Ashford is a town in the Ashford district, in the county of Kent, England. It lies on the River Great Stour at the southern or scarp edge of the North Downs, about 61 miles (98 km) by road southeast of central London and 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Folkestone by road. At the 2021 census, it had a population of 83,213. The name comes from the Old English æscet, indicating a ford near a clump of ash trees. It has been a market town since the Middle Ages, and a regular market continues to be held.
The Borough of Ashford is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. It is named after its largest town, Ashford, where the council is based. The borough also includes the town of Tenterden and an extensive surrounding rural area including numerous villages; with an area of 580 square kilometres (220 sq mi), it is the largest district in Kent. Parts of the borough lie within the designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty of High Weald and the Kent Downs.
The A28 is a trunk road in the counties of Kent and East Sussex in south east England, connecting Margate, Canterbury, Ashford and Hastings.
Pluckley is a village and civil parish in the Ashford district of Kent, England. The civil parish includes the adjacent hamlet of Pluckley Thorne.
Bethersden is a village and civil parish in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England, 5 miles (8 km) west of the town of Ashford. Located on the main road, A28, between Tenterden and Ashford.
Barham is a village and civil parish in the City of Canterbury district of Kent, England. Barham village is approximately 6 miles (10 km) south-east from Canterbury and 8 miles (13 km) north from Folkestone.
Brabourne is a village and civil parish in the Ashford district of Kent, England. The village centre is 4.5 miles (7.2 km) east of Ashford town centre.
Orlestone is a mid-sized civil parish in Ashford District, Kent, England, with a population of 1,593. The centre of the parish is Hamstreet village which falls almost entirely within it but has a small fraction in the parish of Warehorne. The civil parish here reflects the very longstanding dominance of Orlestreet as its ecclesiastical parish boundary and provides a third alternative to most residents of Hamstreet to their village name, other than 'Ham Street'. Hamstreet is bypassed by the A2070 road, six miles south of Ashford.
Thakeham is a village and civil parish located north of the South Downs in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. The village is situated approximately 12 miles south-west of Horsham and 11 miles north of the sea-side town of Worthing. Its nearest large village is Storrington. The parish includes the hamlets of Abingworth and Goose Green and has a land area of 1170.6 hectares.
Crundale is a mostly rural village and civil parish in the Ashford District of Kent in southeast England. The village covers a section of one of the dual escarpments of the North Downs at this point, about halfway between Ashford and Canterbury.
Godmersham is a village and civil parish in the Ashford District of Kent, England. The village straddles the Great Stour river where it cuts through the North Downs and its land is approximately one third woodland, all in the far east and west on the escarpment of the North Downs. It is six miles north-east of Ashford on the A28 road midway between Ashford and Canterbury in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with the North Downs Way and Pilgrims' Way traversing the parish.
Great Chart is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Great Chart with Singleton, in the Ashford borough of Kent, England. The parish is split between the ancient village of Great Chart and the modern Singleton neighbourhood on the western outskirts of Ashford. The village centre of Great Chart is 2 miles (3.2 km) from the town centre. In 1961 the parish had a population of 969.
Rolvenden is a village and civil parish in the Ashford District of Kent, England. The village is centred on the A28 Ashford to Hastings road, 5 miles (8.0 km) south-west of Tenterden.
Kingsnorth is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Ashford in Kent, England. The civil parish adjoins the town of Ashford.
Molash is a civil parish and village in Kent, South East England. It contains a small part of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) - the North Downs - and is on the A252 road between Canterbury, Ashford and Faversham. Each of these is centred 7 miles (11 km) away.
Weavering is a village, mainly consisting of parts of the Grove Green and Bearsted Park housing Estates, centred on Weavering Street, within the borough of Maidstone, Kent in South East England that was formerly farmland. At the 2014 Census the population of the village was included in the civil parish of Thurnham.
Stubbs Cross is a hamlet in the civil parish of Kingsnorth near Ashford in Kent, England. The area runs from a cross road at Ashford Road that leads to Hamstreet, through to the next T Junction via Magpie Pie Hall Road, leading to but finishing at the road known as Tally Ho Road.
Staplehurst is a town and civil parish in the borough of Maidstone in Kent, England, 9 miles (14 km) south of the town of Maidstone and with a population of 6,003. The town lies on the route of a Roman road, which is now incorporated into the course of the A229. The name Staplehurst comes from the Old English 'stapol' meaning a 'post, pillar' and 'hyrst', as a 'wooded hill'; therefore, 'wooded-hill at a post', a possible reference to a boundary marker at the position of All Saints' church atop the hill along the road from Maidstone to Cranbrook. The parish includes the hamlet of Hawkenbury.
Finberry is a housing estate located in the south-east of Ashford, in the civil parish of Sevington with Finberry, in the Ashford district, in the county of England. The population of the housing estate is included in the civil parish of Mersham. The nearest existing places to the housing estate are Sevington to the north, Willesborough to the north-west, and Park Farm. The housing estate was opened by the Mayor of Ashford in June 2014. Finberry Primary School opened 2017.
Godmersham Park is a Grade I listed house in Godmersham in the English county of Kent. The house is on the edge of the North Downs between Ashford and Canterbury. It has associations with the writer Jane Austen, and is depicted on the new Bank of England £10 note issued in 2017. It is now home to the Association of British Dispensing Opticians.
