Appledore, Kent
Appledore | |
Appledore |
|
Area | 12.46 km2 (4.81 sq mi) |
---|---|
Population | 749 (Civil Parish)[1] |
– density | 60/km2 (160/sq mi) |
OS grid reference | TQ956295 |
Civil parish | Appledore |
District | Ashford |
Shire county | Kent |
Region | South East |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | ASHFORD |
Postcode district | TN26 |
Dialling code | 01233 |
Police | Kent |
Fire | Kent |
Ambulance | South East Coast |
EU Parliament | South East England |
UK Parliament | Ashford |
Coordinates: 51°01′48″N 0°47′20″E / 51.030°N 0.789°E
- 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
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
- ↑ Key Statistics; Quick Statistics: Population Density United Kingdom Census 2011 Office for National Statistics Retrieved 10 May 2014
- ↑ Appledore Parish Council website
- ↑ Notes on the village
- ↑ http://www.villagenet.co.uk/rotherlevels/villages/appledore.php
- ↑ Historical notes
- ↑ Appledore parish church
- ↑ http://www.kent.gov.uk/leisure_and_culture/countryside_and_coast/parks_and_open_spaces/country_parks/parkwood_picnic_site.aspx
- ↑ http://www.fourthdoor.org/annular/?page_id=408
External links
- Media related to Appledore, Kent at Wikimedia Commons
- KentGuide's comprehensive page about Appledore
- Appledore in the Domesday Book
Leigh Green | Woodchurch Appledore Heath |
Warehorne | ||
Small Hythe | Snargate | |||
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Stone in Oxney | East Guldeford | Fairfield |