England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Ash by Sandwich St Nicholas

The Parish

The parish of Ash (the qualifier is required to distinguish it from the other Ash in western Kent) lies in eastern Kent roughly 3 miles west of the port and market town of Sandwich. Ash sits on the former route of the A257 which connects Sandwich with Canterbury and which now bypasses the small town to its north, Ash is believed to have formed the first base for the Roman invasion of England which landed in Pegwell Bay to the northwest and is associated with their location of Rutupium. What is certain is that the route of the A257, being characteristically straight follows one of the first Roman Roads in Britain up to Canterbury. Today's Ash is a modest large village or small town with most properties lying between the old and new routes of the A257. The wider parish, however, one of the most extensive in eastern Kent was widely farmed with the majority using the traditional forms of arable and pastoral in roughly equal amounts, the balance being made from traditional Kentish crops with abundant orchards and hop grounds. Even today much of the ground between Ash and the River Stour is coloured on Ordnance Survey maps with the orchards iconic dotted green, modern glass-houses also occupy this fertile space, Modern developments have merely grazed the parish with the railway line from Canterbury to Sandwich just crossing into Ash parish for a short stretch of its run. Drainage for the parish eventually ends up in the Stour whatever its original direction, the area of Ash Levels being particularly man-influenced with a complex pattern of man-made ditches to carry water northwards. Ash is sited at 20 metres above the sea with the wider parish largely lower than that, a few spots along the A257 reach above 30 metres but it is to the south that a few more rise to 50 metres as local high points. As already mentioned Ash parish was very extensive, covering almost 6,900 acres and supporting a population of over 2,000 parishioners. Whilst Ash, itself, is not mentioned in Domesday Book the wider parish is covered under the entry for Fleet Manor, held by the Archbishop of Canterbury it clearly incorporates the settlement of Ash too as it was recorded in the top 20% of manors by population, it also held formidable assets of 75 ploughs together with woodland, a fishery and 2 mills making it a very wealthy holding indeed.

The Church

St Nicholas' church sits on the southern side of the former route of the A257, here known simply as The Street, roughly halfway through the town. The church has a cruciform layout which is usually indicative of a relatively early church, St Nicholas has its origins in the 13th century with Early English Gothic its dominant style. Pevsner does indicate, however, that the basal stage of the crossing tower are 12th century Norman Romanesque pushing the start date back at least a half century. He speculates that a simple Norman church was largely expanded to create the 13th century core of today's church. Both the northern aisle and chancel show details of this period despite later changes wrought both in medieval and modern times, the chancel's lancet in its southern face and its piscina are good examples of the style. The early 14th century saw further additions with a northern chapel, including its arch to the transept, in a Decorated style. Once styles had evolved into Perpendicular the centrepiece of the church its tall tower and needle spire where built to replace the earlier version at the crossing but based upon the supports of the earlier masons. The 17th century saw work to shorten and rebuild the southern transept whilst a typical Victorian restoration of 1846-7 added a northern porch and replaced much tracery along with a general restoration, the final work of 1895 saw the church re-roofed. The Street has on-street parking to the east of the site which sits well above street-height buttressed by a shoulder-height brick wall. Both eastern and western entrances have stepped rises into the churchyard, the church sits rather close to The Street for adequate views from the north but from the favoured south a better aspect opens despite a few trees requiring careful assessment of locations to best record the church.