Ashford is a town almost wholly in the

Borough of Spelthorne Spelthorne is a local government district and borough in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Staines-upon-Thames; other settlements in the area include Ashford, Sunbury-on-Thames, Shepperton, Stanwell and Laleham. Spelthorne borders the L ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, with a small area contained within the boundaries of the

London Borough of Hounslow The London Borough of Hounslow () is a London borough in West London, England, forming part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 when three smaller borough councils (forming part of the former Middlesex County Council area) amalgamated under ...

, approximately west-southwest of central London. Its name derives from a crossing point of the River Ash, a

distributary A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. Distributaries are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributar ...

of the River Colne. Historically part of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

, the town's wards have been part of

County Council since 1965. Ashford consists of relatively low density low- and medium-rise buildings, none of them being high rise. If excluding apartments (at the last census 27% of the housing stock) most houses are

semi-detached A semi-detached house (often abbreviated to semi) is a single family duplex dwelling house that shares one common wall with the next house. The name distinguishes this style of house from detached houses, with no shared walls, and terraced house ...

. Ashford railway station, on the

Waterloo to Reading Line Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...

, is served by South Western Railway.

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...

is north of the town. A leading gymnastics club,

HMP Bronzefield HMP Bronzefield is an adult and young offender female prison located on the outskirts of Ashford in Surrey, England. Bronzefield is the only purpose-built private prison A private prison, or for-profit prison, is a place where people ar ...

and one of the sites of

Brooklands College __NOTOC__ Brooklands College is a further education college in Weybridge and Ashford, England. In August 2007 Brooklands merged with Spelthorne College in Ashford. The Weybridge campus is in the grounds of Hugh F. Locke King's historic mansio ...

are in the town.

Ashford Hospital Ashford Hospital is a general hospital in Ashford, Surrey. It is managed by the Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital has its origins in the Staines Poor Law Union Infirmary which opened in the mid-19th cen ...

, which began as a workhouse, is to the north of the town centre. Ashford Common has a parade of shops and is a more residential

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

that includes part of

Queen Mary Reservoir The Queen Mary Reservoir is one of the largest of London's reservoirs supplying fresh water to London and parts of surrounding counties, and is located in the Borough of Spelthorne in Surrey. The reservoir covers and is above the surrounding are ...

and all of its related water treatment works. The town is surrounded by some areas of green space including The Princes Club, Bedfont Lakes and Shortwood Common.

Topography

Ashford is in the almost flat

alluvial plain An alluvial plain is a largely flat landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms. A floodplain is part of the process, being the sma ...

formed by the historic courses of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

Surrey
Natural England. Retrieved 12 October 2012 on fairly fertile but

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

ly soil in centuries past covered by deciduous forest for wood gathering, with clearings of meadow for

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine ...

and to a lesser extent

arable farming Arable land (from the la, wikt:arabilis#Latin, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Al ...

to supply the London market; sheep grazing continues today around the reservoirs. In common with western fringes of Greater London,

commences often within a metre of the surface which has led to 20th-century gravel extraction, which has formed the lakes to the north of the railway line. The extreme west is Shortwood Common, partly converted to a recreation ground, Ashford Park School, a cemetery. North of this is the pair of Staines Reservoirs, the other green buffer is The Princes Club, Bedfont Lakes, spanning the northeast border; these areas constitute

Metropolitan Green Belt The Metropolitan Green Belt is a statutory green belt around London, England. It comprises parts of Greater London, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey, parts of two of the three districts of Bedfordshire and a s ...

buffer Buffer may refer to: Science * Buffer gas, an inert or nonflammable gas * Buffer solution, a solution used to prevent changes in pH * Buffering agent, the weak acid or base in a buffer solution * Lysis buffer, in cell biology * Metal ion buffer * ...

s to the country's largest city. The area includes postally much of

(which covered most of the parish to the south of Littleton and almost none of historic Ashford) named after the wife of

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

Mary of Teck Mary of Teck (Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes; 26 May 186724 March 1953) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 6 May 1910 until 20 Janua ...

. Most of the land is devoted to suburban and low-rise urban housing – as well as recreational areas, green belt in part of the Bedfont/Feltham fringe exists in the form of meadows used for walking, horse grazing and equestrianism around

Feltham Young Offenders' Institution Feltham Young Offenders Institution (more commonly known as HM Prison Feltham) is a prison for male juveniles and Young Offenders Institution, occupying south-west of Feltham in the London Borough of Hounslow, in west London, England. It is ope ...

. A few parks such as the Ashford Reservoirs or Spelthorne Park are remnants of Ashford Common which give the eastern part of the town a reminder of its past status as a grazing

common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally com ...

; these include recreation grounds such as

Thames Water Thames Water Utilities Ltd, known as Thames Water, is a large private utility company responsible for the public water supply and waste water treatment in most of Greater London, Luton, the Thames Valley, Surrey, Gloucestershire, north Wiltsh ...

-sponsored Spelthorne Sports Club and the BP recreation ground. In The Clumps, 37 houses in the Ashford

post town A post town is a required part of all postal addresses in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and a basic unit of the postal delivery system.Royal Mail, ''Address Management Guide'', (2004) Including the correct post town in the address increases ...

, which has the postcode TW15, are in the

, Greater London, alongside the Princes Club watersports lakes partly in Ashford post town but mostly in

East Bedfont Bedfont is a suburb in the London Borough of Hounslow, approximately west of Charing Cross. Originally a distinct village, Bedfont has a large central conservation area around Bedfont Green. The majority of the housing was built at a time of ...

, Feltham post town, London. The other road with this status is the western half of Challenge Road, which has only business addresses.

History

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

artefacts have been found in Ashford (at 51.432708N, 0.485174W) giving rise to the name Bronzefield and a

henge There are three related types of Neolithic earthwork that are all sometimes loosely called henges. The essential characteristic of all three is that they feature a ring-shaped bank and ditch, with the ditch inside the bank. Because the internal ...

may have been present in that period. The settlement as indicated by its name but small assets just after the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

was part agricultural settlement in

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

times. Ashford appears on the

'' Domesday'' map as ''Exeforde'', 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. Throughout the early medieval period the place was also referred to as Echelford. A stone bridge was built over the ford in 1789 by the Hampton and Staines Turnpike Trust, part of which is used as the rather scenic Fordbridge roundabout with its large

weeping willow ''Salix babylonica'' (Babylon willow or weeping willow; ) is a species of willow native to dry areas of northern China, but cultivated for millennia elsewhere in Asia, being traded along the Silk Road to southwest Asia and Europe.Flora of China' ...

trees at the centre. Ashford Common was a large area of

common land Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect Wood fuel, wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...

in the south and east of the town that the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

used for military displays in the reign of

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

. It was inclosed in 1809. Ashford Manor Golf Club was established in 1902 at the property which was the Manor Farm House but the large manorial estate and manor house that were held by Solomon Abraham Hart from 1870 to 1882 had before 1902 been broken up among many small owners, and all trace of the manor house was lost.However the title of Lord of the Manor was acquired by Scott Freeman in 1890, and after passing to another partner of the solicitors Horne, Engall Freeman the title passed in more recent times to

Russell Grant Russell John Dammerall Grant (born 5 February 1951) is a British astrologer and media personality. He has written several books on astrology, provides syndicated newspaper horoscopes and operates premium rate astrology phone lines. In March 2 ...

. Ashford's housing stock is modern, with chiefly a mixture of

detached A stand-alone house (also called a single-detached dwelling, detached residence or detached house) is a free-standing residential building. It is sometimes referred to as a single-family home, as opposed to a multi-family residential dwelli ...

and

housing built between 1885 and 1960. Ysgol Gymraeg Ashford Middlesex

Former schools

The Welsh School (later St David's School) was founded in 1857. Its building north of Ashford railway station is

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

, designed by

Henry Clutton Henry Clutton (19 March 1819 – 27 June 1893)Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Photograph , http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pis&GScid=1366392&GRid=12186732&PIgrid=12186732&PIcrid=1366392&PIpi=3000944& was an English arc ...

. St David's School is now defunct, but in 2010 its buildings and playing fields were the premises of St James Senior Boys School. Ashford CountyGrammarSchool SW

Ashford County Grammar School was founded in 1911. It became Ashford Sixth Form College in 1975 and

Spelthorne College __NOTOC__ Spelthorne College was a single-campus sixth form college on High Street, Ashford, Surrey, England. It was formed in 1975 as a successor to Ashford Sixth Form College and Sunbury Sixth Form College. Its campus was founded in 1911 as As ...

later. In 2007 it merged with

. A property developer, Inland Homes plc, has since acquired the former grammar school buildings in Church Road. In 2017 it started to demolish the buildings without planning permission. The developer stopped the work at the request of Spelthorne Borough Council after demolition had started, but later continued the demolition, having received planning permission to build 357 new homes on the site.

Civic administration

In 1894, under the

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level un ...

, Ashford became part of the Staines Rural District of

. In 1930 the rural district was abolished and joined

Staines Urban District Staines was a local government district from 1894 to 1974 named after the English town of Staines. Background, functions and boundaries Apart from the town of Staines itself which included a few rural pockets aside from its large moor until the ...

. In 1965, under the London Government Act 1963, Middlesex County Council was abolished and the urban district was transferred to

. In 1974, under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, Staines Urban District was abolished and its area combined with that of

Sunbury-on-Thames Urban District Sunbury on Thames Urban District, also known as Sunbury Urban District, was a local government district from 1894 to 1974 comprising the town and parish of Sunbury-on-Thames and from 1930 also the parishes of Littleton and Shepperton. Background ...

to create the present

borough of Spelthorne Spelthorne is a local government district and borough in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Staines-upon-Thames; other settlements in the area include Ashford, Sunbury-on-Thames, Shepperton, Stanwell and Laleham. Spelthorne borders the L ...

Churches

The present

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...

of St Matthew in Church Road was built in 1856–58 with financial help from the Welsh School. It was sited some yards west of Ashford's earlier parish church of

St Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

, parts of which were

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

. St Michael's was demolished, but internal monuments and a 12th-century arch from it were incorporated into St Matthew's.

William Butterfield William Butterfield (7 September 1814 – 23 February 1900) was a Gothic Revival architect and associated with the Oxford Movement (or Tractarian Movement). He is noted for his use of polychromy. Biography William Butterfield was born in Lon ...

designed St Matthew's in a

style. The tower was not completed until 1865. St Hilda's parish church at the junction of Stanwell and Woodthorpe Roads was founded as a daughter church of St Matthew's to serve the rapidly expanding community around the railway station. Construction started in 1912 and most of the church was built in the first few years, but the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

and some other parts were not completed until 1928. St Hilda's original design included a spire that would have been one of the most significant landmarks in the area, but it was never built. St Hilda's was initially a

conventual The Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM Conv) is a male religious fraternity in the Roman Catholic Church that is a branch of the Franciscans. The friars in OFM CONV are also known as Conventual Franciscans, or Minorites. Dating back to ...

district of St Matthew's parish, but is now a separate

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish priest ...

. The easternmost parts of Ashford Common are in the parish of St Saviour's, Sunbury. Ashford StMichael ESE

The

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

of St Michael in Fordbridge Road was begun in 1927 and the uncompleted building was consecrated in 1928. It was designed by Sir

Giles Gilbert Scott Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (9 November 1880 – 8 February 1960) was a British architect known for his work on the New Bodleian Library, Cambridge University Library, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, Battersea Power Station, Liverpool Cathedral, and ...

in a

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

style. Building continued in 1938, but the tower was not completed until 1960. Ashford has two

Methodist church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

es: one on Clarendon Road and the other in Ashford Common on Feltham hill Road. There is a

Congregational church Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

in Clarendon Road.

The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...

has a citadel in Woodthorpe Road.

Economy

The main street, Church Road, has local businesses, including

Co-op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

Tesco Express Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

Costa Coffee Costa Coffee is a British coffeehouse chain with headquarters in Dunstable, England. Costa Coffee was founded in London in 1971 by Sergio Costa as a wholesale operation supplying roasted coffee to caterers and specialist Italian coffee shops. ...

, Sainsbury's, several estate agents, three funeral directors, and several places to eat. Church Road is also home to the Ashford campus of Brooklands College (formerly

), Ashford Library and a prominent

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

memorial. Ashford, in common with most of London suburbia, has very low unemployment rates. A great deal of local employment is directly related to

. BP International is another major employer. Many other residents work in London or in the

Thames Valley The Thames Valley is an informally-defined sub-region of South East England, centred on the River Thames west of London, with Oxford as a major centre. Its boundaries vary with context. The area is a major tourist destination and economic hub, ...

. Main dealers of

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

Citroën Citroën () is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded in March 1919 by André Citroën. Citroën is owned by Stellantis since 2021 and previously was part of the PSA Group after Peugeot acquired ...

and formerly

Suzuki is a Japan, Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, All-terrain vehicle, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs ...

are along the town's outlying dual carriageway roads.

Transport

Railway

is on the

, with South Western Railway stopping services from

London Waterloo Waterloo station (), also known as London Waterloo, is a central London terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station of ...

on two of its three routes, those to and to

Weybridge Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a crossing point of the ...

on the

South West Main Line The South West Main Line (SWML) is a 143-mile (230 km) major railway line between Waterloo station in central London and Weymouth on the south coast of England. A predominantly passenger line, it serves many commuter areas including south we ...

via the Chertsey Line. These two routes split after Staines. The third route forms the second main line run by the company, with quicker trains available from the next stations east and west. The station is referred to in timetables as either Ashford (Surrey) or Ashford (Middlesex), in order to avoid confusion with

Ashford International station Ashford International railway station is a National Rail station in Ashford, Kent, England. It connects several railway lines, including High Speed 1 and the South Eastern Main Line. Services are operated by Southeastern and Southern. The stat ...

in Kent.

Roads

Not far north of the station is the A30 dual carriageway, which marks much of Ashford's northern border. It follows the old route from London to Devon and Cornwall. The alignment of this road is WSW–ENE. A straight relief road, roughly WNW–ESE, was built by the Hampton and Staines Turnpike Trust. Now the A308, it has become a dual carriageway from Sunbury Cross to the junction with the A30 at Staines. This road marks some of the town's southern border. Ashford is close to the M25, M3 and A3 roads.

Buses

The town is on

Hallmark Connections Hallmark Connections Ltd, trading as Diamond South East, is a bus operator in South East England and, through the Hotel Hoppa operation, in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of Rotala. In addition to local bus services, Diamond South East ope ...

route 555 from

Walton-on-Thames Walton-on-Thames, locally known as Walton, is a market town on the south bank of the Thames in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Walton forms part of the Greater London built-up area, within the KT postcode and is served by a wide ran ...

, on three Transport for London routes, the 117, 216 and 290, also serving

Isleworth Isleworth ( ) is a town located within the London Borough of Hounslow in West London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's or ...

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

and

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

respectively, and more occasional routes, including special school services run other operators.

Education

Primary schools

*St Michael's Roman Catholic Primary School (4th best on benchmark of English and mathematics in the county) *Ashford Church of England Primary School *Echelford Primary School *Spelthorne Junior School *Ashford Park Primary School :(above in order of best combined England and Maths benchmark score 2011 primary schools) *Ashford Infants School *Spelthorne Infant and Nursery School *Clarendon primary school and children centre

Secondary schools

* Thomas Knyvett College * St James Senior Boys School, ''

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

and selective'' In addition, three secondary schools were established in

Sunbury-on-Thames Sunbury-on-Thames (or commonly Sunbury) is a suburban town on the north bank of the River Thames in the Borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, centred southwest of central London. Historically part of the county of Middlesex, in 1965 Sunbury and other ...

, including the borough's religiously denominated senior schools,

The Bishop Wand Church of England School __NOTOC__ The Bishop Wand Church of England School is a secondary school with academy status located in Sunbury-on-Thames, England. The school has been co-educational since its founding and caters for students in the 11–18 age range in that i ...

and St Paul's Catholic College.

Further education

Ashford's further education college, Spelthorne College, became a

Campus in 2007. It serves 16 to 18 year olds from a wide area of Surrey.

Sport

Active sports clubs in Ashford competitive at many levels are:

Ashford Town F.C. Ashford Town (Middlesex) Football Club are a football club based in Stanwell, Surrey, England. The club are currently members of the and play at the Robert Parker Stadium in Short Lane. They are affiliated to both the Middlesex FA and the ...

, Ashford Casuals F.C. and Ashford Cricket Club. Clubs exist for hockey, tennis, table Tennis, aikido, karate, golf and bowls, with leading clubs in acrobatic gymnastics and sailing which offer professional coaching from Olympic-level coaches. Ashford Manor Golf Club is described above, a golf course that has 18 holes; one other is in the borough, Sunbury Golf Course in Charlton. In 1921, the golf course was the site of the murder of British spy Vincent Fovargue by the IRA. 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 Gymnastics club is one of the World's premier clubs for acrobatic gymnastics, having won eight World championship gold medals.

Watercourses

Ashford has one river, the River Ash, one of the six

distributaries A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. Distributaries are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributar ...

of the River Colne which runs in line with the Staines bypass under the Fordbridge roundabout at the far end of Fordbridge Road, its upper reach being the traditional border with Staines and then entering

Laleham Laleham is a village on the River Thames, in the Borough of Spelthorne, about west of central London, England. Historically part of the county of Middlesex, it was transferred to Surrey in 1965. Laleham is downriver from Staines-upon-Thames a ...

, passing close to the other side of the Queen Mary Reservoir. The Staines Reservoirs Aqueduct (built 1902) flows from west to east across Ashford. It carries water from the Staines Reservoirs and

King George VI Reservoir The King George VI Reservoir sits between Stanwell Moor and Staines upon Thames, south-west of Heathrow, England. It is between Staines Moor and a north–south road abutting the Staines Reservoirs. The reservoir was opened in November 1947 and ...

to Hampton water treatment works via Sunbury and Kempton Park.

Government

Ashford is part of the

Spelthorne Spelthorne may refer to: * Borough of Spelthorne, a local government district in the county of Surrey, England * Spelthorne (UK Parliament constituency), Surrey constituency in the British House of Commons * Spelthorne College, was a single-cam ...

parliamentary constituency which has been represented by the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Kwasi Kwarteng Akwasi Addo Alfred Kwarteng (born 26 May 1975) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Spelthorne (UK Parliament constituency), S ...

since 2010. In

Surrey County Council Surrey County Council is the county council administering certain services in the non-metropolitan county of Surrey in England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1965 the Conservative Party has ...

, 4 of the 81 councillors are elected by Ashford in whole or in part: ''Ashford'' is represented by a

councillor, as is ''Staines South and Ashford West''; ''Sunbury Common and Ashford Common'' is also represented by a Conservative councillor, and part of north Ashford is in the division of ''Stanwell and Stanwell Moor'', represented by

Robert Evans Robert Evans (born Robert J. Shapera; June 29, 1930October 26, 2019) was an American film producer, studio executive, and actor, best known for his work on '' Rosemary's Baby'' (1968), ''Love Story'' (1970), ''The Godfather'' (1972), and ''Chi ...

, a Labour Councillor. Ashford has 12 representatives on

Spelthorne Borough Council Spelthorne may refer to: * Borough of Spelthorne, a local government district in the county of Surrey, England * Spelthorne (UK Parliament constituency), Surrey constituency in the British House of Commons * Spelthorne College, was a single-cam ...

, headquartered in

Staines-upon-Thames Staines-upon-Thames is a market town in northwest Surrey, England, around west of central London. It is in the Borough of Spelthorne, at the confluence of the River Thames and Colne. Historically part of Middlesex, the town was transferred to ...

. The details below are for the 2011 election:

Demography and housing

The average level of accommodation in the region composed of detached houses was 28%, the average that was apartments was 22.6%. The proportion of households in the settlement who owned their home outright compares to the regional average of 35.1%. The proportion who owned their home with a loan compares to the regional average of 32.5%. The remaining % is made up of rented dwellings (plus a negligible % of households living rent-free).

Notable people

Sarah Ayton Sarah Lianne Ayton (born 9 April 1980 in Ashford, Surrey) is an English former professional sailor. She won a gold medal in the Yngling sailing class in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, together with Shirley Robertson and Sarah Webb, and ...

, Olympic gold medallist in the

Yngling The Ynglings were a dynasty of kings, first in Sweden and later in Norway, primarily attested through the poem ''Ynglingatal''. The dynasty also appears as Scylfings (Old Norse ''Skilfingar'') in ''Beowulf''. When ''Beowulf'' and ''Ynglingatal'' ...

sailing class, 2004 and 2008 *

Nicholas Bond-Owen Nicholas Bond-Owen (born 13 November 1968) (sometimes billed as Nick or Nicholas Owen) is a child actor of the 1970s and 1980s best known for playing Tristram Fourmile in all five series of the popular comedy ''George and Mildred'' and in the fi ...

, child actor in ''

George and Mildred ''George and Mildred'' is a British sitcom produced by Thames Television and first aired between 1976 and 1979. It is a spin-off from '' Man About the House'', and starred Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce as constantly-sparring married couple ...

'' *

Anthony Burgess John Anthony Burgess Wilson, (; 25 February 1917 – 22 November 1993), who published under the name Anthony Burgess, was an English writer and composer. Although Burgess was primarily a comic writer, his Utopian and dystopian fiction, d ...

, novelist and Lord of Ashford, 1973–75 * Christopher Coleman, cricketer *

Bobby Davro Robert Christopher Nankeville, known professionally as Bobby Davro (born 13 September 1958), is an English actor and comedian. He made his television debut in 1981 followed by breakthrough in ''Live from Her Majesty's'' (1983); this was follow ...

, born Robert Nankeville, TV impressionist and actor *

Ray Dorset Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (g ...

, singer-songwriter with

Mungo Jerry Mungo Jerry are a British rock band, formed by Ray Dorset in Ashford, Middlesex in 1970. Experiencing their greatest success in the early 1970s, with a changing lineup always fronted by Ray Dorset, the group's biggest hit was " In the Summer ...

, politician, Labour MEP 1994–2009 *

astrologer Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Dif ...

and stage actor, bought the title of Lord of the Manor of Ashford in 1996 * Roger Johnson, footballer * James Lincoln, cricketer *

Scott Rendell Scott David Rendell (born 21 October 1986) is an English footballer who plays as a striker for AFC Totton. Career Early career Rendell was born in Ashford, Surrey, but lived in Basingstoke, Hampshire. He started his career with Staines Albio ...

, footballer currently playing for

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

team

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their ho ...

* Toby Roland-Jones, England cricketer *

Greg Searle Gregory Mark Pascoe Searle (born 20 March 1972) is a British Olympic rower educated at Hampton School and London South Bank University. Career Greg Searle is an Olympic gold medalist, winning the coxed pairs event at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic ...

, Gold medallist in the

coxless four A coxless four is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oar. There are two rowers on th ...

s in

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

, two other Olympic medals, 1993 Coxed Pairs

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Spelbound Spelbound are a gymnastic troupe from the United Kingdom who rose to fame in 2010, winning the fourth series of ''Britain's Got Talent''. The prize was £100,000 and the opportunity to appear at the 2010 Royal Variety Performance. They also ...

, acrobatic group, 2010 ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially ...

'' winners * Anthony Watson, England rugby union player * Sarah Webb, Olympic gold medallist in the

sailing class, 2004 and 2008 *

Norman Willis Norman David Willis (21 January 1933 – 7 June 2014) was the General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in the United Kingdom from 1984 to 1993, and President of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) from 1991 to 1993. Li ...

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...

(TUC) 1984–92 and president of the

European Trade Union Confederation The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) is the major trade union organisation representing workers at the European level. In its role as a European social partner, the ETUC works both in a consulting role with the European Commission and n ...

1991–93 *

Ruth Wilson Ruth Wilson (born 13 January 1982) is an English actress. She is known for her performances as the eponymous protagonist in ''Jane Eyre'' (2006), as Alice Morgan in the BBC psychological crime drama ''Luther'' (2010–2013, 2019), as Alison L ...

, Actress,

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

winning actress for The Affair and two time

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

winner. *

Phil Younghusband Philip James Younghusband Jr. (born 4 August 1987) is a former professional footballer who played mostly as a striker and sometimes as a midfielder. Younghusband is best known for his performances with the Philippines national team, playing ...

, footballer, all-time high scorer for the

Philippines national football team The Philippines national football team (Filipino/ tl, Pambansang koponan ng futbol ng Pilipinas, lit=) represents the Philippines in international football, governed by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) and has been playing internationa ...

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control Places formerly in Middlesex Borough of Spelthorne Towns in Surrey