Ashford, Kent

Ashford is a town in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. Its agricultural market is one of the most important in the county.

Famous people

Simone Weil, the French philosopher, died in Grosvenor Sanatorium, Ashford, in 1943, and is buried in the town's Bybrook Cemetery. Weil restricted herself to the meagre war-time diet she imagined her compatriots back in France would be eating; a coroner therefore recorded a suicide verdict when her condition was exacerbated by malnourishment. A road in Ashford is named after her.

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Other personalities connected with the town are:

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• Sir John Furley - one of the founders of St. John Ambulance Service.
• Sir John Foggle - Lord of Repton Manor he restored the parish church in 13th century and, at his own expense, built most of the bell tower.
• Dr John Wallis - Internationally recognised as one of the greatest mathematicians, credited by Sir Isaac Newton as being the founder of his theory of gravity.