Thomas Smythe or Smith of London, Ashford and Westenhanger, Kent was the collector of customs duties in London during the Tudor period, and a member of parliament for five English constituencies. His son and namesake, Sir Thomas Smythe, was the first governor of the East India Company, treasurer of the Virginia Company, and an active supporter of the Virginia colony.
Thomas 'Customer' Smythe
Alice Judde, c. 1579 or 1580
Mural monument to Katherine Smythe in Nettlestead Church, Kent, daughter of Thomas Smythe and wife of Sir John Scott of Nettlestead
Ashford is a town in the Ashford district, in the county of Kent, England. It lies on the River Great Stour at the southern or scarp edge of the North Downs, about 61 miles (98 km) by road southeast of central London and 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Folkestone by road. At the 2021 census, it had a population of 83,213. The name comes from the Old English æscet, indicating a ford near a clump of ash trees. It has been a market town since the Middle Ages, and a regular market continues to be held.
High Street, Ashford, in February 2012
Ashford Market in 1975. A market had been based here since 1856.
Old buildings in Middle Row
The population growth of the Ashford Borough
