Ashford, Surrey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ashford | |
  Ashford shown within Surrey |
|
| Population | 25,240 |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| District | Spelthorne |
| Shire county | Surrey |
| Region | South East |
| Constituent country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ASHFORD |
| Postcode district | TW15 |
| Dialling code | 01784 |
| Police | Surrey |
| Fire | Surrey |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| European Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Spelthorne |
| List of places: UK • England • Surrey | |
Ashford is a town in the Surrey borough of Spelthorne in England. It is a suburban development situated 15 miles (24 km) west south-west of Charing Cross in London and forms part of the London commuter belt.
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[edit] Town and environs
Ashford is close to London Heathrow Airport and borders the London Borough of Hounslow to the northeast. It covers an area of 30 square kilometres (twelve square miles). Other towns nearby include Staines, Feltham and Sunbury-on-Thames.
Spelthorne is an area of mostly green belt land, rivers, flood plain and reservoirs. Ashford is almost completely surrounded by the latter: in particular the Staines Reservoirs to the north east (now a bird sanctuary) and the Queen Mary Reservoir to the south. These reservoirs, resulting from gravel extraction, are part of the water supply network.
Between Staines and Ashford lies Shortwood Common, which contains one of the UK’s most important ponds. The pond is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and covers nearly 15,000 square metres. The common is still grazed by cattle.
[edit] History
Ashford appears on the Middlesex Doomsday Map as Exeforde. It was held by Robert, Count of Mortain. Its Domesday Assets were: 1 plough, meadow for 1 plough; a separate manor in 1066, it was part of the manor of Kempton in 1086. It rendered (in total): 14s 0d.[1]
The settlement was most likely founded in Saxon times. Bronze Age artefacts have been found in Ashford (at 51.432708N, 0.485174W), and a henge may have been present in Bronze Age times.
The present parish church of St Matthew[1] was built in 1858 with financial assistance from the Welsh School (now St David's School) which had just moved to Ashford. For long a village, Ashford was always associated with Staines, its nearest neighbour.
[edit] Status
In 1894, under the Local Government Act 1894, Ashford became part of the Staines Rural District of Middlesex.[2] In 1930 the rural district was abolished and Ashford was added to the Staines Urban District. In 1965, under the London Government Act 1963, Middlesex was abolished and the urban district was transferred to Surrey.[3] In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, Staines Urban District was abolished and its area combined with that of Sunbury-on-Thames Urban District to create the present-day borough of Spelthorne.
[edit] Ashford today
Although the town's origins are ancient, Ashford's housing stock is chiefly a mixture of villas and castle-like houses built between 1930 and 1960.
The high street mainly comprises local businesses, with Somerfield, Tesco Express and Woolworths and now a Subway also present. In particular, down the highstreet there is a funeral director, many different eateries and hairdressers. The main street is also home to the Ashford Campus of Brooklands College (formally Spelthorne College), Ashford Library and a World War 2 memorial. Ashford, in common with most of London suburbia, has very low unemployment rates. A great deal of local employment is directly related to Heathrow Airport. BP International is another major employer. Many other Ashfordians work in London or in the Thames Valley.
The town is served by South West Trains services from Waterloo station calling at Ashford railway station which lies to the south of the A30 road. There are many bus services provided by Travel Surrey, as well as some other London Buses routes run by other operators.
There are many local primary and secondary schools. There is also a further education college for ages 16 to 18; Spelthorne College which became a Brooklands College Capus in 2007.
There are active sports clubs in Ashford - Football (Ashford Town F.C. (Middlesex)), Cricket, Hockey, Tennis & Bowls.
[edit] Famous people from Ashford
- Ray Dorset, singer / songwriter with 1970s chart-toppers Mungo Jerry.
- Norman Willis, General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) 1984-92 and president of the European Trade Union Confederation 1991-93.
- Roger Johnson, footballer currently with Cardiff City
- Sarah Ayton, Olympic gold medal winner in the Yngling sailing class 2004 Summer Olympics
- Sarah Webb, Olympic gold medal winner in the Yngling sailing class 2004 Summer Olympics (They won Britain's first gold medal of the Athens Games)
- Anthony Burgess, Lord of Ashford 1914
- Bobby Davro, born Robert Nankeville, 1990s TV impressionist
- Lynda Chater, author of novels published by Simon & Schuster
- Russell Grant (astrologer and resident of Staines) became Lord of Ashford in 1996.
- Luke May, Harlequins Rugby League player
- Jack Swaybe , former governor in 1967
[edit] References
- ^ Surrey Doomsday Book
- ^ Vision of Britain - Staines Rural District
- ^ Vision of Britain - Staines Urban District
[edit] External links
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