Ashingdon
Encyclopedia
Ashingdon is a village
and civil parish
in Essex
, England
. It is located about 4 km (2.5 mi) north of Rochford
and is 21 km (13 mi) southeast from the county town of Chelmsford
. The village lies within Rochford District
and the parliamentary constituency of Rayleigh
.
Ashingdon has a Parish Council.
It is a rural parish, one of 14 parishes in Rochford District.
The Parish is approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Rochford and continues to the bank of the tidal River Crouch
and the Parish includes the villages of Ashingdon and South Fambridge
. Parts of Ashingdon Parish are within the village community of Hockley and the northeast part of Hawkwell Parish is within the Ashingdon village community, they face each other along the length of Ashingdon Road, a Roman Road that is still used to this day.
Ashingdon and South Fambridge have been in existence for more than one thousand years and both appear in The Domesday Book along with the Manor of Beckney within Ashingdon Parish.
According to the 2001 census, updated in 2004, the parish had 1222 dwellings and a population of 3165.
' of Denmark
. The parish church of Saint Andrew's is also called "Ashingdon Minster". The first priest at Ashingdon was one of King Canute's personal priests, a young man named Stigand, who 46 years later was The Archbishop of Canterbury who crowned King Harold and officiated at the coronation of William The Conqueror (William I). Our priest appears on The Bayeaux Tapestry with the comment "STIGANT ARChIEPS."
was officially opened in February 1909 and it was used for developing and flying early fixed wing aeroplanes. A few years later, early seaplanes were made there. The First World War stopped all of the aviation work until flying resumed in Ashingdon in 1919, possibly at Fambridge but also the aerodrome did move to Canewdon Road in Ashingdon, 2 miles away. The new company mainly used Avro 504
biplane
s. In the early 1920s, Frank Neale started an aviation company there with a larger Avro 504 3 seater. Then in 1923, W.G. Pudney started The Essex Aviation Company flying several types of aircraft. All three firms used the Avro 504, a popular, easy and cheap to fly aircraft.
In the 1930s, the aerodrome may have moved further along Canewdon Road in Ashingdon and some people say that it was moved, others it may have been at two locations in that road and others say it was not. The aerodrome was called Canute Aero Park, after King Canute the Great, as well as Ashingdon Aerodrome.
It was the home of an aero club called "Aero 8", also the Essex Aviation Company, Premier Aviation and the Southend Flying Club. Many types of aircraft were designed, developed, built, modified there, and other types flew in and out of Ashingdon. Henri Mignet
, the French designer of the Mignet HM.14
Pou du Ciel ("Flying Flea") used to visit Ashingdon for Aero 8 at Canute Aero Park, because they were one of the largest producers and developers of the Pou du Ciel. Their higher-powered and modified version was called "Super Pou". Several air shows took place in Ashingdon at the Canute Aero Park aerodrome. They were attended by thousands of visitors and scores of flying enthusiasts who flew in their aircraft. Later, the aerodrome moved to Ashingdon Road, then to Dalys Road, Rochford, where it was still called "Ashingdon Aerodrome".
On 20th June 1936, a DeHavilland biplane - a DH60X Moth, G-EBRT took off from Ashingdom Aerodrome in Canewdon Road and failed to gain sufficient altitude to fly over Ashingdon Minster on Ashingdon Hill. It crashed into the tall dense trees surrounding the churchyard and it came stuck intact in the branches at a height of about 10 metres (30 feet) above ground. The pilot was not injured and he climbed down the tree to firm ground.
Some people in the village say that a "Flying Flea" also crashed into the churchyard trees.
Eventually, Southend Municipal Airport opened on the old Royal Flying Corps
/RAF base and all flying moved to the new airport by the late 1930s. Soon it reverted to military use as RAF Rochford and it became a Battle of Britain RAF base as well as a pilot training airfield.
After the Second World War, RAF Rochford became a civil airport again, now called London Southend Airport
. So, early aviation has taken place at five successive locations in and around Ashingdon.
Early aviation pioneers and their aircraft that were developed at South Fambridge were: Eardley Billing, Gordon England, Green's Motor Patents, Handley Page, Lascelles Engines, Gerald Leake, Robert Macfie, W.O. Manning, Pemberton Billing, De Pischoff & Koechlin, Seaton Kerr, Talbot Quick, Howard Wright, Jose Weiss. Then in the 1930s: W.G. Pudney, Henri Mignet, Frank Neale, Mervyn Chadwick, Lascelles Motors, Raymond Gordon and many others.
Aircraft flying from Ashingdon Aerodrome were: Aeronca 100 and C2, Airspeed AS.4, Mignet HM.14 "Flying Flea", Aero 8 HM.14 Super Pou, HM.18, Avro 504K, Avro 594, Avro 616, Avro 638 "Club Cadet", Avro 642, BAC Drone, Blackburn Bluebird II, Bristol Bulldog, DH60 Moth, DH80A Puss Moth, Gloster Gauntlet, Handley Page W10, Handley Page "Dragon Rapide", Premier Gordon Dove, Simmonds Spartan, Short Scion I and II and many others.
. Prince Georg, the cousin of King Frederik IX
, a senior member of the Danish Royal Family visited Ashingdon in January 1951. He came with diplomats from the Danish Embassy to commemorate and celebrate the Battle of Ashingdon in 1016. The Prince visited the Rectory, then Ashingdon Minster, the Parish Church - Saint Andrew's in the village which was built in 1020 on the orders of his ancester, King Canute, King of England, Denmark and Norway. Prince Georg brought a flag of Denmark and a model of a Danish or Viking longship, an early sailing warship of the type used by King Canute (Knut) and his countrymen. The Danish flag and the Viking longship both still hang inside Saint Andrew's Church. Visits were made by Ashingdon villagers to Jelling
in Denmark, the home of King Canute's family. Jelling also sent exchange visitors from Denmark to Ashingdon.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
and civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is located about 4 km (2.5 mi) north of Rochford
Rochford
Rochford is a small town in the Rochford district of Essex in the East of England. It is sited about 43 miles from Central London and approximately 21 miles from the Essex county town, Chelmsford...
and is 21 km (13 mi) southeast from the county town of Chelmsford
Chelmsford
Chelmsford is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately northeast of Charing Cross, London, and approximately the same distance from the once provincial Roman capital at Colchester...
. The village lies within Rochford District
Rochford (district)
Rochford is a local government district in Essex, England. It is named for one of its main settlements, Rochford, though the major centre of population in the district is the town of Rayleigh...
and the parliamentary constituency of Rayleigh
Rayleigh (UK Parliament constituency)
Rayleigh was a parliamentary constituency in Essex represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
.
Ashingdon has a Parish Council.
It is a rural parish, one of 14 parishes in Rochford District.
The Parish is approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Rochford and continues to the bank of the tidal River Crouch
River Crouch
The River Crouch is a river that flows entirely through the English county of Essex.The distance of the Navigation between Holliwell Point which is north of Foulness Island and Battlesbridge is 17.5 Miles, i.e. 15.21 Nautical Miles.-Route:...
and the Parish includes the villages of Ashingdon and South Fambridge
South Fambridge
South Fambridge is a village in Essex, England. It is located about 300 yards from the River Crouch. The village lies within the Rochford district and the parliamentary constituency of Rayleigh...
. Parts of Ashingdon Parish are within the village community of Hockley and the northeast part of Hawkwell Parish is within the Ashingdon village community, they face each other along the length of Ashingdon Road, a Roman Road that is still used to this day.
Ashingdon and South Fambridge have been in existence for more than one thousand years and both appear in The Domesday Book along with the Manor of Beckney within Ashingdon Parish.
According to the 2001 census, updated in 2004, the parish had 1222 dwellings and a population of 3165.
Battle of Ashingdon
Ashingdon, or more correctly, the land to the east of the village was the site of the Battle of Ashingdon on 18 October 1016. Ashingdon Hill is the likely location of King Edmund's camp and it faces the field of battle between Ashingdon and Canewdon. Canewdon Church sits atop a hill and that village was the site of camp. Early chronicles report of fierce fighting at "Hyde Wood", nearly half way between the two villages. The Parish Church which lies on Ashingdon Hill, one of the parish's three hills, was built in 1020, 4 years after the battle, at the order of the King: 'Canute the GreatCanute the Great
Cnut the Great , also known as Canute, was a king of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden. Though after the death of his heirs within a decade of his own and the Norman conquest of England in 1066, his legacy was largely lost to history, historian Norman F...
' of Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. The parish church of Saint Andrew's is also called "Ashingdon Minster". The first priest at Ashingdon was one of King Canute's personal priests, a young man named Stigand, who 46 years later was The Archbishop of Canterbury who crowned King Harold and officiated at the coronation of William The Conqueror (William I). Our priest appears on The Bayeaux Tapestry with the comment "STIGANT ARChIEPS."
Aviation
Ashingdon Parish was a centre of early aviation research from 1908. Britain's first aerodromeAerodrome
An aerodrome, airdrome or airfield is a term for any location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve cargo, passengers or neither...
was officially opened in February 1909 and it was used for developing and flying early fixed wing aeroplanes. A few years later, early seaplanes were made there. The First World War stopped all of the aviation work until flying resumed in Ashingdon in 1919, possibly at Fambridge but also the aerodrome did move to Canewdon Road in Ashingdon, 2 miles away. The new company mainly used Avro 504
Avro 504
The Avro 504 was a World War I biplane aircraft made by the Avro aircraft company and under licence by others. Production during the War totalled 8,970 and continued for almost 20 years, making it the most-produced aircraft of any kind that served in World War I, in any military capacity, during...
biplane
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
s. In the early 1920s, Frank Neale started an aviation company there with a larger Avro 504 3 seater. Then in 1923, W.G. Pudney started The Essex Aviation Company flying several types of aircraft. All three firms used the Avro 504, a popular, easy and cheap to fly aircraft.
In the 1930s, the aerodrome may have moved further along Canewdon Road in Ashingdon and some people say that it was moved, others it may have been at two locations in that road and others say it was not. The aerodrome was called Canute Aero Park, after King Canute the Great, as well as Ashingdon Aerodrome.
It was the home of an aero club called "Aero 8", also the Essex Aviation Company, Premier Aviation and the Southend Flying Club. Many types of aircraft were designed, developed, built, modified there, and other types flew in and out of Ashingdon. Henri Mignet
Henri Mignet
Henri Mignet, Henri Mignet, Henri Mignet, (October 19, 1893 in Charente-Maritime – August 31, 1965 in Pessac in Gironde, was a French radio engineer who became well-known as an aircraft designer and builder...
, the French designer of the Mignet HM.14
Mignet HM.14
The Mignet HM.14 Flying Flea is a single-seat light aircraft first flown in 1933, designed for amateur construction. It was the first of a family of aircraft collectively known as Flying Fleas....
Pou du Ciel ("Flying Flea") used to visit Ashingdon for Aero 8 at Canute Aero Park, because they were one of the largest producers and developers of the Pou du Ciel. Their higher-powered and modified version was called "Super Pou". Several air shows took place in Ashingdon at the Canute Aero Park aerodrome. They were attended by thousands of visitors and scores of flying enthusiasts who flew in their aircraft. Later, the aerodrome moved to Ashingdon Road, then to Dalys Road, Rochford, where it was still called "Ashingdon Aerodrome".
On 20th June 1936, a DeHavilland biplane - a DH60X Moth, G-EBRT took off from Ashingdom Aerodrome in Canewdon Road and failed to gain sufficient altitude to fly over Ashingdon Minster on Ashingdon Hill. It crashed into the tall dense trees surrounding the churchyard and it came stuck intact in the branches at a height of about 10 metres (30 feet) above ground. The pilot was not injured and he climbed down the tree to firm ground.
Some people in the village say that a "Flying Flea" also crashed into the churchyard trees.
Eventually, Southend Municipal Airport opened on the old Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
/RAF base and all flying moved to the new airport by the late 1930s. Soon it reverted to military use as RAF Rochford and it became a Battle of Britain RAF base as well as a pilot training airfield.
London Southend Airport
London Southend Airport or Southend Airport is a regional airport in the district of Rochford within Essex, England.During the 1960s, Southend was the third-busiest airport in the United Kingdom. It remained London's third-busiest airport in terms of passengers handled until the end of the 1970s,...
. So, early aviation has taken place at five successive locations in and around Ashingdon.
Early aviation pioneers and their aircraft that were developed at South Fambridge were: Eardley Billing, Gordon England, Green's Motor Patents, Handley Page, Lascelles Engines, Gerald Leake, Robert Macfie, W.O. Manning, Pemberton Billing, De Pischoff & Koechlin, Seaton Kerr, Talbot Quick, Howard Wright, Jose Weiss. Then in the 1930s: W.G. Pudney, Henri Mignet, Frank Neale, Mervyn Chadwick, Lascelles Motors, Raymond Gordon and many others.
Aircraft flying from Ashingdon Aerodrome were: Aeronca 100 and C2, Airspeed AS.4, Mignet HM.14 "Flying Flea", Aero 8 HM.14 Super Pou, HM.18, Avro 504K, Avro 594, Avro 616, Avro 638 "Club Cadet", Avro 642, BAC Drone, Blackburn Bluebird II, Bristol Bulldog, DH60 Moth, DH80A Puss Moth, Gloster Gauntlet, Handley Page W10, Handley Page "Dragon Rapide", Premier Gordon Dove, Simmonds Spartan, Short Scion I and II and many others.
Links with Denmark
Ashingdon has had links in the past with DenmarkDenmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. Prince Georg, the cousin of King Frederik IX
Frederick IX of Denmark
Frederick IX was King of Denmark from 20 April 1947 until his death on 14 January 1972....
, a senior member of the Danish Royal Family visited Ashingdon in January 1951. He came with diplomats from the Danish Embassy to commemorate and celebrate the Battle of Ashingdon in 1016. The Prince visited the Rectory, then Ashingdon Minster, the Parish Church - Saint Andrew's in the village which was built in 1020 on the orders of his ancester, King Canute, King of England, Denmark and Norway. Prince Georg brought a flag of Denmark and a model of a Danish or Viking longship, an early sailing warship of the type used by King Canute (Knut) and his countrymen. The Danish flag and the Viking longship both still hang inside Saint Andrew's Church. Visits were made by Ashingdon villagers to Jelling
Jelling
Jelling is a village in Denmark with a population of 3,248 , located in Jelling Parish approx. 10 km northwest of Vejle. The city lies 105 metres above sea level.-Location:...
in Denmark, the home of King Canute's family. Jelling also sent exchange visitors from Denmark to Ashingdon.
Trivia
- Ashingdon was featured in a Weight WatchersWeight WatchersWeight Watchers is an international company that offers various dieting products and services to assist weight loss and maintenance. Founded in 1963 by Brooklyn homemaker Jean Nidetch, it operates in about 30 countries around the world, generally under names that are local translations of “Weight...
advertisement in country lanes and in King George's Field, the village's playing field. The only curious feature of that was that they had everyone speaking in London accents instead of the normal rural accent predominant in the area. - Ashingdon is currently home to a VW campervan called Flagbus.