Garford
Major Settlement in the Parish of Garford
Historical Forms
- (æt) Garanforda 940 BCS761 c.1240
- Garanford 960 contemporary ib
- Wareford 1086 DB
- Gareford William Abingdon c.1240
- Gareford' 1175 P 1396–7 ObAcc
- Garreford 1316 FA
- Garfordia, Garsfordia 1223 Bract c.1250
- Garford' 1242–3 Fees 1256 Cl
- Garford 1517 DInc
Etymology
'Gāra's ford', or 'ford at the triangular piece of land', v. gāra , ford . The bounds of Garford in BCS 761 begin at the ford, which was where a Roman road crosses the R. Ock, about ½ mile E. of the village. Garforth YW 4, 95, is formally identical. If the Berks name contains a topographical term rather than a pers.n., gāra might mean 'narrow strip of raised ground in a marsh', a sense which would be appropriate in some other p.ns., e.g. Langar Nt, Plungar Lei.