Rent Houses Ashford Kent

Approximate Population: 58,936

Ashford is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. In 2005 it was voted the fourth best place to live in the United Kingdom. It lies on the River Great Stour, M20 motorway, South Eastern Main Line and High Speed 1 railways. Its agricultural market is one of the most important in the county. Ashford is a relatively common English placename: it goes back to Old English æscet, indicating a ford near a clump of ash-trees.

As a market town, Ashford has for centuries been a local communications hub for surrounding villages and has stood at the centre of five railway lines, (Ashford to Ramsgate (via Canterbury West) line, Swanley to Ashford (via Maidstone East) Line, South Eastern Main Line, Kent Coast Line and the Marshlink Line) since the 19th century and with the opening of the International Passenger Station is now an important European communications centre, with new lines running between London and the Channel Tunnel (via High Speed 1).

The Borough of Ashford lies on the eastern edge of the ancient forest of “Andredsweald” or “Anderida”. This originally stretched as far west as Hampshire and formed the basis from which the Weald is formed.

It is likely that the town originates from an original settlement established in 893AD by inhabitants escaping a Danish Viking raid on the nearby ancient village of Great Chart (Seleberhtes Cert in 762AD), although a Roman road passed through here from the iron making area to Canterbury. It is listed in the Domesday Book, compiled in 1086, as having a church, two mills and a value of 150 shillings, under its original Saxon name of “Essetesford” (or “Eshetisford,” “Esselesford”, “Asshatisforde”, “Essheford”). The manor was owned by Hugh de Montford, Constable of England at the time. Writer Philpot believed Essetesford stood for “ash trees growing near a ford”, while Lampard, a 16th century local historian, suggested that it meant “a ford over the river Eshe or Eshet”, which was the old name for the tributary of the River Stour between Lenham and Ashford.

Rent Houses Ashford Kent

Rent Houses

Stoke Staffordshire

Approximate Population: 457,165

An early proposal for a federation took place in 1888, when an amendment was raised to the Local Government Bill which would have made the six towns districts within a county of ‘Staffordshire Potteries’.   It was not until 1 April 1910 that the Six Towns were brought together.   The county borough of Hanley, the municipal boroughs of Burslem, Longton, and Stoke, together with the urban districts of Tunstall and Fenton now formed a single county borough of Stoke-on-Trent.  The combined borough took the name of town of Stoke.

The borough proposed in 1919 to expand further and annex the neighbouring borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme and the Wolstanton United Urban District, both to the west of Stoke: this met strong objections from Newcastle Corporation and never took place.   A further attempt was made in 1930, with the promotion of the Stoke-on-Trent Extension Bill.   Ultimately, Wolstanton was added to Newcastle-under-Lyme instead in 1932. Although attempts to take Newcastle, Wolstanton and Kidsgrove (north of Tunstall) were never successful, the borough did however expand in 1922, taking in Smallthorne Urban District, and parts of other parishes from Stoke upon Trent Rural District.   The borough was officially granted city status in 1925 with a Lord Mayor from 1928.

The city’s county borough status was abolished in 1974, and it became a non-metropolitan district of Staffordshire.   Its status was restored as a unitary authority with the local authority as Stoke-on-Trent City Council whilst remaining part of the ceremonial county of Staffordshire on 1 April 1997.

Rent Houses Stoke Staffordshire

Rent Houses Rhondda Wales

Approximate Population: 72,443

Although little evidence of settlements has been found in the Rhondda that date between the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods, several cairns and cists have been discovered throughout the length of both valleys.   The best example of a round-cairn was found at Crug yr Afan, near the summit of Graig Fawr, west of Cwmparc.

The cairn consisted of an earthen mound with a surrounding ditch 28 metres in circumference and over 2 metres tall.  Although most cairns discovered in the area are round, a ring cairn or cairn circle exists on Gelli Mountain.  Known as the ‘Rhondda Stonehenge’ the cairn consists of 10 upright stones no more than 60 cm in height encircling a central cist.  All the cairns found within the Rhondda are located on high ground, many on ridgeways, and may have been used as waypoints.

In 1912 a hoard of 24 late Bronze Age weapons and tools was discovered during construction work at the Llyn Fawr reservoir, at the source of the Rhondda Fawr.   The items did not originate from the Rhondda and are thought to have been left at the site as a votive offering.   Of particular interest were fragments of an iron sword which is the earliest iron object to be found in Wales and the only ‘C-type’ Hallstatt sword recorded in Britain.

Rent Houses Rhondda Wales

Rent Houses Basingstoke Hampshire

Approximate Population: 80,477

Basingstoke is a town in northeast Hampshire, England. It lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon. It is 48 miles (77 km) southwest of London, 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Southampton, 16 miles (26 km) southwest of Reading, and 20 miles (32 km) northeast of the county town, Winchester. In 2006 it had an estimated population of 80,477. It is part of the borough of Basingstoke and Deane and part of the parliamentary constituency of Basingstoke. Basingstoke is often nicknamed “Doughnut City” due to the number of roundabouts.

Often mistaken for a new town, Basingstoke is an old market town expanded in the 1960s as part of a tripartite agreement between London County Council, Hampshire County Council and Basingstoke Borough Council. It was developed rapidly, along with Andover and Tadley, to accommodate part of the London ‘overspill’ as perceived under the Greater London Plan, 1944.

Basingstoke market was mentioned in the Domesday Book and Basingstoke remained a small market town until the 1950s. It still has a regular market, but is now bigger than Hampshire County Council’s definition of a market town.

Basingstoke is a prosperous town, with an above-average standard of living and low unemployment. It is an economic centre, and the location of the UK headquarters of Sun Life Financial of Canada, The Automobile Association, Ericsson Mobile Platforms, GAME, Motorola and Sony Professional Solutions (Europe). Other industries include drug manufacture, IT, communications, insurance and electronics.

Rent Houses Basingstoke Hampshire

Rent Houses North Walsham Norfolk

Approximate Population: 11,998

North Walsham is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is within the North Norfolk district, and is situated some 12 km south of Cromer and the same distance north of Wroxham. The city of Norwich lies 30 km to the south.

The civil parish has an area of 17.27 km² and in the 2001 census had a population of 11,998 in 5,245 households. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of North Norfolk.

North Walsham was an Anglo-Saxon settlement. Both North Walsham and the neighbouring Worstead became very prosperous from the 12th century through the arrival of weavers from Flanders. “Walsham” was a light-weight cloth for summer, and “Worsted” a heavier cloth. The 14th-century “wool churches” are a testament to the prosperity of the local mill owners. North Walsham’s church of St. Nicholas was originally dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and is one of the UK’s largest parish churches. It was also the site of a wayside shrine to St. Thomas of Canterbury. This church had the second-tallest steeple in Norfolk until its collapse in 1724. Plans for its rebuilding were abandoned at the outbreak of World War II. The ruined tower dominates the town centre and is a famous landmark of the area, visible from many miles away.

North Walsham was formerly a traditional market market town and an important hub in the centre of North Norfolk’s agricultural economy, but the town today reflects the trend towards homogeneity and suburban anonymity characteristic of many small British towns that have lost their primary role and function.

Rent Houses North Walsham Norfolk

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Leicester Leicestershire

Approximate Population: 285,100

On 4 November 1530, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey was arrested on charges of treason and taken from York Place.   On his way south to face dubious justice at the Tower of London, he fell ill.   The group escorting him was concerned enough to stop at Leicester.   There, Wolsey’s condition quickly worsened and he died on 29 November 1530 and was buried at Leicester Abbey, now Abbey Park.

Leicester was a Parliamentarian stronghold during the English Civil War.   In 1645, Prince Rupert decided to attack the city to draw the New Model Army away from the Royalist headquarters of Oxford.   Royalist guns were set up on Raw Dykes and after an unsatisfactory response to a demand for surrender, the Newarke was stormed and the city was sacked on 30 May. Although hundreds of people were killed by Rupert’s cavalry, reports of the severity of the sacking were exaggerated by the Parliamentary press in London.

The construction of the Grand Union Canal in the 1790s linked Leicester to London and Birmingham and by 1832 the railway had arrived in Leicester; the new Leicester and Swannington Railway providing a supply of coal to the town from nearby collieries.   By 1840 the Midland Counties Railway had linked Leicester to the national railway network and by the 1860s, Leicester had gained a direct rail link to London (St Pancras) with the completion of the Midland Main Line.

Rent Houses Leicester Leicestershire

Rent Houses Wallasey Merseyside

Approximate Population: 58,710

Wallasey is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England, on the mouth of the River Mersey, at the northeastern corner of the Wirral Peninsula. According to the 2001 Census, the town had a total resident population of 58,710.

The name of Wallasey originates from the Germanic word Walha, meaning stranger or foreigner, which is also the origin of the name Wales. The suffix “-ey” denotes an island or area of dry land. Originally the higher ground now occupied by Wallasey was separated from the rest of Wirral by the creek known as Wallasey Pool (which later became the docks), the marshy areas of Bidston Moss and Leasowe, and sand dunes along the coast.

Before the 19th century the area was sparsely populated. Horse races organised for the Earls of Derby on the sands at Leasowe in the 16th and 17th centuries are regarded as forerunners of the modern Derby.

Old maps show that the main centre and parish church (St Hilary’s) were located at what is now called Wallasey Village, and there were smaller hamlets at Liscard, Poulton and Seacombe, from where there were occasional ferries across the Mersey. There was also a mill (at Mill Lane), and from the mid-18th century a gunpowder store or magazine at Rock Point, located well away from the built-up areas.

By the early 19th century, the shoreline between Seacombe and Rock Point started to become an attractive area to which affluent Liverpool merchants and sea captains could retire. Development at Egremont began around this time, and gained pace with the introduction of steam ferries across the river. The area also had a defensive role overlooking the growing port of Liverpool. In 1829, Fort Perch Rock was built, and in 1858 Liscard Battery.

Rent Houses Wallasey Merseyside

Rent Houses Watford Hertfordshire

Approximate Population: 79,600

Watford is a major regional centre for the northern home counties.   It is the most westerly of these commercial centres and the only one in Hertfordshire.   Hertfordshire County Council designates Watford and Stevenage to be its major sub-regional centres, heading its list of preferred sites for retail development.  The primary shopping area is the Harlequin Shopping Centre, a large purpose-built indoor mall with over 140 shops, restaurants and cafes built during the 1990s, opened officially in June 1992.

The High Street, running through the town centre, is the main focus of activity at night having a high concentration of the town’s bars, clubs and restaurants.

The head offices of a number of national companies such as Camelot Group, operator of the National Lottery; Iveco, manufacturers of commercial vehicles; Haden Young, the building services division of Balfour Beatty; Bathstore, the largest bathroom retailer in the UK; construction firm Taylor Woodrow; and Mothercare, are located in the town.   The borough is also the UK base of many multi-nationals including Total Oil, Sanyo, TK Maxx, Costco, Vinci, and Beko.

The town was home to the Scammell Lorries Factory from 1922 until its closure in 1988.   The site is now a residential area.  Plans are underway to develop a new Health Campus complete with heliport adjacent to the site of the current Watford General Hospital.

Rent Houses Watford Hertfordshire

Rent Houses Oldham Greater Manchester

Approximate Population: 103,544

Much of Oldham’s history is concerned with textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution; it has been said that “if ever the Industrial Revolution placed a town firmly and squarely on the map of the world, that town is Oldham.”  Oldham’s soils were too thin and poor to sustain crop growing, and so for decades prior to industrialisation the area was used for grazing sheep, which provided the raw material for a local woollen weaving trade.

By 1756, Oldham emerged as centre of the hatting industry in England. The rough felt used in the production process is the origin of the term “Owdham Roughyed” a nickname for people from Oldham.  It was not until the last quarter of the 18th century that Oldham changed from being a cottage industry township producing woollen garments via domestic manual labour, to a sprawling industrial metropolis of textile factories.

The climate, geology, and topography of Oldham were unrelenting constraints upon the social and economic activities of the human inhabitants.  Located 700 feet (213 m) above sea level with no major river or visible natural resources, Oldham had poor geographic attributes compared with other settlements for investors and their engineers.  

As a result, Oldham played no part in the initial period of the Industrial Revolution, although it did later become seen as obvious territory to industrialise because of its convenient position between the labour forces of Manchester and southwest Yorkshire.

Rent Houses Oldham Greater Manchester

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Dudley West Midlands

Approximate Population: 194,919

The town is home to Dudley Zoo, and the Black Country Living Museum. Visitors to the museum may also take a narrowboat trip from the adjacent canal, through the Dudley Tunnel.   The ruined Dudley Castle is within the grounds of the zoo, and there is an extensive wooded ridge that runs north from the castle.

Dudley Zoo is to be regenerated under proposals by Dudley Zoo in partnership with Dudley Council, St Modwen and Advantage West Midlands, which will see a former freightliner site redeveloped with a tropical dome, Asiatic forest, two aquatic facilities and walkthrough aviaries. It is expected to cost £38.7 million.

Dudley is home to a former Odeon Cinema and a former music hall, the Dudley Hippodrome, both from the Art Deco period in the 1930s.   The Dudley Hippodrome was built on to the side of the now-demolished Opera House (built in 1900 and burnt down in 1936) and is now a bingo hall.   There is a Showcase Cinema in a retail park between the zoo and museum.

Rent Houses Dudley West Midlands