Appledore, Kent

Appledore
Appledore
 Appledore shown within Kent
Area  12.46 km2 (4.81 sq mi)
Population 749 (Civil Parish)[1]
    density  60/km2 (160/sq mi)
OS grid referenceTQ956295
Civil parishAppledore
DistrictAshford
Shire countyKent
RegionSouth East
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town ASHFORD
Postcode district TN26
Dialling code 01233
Police Kent
Fire Kent
Ambulance South East Coast
EU Parliament South East England
UK ParliamentAshford
List of places
UK
England
Kent

Coordinates: 51°01′48″N 0°47′20″E / 51.030°N 0.789°E / 51.030; 0.789

See Appledore for other places with the same name.

Appledore is a village and civil parish[2] in the Ashford District of Kent, England. The village centre is on the northern edge of the Romney Marsh, 12 miles (19 km) south-west of Ashford town.[3] The northerly part of this village is Appledore Heath.

History

The name Appledore comes from the Old English apuldre (meaning apple tree) and is first recorded in the 10th century.[4]

Appledore was once a port on the estuary of the River Rother. Famously, the greater part of the Danish army (280 ships - 5000 men) wintered at Appledore in 892-893, before moving into Wessex and suffering defeat at the hands of the Saxons led by King Alfred's son Edward the Elder at Farnham in Surrey. The defeated Danes fell back to Benfleet in Essex where they were again defeated in battle. The importance of Appledore as a port diminished suddenly in the 13th-century when great storms caused the river Rother to change its course; the village street now leads down to the Royal Military Canal. A French raid in 1380 resulted in the burning of the church: it was later rebuilt. The village was permitted to hold a market in the main street by Edward II. In 1804, when there was threat of invasion by Napoleon the Royal Military Canal was built: Appledore stands on its northern bank.[5] The Rhee Wall, a 13th-century waterway, was built to carry silt away from the eastern part of the Romney Marsh; it runs from Appledore to New Romney.

In film, the media and literature

Appledore in Kent is known to generations of children as the setting for A. A. Milne's famous verse poem, "The Knight Whose Armour Didn't Squeak". Milne lived 29 miles (47 km) west in Hartfield.

Appledore features in the series Darling Buds of May.

Religion

The medieval parish church is dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul.[6]

Transport

Roads

B2080 road between Tenterden and New Romney.

Railway

The "Marsh Link" railway line between both Brighton or Hastings and Ashford. The railway station is beyond the Canal, 2 miles (3 km) from the nucleus of the village.

Education

St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Primary School is located in the area.

Parkwood

Park Wood Picnic Site
Park Wood shown within Kent (grid reference TQ96453158)

Parkwood is an 80-acre (320,000 m2) woodland 5 miles (8.0 km) east south east of Tenterden near Appledore.

A car park is along the Woodchurch Road, heading north from Appledore towards Brattle.

It is managed by Kent County Council's Country Parks service.[7] It is noted for its bluebells in spring and for nightingales. There are woodland walks and panoramic views over Appledore and Romney Marshes.

The woodland is frequently coppiced for various timber uses. Including oak thinnings being used in Shorne Wood Country Parks new visitor centre, as the window and roof joinery.[8]

The wood, is surrounded by three other woods, Great Heron Wood (to the North), Little Heron Wood (to the East) and Butness Wood (further to the East).

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, January 23, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.