English Town Names Ending in "-ford": A Historical Gazetteer

The suffix "-ford" (Old English ford = shallow river crossing) marks hundreds of English settlements where roads met rivers. Here's a curated list — correcting some errors in common lists.

Authentic -ford Towns

Bedford (Beds) — "Beda's ford" on Great Ouse
Bradford (West Yorks) — "broad ford" on Bradford Beck
Bradford-on-Avon (Wilts) — on River Avon
Exford (Somerset) — on River Exe, Exmoor
Ford (Sussex) — the eponymous village
Heyford (Northants/Oxon/Warwicks) — multiple: Nether, Upper, Steeple
Ilford (London) — "Ila's ford" on River Roding
Oxford (Oxon) — "oxen ford" on Cherwell/Thames
Salford (Greater Manchester) — "sallow (willow) ford" on Irwell
Stratford (London/Warwicks) — "street (Roman road) ford" on Lea/Avon
Hereford (Herefordshire) — "army ford" on Wye
Watford (Herts) — "wet ford" on Colne
Stamford (Lincs) — "stone ford" on Welland
Telford (Shropshire) — new town (1968), named for engineer Thomas Telford
Crawford (multiple) — "crow ford"

Common List Errors (Not -ford)

Cambridge — "bridge over Cam" (brycg)
Crawley — "crow clearing" (leah)
Frodsham — "Frod's homestead" (ham)
Glastonbury — "Glaston's fort" (burh)
Godalming — "Godhelm's people" (ingas)
Uxbridge — "Wixan's bridge" (brycg)

Why So Many?

Fords were critical infrastructure — nodes for trade, defense, settlement. Domesday Book (1086) records hundreds. The suffix fossilizes a moment when a crossing mattered enough to name a place.