Ford is a small village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

, England, about from

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census re ...

. The parish also includes

Etal Etal ( )not is a small village in the far north of the county of Northumberland, England, in the civil parish of Ford. It lies on a bridging point of the River Till ten miles south west of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and includes the substantial ru ...

History before 1513

Very little is known of the history of the area before the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...

in the 11th century, but

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

rock carving A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

s in the area suggest that there might have been some settlement at that time. It is thought the shallow crossing of the River Till (a ford) which gave the village its name, was probably a crossing place for

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...

s and

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

s travelling between the

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

Iona Iona (; gd, Ì Chaluim Chille (IPA: �iːˈxaɫ̪ɯimˈçiʎə, sometimes simply ''Ì''; sco, Iona) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though ther ...

and

Lindisfarne Lindisfarne, also called Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th century AD; it was an important ...

during the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

period.

Written records for Ford begin after the Norman Conquest in 1066 and the introduction of the manorial system when the manor of Ford was held by the Heron family. A substantial stone

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

was built at Ford in 1287, to protect the manor from the constant border warfare waged between the

Scot The Scots ( sco, Scots Fowk; gd, Albannaich) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded t ...

s and the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

during the

medieval period In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. South-west of the castle are the remains of the Parson's Tower, a medieval pele tower which was once the home of the local parson. In 1513,

James IV of Scotland James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sau ...

made his base at

Ford Castle Ford Castle is a Grade I listed building situated at a shallow crossing point on the River Till, Ford, Northumberland, England. The castle dates from about 1278. The owner Sir William Heron was granted a licence to crenellate the castle in 13 ...

, prior to the

Battle of Flodden The Battle of Flodden, Flodden Field, or occasionally Branxton, (Brainston Moor) was a battle fought on 9 September 1513 during the War of the League of Cambrai between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, resulting in an English ...

, the biggest battle between the two nations. James was killed, along with 9,000 of his men.

History after 1513

After Flodden, peace came to the area and by the 19th century, Ford was a thriving agricultural and forestry community. Ford Castle had been rebuilt in the 1760s and, in 1859, Louisa, Marchioness of Beresford inherited Ford Estate on the death of her husband, the 3rd Marquess (who in turn, had inherited it from his mother, Susanna, Marchioness of Waterford). Lady Louisa Waterford, a gifted amateur watercolorist with an interest in the welfare of the tenants on the estate, rebuilt the village. A new school was built which today is the

Lady Waterford Hall Lady Waterford Hall is the former village school of the estate village of Ford, Northumberland. It is now used as the village hall and is a Grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that h ...

, decorated with wall paintings by Lady Waterford (opens daily at 10.30 am). The 12th-century

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...

of St Michael and All Angels was restored. The estate was bought by

James Joicey, 1st Baron Joicey James Joicey, 1st Baron Joicey JP DL (4 April 1846 – 21 November 1936) was an English industrialist, politician, and aristocrat known primarily for being a coal mining magnate from Durham and a Liberal Party Member of Parliament (MP). Life ...

in 1907 and it remains in the ownership of the Joicey family today. The castle was used as a

convalescent Convalescence is the gradual recovery of health and strength after illness or injury. It refers to the later stage of an infectious disease or illness when the patient recovers and returns to previous health, but may continue to be a source o ...

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emergen ...

by the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and is now leased by the

Northumberland County Council Northumberland County Council is a unitary authority in North East England. The population of the non-metropolitan unitary authority at the 2011 census was 316,028. History It was formed in 1889 as the council for the administrative county of ...

who use it as an educational camp. The castle is not open to the public except on special open days.

Today

Much employment in Ford is connected in one way or another with the Ford and Etal Estate. There is a primary school, Hugh Joicey Church of England First School, and a village shop, which doubles as a

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional se ...

. There are also several businesses connected with tourism, such as plant nurseries, a gift shop, a second-hand book dealer and some

bed and breakfast Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...

establishments.

References

External links

Ford CastleHeatherslaw Light RailwayPhotos
(Accessed: 1 November 2008) {{authority control Villages in Northumberland Civil parishes in Northumberland

History before 1513

History after 1513

Today

See also

References

External links