and retirement home. The main hospital in Ashford is William Harvey Hospital, located in Willesborough. It is named after William Harvey, the doctor who discovered how blood circulates in the body. The hospital was built because the old one was too small for Ashford's growing population. It opened in 1979.
Important Landmarks
In the 1600s, a free grammar school was started in Ashford. It was built next to the church and is now a museum. The church itself is a Grade I listed building, meaning it's very important historically.
A Mk. IV tank from World War I was given to Ashford on August 1, 1919. This was to thank the town for its efforts during the war. It's located in St Georges Square. For many years, an electricity substation was inside the tank. This is thought to be why the tank wasn't melted down for metal during World War II, unlike other tanks given to towns. A protective cover was built over the tank in 1988.
H.S. Pledge & Sons Ltd built two flour mills in Ashford, which were important employers. The first opened in 1890 and the second in 1901. Both mills closed in 1972 and were later damaged by fires. The East Hill Mill tower became a nightclub until 2014.
The Corn Exchange, a building used for trade, opened in 1861. It was also used for dinners, dances, and trade shows. It was taken down in 1963.
The Ashford Green Corridor is a long park that follows the two main rivers through the town. It's protected from building work because it's on the flood plain. Much of this area is a nature reserve. It includes Victoria Park, which has a beautiful fountain that was first shown at an exhibition in London in 1862. The Coningbrook Lakes Country Park, built on an old quarry site, opened in 2015.
Ashford's main library opened in 1966. In 2010, it was redeveloped into Ashford Gateway Plus, which offers local council services as well as the library. Other places to visit include the Ashford Borough Museum, Godinton House and Gardens, and the New Mill at Willesborough, which is a Grade II listed building.
The first cinema in Ashford was The Picture Palace. The Odeon cinema opened in 1936 and closed in 1976. Today, Ashford has a 12-screen cinema in Eureka Leisure Park. A new six-screen Picturehouse cinema opened in December 2018.
Getting Around Ashford
Train Travel
Ashford station was built when the London to Dover railway line opened between 1842 and 1845. The railway company also built its locomotive works (where trains were made and repaired) in the town. Other train lines to Canterbury, Hastings, and Maidstone opened later. The railway community even had its own village called Newtown. The railway works closed in 1982.
Ashford International station opened in 1994 with the Channel Tunnel. It serves Eurostar trains to London, Lille, Brussels, and Paris, connecting Ashford to Europe. In 1999, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link was improved, which meant big changes to the railways around Ashford.
Since 2009, fast domestic trains run on this route, cutting journey times to London from 88 minutes to about 38 minutes. However, international Eurostar services were stopped in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and are not expected to restart until 2025.
Road Travel
In Roman times, Ashford was a meeting point for two main roads. One went from London to Lympne, and the other from the Weald to Canterbury and Richborough. In the 1700s, Ashford became a hub when roads were improved and tolls were introduced.
Ashford's first bypass road opened in 1957. The main road through Ashford now is the M20, which opened in stages between 1981 and 1991. Junctions 9, 10, and 10A serve the town. Other main roads include the A28 to Canterbury, the A2070 to Romney Marsh, and the A251 to Faversham.
The Ashford Ring Road was finished in 1974 to help with traffic in the town centre. Part of it required taking down existing buildings. It was originally one-way but was changed to two-way in 2007. This change cost £14 million and included the country's first "shared space" scheme, where cars and pedestrians share the road more equally. A new junction on the M20, 10A, opened in 2019.
Operation Stack is a system on the M20 near Ashford. It allows large trucks (HGVs) to queue for the Channel Tunnel and the Port of Dover when there are delays. This means the eastbound motorway can be closed to other traffic, which can be a problem for drivers.
Other Ways to Travel
Stagecoach in East Kent provides bus services around Ashford. Most services connect the station to the Designer Outlet. Buses also go to nearby towns like Canterbury, Tenterden, Maidstone, and Folkestone.
The National Cycle Network has two cycle routes through Ashford: NCR 17 from Rochester to Hythe, and NCR 18 from Canterbury to Tunbridge Wells. The Stour Valley Walk also follows the main river, connecting Ashford with Lenham and Canterbury.
Learning in Ashford
Ashford has twelve primary schools, two grammar schools, three secondary schools, and a college. The Norton Knatchbull School was founded around 1630 as a free grammar school. It was known as Ashford Grammar School until 1980. The school has moved several times and is now on Hythe Road. The girls' grammar school is Highworth Grammar School for Girls, which opened in 1908.
There is also a private independent school, Ashford School, which was founded in 1898. It used to be only for girls but started admitting boys in 2006.
Newer primary schools in Ashford include Repton Manor Primary School (opened 2012), Goat Lees Community Primary School (opened 2013), and Finberry Primary School (opened 2017). Ashford College moved to a new building in the town centre, which opened in September 2017.
Places of Worship
St Mary's parish church is in the town centre. Parts of it date back to the 1200s. John Fogge made big changes to the church in the late 1400s, including building the 120-foot (37 m) tower and raising the roof. He is buried in the church.
In 2010, the church was updated to be both a place of worship and an arts and performance centre for up to 350 people. About £1.7 million was spent on improvements.
Sports in Ashford
Ashford United Football Club plays at the Homelands, about 4 miles (6 km) south of the town centre. The club started in 1891 as Ashford United. It was reformed in 2011 after facing money problems.
Ashford also has a youth football team called South Ashford Football Club, for players aged 4 to 21.
The Julie Rose Stadium is an athletics stadium in Willesborough. It opened in 1997 and is named after Julie Rose, a local runner who died in a plane crash. The stadium is partly funded by the National Lottery. It is home to Ashford Athletics Club and has hosted international events.
The Stour Centre is a leisure centre near the railway station. It has pools, water slides, gyms, and sports facilities.
Ashford Rugby Football Club was formed in 1885. They play at Kinneys Field. Ashford also has an archery club and several cricket clubs, including Great Chart Cricket Club, which celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2006.
Local Media
Ashford used to have a local commercial radio station called KMFM Ashford. Now, Ashford has its own community radio station, Radio Ashford 107.1 FM, which started broadcasting in May 2011. It also includes programmes from the Ashford Hospital Broadcasting Service, which has been operating since 1971.
Ashford has had several newspapers over the years. The Kent Messenger was established in the 1800s. Currently, there are three local newspapers: the Kentish Express, yourashford, and the Ashford Herald.
See also
In Spanish: Ashford (Kent) para niños
