Ashford, Surrey

For other places with the same name, see Ashford (disambiguation).

Ashford
Church Road
Ashford  Ashford shown within Surrey
Population	25,240
OS grid reference	TQ065715
District	Spelthorne
Shire county	Surrey
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ASHFORD
Postcode district	TW15
Dialling code	01784
Police	Surrey
Fire	Surrey
Ambulance	South East Coast
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Spelthorne
List of places: UK • England • Surrey

Ashford is a town almost entirely in the Surrey borough of Spelthorne in England, with a small part falling within Greater London. 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. It is often referred to as Ashford, Middlesex to distinguish it from the larger town of Ashford, Kent, because it fell within the historic county of Middlesex. Since 1965, when Middlesex County Council was dissolved, it has been part of Surrey and the small London section part of the London Borough of Hounslow.

History

Ashford appears on the Middlesex Domesday 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.

The settlement was most likely founded in Saxon times^{[citation needed]} Bronze Age artifacts 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 was built in 1858 with financial assistance from the Welsh School (latterly St David's School, now St. James school) which had just moved to Ashford. A daughter church to St Matthew was built on the corner of Stanwell Road and Woodthorpe Road, commencing in 1913, in order to serve the needs of the rapidly growing community of dwellings built around the railway station. Although the original design of this new church included a magnificent spire which would have been one of the most significant landmarks in the area, this was never built. The church without its spire was completed in 1928 and consecrated to St Hilda. Initially assigned the status of a Conventional District under the Parish Church of St Matthew, St Hilda's Church is now a Parish in its own right. Ashford also has an imposing Roman Catholic Church designed by the architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott RA, which is dedicated to St Michael. The foundation stone of the building was laid in 1927 at the site on the corner of Fordbridge Road and Clarendon Road and the partially completed church was consecrated in 1928. Further work to extend the building was carried out in 1938 but the second world war intervened and the building was not completed to the original design until 1960.

For long a village, Ashford was always associated with Staines, its nearest neighbour.

Status

In 1894, under the Local Government Act 1894, Ashford became part of the Staines Rural District of Middlesex. 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 County Council was abolished and the urban district was transferred to Surrey. 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.

Ashford today

Although the town's origins are ancient, Ashford's housing stock is chiefly a mixture of detached and semi-detached housing built between 1930 and 1960.

The high street - actually called Church Road - mainly comprises local businesses, with Co-op, Tesco Express Subway, KFC, Costa Coffee and now a Sainsbury's. In the highstreet there are three funeral directors, many different eateries and hairdressers. Church Road is also home to the Ashford Campus of Brooklands College (formerly 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 Abellio, as well as some other London Buses routes run by other operators.

There are many local primary and secondary schools. Echelford Primary School on Feltham road is one of the best primary schools in the area. There is also a further education college for ages 16 to 18; Spelthorne College which became a Brooklands College Campus in 2007.

There are active sports clubs in Ashford - Football (Ashford Town F.C. (Middlesex)), Cricket (http://www.ashfordcc.co.uk/), Hockey, Tennis, Table Tennis, Aikido, Karate, Acrobatic Gymnastics, Sailing, Golf & Bowls. Ashford Manor Golf Club is the only golf course in the town. It is an average golf course despite being described as flat and fairly boring. Spelthorne Atoms (previously known as Ashford Atoms) are one of the best youth basketball teams in the country having been to the national finals on a number of occasions. Spelthorne Elite Acrobatics club is one of the premier clubs for Acrobatic Gymnastics in the World, having won 8 World Title gold medals.

Ashford has the only river, River Ash which runs under a roundabout at the far end of Fordbridge Road.

Notable people

• Sarah Ayton, Olympic gold medallist in the Yngling sailing class, 2004 and 2008
• Bobby Davro,^{[citation needed]} born Robert Nankeville, TV impressionist and actor
• Ray Dorset,^{[citation needed]} singer-songwriter with Mungo Jerry
• Robert Evans, politician, Labour MEP 1994-2009
• Russell Grant, astrologer and resident of Staines, became Lord of Ashford in 1996
• Roger Johnson, footballer
• Scott Rendell, footballer currently playing for League One team Wycombe Wanderers
• Sarah Webb, Olympic gold medallist in the Yngling sailing class, 2004 and 2008
• Spelbound,^{[citation needed]} acrobatic group, 2010 Britain's Got Talent winners
• Norman Willis, General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) 1984-92 and president of the European Trade Union Confederation 1991-93

References

• Population figures (PDF)
• Ashford Henge

External links

• St Matthew's Church Website
• St Hilda's Church Website
• St Michael's Catholic Church Website
• Ashford Town Football Club
• Ashford Campus of Brooklands College
• Stained Glass Windows at St. David's School Chapel Ashford, Surrey
• Ashford Eating Guide