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Coordinates: 51°16'39?N 1°16'34?E? / ?51.2774, 1.2761
Ash is a village in East Kent lying about three miles west of Sandwich. Combined with the nearby hamlet of Westmarsh it forms the Parish of Ash-with-Westmarsh, one of the largest in the county.
The parish has a total population of 2767, and includes the villages of Ash, Westmarsh, Ware and Hoaden. The Ash Level, by the River Stour takes up the northern part of the parish.
History
It was once on the main thoroughfare from Canterbury to the channel port of Sandwich. It takes its name from the Old English æsc (ash) and shows its toponymy in its first recorded form, Æsce, in about 1100.[1]
It was once part of the Royal manor of Wingham and having been given to the See of Canterbury in 850 AD by King Athelstan, it became a separate parish in 1282, one of the largest in Kent.
The parish church, (www.s8nicholas.org.UK), dedicated to St Nicholas and probably built on the site of an earlier Saxon church, dates partly from the 12th century and has a 15th-century tower with a green copper spire once used as a navigation aid. They now house a ring of 10 bells. It also has the best collection of medieval monumental effigies in Kent, including one to Jane Kerriel (c 1455) which reveals a unique horse-shoe head-dress. Ash is known for its market gardens, and it had at one time its own brewery and organ maker. There are two vineyards nearby. The village has a primary school, doctors' surgery and several shops.
There are many medieval buildings in the village, including one which is named as a Historic Building of Kent and 11 of the 12 original manor houses. In the same lane are a number of Tudor cottages. The Chequer Inn was a timbered hall house dating from c. 1500.
See also
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