| Country: | England |
| Official Name: | Appledore |
| Coordinates: | 51.03°N 0.789°W |
| Civil Parish: | Appledore |
| Population: | 832 |
| Area Total Km2: | 12.46 |
| Population Ref: | (Civil Parish 2021)[1] |
| Shire District: | Ashford |
| Shire County: | Kent |
| Region: | South East England |
| Constituency Westminster: | Ashford |
| Post Town: | ASHFORD |
| Postcode District: | TN26 |
| Postcode Area: | TN |
| Dial Code: | 01233 |
| Os Grid Reference: | TQ956295 |
Appledore is a village and civil parish[2] in the Ashford District of Kent, England. The village centre is on the northern edge of the Romney Marsh, 12 miles (19 km) south-west of Ashford town.[3] The northerly part of this village is Appledore Heath.
The name is first recorded in the 10th century as apuldre (meaning apple tree in Old English).[4] Alternatively, a Brythonic origin from or connected with "dwr/dor", meaning water, has been posited.
Appledore was once a port on the estuary of the River Rother. Famously, the greater part of the Danish army (280 ships - 5000 men) wintered at Appledore in 892 - 93, before moving into Wessex and suffering defeat at the hands of the Saxons led by King Alfred's son Edward the Elder at Farnham in Surrey. The defeated Danes fell back to Benfleet in Essex where they were again defeated in battle.The importance of Appledore as a port diminished suddenly in the 13th-century when two great storms - the first on 4 February 1287 and again sometime the following December - caused the river Rother to change its course; the village street now leads down to the Royal Military Canal. A French raid in 1380 resulted in the burning of the church: it was later rebuilt. The village was permitted to hold a market in the main street by Edward II. In 1804, when there was threat of invasion by Napoleon the Royal Military Canal was built: Appledore stands on its northern bank.[5] The Rhee Wall, a 13th-century waterway, was built to carry silt away from the eastern part of the Romney Marsh; it runs from Appledore to New Romney.
Appledore was the setting for A. A. Milne's famous verse poem, "The Knight Whose Armour Didn't Squeak". Milne lived west in Hartfield, Sussex.
The fictional village of Plummergen, in the "Miss Seeton" series of crime novels by Heron Carvic, is based on Appledore.[6]
Appledore features in the series Darling Buds of May.
The medieval parish church is dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul.[7]
The B2080 is a local road connecting Appledore with Tenterden and Brenzett, where it meets the A259 South Coast Trunk Road. The Royal Military Road follows the canal southwest from Appledore to Rye.[8]
The Marshlink Line railway line runs between and via Appledore railway station, which is around from the village.[9] The line reduces from dual to single track beyond the station towards and Hastings.[10]
St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Primary School is located in the area.
Parkwood is an 80acres woodland 5miles east south east of Tenterden near Appledore.
A car park is along the Woodchurch Road, heading north from Appledore towards Brattle.
It is managed by Kent County Council's Country Parks service.[11] It is noted for its bluebells in spring and for nightingales. There are woodland walks and panoramic views over Appledore and Romney Marshes.
The woodland is frequently coppiced for various timber uses. Including oak thinnings being used in Shorne Woods Country Park's new visitor centre, as the window and roof joinery.[12]
The wood, is surrounded by three other woods, Great Heron Wood (to the North), Little Heron Wood (to the East) and Butness Wood (further to the East).