Ashford, Kent - The Pump, church, shops - postcard local pmk

Postcard
• Picture / Image:  Ashford, Kent - The Pump - scene shows church and shops including an oyster merchant
• Publisher:  none given
• Postally used:  yes
• Stamp:  Edwrad VII half d. light green
• Postmark(s):  Ashford Feb 18 1905 thimble postmark
• Sent to:  Miss Elsie Crickland, Post Office, Norton Fitzwarrent, Taunton, Somerset
• Notes / condition: 

Please ask if you need any other information and I will do the best I can to answer.

Image may be low res for illustrative purposes - if you need a higher definition image then please contact me and I may be able to send one.

------------------------------------------------

Postage & Packing:

UK (incl. IOM, CI & BFPO): 99p

Europe: £1.60

Rest of world (inc. USA etc): £2.75

No additional charges for more than one postcard. You can buy as many postcards from me as you like and you will just pay the fee above once. (If buying postcards with other things such as books, please contact or wait for invoice before paying).

Payment Methods:

UK - PayPal, Cheque (from UK bank) or postal order

Outside UK: PayPal ONLY (unless otherwise stated) please.   NO non-UK currency checks or money orders (sorry).

NOTE: All postcards are sent in brand new stiffened envelopes which I have bought for the task. These are specially made to protect postcards and you may be able to re-use them. In addition there are other costs to sending so the above charge is not just for the stamp!

I will give a full refund if you are not fully satisfied with the postcard.

----------------------------------------------

Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

*************

Ashford is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. In 2005 it was voted the fourth-best place to live in the United Kingdom.^[2] It lies on the River Great Stour, the M20 motorway, and the South Eastern Main Line and High Speed 1 railways. Its agricultural market is one of the most important in the county. Ashford is a relatively common English placename: it goes back to Old English æscet, indicating a ford near a clump of ash-trees.

Ashford lies at the intersection of two valleys in Kent - the south edge of the North Downs and the valley of the River Stour. This made it an ideal place for a settlement.^[3] The Borough of Ashford lies on the eastern edge of the ancient forest of ""Andredsweald"" or ""Anderida"". This originally stretched as far west as Hampshire and formed the basis from which the Weald is formed.^[4] There has been evidence of human habitation around Ashford since the iron age, with a barrow on what is now Barrow Hill dating back to 1500BC.^[5] During Roman Britain, iron ore was mined in the Weald and transported to Ashford where two ironworks processed the ore into a workable metal.^[6]

The present town originates from an original settlement established in 893 AD by inhabitants escaping a Danish Viking raid on the nearby ancient village of Great Chart (Seleberhtes Cert in 762AD). It is listed in the Domesday Book, compiled in 1086, as having a church, two mills and a value of 150 shillings (£7.50), under its original Saxon name of ""Essetesford"" (or ""Eshetisford,"" ""Esselesford"", ""Asshatisforde"", ""Essheford"").^[7] The manor was owned by Hugh de Montford, Constable of England at the time. Writer Philpot believed Essetesford stood for ""ash trees growing near a ford"", while Lampard, a 16th-century local historian, suggested that it meant ""a ford over the River Eshe or Eshet"", which was the old name for the tributary of the River Stour between Lenham and Ashford.

Ashford’s importance as a growing agricultural and market town was confirmed in 1243 when it was incorporated, and by the end of the 16th century it had risen to become an important market town, primarily for livestock. The market was held in the High Street until 1856 when local farmers and businessmen relocated to Elwick Road and formed a market company that is the oldest surviving registered company in England and Wales.^{[citation needed]} There is still a regular street market in the town, although the market company has relocated outside the town and is used by some 5,000 farmers.^[8] Ashford has a quite interesting industrial heritage, from being the world headquarters of Letraset, the way to create posters prior to desktop publishing. There was also the company which was the colonial supply company for Zambia.^{[citation needed]} The Ashford Cattle Market Company, the oldest registered company in Britain, was founded in 1856.^[9]

Parts of the parish church date from the 13th century but was substantially restored in the 15th century with many alterations since. In 1638 a free grammar school was founded here, it was built on the churchyard’s west side, and remained there until 1846, now used as a museum.^[10]

Its closeness to London has always made Kent a strong influence on the capital, and vice versa. Thus by the end of the 16th century Cade (of Cade’s Rebellion) was credited by William Shakespeare in Henry VI, part 2 as being from Ashford. The play includes an Ashford butcher called ""Dick"" who looks forward to removing officialdom after the rebellion and says: first thing, let’s kill all the lawyers.^{[citation needed]}

As a market town, Ashford has for centuries been a local communications hub for surrounding villages and has stood at the centre of five railway lines, (Ashford to Ramsgate (via Canterbury West) line, Swanley to Ashford (via Maidstone East) Line, South Eastern Main Line, Kent Coast Line and the Marshlink Line) since the 19th century. With the opening of the international passenger station it is now an important European communications centre, with new lines running between London and the Channel Tunnel (via High Speed 1).

During World War II Ashford's importance as a transport (railway) hub and its location between the continent and London made it a target for bombing by the Luftwaffe. The Joint Services School of Intelligence was based at Templer Barracks in Ashford, until the barracks were decommissioned in 1997 and then demolished to make way for High Speed 1.^[11] In 1982, Prince Andrew, Duke of York was involved with the ""School"".

Ashford lies in a valley at the confluence of the Great Stour and East Stour rivers, where the Great Stour turns northwards to go through the Stour Gap in the North Downs towards Canterbury, Sandwich and the English Channel. To the south lies the Weald.

The original town of Ashford, in common with most such towns, has outgrown its original size and has combined with smaller villages in a conurbation. These villages include Bockhanger, Kennington, Sevington, Singleton and Willesborough. In addition, housing estates have been built in the open spaces amongst Bybrook, Godinton, Kingsnorth, Park Farm and Stanhope.

Essentially a modern town, little is left of the old Ashford town centre, apart from a cluster of medieval half-timbered buildings in Middle Row and around the churchyard in the town centre. A number of old buildings were removed to make way for the controversial ring road around the centre, built in the early 1970s. Three modern shopping centres are located in the town: Park Mall, County Square, and the new Designer Outlet. Bank Street and High Street are pedestrian shopping thoroughfares.

The increase in the town's commercial importance, as well as its strategic location, is witnessed by the number of industry, business and retail parks in the town. These include Waterbrook, a 740,000-m² (183-acre) site for production, storage and distribution with a freight clearance facility; Eureka Science and Business Park, including manufacturing sites and prestige office complexes; the 570,000-m² (141-acres) Orbital Park; the Ashford Designer Outlet shopping centre, which has won a design award; and fourteen other business parks and industrial estates. There is a prominence of food, scent and flavouring manufacturers with offices and production sites based in Ashford, examples of these being Brakes, Premier Foods, Givaudan, Coty, Inc. and Artisan du Chocolat.

The 2007 Kent earthquake, which registered 4.3 on the Richter scale, was felt in Ashford, though its effects were greatest in Folkestone.

type=printed postcards

theme=topographical: british

sub-theme=england

county/ country=kent

number of items=single

period=pre - 1914

postage condition=posted