Ashchurch

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Church of St. Nicholas

Ashchurch is a village and civil parish in the Tewkesbury district of Gloucestershire, England. The parish has a population of 6,064 according to the 2001 census, and covers the village of Ashchurch, including the large Northway estate, and the settlements of Aston Cross, Aston on Carrant, Pamington and Natton. The village and housing and industrial estates run directly into Tewkesbury itself to the west: Tewkesbury School, and numerous factories whose postal addresses read Tewkesbury are actually in the parish of Ashchurch. The parish once extended even further west to include the area called Newtown, but this was transferred to Tewkesbury in 1931. From 1935 until 1974, Ashchurch was part of the Cheltenham Rural district, then was incorporated into the new Tewkesbury district.

The village is served by Ashchurch for Tewkesbury railway station on the Bristol to Birmingham main line, formerly part of the Midland Railway, later the LMS. This was once a railway centre of some importance, as it was the spring-off point for two branches, one each side of the main line: 1. The Evesham line, actually a lengthy loop serving Evesham, Alcester and Redditch, re-joining the main line at Barnt Green, near Bromsgrove. This line closed between Evesham and Redditch in October 1962 due to poor condition of the track, while Ashchurch to Evesham followed in June 1963 (Redditch to Barnt Green remains open on the electrified Birmingham suburban network). 2. The line to Tewkesbury, Upton-upon-Severn and Malvern, closed beyond Upton in December 1952, Ashchurch to Upton following in August 1961. At this time Ashchurch station was renamed Ashchurch for Tewkesbury, but it too was to close, in November 1971, reopening in June 1997. There used to be a connecting curve linking the two branches, crossing the main line on the level just north of the station, creating a layout which may have been unique in Britain, but this curve closed in December 1957. There was an extensive goods yard to the south, and to the north west a large grain store.

The main A46 road (formerly the A438), crosses over the main line via a bridge which for decades was a thorn in the side of motorists owing to its narrowness, steep approaches and poor visibility. Tinkered with several times over the years but only providing limited improvement, the bridge was finally rebuilt completely in 2003/4.

The Defence Storage and Distribution Centre DSDC Ashchurch, known locally as "Ashchurch Camp", is the UK MOD's primary vehicle storage and distribution site for all types of armoured and soft skinned vehicles, together with Royal Engineer bridges, boats and construction plant. The Centre is the only vehicle depot in the UK using Controlled Humidity Environments (CHE) for long-term vehicle storage.

Another key employer with a large premises at Ashchurch is the company founded by British inventor and businessman Sir George Dowty (1901-1975). Two divisions of the company were once based at Ashchurch: Dowty Seals and Dowty Mining, but only Seals maintains a current presence there.