Kentish Express Ashford & District
Ashford from the sky 100 years ago
Last month, Historic England released a series of rare photos offering a great insight into how Kent looked 100 years ago.
Hundreds of thousands of images have been made available in an online library for the public to view.
The incredible photos of our county in the 1920s contain some familiar sights – but also highlight how much has changed in the past century.
Historic England – a public body that ‘champions and protects the country’s historic environment’ – hopes people will be able to use the online tool to research where they live and allow councils to use the old photos for archaeology and planning matters.
Tony Calladine, Historic England’s regional director for east of England, said: “I am delighted that our new online tool will allow people to browse our wonderful collection of historic aerial photos that my team uses every day to unlock the mysteries of England’s past.
“The remarkable pictures give a fascinating insight into our local areas, allowing people to see how their street and their town centre looked when their great grandparents lived there.”
In total, 400,000 images were released by Historic England last month.
It is hoped six million will be made available over the coming years.
Sadly, the archives for the 1920s do not include aerial pictures of Swale, meaning there is a lack of content for Sittingbourne, Sheppey and Faversham, but the rest of Kent is covered.
Although we’re unable to include any of the images in this week’s Kentish Express, three photos from Steve Salter’s archive show Ashford from above in the 1920s.
In that decade, Ashford Hospital opened in Kings Avenue, off Godinton Road, in July 1928.
In the same year, Highworth Grammar School – originally known as Ashford County School for Girls – moved to its current base in Maidstone Road.
To view Historic England’s aerial photo collection, visit bit. ly/3NM8Dv7
Steve Salter is away