Ash, Dover District

Ash was once on the main road from Canterbury to the port at Sandwich, and has spent the centuries since acting like a village that never noticed the traffic leave. Its church spire used to guide ships in, which is a lot of ambition for a building nowhere near the sea. Ash has had its own brewery, its own organ maker and its own railway station, and let each one go with the calm of a place that knew the market gardens were always the real business. Most of the old manor houses are still standing, which tells you how Ash deals with change: politely, and very slowly.