Ashford Bowdler SO 520 711

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Description.
Ashford was called Esseford in Domesday. Ashford Bowdler takes its name from Henry de Bodlers in 1242. The two parishes of Ashford Bowdler and Ashford Carbonell lie on either side of the River Teme and were connected by the "ash-tree ford". The ford was replaced by the bridge designed by Thomas Telford and built in 1797. Ashford Bowdler is now a small village with only a few houses next to the church.

The map shows the River Teme south of Ludlow and the two parishes of Ashford Bowdler and Ashford Carbonel on either side of the river. The Ashford bridge is shown on the road to Caynham and the green line indicates the probable line of the track across the Ash Ford. The present day footpaths have been diverted to cross the river by the new (1797) Ashford Bridge. Other tracks through Ashford Carbonel lie on routes from Ludlow to Little Hereford. The route through Ashford Carbonel survives mainly as footpaths or bridle paths.

Visits and photographs

They were first visited in July 2000. The first place visited was the Ashford Bridge across the River Teme, north of the two settlements. The bridge is built of brick and has a metal plaque in the centre of it to commemorate its building. It was designed by Thomas Telford and was opened in 1797. After this, the ford at Ashford fell into disuse.

The next place to be visited was Ashford Carbonel. After this, I returned and crossed the river to visit Ashford Bowdler. This was a small hamlet, consisting of just a few houses along another dead end. The church was right on the river bank, but it was not possible to look across to the river from the church yard because was hidden from view by a thick hedge. The only exception was one place where the compost heap formed a gap in the hedge and from this point it was obvious that the river was once more deep and slow moving. No photographs of Ashford Bowdler were taken.

References: OS Langranger map No. 137.
The Place Names of Shropshire, Part One: Major Names, Margaret Gelling in collaboration with H.D.G.Foxall, EPNS (1990), pp.19-20.

Page maintained by Susan Laflin. Last updated October 2003.