Ashchurch
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ashchurch | |
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  Ashchurch shown within Gloucestershire |
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| OS grid reference | |
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| Shire county | Gloucestershire |
| Region | South West |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Police | Gloucestershire |
| Fire | Gloucestershire |
| Ambulance | Great Western |
| European Parliament | South West England |
| List of places: UK • England • Gloucestershire | |
Ashchurch is a village and formally a civil parish in the Tewkesbury district of Gloucestershire, England. The parish was formerly called Eastchurch, due to its position east of the parish and town of Tewkesbury, and had a population of 6,064 at the 2001 census. The former Aschurch Parish covered 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 a number of factories whose postal addresses read Tewkesbury are 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. This was then changed again in 2008 when the parish was split into Ashchurch Rural and Northway.
Northway, the principal development in the Parish, was expanded significantly during the latter half of the 20th Century. The Development owed largely due to needs of rehousing shortly after World War II. A Row of pre-fabricated housing still exists, although heavily modified and modernised, in the estate. Additions to the earliest developments have progressed right up to the present day.
A newer development commonly referred to as 'Saxon Park', built upon the former site of a factory that was once a part of Dowty Seals, sparked much controversy as many homes were significantly damaged in the Summer Floods of 2007 despite being less than a year old. Other areas of the Parish, especially Northway, were hit particuarly badly; Kestral Way and Sallis Close being two of the harder hit areas.
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[edit] Railway
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 remains of the old line are still apparent, with much of its infrastructure in existence. The old connecting curve and the two branches it served can clearly be traced on a map. With much of the Ashchurch to Tewkesbury line now being used as a Cycle and Footpath, this section proved valuable during the 2007 floods as it was the only dry route into, and out of, Tewkesbury at the time.
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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Local businesses
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.
Ashchurch pays host to more or less half of Tewkesbury's industry with several businesses growing up around the M5 motorway junction.
