The origin of the name “The Ash Path” is to be found in the minutes of a Nonington Vestry meeting of 1883.
From the Nonington Parish Vestry minutes:-March 13th 1883:
“Mr. Plumptre proposes to give a public footpath from Hanging Hill gate (at the southern end of Nonington Cricket Ground opposite the entrance to the Ash Path, see map below) to the North Corner of North field which shall be continued across Parsonage Field to Nonington School (the present Ash Path-KCC public right of way ref: EE314), doing away with the present footpath over Parsonage Field ( which ran from the garden of what is now Green Gables in Holt Street, across North Field to the crest of the hill and then down Parsonage Field to the school) providing the path is not used as a bridleway and re-directing the present footpath from Holt Street to Church Street at the point of departure from Holt Street Road to start 100 yards eastward. (Its present position across North Field to the top of the hill where it joins the Ash Path-KCC public right of way ref: EE315/1)”.
The footpath was surfaced with ashes from the fires at Fredville given by Mr. Plumptre, and this is is the origin of the name “The Ash Path”. Subsequent parish council minutes record that his gift was repeated whenever the path needed repairing.
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The map below is an annotated section of the 1859 Poor Law Commissioners map of Nonington which was surveyed a quarter of a century or so before the footpaths were re-routed. The original map shows in great detail the interlinking routes of footpaths in the Holt Street area of Nonington at the time of the survey. Some of these footpaths have been re-routed or are no longer public rights of way.
The key to the map is as follows:
OHSFP-the old pre-1883 Holt Street to Church Street footpath across North Field and Parsonage Field.
BA-Bailey’s Alley, also known as Milk Boys Way (KCC public right of way ref: EE327).
According to my late father it was also known as Milk Boys Way as it was used every day to deliver milk from Holt Street Farm to the old Fredville Mansion. This foot path was referred to as a “church way” in some 16th century documents as it was then used by the inhabitants of Frogham to go to St. Mary’s Church via the Hanging Hill gate. This footpath was re-routed in the early 1920’s when Little Fredville House was built.
Prior to this the footpath entrance was on the sharp bend between Little Fredville House and the Fredville Park gate at Frogham. The site of this entrance is still known as “Beggars Gate” and originally gave access to a roadway just to the east of Little Fredville that led to the old Fredville mansion.
“Beggars Gate” was likely so named because poor and destitute parishioners and others waited there to ask for alms from the residents and visitors leaving the old Fredville mansion and using this gate to get onto the highway, now Nightingale Lane, to go to either Dover or Canterbury.
From “Beggars Gate” the original footpath ran in a northerly direction across the field to the west of Little Fredville, known as Benville’s, on to the eastern tip of Western Wood/Humphrey’s Wood where it divided.
To the left it continued westward down the hill (KCC public right of way ref:EE327) to join Holt Street (OHSFP0), emerging opposite the entrance to the old Holt Street to Church Street footpath and to the right (FGFP) it went in a northerly direction to the Hanging Hill gate (KCC public right of way ref: EE326).
FGFP– from the Fredville Park entrance gate at Frogham to the Hanging Hill gate on the Drove, (Lower Holt Street) (KCC public right of way ref:EE326).
NHSFP-the new 1883 Holt Street to Church Street footpath across North Field. (KCC public right of way ref:EE315/1)
AP-the Ash Path. (KCC public right of way ref: EE314).
FHFP-the footpath from the old Fredville Mansion to the Hanging Hill gate, referred to above, which was used by the servants living in the mansion to walk to St. Mary’s Church. This is no longer a public right of way.
Before the opening of the Ash Path in 1883 the walkers would have crossed the road from the Hanging Hill gate to use the footpath across the field in front of the then, 1883, vicarage CSFP to join the then Church Hill road (now known as either Oak Hill or Vicarage Lane) to get to the church.
CSFP-the footpath across the field in front of the then, 1883, vicarage (KCC public right of way ref:EE 314a).
KCC Rights of Way Map-click on the image to find out
about public rights of way in and around Nonington
