Ashford (pop. 132,747) is a local government district in Kent, in southeastern England, on the southern side of the North Downs. The market town of Ashford was founded in 1243 and is the district’s administrative and business center. The town is an important transportation center, with rail and road links to the Channel Tunnel. Ashford factories produce machine tools, plastics, cosmetics, and furniture. Ashford Town Football Club was formed in 1930. Outside the town, the district is rich in agriculture, and farming is important to the economy.
Ashford lies along the Kent Downs, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty—a special legal status that ensures an area’s preservation. The Kent Downs area includes rolling chalk hills, meadows, woodlands, and river valleys from Surrey to the cliffs of Dover. See also Channel Tunnel; Kent.
