Window & Exterior Cleaning in Ashington

St Peter and St Paul, Ashington's parish church, is built of flint and stone possibly dating from the 15th century, though the church's origins go back to the 12th century when it was still a chapelry of neighbouring Washington. Flint and stone construction this old needs the same gentle handling as an old timber frame — no pressure washer, just purified water and a soft brush on a water-fed pole, careful enough not to disturb old pointing or force water into joints that have stood for centuries.

Ashington sits well inland on the A24 corridor, with no coastal salt exposure to contend with, but that doesn't mean exterior surfaces stay clean without help. Chalk downland to the south and farmland surrounding the village mean wind-blown dust and pollen settle steadily on glass, fascias and solar panels, building up a dull film over weeks rather than all at once, which is why a proper purified-water rinse tends to work better than an occasional wipe-down.

The Victorian reconstruction of St Peter and St Paul in 1871-72 added a gabled south aisle and a new stone belfry, and one of the church's two bells is thought to be among the oldest in Sussex, dating from either the 13th or 14th century depending on which assessment you go by. Buildings that have survived this long, through medieval construction and Victorian remodelling alike, are exactly the kind of property that benefits from a careful, low-pressure cleaning method rather than anything abrasive.

As a well-regarded, community-minded village — Ashington won the Calor Village of the Year competition's Business and Community Life categories for the Southern region in 2001, then took the overall Southern region title in 2003 — the village has a good mix of older cottages near the church and newer housing further out. Whatever the age of the property, the same water-fed pole system reaches upper floors safely from the ground, without a ladder against the wall.

Ashington's position on the A24 means a steady flow of traffic passes through, and with it a certain amount of road dust and grime that settles on properties closest to the main road, on top of the pollen and organic debris that any village this close to open farmland picks up. Regular cleaning tends to matter more for these properties than for homes set back on quieter residential streets.

Ashington's ecclesiastical ties to Washington, Buncton and Wiston through the Chanctonbury group of churches reflect a wider pattern across this part of West Sussex, where villages sitting close together on the edge of the Downs share not just geography but centuries of shared history. That closeness also means similar exterior conditions — chalk dust and farmland pollen settling steadily on glass and render — across all four villages, not just Ashington itself.

Ashington's roots go back to the 12th century, when the settlement was a chapelry of the neighbouring village of Washington rather than a parish in its own right — it became a separate rectory by 1190. That early connection to Washington is still reflected in the churches of the area today, with Ashington's parish now served alongside Washington, Buncton and Wiston as part of the Chanctonbury group of churches.

The Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul is built of flint and stone, with parts of the building possibly dating from the 15th century. It underwent a major reconstruction in 1871-72 under the architect R. Wheeler, who added a gabled south aisle with windows echoing the originals, built new arcading in a 15th-century style with octagonal piers, and replaced the old bell-turret with a double open belfry in stone. The church holds Grade II* listed status, and one of its two bells is thought to be among the oldest in Sussex, though its exact date — 13th or 14th century — remains disputed among historians.

In the early 2000s Ashington earned a reputation as one of the best-regarded villages in the region, winning the Business and Community Life categories of the Calor Village of the Year competition for the Southern region in 2001, then going on to take the overall Southern region title in 2003. The award reflects a village with an active community life, something still visible today in clubs like Ashington Cougars, which runs youth football for children from under-6s through to under-16s in the Horsham and District Youth Football League and was a finalist for Sussex's Sports Club of the Year in 2011.

The village sits directly on the A24, which has shaped its development as a practical, well-connected place rather than a quiet backwater — Metrobus route 23 runs through Ashington connecting it to Worthing, Horsham and Crawley, making it an easy base for commuting in several directions while still keeping a genuine village identity.

With a population recorded at 2,526 at the 2011 census across a parish of around 805 hectares, Ashington is a reasonably substantial village by the standards of this part of West Sussex, but it has kept the feel of a proper community rather than a dormitory suburb, helped along by its church, its clubs and its connections to the neighbouring villages that share its ecclesiastical history.