Two Mile Ash
Encyclopedia
Two Mile Ash is a district in north west Milton Keynes
, two miles south of Stony Stratford
, just off Watling Street
. The district was named after the Two Mile Ash toll gate on Watling Street. It is one of the larger districts, but a large part of its area is taken up by an 18-hole golf course. Consequently, many of the streets here are named after famous golf courses. The district was one of the first to be built in the (mainly) private housing period of the development of Milton Keynes
.
The main spine of the area is the High Street with facilities running off it. Three other main roads are aptly named Church Hill, Clay Hill and Corn Hill, all provide exits from the estate. Also Fairways is another exit point, which lies near the Abbey Hill Golf Course. Two Mile Ash provides space for one half of this course, the other half is in neighbouring Kiln Farm, accessed by a foot bridge.
There is a lot of variety in the housing. There is a scheme of Findlandia super-insulated houses in Calewen and some very distinctive shared ownership homes in the High Street. It has two schools (Two Mile Ash Middle School and Ashbrook First School), two pre-schools (Two Mile Ash Pre-school and Helping Hands) and it also has two churches.
and Dunchurch
(and thus serving this neighborhood) became a turnpike
. A toll-gate, the "Twomile Ash Toll Gate" was located here, and it was from this that Milton Keynes Development Corporation
took the district name. By the First Edition of the Ordnance Survey (1846-), a building is shown beside the road, called "Twomile Ash".
A milestone
can still be found on Watling Street (now called the V4). Immediately behind the two mile post are three Ash trees planted by Milton Keynes Parks Trust. This section of Watling Street was the original A5 road until the route was diverted to become the eastern boundary of the district.
farmstead was discovered and excavated on the northern edge of the golf course (near the Friendly Lodge Hotel on Monks Way). The district was originally in the lands of Bradwell Abbey
and is now in the modern Civil Parish
of the same name.
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
, two miles south of Stony Stratford
Stony Stratford
Stony Stratford is a constituent town of Milton Keynes and is a civil parish with a town council within the Borough of Milton Keynes. It is in the north west corner of Milton Keynes, bordering Northamptonshire and separated from it by the River Great Ouse...
, just off Watling Street
Watling Street
Watling Street is the name given to an ancient trackway in England and Wales that was first used by the Britons mainly between the modern cities of Canterbury and St Albans. The Romans later paved the route, part of which is identified on the Antonine Itinerary as Iter III: "Item a Londinio ad...
. The district was named after the Two Mile Ash toll gate on Watling Street. It is one of the larger districts, but a large part of its area is taken up by an 18-hole golf course. Consequently, many of the streets here are named after famous golf courses. The district was one of the first to be built in the (mainly) private housing period of the development of Milton Keynes
History of Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes is a large town in South East England, founded in 1967. This history of Milton Keynes details its development from the earliest human settlements, through the plans for a 'new city' for 250,000 people in south central England, its subsequent urban design and development, to the...
.
The main spine of the area is the High Street with facilities running off it. Three other main roads are aptly named Church Hill, Clay Hill and Corn Hill, all provide exits from the estate. Also Fairways is another exit point, which lies near the Abbey Hill Golf Course. Two Mile Ash provides space for one half of this course, the other half is in neighbouring Kiln Farm, accessed by a foot bridge.
There is a lot of variety in the housing. There is a scheme of Findlandia super-insulated houses in Calewen and some very distinctive shared ownership homes in the High Street. It has two schools (Two Mile Ash Middle School and Ashbrook First School), two pre-schools (Two Mile Ash Pre-school and Helping Hands) and it also has two churches.
Place name
The name is shown on a map dated 1559 as "Mile Ash" as a tree on a mound with Watling Street passing either side. During the early 17th century, the section of Watling Street between HockliffeHockliffe
Hockliffe is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire on the crossroads of the A5 road which lies upon the course of the roman road known as Watling Street and the A4012 road.It is about four miles east of Leighton Buzzard...
and Dunchurch
Dunchurch
Dunchurch is a civil parish and village on the south-western outskirts of Rugby in Warwickshire, England. The 2001 census recorded a population of 2,842 in the village.- History :...
(and thus serving this neighborhood) became a turnpike
Turnpike trust
Turnpike trusts in the United Kingdom were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road tolls for maintaining the principal highways in Britain from the 17th but especially during the 18th and 19th centuries...
. A toll-gate, the "Twomile Ash Toll Gate" was located here, and it was from this that Milton Keynes Development Corporation
Milton Keynes Development Corporation
Milton Keynes Development Corporation was established on 23 January 1967 to provide the vision and execution of a "new city", Milton Keynes, that would be the modern interpretation of the Garden city movement concepts first expressed by Ebenezer Howard 60 years earlier...
took the district name. By the First Edition of the Ordnance Survey (1846-), a building is shown beside the road, called "Twomile Ash".
A milestone
Milestone
A milestone is one of a series of numbered markers placed along a road or boundary at intervals of one mile or occasionally, parts of a mile. They are typically located at the side of the road or in a median. They are alternatively known as mile markers, mileposts or mile posts...
can still be found on Watling Street (now called the V4). Immediately behind the two mile post are three Ash trees planted by Milton Keynes Parks Trust. This section of Watling Street was the original A5 road until the route was diverted to become the eastern boundary of the district.
Other historical interest
A Romano-BritishRomano-British
Romano-British culture describes the culture that arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest of AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, a people of Celtic language and...
farmstead was discovered and excavated on the northern edge of the golf course (near the Friendly Lodge Hotel on Monks Way). The district was originally in the lands of Bradwell Abbey
Bradwell Abbey
Bradwell Abbey or Bradwell Priory is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, urban studies site, district and civil parish in Milton Keynes, ceremonial Buckinghamshire, England. The site was once the location of a Benedictine priory, founded in 1155....
and is now in the modern 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...
of the same name.